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Updated January 22, 2024
The best pop-up truck campers with bathrooms give you the flexibility to camp just about anywhere. Perched atop the bed of a pickup, truck campers can go where other RVs can’t.
Pop-up truck campers are even more versatile because of their lower profile for traveling down the road. Truck campers, by necessity, also have compact floorplans. Typically, these floorplans don’t allow room for onboard bathrooms, but there are exceptions.
The best pop-up truck campers with bathrooms are rugged, versatile, compact, and filled with all life’s daily essentials. Like a turtle with its shell, you’ll be able to carry all you need atop your truck wherever you go.
Benefits of a Pop-Up Truck Camper vs. Regular Truck Camper
Pop-up truck campers have several benefits over regular hard-shell truck campers. When collapsed, a pop-up truck camper rises just inches above the truck cab. This means the camper is more aerodynamic while traveling down the road.
The low profile makes a pop-up truck camper both easier and more fuel-efficient to drive. You’ll also feel more stable and less likely to tip as you drive with this type of truck camper.
Former tent campers will also appreciate soft-side pop-up truck campers’ sounds, smells, and breezes.
8 Pop-Up Truck Campers with Bathrooms
Pop-up truck campers with bathrooms are rare. Unfortunately, a handful of luxury truck campers have dry bathrooms because the square footage simply doesn’t allow it.
Some truck campers do have dedicated spaces for a built-in cassette toilet or porta-potties. A few pop-up truck campers even make room for a shower pan. With the shower privacy curtain pulled, the space becomes a wet bath.
To make it easier, we’ve compiled a list of the best pop-up truck campers with bathrooms.
1. Hallmark Cuchara
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Full-height bathroom thanks to the folding walls
⛔ Three-burner stove is awfully close to the side wall and fridge wall, including the outlets
- Category: 3/4 ton (very few 1/2-tons)
- Length: 180”
- Center of Gravity: 43″
- Cargo Bed: Long bed
- UVW: 1,893 lbs
- Sleeps: 4
Hallmark Cuchara pop-up truck campers come in either the hard side or soft side option, and that’s the singular difference between the two. Once you get the soft side up, you have to have a keen eye to tell the difference between the two.
The small wet bath is large enough to provide you with a stand-up or sit-down shower experience, whichever floats your boat. It also has a traditional sink, so even though it’s a tight-fitting bathroom, you have the regular bathroom experience in a lightweight truck camper. The reason you get a full bathroom is that the entire thing is assembled and disassembled inside the camper.
2. Palomino Backpack 1500SS
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Excellent storage and closet space
⛔ Shower is a little cramped
- Category: 3/4-ton
- Length: 172”
- Center of Gravity: 45″
- Cargo Bed: Long Bed (8′)
- UVW: 1,910 lbs
- Sleeps: 2
The Palomino Backpack 1500SS series is known for having a ton of cabinets. Everywhere you look, there is somewhere to store your stuff. The dinette area serves three purposes—as a dining area, flips into a sleeping spot for two, and flips up to access storage beneath.
The Toilet shower combo in the wet bath is one of the more easily accessible bathrooms on this list. It has a beach shower stall vibe to it. It’s a bit tight, but all bathrooms on this class of RV are going to be tight.
3. Four Wheel Campers Hawk Flatbed
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Premium marine-grade components throughout (Whale Marine and Blue Sea Systems)
⛔ Non-Exchangeable, small, 10-lb propane tanks
- Category: 1/2-ton to 3/4-ton
- Length: 128”
- Center of Gravity: 32″
- Cargo Bed: Short Bed
- UVW: 1,100 lbs
- Sleeps: 3 to 4
Four Wheel Campers did a phenomenal job of creating the most space while keeping the weight low and the camper small. It’s barely over half a ton and capable of sleeping up to four people. The attention to detail is also exceptional, all the way down to the positive latching.
If you want even more space, you can get the model without a bathroom. However, even if you go that route, you still get an exterior shower and a cassette toilet. The model with the included bathroom is, of course, a wet bath. There are a ton of customization options here and the bathroom is a big part of it.
4. North Star 850SC
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Windows are numerous and provide excellent ventilation
⛔ Plastic windows on the pop top aren’t the sturdiest in the world
- Category: 3/4-ton
- Length: 180”
- Center of Gravity: 32″
- Cargo Bed: Long Bed (8′) or Short Bed (6’4” to 6’10”)
- UVW: 1,785 lbs
- Sleeps: 3
The bathroom in the Northstar 850SC is a cute little thing, including a cassette toilet, a small trash bin, and a very bathroom-esque curtain for privacy. The shower is an outside affair and minimal, so a thorough wash will have to take place elsewhere.
With that being said, the lack of a full-fledged wet bath is a space saver. Every appliance and piece of furniture in the 850SC is loaded with cabinetry and plenty of storage options. The camper includes a Dometic CR110 DC fridge, which is one of the better ones on the market.
5. Phoenix Campers L2
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Above floorplan is standard, though the entire build is up to you
⛔ Bathroom is tight with a cassette toilet only
- Category: 1/2-ton
- Length: Custom
- Center of Gravity: Custom
- Cargo Bed: Short or Long
- UVW: 720 lbs to 990 lbs
- Sleeps: 2 to 3
Just about everything on the Phoenix is customizable. When you shop for one, there is no final product, only an endless array of custom build options. This is perfect for those who want to adventure in specific ways.
It also makes it a little harder to impart straightforward knowledge on the bathroom, since the bathroom takes shape in a number of ways. This includes a potential cassette toilet and a large enough space to include a shower. When it comes to the Phoenix Campers L2, it really is a “have it your way” experience.
