Outdoors

Scout pickup camper creates flexible indoor/outdoor base camp

Scout pickup camper creates flexible indoor/outdoor base camp
The dining table also sets up inside or outside
The dining table also sets up inside or outside
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Setting up the available roof-top tent from Roost
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Setting up the available roof-top tent from Roost
With the two-person roof tent option, the Scout Olympic becomes a six-sleeper family camper
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With the two-person roof tent option, the Scout Olympic becomes a six-sleeper family camper
An integrated bottle opener comes standard
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An integrated bottle opener comes standard
With a portable battery pack and available fridge/freezer, it's easy to set up base camp outside as well as in
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With a portable battery pack and available fridge/freezer, it's easy to set up base camp outside as well as in
The available outdoor worktop holds the stove and cutting board for outdoor cooking
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The available outdoor worktop holds the stove and cutting board for outdoor cooking
The dining table also sets up inside or outside
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The dining table also sets up inside or outside
Something you can't do with just any camper package - plug your laptop in at your outdoor table, well away from the vehicle, and get to work
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Something you can't do with just any camper package - plug your laptop in at your outdoor table, well away from the vehicle, and get to work
Instead of building the battery into the camper, Scout includes a standard Goal Zero Yeti 1000, which has the battery, inverter and outlets all in one
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Instead of building the battery into the camper, Scout includes a standard Goal Zero Yeti 1000, which has the battery, inverter and outlets all in one
Shown here on a Toyota Tundra, the Scout Camper weighs in around 1,150 lb as standard; buyers will need to consider the weight of the camper, options, gear and passengers against the truck's payload
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Shown here on a Toyota Tundra, the Scout Camper weighs in around 1,150 lb as standard; buyers will need to consider the weight of the camper, options, gear and passengers against the truck's payload
The Scout Olympic has an alcove bed and a convertible four-seat dinette
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The Scout Olympic has an alcove bed and a convertible four-seat dinette
Integrated storage compartments hold the power station and available toilet
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Integrated storage compartments hold the power station and available toilet
With the LifeSaver Jerrycan, campers get water purification, storage and spray capabilities
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With the LifeSaver Jerrycan, campers get water purification, storage and spray capabilities
The sprayer makes a functional sink, gear cleaner and, maybe, a makeshift shower
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The sprayer makes a functional sink, gear cleaner and, maybe, a makeshift shower
One very cool option: the Dickinson Marine Newport propane fireplace
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One very cool option: the Dickinson Marine Newport propane fireplace
Available stove folded up and strapped down on the kitchen counter
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Available stove folded up and strapped down on the kitchen counter
Popping the lid off the sink basin
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Popping the lid off the sink basin
Flip the lid on the stove and use it indoors or out
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Flip the lid on the stove and use it indoors or out
Small solar light to the right of the door
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Small solar light to the right of the door
The Scout Camper tops a pickup to turn it into a versatile off-grid RV
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The Scout Camper tops a pickup to turn it into a versatile off-grid RV
The available wraparound awning swings over top the kitchen and entry for sun and weather protection
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The available wraparound awning swings over top the kitchen and entry for sun and weather protection
The Olympic is the first camper from Scout, a new brand from Adventurer Manufacturing
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The Olympic is the first camper from Scout, a new brand from Adventurer Manufacturing
Scout Camper profile
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Scout Camper profile
Scout Olympic floor plan
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Scout Olympic floor plan
Bird's eye view
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Bird's eye view
A look back from the bed view
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A look back from the bed view
Standard power: 160-W solar panel
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Standard power: 160-W solar panel
The Roost stores its own mattress
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The Roost stores its own mattress
More than just a heater, the Dickinson Newport provides a small propane-fueled fire
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More than just a heater, the Dickinson Newport provides a small propane-fueled fire
The available Dometic CFX3 75 fridge/freezer includes Wi-Fi monitoring and control
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The available Dometic CFX3 75 fridge/freezer includes Wi-Fi monitoring and control
View gallery - 29 images

One of the overwhelming themes of the 2019 RVX show was the American RV market prying itself out of the past and evolving to meet the demands of a younger, more active demographic. This year's show was canceled even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit US shores, but that hasn't stopped sleek, new camper designs from moving forward. The Scout Olympic becomes the latest, a pickup camper with more modern looks and a set of off-the-shelf plug-and-play camping equipment that erases the divide between inside and out.

The wheels of change have been spinning slowly but steadily in the pickup camper market, heavy, ungainly outdated campers from the past now joined by a new generation of modern, lightweight designs. Newcomers include fully enclosed campers like the EarthCruiser GZL and Kimbo and the lighter topper branch of truck campers, like the recently launched Hiatus Camper and the Go Fast Camper.

