We love rare and eclectic campers. The S&S camper might just be one of the rarest and most eclectic of them all. Based out of Kalispell, Montana, S&S Manufacturing started off by building truck toppers in the early 70’s, then started manufacturing slide-in truck campers later that decade. According to the company’s website archive, S&S built several truck campers for short-bed and long-bed trucks including the 7.5T, 8SC, 8.5SC, 8.5SCS, 9SC, and 9SCS, and the larger, more palatial 11SC, 11DB, 9.5SCS, 11SCS, and 11DBS models for long-bed trucks. Unfortunately, the company stopped manufacturing slide-in campers in 2008 and returned to its roots by building and selling fiberglass and aluminum truck toppers in 2009 only. Due to their quality and unique styling, S&S Campers are highly sought after. Fortunately, Craig and Heidi Doman were able to score on a 2002 Bitterroot 8SC model with a mint interior. To learn more about this unique slide-in truck camper and how they found it, the couple was kind enough to answer several questions.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Craig and Heidi: We are a fun-loving couple who both have the love of camping and making amazing food. We love exploring camping destinations around Arizona and the surrounding states. While exploring new places we incorporate our love of cooking. Taking each of our styles of cooking and creating amazing dishes.
Craig’s love of cooking was taken to a whole new level in 2018 when he started a BBQ catering business and creating his own spices to enhance the flavors of his smoked meats. Things quickly took off until 2020 when things changed. But the love of camping always remained and incorporating cooking in those adventures brought back the love of cooking.
Heidi had run a small kitchen and catering business bringing her New Mexican style of Mexican food our local area. Things had taken off but due to personal family reasons Heidi had to give up this dream and go back to her normal career.
We have faced trials of life that made us both realize that life is short and living a life you enjoy is key! Why not live a life you love rather than live with regrets or wait too long and never be able to do what you love. It’s never too soon to start living!!
Can you tell us about your truck camper and why you chose that particular make and model?
Craig and Heidi: It’s a 2002 S&S Bitterroot 8SC. We didn’t choose this model particularly. We had been looking for a while trying to find a used camper in our price range and this one caught our eye. We liked the look of the S&S and thought it would look great on our truck. It matched well with the colors and size. Aside from some aesthetic. Imperfections (hail damage) the interior was immaculate almost like no one had ever camped in it. Upon making a day-day trip to Bennett, Colorado to look at it, we noticed the original tags were still hanging on parts of the camper along with stickers in the fridge.
It was all we needed in one package. A full-size residential queen bed. Plenty of head room in the sleeping area and lots of storage inside and underneath in the basement with slide out drawers. Everything was in perfect condition.
We have camped in every way possible and have had several different set-ups. from tents, pop up tent trailers, travel trailers to a fifth wheels. We found what worked best for us and our adventures with our dog Tater, was a truck camper. Our previous set up before this was a fiberglass camper shell / topper. We had built it out for sleeping but after a nine-day road trip through Colorado we realized we needed more space.
Once we found the truck camper, we realized that this is what best fits our needs. Giving us enough room to sleep comfortably and be able to take along enough supplies for any time frame. We are able to go to more places with a truck camper than we would in a 5th wheel or travel trailer.
The S&S 8SC is a cool camper, though there isn’t much online about it. What are the specs and what information do you have about the camper?
Craig and Heidi: You can find the old brochure online on S&S Campers’s website. The floor length of the 8SC is 8 feet and the camper is 7-feet 11 inches wide. The dry weight of the camper is 2,620 pounds. The camper comes with a 30 gallon fresh water holding tank, a 6-gallon water heater, and a 32 gallon combination grey and black water waste tank. The 8SC model also came with a 3.6 cubic foot refrigerator-freezer, a 5-gallon LP tank, and an 18,000 BTU furnace. Numerous options were also offered by S&S Campers including folding camper steps, storm windows, a rear awning, a microwave, and air conditioner, and electric jacks.
Does the camper have anything unique or custom about it?
Craig and Heidi: The S&S camper is unique because of the bold bubble window design in front. It has a basement area where there is a slide-out drawer for extra storage. Everything is factory. We have not modified anything on it as of yet.
