10 Best Truck Campers for the Ford F150

The Ford F150 pickup truck—it’s been the best selling vehicle in America for over 30 years and the best selling pickup for over 40. Due to its sheer popularity and numbers, it makes sense to build a truck camper that can be safely hauled on this truck. It also explains why companies like Lance, Four Wheel Campers, Outfitter, and Hallmark have been willing to do it. When it comes to hauling a truck camper, we actually recommend doing it with a more capable truck like the Ford F250, but this isn’t always practical. Many Ford F150 owners have already paid-off their trucks and don’t want to invest in something bigger, heavier, and more expensive. Not only that, but many Ford F-150s are daily drivers and need to split time between work and play. Fortunately, truck camper manufacturers know this and have done their homework by building a wide variety of campers that are lightweight and easy to store. So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the 10 best truck campers for the Ford F-150 pickup truck:

1. Lance 650

When it comes to luxury and comfort for today’s Ford F-150, nothing compares with the Lance 650. Indeed, the F-150 and Lance 650 combination is so luxurious and easy to drive, it remains one of Cruise America’s most popular rental RVs. The Lance 650 is one of our favorites as well. Not only does it provide a north-south queen bed and a full size wet bath with a sink, but it also features a large kitchen and a dinette long enough to sleep an adult. With standard equipment, the Lance 650 weighs just 1,700 pounds dry and 1,903 pounds wet. It has a floor length of 6 feet 10 inches long and offers a spacious 6 feet 9 inches of interior height. The tank sizes of this short-bed camper are excellent with 22 gallons fresh, 15 gallons grey, and 16 gallons black. We’re also big fans of Lance’s new exterior one-piece TPO nose cap, which gives the camper a sleek and aerodynamic look, the on-demand tankless water heater, and Lance’s new Easy Charge exterior charging center for quick battery charging. Versatile enough to fit on both 6.5-foot and 5.5-foot pickup trucks and a great little camper, the Lance 650 offers everything you could possibly want except for the excessive weight. Still, many F-150s will need to have the suspension upgraded and have higher rated wheels and tires installed to haul this luxury hotel around—unless, of course, the truck is already equipped with the heavy-duty payload package. We also recommend getting the 5.0L V8 for extra climbing power up hills and mountains. The base MSRP for the Lance 650 is $23,738. Available at top dealerships nationwide.

2. Bundutec Wild

A relatively new design by truck camper guru Rory Willet, the Bundutec Wild pushes the truck camper envelope in a big way. The Wild not only comes with a complete wet-bath, but also a large, grey water holding tank that makes using that wet-bath practical. With its gray aluminum exterior and black accents, it’s also a great looking camper. The Wild’s 7-foot floorplan features a kitchen and wet-bath on the driver side, a refrigerator with loads of storage on the front wall, and a full-length dinette on the passenger side. Standard features include a north-south 56×74-inch mattress with lift up under bed storage, a 21-gallon fresh water tank, a 17-gallon grey water holding tank, a NovaKool R3000 compressor refrigerator, a stainless steel sink, and window and door screens fine enough to keep out annoying “no-see-ums” bugs. Bundutec’s best options include a Zamp 160 watt solar power system, the BunduAwn wrap-around awning, and the revolutionary Truma Combi water heater furnace that not only saves on weight and space, but is also whisper quiet when in operation. Easily, one of the 10 best campers for the Ford F-150. At 1,610 pounds the Bundutec Wild is a bit on the heavy side with its rugged, all-wood construction, but it’s hard to downgrade a camper as well-equipped as the Wild, which is why it’s ranked so high. The list price for the Wild is only $18,600, a real bargain when you consider all that you get for the money.

3. Four Wheel Camper Hawk

With a floor length of 6.5 feet and a dry weight of only 1,075 pounds, the Four Wheel Camper Hawk is a perfect match for today’s Ford F-150 pickup truck. The Hawk features a 20-gallon fresh water tank, a fully equipped kitchenette, an east-west queen bed, a three-way 1.7-cubic foot reefer, and attractive yet durable interior woodwork. Customers can choose from one of three floorplans when ordering a Hawk—a roll-over side couch, side dinette, or a front dinette. For those want a more amenities, a cassette toilet and an outside shower can both be added as options. Interested in extending your time off-grid? Four Wheel Campers has that covered, too, by offering a 160 watt roof-mounted solar system, a dual battery setup, an 85-liter DC compressor refrigerator, and two 10-pound propane tanks. Four Wheel Campers uses a proprietary tie-down system consisting of four, zinc-coated eye bolts reinforced with steel backing plates that are mounted to the bed of the pickup. The advantage of having a hidden system like this is that it not only presents a clean look on the outside of the camper, but it also works great for driving off-road. Another Truck Camper Adventure favorite, the FWC Hawk lists for only $18,995, but don’t let the price fool you. This rugged, well-made camper can take you almost anywhere you want, and with its welded aluminum frame and aluminum exterior, will last for decades.

