2021 Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV) CAMP-HBE pop-up flatbed pickup camper (renamed the "Hudson Bay" for 2023 model year)

Ninelitetrip

Well-known member
Yeah great to see Chris out with this rig. And right off the bat a nice trail to climb up. He really does not do product reviews, so glad to see him talk about some of the features. Minor tweaks like securing the fridge door and change the battery / shower pan design. He's been frozen before in the Jeep, maybe just lapping in the luxury of 75* heat.

I saw the recent post by OEV and the problems with the supply chain and unfinished product. Hopefully gets resolved soon. I guess OEV is not happy with the quality of the door?
 

Chadx

♫ Off the road again. Just can't wait to get...
I saw the recent post by OEV and the problems with the supply chain and unfinished product. Hopefully gets resolved soon. I guess OEV is not happy with the quality of the door?

Saw the same post. I don't think they are unhappy with the quality; only unhappy that supply chain glitches are an issue so they want quality components made in North America rather than having to rely on overseas companies and overseas manufacturers to source quality components.
 

Ninelitetrip

Well-known member
Of course now I can't think of where I read the comment recently. I believe he made a comment directly about the door, in particular it's poor R value?
 

Chadx

♫ Off the road again. Just can't wait to get...
My interpretation, that OEV was addressing supply chain issues rather than quality, might be off, but this was the post I saw so maybe they elaborate more elsewhere.
It would be interesting to learn the R rating of the current doors. It's a rather large surface area so I understand their concern since they spend so much time thinking through and insulating the rest of the damper. And that is one reason they are not going to use the factory cassette toilet access door and instead use their own composite access hatch/door. Good stuff.
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
I did get a kick out of a few things in his vid, like the noisy beep when locking his doors with the key fob and running the furnace at 75 degrees at night. That would cook me out! We set ours at 56 - 58 and it seems a bit warm with the down topquilts. In our house, if the bedroom was 75 degrees at night, I wouldn't be able to sleep and would turn on the AC or open the window to cool it down. Ha.
Agreed. A night at 75 would have me cooked to about medium. That is too hot at any time.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Of course now I can't think of where I read the comment recently. I believe he made a comment directly about the door, in particular it's poor R value?

The cheap RV doors they've been using on the '21 CampX's certainly leave a lot to be desired. And that screen on it too; junk! One '21 CampX I was recently looking to purchase only had 5 nights on it, and the 3 upper screws on the screw door's attachment bracket had already fallen out (interestingly, it had a smaller glass window compared to the window in the picture above). :(
A bit mystifying why they don't use Tern's Wildlands Door for now, perhaps the cost?; https://www.ternoverland.com/products

Their IG post about acrylic windows only coming from China was also baffling. I guess they need to dig a bit deeper in their research.

Otherwise, the OEV build quality continues to impress. And <gasp>, they actually listen to customer feedback, and quickly implement changes! That sets them ahead of so many others.
 

Chadx

♫ Off the road again. Just can't wait to get...
Part 2 of Chris's series. As per usual on his channel, not really a review, but still fun to see some shots of the borrowed rig out and about.

 
Last edited:

Chadx

♫ Off the road again. Just can't wait to get...
We had a fun siting Friday as we pulled back into Bozeman after a 3 day/750 mile overlanding trip with our CAMP-X; We passed a semi with one CAMP-HBE and at least two trays presumably on their way to BigSkyRV since we were 6 miles from there when we passed it.

Sounds like there will be many OEV rigs at a variety of booths at the upcoming Expo West. We'd hoped to go this year, as we've never been, but we're not going to make it. [Update: Ninelite beat me to the punch...and much more detailed at that. Ha)
 
Last edited:
I'm sure I'm not the only person on here who saw the HBE with red graphics from the video above at Expo in Flagstaff this past weekend.

I was seriously impressed. According to Arnold (at least I think it was Arnold), they've moving the batteries to a tray under the passenger side dinette seat, which will put the shower pan near the floor between the dinette seats, which is a really positive change from my perspective. The externally accessible storage under the passenger dinette is huge, so I expect there will still be considerable storage once the batteries are moved.

As I mentioned on the Camp-X thread in relation to the BASE CAMP, fit and finish was really good.