6. Skinny Guy 6.5
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Flooring lifts for storage access to the truck bed
⛔
- Category: 1/2-ton
- Length: 82.3”
- Center of Gravity: N/A
- Cargo Bed: Short (4.5′ to 6.5′) or Long (8′)
- UVW: 670 lbs to 1,029 lbs
- Sleeps: 2
The Skinny Guy Truck Camper is an anomaly among the pop-up truck campers out there because of its compact yet incredible design. It’s like a robot from one of the Transformers movies in the back of your pick-up.
It starts off as a smallish, rectangular toolbox-looking thing that sits on your bed, and ends as a large living space with all of the premium amenities.
The floor panels are the best part. Once it’s mounted onto your truck, the floor becomes a floating deck, converting your entire truck bed into a storage compartment. Everything folds up and out from this box, including a sizeable shower.
This is the most compact and customizable pop-up truck camper on the market and a must-see for anyone interested in pop-up truck campers.
7. Alpine Hudson Bay 6.75
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Flexible adhesion usage in the aluminum and composite materials allows for off-roading
⛔ Folding steps are optional and don’t come with the standard package
- Category: 3/4-ton and 1-ton
- Length: 156”
- Center of Gravity: Custom
- Cargo Bed: Short Bed
- UVW: 1,780 lbs
- Sleeps: 4
If you are hardcore into off-roading, adventures well away from civilization, or living off-grid for a while, the Alpine Hudson Bay 6.75 is right up your alley. It’s designed with flexible points along its frame, primarily where all the stressors are, so you can hit the back roads without causing structural damage.
The main bed is also the primary dining position, flipping into a dinette when you’re ready for breakfast and back into a bed for an afternoon nap. The manufacturers call this camper a “three-season” camper, because it can handle all four seasons but isn’t enough to deal with a harsh, Canadian winter.
8. Palomino Real Lite 1609SS
Our Pros and Cons
✅ Exterior battery charging station with solar prep make this pop-up boondocking/off-grid ready
⛔ No shower
- Category: 1/2-ton
- Length: 14′ 10”
- Center of Gravity: 37″
- Cargo Bed: Long Bed
- UVW: 1,876 lbs
- Sleeps: 3
The Palomino Real-Lite wraps up our pop-up truck campers list. Though it’s last, it’s definitely not the least. There is a bathroom on the Real-Lite, and it’s even a private one, packed into a tight cubby hole. However, if you’re looking for a shower, you’ll have to go with the exterior option.
Fortunately, that frees up some interior space and the Real-Lite makes good use of it. It includes a three-way fridge, two-burner stovetop, pantry, wardrobe, and a queen bed flanked by lengthy footlockers. The exterior shower isn’t a huge problem when you consider the fact that this thing is boondocking and off-grid ready, though you’ll have to get solar panels separately.
Two Alternatives to Pop-Up Truck Campers with Bathrooms
With new manufacturers and innovative floorplans bursting onto the scene, the number of truck camper options is growing quickly. There are many great 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton options. But since pop-up truck campers with bathrooms are still a rare breed, you should know that there are alternatives.
1. Portable RV Toilets
One option is to purchase a portable camping toilet. There are great options like the Thetford porta potty. This toilet can even be secured to your truck camper with a floor-mounted bracket.
2. Compost Toilets
A composting toilet like the Separett Villa 9215 electric compost toilet is a pricier investment but is more environmentally friendly. For those that live in California, compost toilets comply with Senate Bill 317 which restricts the use of many traditional RV toilet treatments in the state.
What Size Truck Do You Need For A Pop-Up Truck Camper?
Pop-up truck campers are mostly designed for lighter weight applications. However, even though some of them are clearly labeled as half-ton options, that’s not always the case. While 3/4-ton trucks and 1-ton trucks have a more defined GVWR, there’s a larger disparity in the 1/2-ton class.
Some pop-up truck campers work with a 1/2-ton and some do not. Its important that you take the time to determine your truck’s actual weight (use a local weight scale) and look up the carrying capacity for your model. It may be that your truck will haul the dry weight of the camper, but that’s not where things end.
You also have to consider the added weight of whatever you put in the camper, in your truck, and the passengers along for the ride. If the dry weight is lower than your truck’s capacity, but only by a little bit, your truck can’t handle it.
Final Thoughts
A truck camper, especially a pop-up truck camper, can go virtually anywhere a truck can. It’s easier to explore when your camper rests on the bed of a pickup truck that’s already equipped for off-roading. But just because truck campers are rugged doesn’t mean their owners want to forgo all creature comforts.
Pop-up truck campers with bathrooms may not be common, but they’re great options. The low profile means these pop-up campers are easier to drive than other truck campers. Soft-side pop-ups have the added benefit of allowing you to enjoy the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.
Toilets and showers, although modified to fit in a truck camper, are still great amenities to have on board. The best pop-up truck campers with bathrooms combine all your camping needs into a compact floor plan. You’ll be ready to go anywhere with one of these great campers!
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5. 25 Essential Truck Camper Accessories
About the Author
Laura Tyrell – Author and Part Time RVer
Laura is a part-time RVer and a full-time mom of three. Long-time campers and RVers before children, Laura, and her husband have fallen even more in love with the RV lifestyle since becoming parents to a child with food allergies.
Having her own kitchen on wheels makes her RV trips amazing. Laura is passionate about finding ways to make traveling with young children fun, easy, and attainable.
I love the pop-up truck campers with bathrooms! They are perfect for camping trips.
I love the pop-up truck campers with bathrooms! They are perfect for camping trips.