4. Alaskan Sportsman

A brand-new, non-cabover model, the Alaskan Sportsman was designed with the minimalist in mind. The hard-top camper is only 6-foot 6-inches long and weighs only 1,449 pounds wet, perfect for short-bed half-ton pickups like the Ford F150, Ram 1500, and Chevy/GMC 1500. The Sportman’s floorplan is simple. The driver side features a small kitchenette with a stove and sink with a storage locker large enough to house a portable toilet located on the passenger side. Sleeping and seating is provided by an attractive jack knife sofa that sits along the front wall with a 45L refrigerator-freezer mounted underneath. As one would expect for a 6-foot 6-inch floorplan, the amenities inside the Sportsman are pretty spartan. The jack knife sofa expands to a comfortable and spacious 80×44-inch, full-size bed large enough to sleep two adults. There is no wet-bath, though the storage cabinet in the camper is large enough to store a porta-pottie for late night nature calls. The Sportsman comes with a 15 gallon fresh water holding tank (with an optional 27 gallon tank available), a horizontal 20-pound propane tank with gauge, a Thetford two-burner cooktop, a stainless steel sink with a manual hand pump, a 12 volt Truma Weekender C44 refrigerator-freezer chest, and a Truma VarioHeat furnace. The non-cabover camper also comes with a Zamp 170 watt solar power system, a group 31 AGM or lithium battery, a 10-speed MaxxAir Vent Fan, overhead storage, and blacked out window covers. Sold direct from Alaskan’s Winlock, Washington factory. Lists for $25,500.

5. Hallmark Milner 6.5

Introduced in 1969, the Hallmark Milner 6.5 is another bonafide classic. Like all Hallmark campers, the Milner 6.5 is constructed of a durable yet attractive molded fiberglass composite exterior topped with a low-maintenance, one-piece molded composite roof. In spite of its very stout construction, the camper still only weighs 1,212 pounds dry and handles like a dream. Standard features include a 60×80-inch east-west bed with under bed storage; a large, 30-gallon fresh water tank; beautiful one-piece molded counter tops; exclusive big view double windows; a three-way 3.8-cubic foot refrigerator; a 5-gallon propane tank; attractive overhead cabinets with Tambour doors; and a battery compartment large enough to hold two 6 volt golf cart batteries. The list of options Hallmark offers is just as impressive and includes a 12 gallon gray tank, a 5-gallon black tank, a “cubby” large enough to store a portable toilet, a north-south bed, a shower pan for indoor showers, a 4.2-cubic foot compressor refrigerator, and a Zamp 160-watt solar suitcase. Hallmark even gives you options with the interior cabinetry. All campers come standard with Oak or Amber Bamboo cabinets. Cherry, Blond Bamboo, Maple, and Hickory cabinetry are also available for an additional $1,200. Coosa composite cabinetry is available for an additional $2,000 if it’s wanted. Better yet, Hallmark campers come with a 5-year structural warranty, one of the best in the entire industry. A great camper, one of the 10 best campers for the Ford F-150, the Milner 6.5 lists for $26,900.

6. Outfitter Caribou Lite 6.5

At 850 pounds, the Caribou Lite 6.5 is the lightest, lowest profile camper in the Outfitter Manufacturing catalog. The construction of this well-equipped camper consists of vacuum bonded composite walls, a full walk-on roof, and a fully welded, boxed aluminum frame. The Caribou Lite is insulated to the max with Owen Corning block foam insulation in the hard walls, and Weblon three-layer insulation in the soft walls. One feature that really stands out is the full-size cabover bed that pulls out into a full-size queen. Highlights include a 24-gallon fresh water tank, 5-gallon propane tank, a 1.9-cubic foot three-way refrigerator, a Progressive Dynamics 45-amp converter-charger with the three-stage Charge Wizard, a torsion assisted lift system, a 16,000 BTU furnace, a three-burner cooktop, attractive birch interior doors and cabinets, and solar reflective windows. Notable options of the Caribou Lite 6.5 include a 5-gallon cassette toilet, an outside shower, a 3.8-cubic foot Tundra DC compressor fridge, a 95 watt solar power system, a King Dome satellite dish, a Yakima roof rack, and an air conditioner. Easily, one of the 10 best campers for the Ford F-150 pickup truck. Comes with a LIFETIME structural warranty, the best warranty in the entire industry. The Caribou Lite 6.5 sells for only $16,720, one of the lowest priced slide-in campers in this list.