Rear spare, ladder, molle rack is really functional.

If my wife and I don't think we can/should spend as much as a BASE CAMP costs for a retirement vehicle in the next 1 - 3 years, I'd be very high on the HBE, though my wife is not yet a flatbed fan. Hope to persuade her to go to Expo next year to see for herself.

It would be tempting to put the 6.75 HBE on an 8 foot tray to gain huge storage boxes in front.

HBE definitely seems like a bargain compared to the FWC Hawk flatbed IMHO.

I am curious what others think.
 

Chadx

♫ Off the road again. Just can't wait to get...
We didn't make it to the expo as we'd hoped. Would have been fun to meet Arnold in person (I've only talked to him and Mark via email these last two years). Great bunch of people both up there and at the various US dealerships.

Note that the CAMP-HBE that I photographed in this thread is newer than the red-wrapped one that OK4WD used in their build and had at the expo, so some of the items in the OK4WD prototype/early production HBE are different in the production CAMP-HBE (most obvious being the toilet/storage closet is now shorter to make it flush with the bottom of the overcab bed platform).

@Art Vandalay I like the idea of 6.75' CAMP-HBE on an 8 foot tray with storage up front for those that want that storage room. That is typical setup when some users prefer to store very large tires/wheels there rather than hang them off the back. It moves center of gravity back, but since an HD pickup is pretty much necessary with an HBE and an 8' bed HD has a longer wheelbase, I would think it would still handle reasonably well. I'm still considering changing from our CAMP-X to an HBE with my next pickup purchase (now down to about a year from now) and though I plan to go with an HD with an extended cab rather than crew and shorter 6.5' bed rather than 8' (to keep the wheel as short as possible), I am toying with the idea of putting a 8' tray on that chassis and getting the 8' HBE. The overhang wouldn't be any more than driving a pickup with the tailgate down, high enough that there are no departure angle concerns, and with the 6.75' HBE, it's already 8' long overall; it just had the 45 degree angle cutout in the rear.

So with the 6.75' or 8' HBE, I'll have to use a receiver extension to run my receiver hitch bike rack and when towing my trailers. My trailers are light by HD standards (about 3,000lb at the most) so not worried about a receiver extension and associated max tongue weight derating. Since the 6.75' and 8' HBE are identical except for the lower rear 45 degree area, it remains to be seen which length I'd go with. The deciding factor isn't so much the little bit of extra storage, but that I'd have an 8' tray rather than 6.75' which would be nice for when the camper is not on. Then I'd have the same flat hauling length as a 6.5' pickup bed with the tailgate down (8') which I use regularly in the winter.

The other thing that would be really exciting is if OEV or another tray manufacturer can come up with a slick way to do a removable tray extension. I've not yet discussed with OEV. For the winter, when the camper is off, then I could run the tray with no extension when I tow my enclosed trailer and so not need a receiver extension. When I want to load up the tray with snowmobile/snowbikes, for example, rather than tow, I'd love a tray extension to get at least an 8' tray surface. Better yet, a 10' tray surface (3.25' tray extension). Would be worth that for me even if it meant not having the slick rear in-tray drawer. Having a removeable tray extension would tip the scale as that is the last thing keeping me on the fence of sticking with the CAMP-X in the next pickup or changing to a tray/CAMP-HBE setup. I think OEV is the tray maker to make it happen as they are one of the few manufactures that seem to really enjoy incorporating innovation and new ideas rather than resisting them.

By the way, for those interested in the Expedition Portal thread to discuss the OEV BASE-CAMP camper: --> https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...mper-soft-wall-and-hard-wall-versions.222352/
 

Ninelitetrip

Well-known member
I'm sure I'm not the only person on here who saw the HBE with red graphics from the video above at Expo in Flagstaff this past weekend.

I was seriously impressed. According to Arnold (at least I think it was Arnold), they've moving the batteries to a tray under the passenger side dinette seat, which will put the shower pan near the floor between the dinette seats, which is a really positive change from my perspective. The externally accessible storage under the passenger dinette is huge, so I expect there will still be considerable storage once the batteries are moved.

As I mentioned on the Camp-X thread in relation to the BASE CAMP, fit and finish was really good.

