Known primarily as a custom truck camper builder, it should be no surprise that Phoenix Campers is open to repairing and restoring old Phoenix campers as well. One of the best examples is the recent work done to a 1998 Phoenix Wigwam camper, the predecessor to Phoenix’s Mini L1 model. The expert builders at the Colorado-based company transformed this tired old camper into something new and fresh.
So what kind of work did this old Wigwam camper need and what modifications were made to it?
“The Camper still looked and worked really well, but the old pop-up liner was discolored,” explained Phoenix Camper CEO, Rob Rowe. “The ceiling panels were wavey, and were made of the old fashioned wooden heavy panels. So the customer wanted a full upper refresh, including roof platform rebuild, new wiring, new lighting, and a new pop-up liner.”
When it comes to smaller truck campers, storage space is often difficult to come by—you can never have enough. This includes both inside and outside the camper. Some resort to buying a custom truck bed or a back seat delete, yet others—like Rob Rowe—are able to come up more ingenious ways to get that storage outside.
“In addition to the upgrades on the camper, the customer wanted a new and bigger truck—a Toyota Tundra—and wanted to fit the small camper on there, while maximizing storage in that bigger cargo bed. So we built a heavy-duty drawer box as a riser to elevate the small camper up and over the truck’s taller cab. His previous truck was an old Nissan Frontier,” he said.
The aforementioned storage platform riser is one way to get that extra storage outside, but Rowe wasn’t done. He had another idea to get even more storage for this vintage camper with louvered windows.
“We rebuilt the lower rear wall to fully fill the wider tailgate opening of the big Tundra, and wrapped the wall down around the new drawer box to close-off the space and give it a finished look,” said Rowe. “Plus we added the large marine storage hatch doors on both sides so the customer can store large items inside the truck bed next to the camper body. We also added jack extensions, so the corner loading jacks can reach around the Tundra’s wider truck body.
The fact that Phoenix Campers was able to take a 27-year-old camper and make it good as new with several upgrades here and there is a testament to the build quality of Phoenix’s campers. What makes their campers so durable and strong? The answer, according to Rowe, is simple. Phoenix uses a double-welded aluminum tubular frame, plus everything structural is glued and screwed together, giving the camper extra strength and durability. Only the finest materials are used to build a Phoenix Camper.
So if somebody wanted to make similar repairs and upgrades to their Phoenix camper, what would it cost?
“To rebuild the roof, and the new liner portion of the job costs about $7,000. The rebuild and customization of the lower rear body, extra doors, and jack extensions package was another $2,000,” Rob said.
Rob Rowe, of course, is no stranger to truck campers. As a matter of fact, Rob Rowe’s father, Dave, founded Four Wheel Campers in 1972. Rob learned the intricacies of the trade from his father and helped make Phoenix Campers into the force it is today. Founded in 1988, the company’s catalog today consists of three basic models: the Level 1, the Level 2, and the Stealthy Mini. These can be purchased as either a flatbed or as a traditional slide-in camper. Phoenix Campers has long been known as a custom manufacturer, but in 2023 Rob decided to offer standardized models only to reduce lead times. However, requests for custom camper builds never stopped, so Rob decided to allow those too.
“We realized that there is still a nice niche for custom campers. We work out of a cozy little shop, with our family and a few helpers. So we are just the right size business for the custom camper niche market. It’s a good fit,” Rob said.
This, of course, includes any restorations and repairs of old campers like the 1998 Phoenix Wigwam featured here.
“We love to see our older units, and rebuild them for folks. The only thing to remember is that we are usually pretty busy, so be sure and get your appointment set as early as possible. Our earliest start-date appointments are often pushed out more than 12 months,” he said.
To learn more about this and other Phoenix Campers or to get a quote, email the company directly at cari@phoenixpopup.com.
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