Originally called the Tusca HitchHiker before getting bought out and rebranded, the Freedom Camper has proven a very interesting development at the entry-level end of the RV market. It's an ultralight, hard-sided wheel-less camping pod that you can do with what you like. Strap it down to a utility trailer and you have a cheap squaredrop camping trailer. Load it into your truck bed and it's a no-frills pickup camper. Freedom has grown out the family with new models over the past few years, and it's now preparing to go all-out family camping. The latest Freedom design sees a rooftop tent (RTT) climb aboard a forthcoming cubic pod, creating space for up to four or five campers, whether dropped in a truck or towed aboard a trailer.
Freedom previewed its forthcoming camper model earlier this month, and what caught our eye more than the two-story RTT layout it was in the process of creating were the properly square dimensions of the latest design. In place of the squardrop-style slope at the front of the roofline, this one is a pure, uninterrupted box, ensuring that the full amount of headroom is available from the back door to the front wall. It has the same 72 x 89-in (183 x 226-cm) floor area as the range-topping extra-large variant we covered back in April but eliminates the short drop in favor of a squared-off front-end.
Freedom calls this version the 72 x 89 Pod – we'd have gone with "Cube" since all Freedom models can be described as pods, but "Pod" is where the Pennsylvania company landed.
For this particular prototype, Freedom then mounted a two-person wedge-style rooftop tent directly to the integrated mounting panels on the roof. The company noted that it has a roof rack in development that buyers might ultimately prefer, but for this test build, it simply drilled through the RTT's aluminum floor and mounted directly to the rail panels with lag nuts. This seats the tent low and flush with the mounting panels, which are slightly raised from the greater roof, creating a simple, low-profile two-story camper with discrete tent and pod sleeping spaces. The fully level roofline ensures the entire tent sits squarely on the roof without jutting out over top a sloping front, as it might on other Freedom models.
Freedom plans to send this particular setup out for testing on an elk hunt in Idaho. In addition to the rooftop tent, it's mounted a 270-degree awning that pitches off the left side of travel and swings around over the camper pod's entry door. Unless that awning has a cutout, as a few awnings out there do, it will block the rear ladder access to the tent that Freedom shows in part of its video. The ladder mounts install to the T-track on the tent base, though, and can move around to the right side so campers can enter though the large zippered window. That'll also keep the ladder clear of the Freedom Pod door.
Freedom notes that it simply purchased a Wildfinder rooftop tent on Amazon to test out this setup and has no affiliation with the brand, nor does it sell it. A look at the tent's Amazon sales page shows it with the ladder mounted on the right side, so clearly that will be the right solution for this particular setup. Freedom also plans to add on a swing-out shower tent, which will likely find home behind or in front of the ladder on the right side of the pod.
As for the squared-off 72 x 89 Pod, Freedom points out that it has not officially added it to its lineup yet but will be launching it soon with a gradual roll-out starting at select dealerships. It invites interested buyers to contact it for more information.
We'll take a closer look at the Pod once it officially debuts and watch to see if Freedom reports back on its experience camping with the tent-top version in Idaho. For reference, the non-cubic squaredrop-style 72 x 89 module Freedom introduced earlier this year currently starts at US$4,540. We imagine the Pod will cost a little more.
You can watch Freedom mount the test RTT to the prototype Pod in the video below.
Source: Freedom Campers