Rear spare, ladder, molle rack is really functional.

If my wife and I don't think we can/should spend as much as a BASE CAMP costs for a retirement vehicle in the next 1 - 3 years, I'd be very high on the HBE, though my wife is not yet a flatbed fan. Hope to persuade her to go to Expo next year to see for herself.

It would be tempting to put the 6.75 HBE on an 8 foot tray to gain huge storage boxes in front.

HBE definitely seems like a bargain compared to the FWC Hawk flatbed IMHO.

I am curious what others think.


Glad they are making the move for the batteries, will make the shower space inside much more useful. Lower the shower pan and then use that space as covered storage below floor level until you need to use the shower, like FWC does.

Base price on the FWC Hawk flatbed Woolwich edition is now at @ $50,000. I have only been inside a CAMP X so far but the choice of an HBE (2022 $63,00) instead is an easy one compared to multiple FWC models I have been in.
 

Ninelitetrip

Well-known member
We didn't make it to the expo as we'd hoped. Would have been fun to meet Arnold in person (I've only talked to him and Mark via email these last two years). Great bunch of people both up there and at the various US dealerships.

Note that the CAMP-HBE that I photographed in this thread is newer than the red-wrapped one that OK4WD used in their build and had at the expo, so some of the items in the OK4WD prototype/early production HBE are different in the production CAMP-HBE (most obvious being the toilet/storage closet is now shorter to make it flush with the bottom of the overcab bed platform).

@Art Vandalay I like the idea of 6.75' CAMP-HBE on an 8 foot tray with storage up front for those that want that storage room. That is typical setup when some users prefer to store very large tires/wheels there rather than hang them off the back. It moves center of gravity back, but since an HD pickup is pretty much necessary with an HBE and an 8' bed HD has a longer wheelbase, I would think it would still handle reasonably well. I'm still considering changing from our CAMP-X to an HBE with my next pickup purchase (now down to about a year from now) and though I plan to go with an HD with an extended cab rather than crew and shorter 6.5' bed rather than 8' (to keep the wheel as short as possible), I am toying with the idea of putting a 8' tray on that chassis and getting the 8' HBE. The overhang wouldn't be any more than driving a pickup with the tailgate down, high enough that there are no departure angle concerns, and with the 6.75' HBE, it's already 8' long overall; it just had the 45 degree angle cutout in the rear.

So with the 6.75' or 8' HBE, I'll have to use a receiver extension to run my receiver hitch bike rack and when towing my trailers. My trailers are light by HD standards (about 3,000lb at the most) so not worried about a receiver extension and associated max tongue weight derating. Since the 6.75' and 8' HBE are identical except for the lower rear 45 degree area, it remains to be seen which length I'd go with. The deciding factor isn't so much the little bit of extra storage, but that I'd have an 8' tray rather than 6.75' which would be nice for when the camper is not on. Then I'd have the same flat hauling length as a 6.5' pickup bed with the tailgate down (8') which I use regularly in the winter.

The other thing that would be really exciting is if OEV or another tray manufacturer can come up with a slick way to do a removable tray extension. I've not yet discussed with OEV. For the winter, when the camper is off, then I could run the tray with no extension when I tow my enclosed trailer and so not need a receiver extension. When I want to load up the tray with snowmobile/snowbikes, for example, rather than tow, I'd love a tray extension to get at least an 8' tray surface. Better yet, a 10' tray surface (3.25' tray extension). Would be worth that for me even if it meant not having the slick rear in-tray drawer. Having a removeable tray extension would tip the scale as that is the last thing keeping me on the fence of sticking with the CAMP-X in the next pickup or changing to a tray/CAMP-HBE setup. I think OEV is the tray maker to make it happen as they are one of the few manufactures that seem to really enjoy incorporating innovation and new ideas rather than resisting them.

By the way, for those interested in the Expedition Portal thread to discuss the OEV BASE-CAMP camper: --> https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...mper-soft-wall-and-hard-wall-versions.222352/


Having that up front storage is certainly appealing, spare tire, extra water, inflatable kayak, etc. I do not need to tow, but do want to at times take a motorcycle on the back. That Summit X with the Hydralift is neat.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,579
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top