What Makes PIKE Off-road Campers Stand Out

Most off-road campers and teardrops on the market today are built with a very similar design– side door entry with a galley in the rear. This has been the industry standard in off-road campers for years with good reason, it’s a good use of space. When we designed the 1902 we wanted to fix a few issues that we had with the status quo.

We chose to put the door in the back. WHAT?! If it’s not broke, why fix it? Well, let me explain.

1. Having your door to the camper at the pillow-end of the bed makes for an awkward transition from entering to laying down and vise versa. Add on a few years and a few pounds, especially if you are over 5’11”, and it just doesn’t feel natural. By putting the door in the back of the camper, you can open the door and dive into bed like nature intended. But is it hard to get out? My favorite part about the rear door is that I don’t have to twist my body to get out. Sit up, open the door, slide out.
2. Space is a luxury in an 8 foot long camper. The galley in most teardrop campers comes up over your legs while laying down. This has been a great use of space in years past, but it makes for a cramped feeling inside. In a PIKE Offroad Camper, 3 full sized adults can sit inside on the bed comfortably because there is no galley in the way. This also allows us to use the biggest window in the industry, (because we have the wall space) creating an open feeling that you can’t get from other small campers.
3. In our minds, the galley takes up way too much space. By removing it, we gain tremendous interior storage for clothing and gear in our front cabinets.

But where do you cook, you might ask? The answer- anywhere you want. We prefer not to cook right next to our camper, especially in bear country. And I definitely don’t want my camper smelling like bacon and eggs all week.

We utilize a rear chuck box to hold all the cooking supplies and food. Mounted under the roof rack is a folding table that is easily removed. You can set that wherever you choose, pull the stove and supplies out of the chuck box, grab a water jug from the front mounted jerry can holder, and get to cooking. The set up time is under 1 minute, and it allows you to keep food (and the smell) out of your camper.

Now here is the big one. PIKE Offroad Campers do not have a slide out for a fridge. WHAT?! I know, I know. Let me explain:

1. In line with our company motto (Outdoor Simply) we are just not fans of slide outs. They easily fill up with sand and dirt, are difficult to use if bent or worn, and generally, we try to avoid using moving parts on our builds unless necessary.
2. We are also big fans of keeping our cooler inside the vehicle. It’s with you when you leave camp for a run to town, or up a Jeep trail on a distant mountain. It again keeps food away from your camper in bear country and allows for more space inside the camper to store other gear.

On the front of a PIKE camper is the largest chest box on the market with interior dimensions of 58L x 27W x 19.25H. And if you choose to… YES, you can fit many different fridges in this front box.

Honestly, I think the age old design of side-door and galley is great, and for some people exactly what they want. We at PIKE wanted to utilize space a little better, focusing on interior comfort, and I think the advantages are apparent. Judge, I rest my case!