Space Wrangler Flatbed Pop-up Camper Is Looking to Dominate Off-Grid Game

In light of Travel Month, my own digital travels have taken me to a place called Bison Overland Campers. Never heard of Bison? If you have, then you’re very up to date with what’s happening in the camper world. If not, the following will be enlightening.

Only since the beginning of 2020 has this team been producing flatbed pop-up campers. So yes, this could be considered their very own flagship. What seems to be setting this Tulsa, Oklahoma team apart from others on the market is that each camper is given handcrafted attention. But the best part of this team’s handy work is the fact that it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to own.

Don’t believe me? Just take the fact that Space Wrangler shell comes in with a starting price of just $22,000 (€18,773 at current exchange rates). Pay close attention to the word “shell” as the camper is close to bare for that price. But, once you’re done making it a decent home, you could still fall under $30,000.

Sure, the team at Bison does offer several packages from which to extend the shell’s capabilities, but if you’re handy with a toolkit, like some of our readers (Yes, Mark B., we’ve been watching you), with a few thousand extra and some self-love put into it, the Space Wrangler is sure to please.

While most people would think someone is mad for spending $22K on a camper shell, know that each one of the products this team puts out is crafted out of aluminum. Frames are completed with the use of countless aluminum struts. After that, aluminum sheets, Rivnut sealed trim, and a powder coat closes everything off nicely. Inside, on the other hand, the interior is lined with birch wood.

As I mentioned earlier, the interior might seem bare, but this is a benefit for folks that want to create a very personal space. But, Bison does include interior cloth walls and gloss white ceiling, recessed LED lighting both inside and outside the camper, a MaxxAir fan over the bed, and the entire camper is pre-wired for an array of electrical additions included solar panels. Natural lighting enters the space via windows with Tern Overland screens and blackout shades, and that just about does it as far as the base goes.

Now, let’s say you want to turn this puppy into much more than it is. Well, to do that, there’s two ways you can go about things. The first is to take some college courses on woodworking, material shaping, welding, and even industrial design and finally turn your garage into your very own shop, or you can just select any of the options Bison offers and let their engineers and builders do all the work with straight “A” report cards.

Know that the team at Bison is hard at work expanding their products each day, and if you want some interior styling to be handled by the team, they can take care of that as well. Everything from bedding, interior and exterior storage, cooktops, dinette’s, they do it all.

You can transform the Space Wrangler into an 8-foot (2.43-meter) XL version for just $1,000, or even replace the interior with UV coated pre-finished maple. Let’s say you want to go full electrical and live an off-grid life. For that, Bison offers a $6,000 package that includes everything from a 2000-watt inverter to Zamp Obsidian 200 kit, exterior power port, and DC/DC charging. Did I mention the Redarc Redvision and Redarc Manager30 systems?

You can also blow the top on the pop-up roof and install a power roof hatch provided by Tern Overland. Awnings, L-tracks, cargo hatch doors, camper jacks, and another fan are all available to future owners.

If there’s one thing I'm starting to notice from all this camper business I'm up to my neck in, is that it’s changing. Manufacturers are starting to introduce stronger, better materials and building methods and that seems to show in the Space Wrangler shell. At the end of the day, even if you cross that $30,000 threshold, you’ll be driving away with a custom flatbed camper.