The new Pickupmate Trunk from Chinese car camping specialist Wild Land is an impressive piece of truck camping kit that fuses several different products into one. It's not quite a rooftop tent, not quite a pickup camping topper and not quite a basic truck cap. Instead, it's all three in one, delivering a remote controlled dual-level camping experience like no other.
Actually, with that big, old poof of a tent on top, the Pickupmate Trunk is more of a pompadour mullet – a beautiful, flowing tribute to 1980s hair styling.
Long a staple OEM of the rooftop tent market, Wild Land has been focusing more and more on its own branded lineup of gear of late. The "Pickupmate" line now encompasses the Wingman (aka Safari Cruiser) multi-story pickup-back camper we've looked at in the past and grows into a multi-product family with the addition of the new Trunk.
Instead of rising straight up from the truck bed like the Wingman/Safari Cruiser design, the Pickupmate Trunk has a multidirectional design that shifts slightly backward before unfurling dramatically forward over the truck cab. Thanks to an electro-actuated scissor-lift frame system, the full push-button setup takes mere seconds. Wild Land includes both a remote control and an integrated activation button on the camper itself. You can watch it happen in the quick intro video below.
The more complex, multidirectional unfolding action lets the roomy Trunk camper pack small at 25 in (64 cm) tall on top of the bed rails, riding close to cab height without the cabover extension camping toppers usually have. Then, once at the campsite, it expands out into a roomy two-story tent shelter. By moving slightly backward, the unit lines up with the edge of the open tailgate so its long rear sidewalls (i.e. the party in back) can drop down and incorporate the tailgate into the first floor.
Those who want could turn the pickup bed area into a sleeping space or leave it open as a sheltered space with full standing height. Campers can stand comfortably down here, change, pull up a couple of chairs, eat meals, wait out bad weather during the afternoon, etc.
The integrated sleeping quarters are upstairs in the tent, which features a split-folding design quite similar to the German-developed Roof Space rooftop tent series. And while it doesn't flash quite as dramatic of an open-air cabana mode, it clearly includes a more modest version. Even with the front-end of the tent fully zipped up, there's plenty of fresh air and views to be had through a total of 11 windows.
Underneath the tall arched canopy, the upper tent has an extra-long bed that stretches 118 inches (302 cm) from front to back and 57 inches (145 cm) side to side. The above-bed peak height measures 46 inches (117 cm). The bed is meant to sleep two people, though we imagine you could use that near-10-foot (3-m) floor to fit in at least two adults and a child.
The Pickupmate Trunk packs its own 86-Wh battery to operate the electric deployment system. Onboard power also serves to fire up the in-tent LED lighting system and 4.0 surround sound system, both of which are operated via a control strip on each floor.
To transform the tent topper into a more complete, capable camper, Wild Land offers optional accessories like a side-mounted drop-down shower tent and 270-degree awning. Like conventional pickup toppers, the Trunk mounts to the upper perimeter of the pickup bed, leaving most of the bed's volume untouched. It weighs in at 459 lb (208 kg) and packs to a size of 58 x 67 x 25 in (148 x 169 x 63 cm, L x W x H).
We spotted the Pickupmate Trunk in the wild at the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon last month, where it was mounted to a cab-less truck bed/trailer. It was on display at the booth of German gear retailer and Wild Land distributor Campwerk, which is currently advertising it for a discounted preorder price of €10,980, including VAT.
As it turns out, the Pickupmate Trunk is also coming to the United States ... and at a cheaper price. Wild Land is currently advertising it directly for preorder price of US$9,099. The small version available for preorder is designed for midsize trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger. Wild Land also plans a large model for bigger trucks.
Source: Wild Land