7. Phoenix Level Series

Interested in a semi-custom pop-up to haul on your Ford F-150? Well, the good folks at Phoenix Campers build perhaps the coolest looking truck campers in the industry. Customers start with a base model like the Level 1 and add only the options that they want. The 7-foot floorplan features an east-west 60×80-inch bed, a large dinette forward, a wet-bath on the driver side, and a small kitchenette on the passenger side. With a dry weight of only 1,180 pounds, construction consists an all-aluminum double welded tube cage frame, stuffed with high density foam, and protected by a tough outer shell of pre-laminated thick, one piece Crane fiberglass. Mini-Max highlights include an 18-gallon fresh water tank, a Thetford cassette toilet, an 8-gallon grey water holding tank, and Dometic 1.9 cubic foot compressor refrigerator. The standard cabinet color is birch with a clear coat finish, but more exotic cabinet materials like bamboo can be ordered. Popular options include integrated power inverters with a built-in transfer relay, solar power systems of various sizes, roof racks, a rear ladder, flood lights, a low profile air conditioner, and Rotopax fuel-water containers. They’re also one of the few companies that can paint your camper a custom color to match your truck. The design is so exquisite it even works well on mid-size trucks albeit with smaller holding tanks. Comes in two versions: the Level 2 version comes with a water heater and shower, while the Level 1 does not. Pricing for the Phoenix Pop Up Camper Level 1 starts at a cool $32,995.

8. Capri Cowboy

Texas-based Capri Campers has carved a niche for itself by catering to the American rodeo circuit, which makes the Capri Cowboy name even more appropriate, but you don’t have to be a cowboy to like this particular camper. Standard features of the Cowboy include a 48×80-inch east-west bed, a dedicated 12 volt battery system, a Fan-tastic Vent, three overhead cabinets, three windows, wood grain flooring, multiple interior and exterior 110 volt AC outlets, and a 12 volt charging station. One of Capri’s best options is what the company calls the “Cowboy Premium Package,” which includes a Polar Cub 9,200 air conditioner, an AC/DC compressor refrigerator, a hand-pump sink, manual jacks, and blackout shades. Other worthwhile options include an exterior shower, a furnace, and the “Sink and Faucet,” upgrade, which comes with a stainless steel sink with chrome faucet assembly, a 10 gallon fresh water holding tank, a 4-gallon DSI water heater, a 12 volt water pump, and 5-gallon propane tank. All Capri campers feature an attractive, diamond pattern aluminum exterior that can be ordered in 10 different exterior base colors with different colored accents and stripes. The company also offers three different interior wood paneling options for its campers—Weathered Cedar, Ridge Pine, and Pecan—and can be ordered in different bed lengths, including 8-foot, 6.5-foot, and 5.5-foot truck bed lengths. A great little camper, the only real negative with the non-cabover design is its 5-foot interior height—watch your head. Sold factory direct, the base model of the Capri Cowboy is only $7,995 and weighs only 750 pounds dry.

9. AT Overland Summit Topper

The AT Overland Summit delivers on features and adventure in a big way, yet weighs only 340 pounds. Unlike the traditional slide-in pop-up, the Summit truck topper sits on top of the bed rails of the truck and has no floor. This new and innovative approach makes the camper lighter than a standard slide-in pop-up camper, yet still retains a comfortable sleeping platform for owners. The Summit is built from CNC-cut and formed aluminum with a bonded honeycomb composite and features a distinctive wedge-style pop-top that provides up to 8 feet of headroom and a 48×80-inch sleep platform with a 2.5-inch mattress that can support up to 500 pounds. Each topper is built to order. Options include a light-blocking Thinsulate liner with a higher R-value, a cab slider window, a roof rack, side slider windows, Seitz “Euro-style” side windows (17×43 inches), side hatch doors (17×43 inches), rear liftgate insert window, a 12 volt power system, interior lighting, awnings, interior cabinetry with pull-out refrigerators and cooktops, forced air heating, and a color match to vehicle. Without a doubt, one of the 10 Best Campers for the Ford F-150 Pickup Truck. Built for Ford F-150 5-foot and 6-foot beds. Available factory direct at the company’s headquarters in Prescott, Arizona. Pricing starts at a very affordable $8,900.