Washington's Adventurer Manufacturing launches the Scout brand to keep those wheels moving with a more contemporary spin on hard-roof alcove truck campers, designs better suited to the adventurous millennial buyers who are taking the driver's seat in the RV market. And that's not an easy nut to crack. Most modernized pickup campers maintain a sleek, lightweight profile by leaning on pop-top design. Hard-roof alcove campers are large, top-heavy and unsightly by definition.

The available wraparound awning swings over top the kitchen and entry for sun and weather protection
The available wraparound awning swings over top the kitchen and entry for sun and weather protection

Scout doesn't exactly escape the big, top-heavy fate all together, but it does move away from the blinding white shells that dominate the industry, launching the Olympic in a subtler earthy gray. It also keeps the camper's dimensions largely within the footprint of the pickup bed, preventing it from spilling way out over the sidewalls or rear bumper. The front roof drop isn't exactly a Pininfarina-smooth styling cue, but it suggests Scout at least considered the exterior view when sculpting it.

Thanks to the inherent ruggedness of its base vehicle, a truck camper is a great option for escaping densely packed campgrounds in favor of primitive campsites with nary a neighbor for tens of miles. Chances are someone going to those lengths wants to spend time enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the great outdoors, not crammed into a wheeled micro dwelling. So instead of bolting all the camper equipment down inside the Olympic's walls, Scout reaches for portable camping gear to use both indoors and out.

Flip the lid on the stove and use it indoors or out
Flip the lid on the stove and use it indoors or out

In place of a full-time kitchen block with fixed equipment, Scout breaks its kitchen into a flex space anchored by a driver's side cabinet with worktop. The surface also includes a rectangular stainless steel sink basin with countertop-matching lid below a 20-L LifeSaver Jerrycan hanging on the wall next to it. The water canister has a sprayer with hose to serve as the faucet, and the sink drains directly outside.

LifeSaver's Jerrycans are designed around water purification capabilities (bacteria, cysts and viruses), as we've looked at in the past. They make an excellent off-grid water storage solution, allowing campers to fill up at rivers and lakes along the way and filter the water right out of the container.

That's it for standard kitchen equipment, but an optional dual-burner stove can be used atop the counter. The Dometic brand is better known for inbuilt RV stoves, but Scout selects a portable model that easily picks up and cooks outside. The available slide-out worktop on the camper rear wall provides an outdoor surface on which to cook and prep.

The available outdoor worktop holds the stove and cutting board for outdoor cooking
The available outdoor worktop holds the stove and cutting board for outdoor cooking

Completing the flex kitchen is an optional 75-L Dometic CFX3 fridge/freezer that stores across from the kitchen counter. The cooler box-style electric fridge also easily removes for outdoor use. It doesn't even need to stay tethered to the vehicle thanks to the portable Goal Zero Yeti 1000 lithium power station that serves as the Olympic's battery. The Yeti 1000 packs 96.8 Ah/1,045 Wh of lithium battery capacity, which is about what you'd expect from a typical small-RV AGM battery. It also includes an integrated inverter and 110-V, 12-V and USB outlets. The Olympic packs the Yeti as standard along with a 160-W solar panel on the roof.

A look back from the bed view
A look back from the bed view

Back inside, the front half of the Olympic camper gets filled out by an alcove double bed and a four-person dinette that converts over to a second double bed. Need more sleeping space? The available Roost hardshell roof-top tent with integrated hatch access from the Olympic interior ups total sleeping capacity to six.

Other standard features include a solar porch light with motion sensor, a vented propane compartment with dual 5-lb tanks, LED ceiling strips, a 142-L storage locker, a moon roof with screen, a solar-powered vent, and even a bottle opener secured to the wall. Available options include a Dickinson Marine Newport propane fireplace that warms the cabin with a tiny indoor campfire, a 270-degree Rhino Rack Batwing awning, a portable toilet, and Rotopax water canisters.

More than just a heater, the Dickinson Newport provides a small propane-fueled fire
More than just a heater, the Dickinson Newport provides a small propane-fueled fire

The standard Olympic weighs 1,133 lb (514 kg), according to Scout's spec sheet, which is on the lightweight end of the four-sleeper pickup camper segment. It's built from gel-coat fiberglass and composite with aluminum exoskeleton framing.

Olympic pricing starts at US$19,980 before optional add-ons. Interested buyers can register with Scout for preorder information. The company plans to follow up the midsize Olympic with smaller and larger pickup camper models.

Source: Scout Campers

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2 comments
2 comments
guzmanchinky
Ok that fireplace is so cool.
Fairly Reasoner
Oh, man, a built-in bottle opener.