What are your favorite features?
Craig and Heidi: We love the room in the cabover bedroom area. The full residential size queen bed and head space make it comfortable and roomy. We also love the wet-bath and outdoor shower. It’s easy to travel with and we also have the ability to tow our Jeep behind the truck. The truck camper gives us just enough room for all the storage and packing we need for our adventures.
Did you perform a restoration or major modification to your camper. If not, did you made any modifications to it that are worthy of note?
Craig and Heidi: We haven’t really done anything to it because we haven’t felt the need to modify as of yet. But we did go around and reseal the whole camper, seams and replaced any black rubber molding that was missing or damaged.
Can you tell us about more about your truck?
Craig and Heidi: It’s a 2012 Ram 2500 with. 6.7L Cummins diesel engine. It’s crew cab with 6.5-foot bed. The truck has a 6-inch lift with 35-inch Cooper Evolution M/T tires. We did have air bags installed to assist in the suspension with the additional weight of the camper. The camper is a long-bed model meaning we have to leave the tailgate down.
Can you tell us about your camper’s electrical system?
Craig and Heidi: It is all stock, nothing has been changed at this time. We don’t have a solar setup yet, but would love to at some point. Hopefully down the road before we start going on longer road trips. It does draw power from the two truck batteries as well as the onboard camper battery. We don’t have an aftermarket charging system yet. The batteries charge from shore power or while driving. We also bring a generator for extended trips.
Have you made any modifications to your truck to carry your truck camper or improve its ride?
Craig and Heidi: Yes. We added airbags to help the suspension and installed Torklift frame-mounted tie-downs.
Does your rig feature any other accessories or features worthy of note?
Craig and Heidi: We built a platform in the extended cab to accommodate more storage and to carry a 53 quart fridge-freezer.
Do you have any plans for future upgrades or modifications?
Craig and Heidi: We would love to install a solar setup and increase battery capacity for off-grid, extended-stay camping.
Do you have any regrets in your choices? Anything you wished that you had done differently?
Craig and Heidi: No, we have loved this camper, it is a huge upgrade from our previous fiberglass camper shell. We have had several different camp set ups from pop-up campers to 5th wheels and this camper suits our camping needs the best for our style of camping.
What kind of mileage are you getting with this setup?
Craig and Heidi: We usually average 8.5 to 12 miles per gallon depending on the terrain
What tires do you have on your truck and what inflation values do you typically run when driving on and off-road?
Craig and Heidi: We have 35x 12.5×20 Cooper Evolution M/T. We run at 65 psi on pavement and air down depending on the terrain to 30-35 psi.
Where have you taken your rig thus far?
Craig and Heidi: We have taken it to Rifle Gap State Park Colorado, Lake Havasu, Arizona, Lake Pleasant, Arizona, Williams, Arizona, Flagstaff. Arizona, Congress, Arizona, Ramah, New Mexoco, Silverton, Colorado, Telluride, Colorado, Durango, Colorado, Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, Prescott National Forest, Arizona, Show low, Arizona, and of course the 2025 Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally.
Where are you planning to take your rig in the future?
Craig and Heidi: This year we would like to take a trip to Idaho. That’s our big trip this year! We do plan on traveling all over the United States, taking the roads less traveled and finding some hidden gems.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your truck camper rig that would interest our readers?
Craig and Heidi: It has been a game changer for us and our camping adventures. We are able to get to more remote places than we could get to before with our larger trailer rigs. It’s also nice to be able to tow our jeep with us and have an adventure vehicle to explore with while on our adventures.
Do you have any social media channels where our readers can follow you?
Craig and Heidi: Yes, We have a YouTube Channel, an Instagram account, a TikTok account, and a Facebook page.
This has been great talking to you. Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. Do you have any final advice for our readers?
Craig and Heidi: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us as well. It has been great talking with you. Our advice to your readers would be: Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, so get out, adventure, and live life to the fullest! Our truck camper has been a great way for us to do just that.
Oh man! Nice camper but that truck is too small.