10. Scout Olympic 6.5

A revolutionary approach to truck camper design by Yakima, Washington-based Adventurer Manufacturing, the Scout Olympic incorporates a number of industry-first add-ons to save on weight. These removable add-ons include a roof-top pop-up tent, that increases the sleeping capacity by two, a Dometic CFX3 75L refrigerator-freezer with WiFi, a 4.9-gallon removable water tank, a removable dining table, a Yeti Goal Zero 1500x lithium battery pack, and a removable propane cooktop. Standard features include a Renogy 160 watt solar panel, a moon roof with a screen and solar reflective shade, a four-person dinette with sleeper conversion, and dual 5-pound propane bottles. With a dry weight of only 1,133 pounds, the Scout Olympic 6.5 was designed for today’s half-ton pickup truck, including the Ford F-150. The Olympic supports four-season travel with an optional Newport Real Flame 4,500 BTU propane fireplace and standard robust insulation. The camper will last for generations thanks to the camper’s rugged aluminum, exo-skeleton shell and no-wood composite structural panels that will never rot. Particularly noteworthy, is that the Scout Olympic can sleep up to six people when you include the roof-top tent, an unheard of number for a truck camper let alone a camper built for a half-ton truck. Interested in a long-bed model for a half-ton truck? The company has that angle covered too with the Scout Kenai, which features a floor length of 7.6 feet, a dry weight of 1,370 pounds, and a Thetford cassette toilet. The starting price for the Scout Olympic base model is only $19,980.

Read This Before You Buy

Before purchasing your camper, make sure your Ford F-150 can handle the extra weight. When it comes to hauling a truck camper, the payload rating trumps all other performance numbers including horsepower, fuel-mileage, and torque. For a Ford F-150 with the heavy-duty payload package, this rating can be a low as 1,844 pounds or as high as 3,270 pounds. This means the camper you buy, plus passengers and gear, must be below this number. Determining the payload rating of your Ford F-150 is easy. It can be found either on the driver side door jamb sticker (pictured here) or can be determined by taking the truck to the scales and subtracting the weight of the truck from the truck’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). You’ll also need to ensure that the wheels and suspension are up to the task of hauling a camper. This is because only a small number of factory F-150s are made to do it. One 4×2 Ford F-150 SuperCrew that we recently looked at illustrates this shortcoming with a mediocre 1,760-pound payload and ill-equipped p-spec (passenger-rated) tires (see photo). In order for this truck to carry more weight, light truck (LT) load range C or D wheels and tires and a set of Hellwig Helper Springs at a minimum will be needed. Aftermarket suspension mods like these won’t officially increase your truck’s payload rating, but they will make hauling your camper easier and a whole lot safer. Of course, some of these changes might not be needed if your F-150 is already equipped with Ford’s “heavy-duty payload package.”

Best In-Class Payload?

Ford is correct when they say that the F-150 offers “the best-in-class payload” with a rating of 3,270 pounds, but that doesn’t mean every cab style and bed-size configuration can get it. The only way you can get that lofty payload rating is by buying a 4×2 F-150 regular cab, long-bed truck, one of the ugliest trucks in the market. Unfortunately, the much better looking 4×2 SuperCrew 6.5 and 4×4 SuperCrew 6.5 styles offer less payload with a maximum of 2,900 and 2,650 pounds respectively (the Raptor is even worse at 1,200 pounds). When it comes to hauling a truck camper, payload is king, which is why you want more of it. This is why we always recommend buying a one-ton truck to start with (most one-ton trucks like the Ford F-350 offer a 4,000-pound payload and that’s optioned out). The simple truth of the matter is that a half-ton truck like the Ford F-150 wasn’t designed and built to haul a large truck camper. Indeed, when it comes to hauling a truck camper, the Ford F-150 is better suited to go small and light, which is why we recommend so many pop-ups and toppers in this list.