Pickup camping solutions continue getting lighter and lighter. While the lightest full-bodied pickup camper we've covered scales in right around an even 600 lb (272 kg), half-bodied toppers that incorporate the stock bed into their interiors nearly halve that with base weights in the 300s. Now Arizona builder Ovrlnd Campers has developed a pop-up camping topper that dips even lower, nearly equalling some cab-height truck shells. Its all-new Bivy weighs as little as 205 lb (93 kg) while offering a pop-up interior that can be outfitted into a cozy camper. It's truly a backpacking bivy sack for truck camping.
Camping toppers took off as a category in the second half of the 2010s, offering a lighter, simpler alternative to pickup campers, trailers and other traditional RVs. They provide a flatter, more comfortable night of sleep and more robust level of weather protection than a ground tent, in a payload- and wallet-friendly package.
As tends to happen in the overland market, toppers moved from humble beginnings to larger, fancier designs and more creature comforts. Not that there's anything wrong with furniture, power stations, heating systems and other equipment, but cushier toppers have started to undermine the original advantages of topper design, raising weight and price to the point of rivaling some lighter, more affordable full-floored pickup campers and trailers.
Ovrlnd does offer optional upgrades, but it also believes in keeping things as simple as possible and letting the buyer take it from there. Its original cabover pop-top shell remains one of the more basic, affordable toppers out there, starting off at US$8,400 and 265 lb (120 kg).
With the Bivy, Ovrlnd leans harder into that affordable simplicity, diving back down to the roots of the topper experience. It shaves weight and size by eliminating the cabover section included on virtually every other pop-up camping topper, pulling the entirety of the Bivy body over top the pickup bed. The pop-up roof rises straight up to create a camp-in cube.
This sized-down design eliminates the upper bed usually included as part of the topper but provides shelter much like a fixed-roof shell for sleeping inside the pickup bed. Compared to a shell, it promises more ventilation thanks to all that fabric and room for standing up.
Interior height varies depending on truck model and size, but Ovrlnd estimates it at 6 feet (1.8 m) or just under – full standing height or a modest crouch for most folks. That's a little bit less than the 6.5+ feet (199 cm) in Ovrlnd's cabover model, maintaining a lower profile when closed to keep the roof close to cab height.
For those who don't want to sleep in the pickup bed or atop a separate raised platform, either home-built or something like Decked drawers, Ovrlnd offers optional bunk platforms, each 20 inches (51 cm) wide with length varying according to truck bed. It currently offers one or two platforms and is working on a third panel to stretch available width right across the pickup for 61 inches (155 cm) of space. Each platform can double as a worktop, table, etc.
The Bivy is an all aluminum construction with aluminum skin over top a square-tube aluminum frame. Standard features include a flip-up rear door with dual locks, PVC-coated polyester pop-up fabric, interior Velcro for securing a headliner or insulation, and two upper canvas windows with bug nets.
Ovrlnd starts the bidding at $7,400 for an empty Bivy shell made for midsize trucks with a 5- or 6-foot (1.5- to 1.8-m) bed length. The bunk platforms cost $300 each, and though the Bivy is clearly designed to offer one of the simplest camping topper experiences possible, it can be specced up via a laundry list of options like rear barn doors, roof rails and crossbars, side hatches and windows, interior fans, gas lift struts, accessory mounts and more. Ovrlnd also encourages folks to drill right into the aluminum frame to mount their own add-ons and truly personalize the space. Weight will, of course, increase with each add-on but Ovrlnd imagines most Bivies staying around 375 lb (170 kg) or less.
Ovrlnd is actually located in Flagstaff, Arizona, where it offers free installation for customers, but it did not have the Bivy at last month's Overland Expo West show in town. Hopefully we'll get to take a closer look at a future show. Ovrlnd announced the new model this week, and buyers can reserve their build spot with a non-refundable $300 deposit now.
Source: Ovrlnd Campers
