There are truck campers designed to make camping comfortable and easy, and then there are campers designed with the mantra that the journey itself is the point. Taking that to heart, Scout Campers have teamed up with Sitka Gear to design and build a limited edition camper that falls squarely into the second category.
This premium camper is aimed squarely at hunters, anglers and backcountry travelers looking to make the most of their time in the wild. Just ten examples will be produced for the United States and Canada, each carrying a price of $55,000.
Scout Underpinnings
It’s no secret that Scout Campers have long been a favorite of Overland Journal Publisher Scott Brady, and there’s a very good reason for that. Scout make lightweight, durable and functional campers to meet a variety of needs. Put to the test right across North America they have proven to be an excellent blend of creature comforts meeting simple and functional systems where reliability is a major focus.
Scout’s Olympic Hardwall model forms the foundation, a camper that has built a reputation around lightweight construction, modularity and simplicity.
The finished Sitka version weighs just 1,650 pounds and is designed for modern half ton pickups and larger trucks equipped with a 6.5-foot bed or longer.
With details like a dedicated mud room for people coming inside from the elements, it’s clear a lot of attention has been paid to the messy reality of spending time outside doing what you love. The interior uses rugged upholstery that can tolerate wet clothing and muddy boots, while a dedicated heated gear locker provides hunters the perfect place to dry equipment. A smattering of MOLLE panels are mounted inside and outside for keeping essential equipment well organized, and a rugged Zarges storage system provides a secure location for a bow or firearm.
Richlite countertops, an insulated entry door, Garmin Power Switch integration, Starlink Mini and a diesel heater add considerably more comfort and capability for extended trips. The camper is finished in Sitka Optifade Open Country camouflage, giving it an appearance that is immediately recognizable – but only to humans.
Adventure at Heart
“We didn’t set out to build a special edition with different colors,” says Nick Africano, Director of Marketing at Scout Campers. We set out to build the best truck camper and hunting basecamp we could.” Nick went on to describe the describe the combination of Scout’s Olympic Hardwall and Sitka’s experience in the field resulting in a camper designed for “backcountry missions, changing weather, and long days that make the journey worth it.”
To prove that the concept could handle real conditions, the companies put longtime Sitka ambassador Connor Gabbott behind the wheel. Gabbott, a hunter, photographer and chef, conducted a shakedown through the interior of notoriously wet and blustery British Columbia, deliberately exposing the camper to the kind of conditions it was designed to encounter. With endless rough forestry roads and wet weather, BC also dishes out mud, cold temperatures and genuinely remote terrain.
The camper will go on sale September 9 through Scout Campers, with pickup available from Scout Hub locations in Yakima, Washington, and Abbotsford, British Columbia. At $55,000, this is not an inexpensive truck camper. Given that only ten are being built, the Sitka x Scout is much closer to a factory engineered expedition basecamp than a conventional slide in camper.
For people who spend their weekends chasing elk, fishing remote rivers or simply disappearing down the road until the pavement ends, the level of detail and refinement on display here will make a world of difference.
Read more: The Scout Yoho Pop-up, One Happy Customer’s Tale
Images: Scout, Sitka
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