With its perfectly named HitchHiker Camper, Pennsylvania mobile shelter company Tusca Outdoors presents what might just be the world's lightest, most versatile fully enclosed hard-shelled camper. The chassis-less teardrop-inspired camping pod can ride in either a pickup bed or utility trailer, adapting to the trip at hand while bringing along a set of four stout, four-season-ready walls. At under 200 lb (91 kg), it's lighter than some basic pickup caps and can be hand-lifted and easily transported around for use and storage.
Tusca has specialized in hunting blinds since its founding in 2022, quickly growing a lineup of blinds of different sizes and styles. It boasts that its robustly insulated blind interiors can warm to 55 °F (13 °C) in an hour in sub-freezing 20 °F (-7 °C) weather via the heat put out by a single candle. It didn't take long before the company realized how that type of insulation, delivered via polyurea-coated EPS foam construction, would be perfect for a camper and how a lightweight overnight shelter would be the perfect complement to a hunting blind. New Travel Trailers
Tusca's hunting blinds are designed to be set up on the ground or a separate stand and do not come with an integrated base frame. Tusca has approached the design of its squaredrop camper pod the same way, so instead of integrating it into a trailer chassis or pickup bed-sized base, it's created a fully enclosed, flat-floored unit designed to slide atop a utility trailer or into a pickup bed.
At 7.5 x 4.8 x 4.4 feet (2.3 x 1.5 x 1.3 m), the HitchHiker is sized to fit perfectly on a 5 x 8-ft trailer, and Tusca also mentions the idea of creating a toy hauler camper by simply mounting it on a larger flatbed with space for an ATV, dirt bikes or other toy(s) of choice. Pickup truck mounting will be a little more particular, as the unit's 7.5-foot length means it will only work inside the tailgate of an 8-foot (2.4-m) bed, requiring mounting on a lowered tailgate or removing the tailgate all together on more common 6.5-foot (2-m) or shorter beds.
Also complicating pickup mounting is the fact that the HitchHiker module is too wide to fit between the wheel wells so will require some kind of over-well platform – perhaps something simple and homemade, perhaps something like the new Decked drawer system.
Tusca plans to offer a lag bolt mounting system for those who don't plan on regularly detaching and reattaching the HitchHiker unit and integrated lateral roof rails that accommodate ratchet straps for quick, simple mounting and dismounting. While the latter doesn't look as clean, it offers the advantage of easily switching between camping trailer and utility trailer, or truck camper and empty pickup truck.
Tusca's design saves on bulk and weight, keeping the camper down to a mere 190 lb (86 lb), which allows two able-bodied men to lift it, move it around for storage and slide it directly on the trailer or truck – no need for hydraulic jacks, a hoist or other hardware.
As far as features, the HitchHiker is about as simple as possible, and Tusca notes that it's purpose-designed to be barebones. While experienced RVers might miss features like a kitchen and bathroom, leaving those things out helps Tusca keep total weight and price as low as possible.
As pictured, the HitchHiker includes a lockable entry door, slider windows with screens on both left and right sides, small vents to maintain ventilation even with the windows closed, and a shore power hook-up. Inside, the pod is designed to accommodate a full-size mattress, not included, on its floor to sleep one or two adults.
We really like the idea of a simple, hard-sided, fully-insulated four-season camping pod at an affordable price, and the HitchHiker's US$2,750 base price is certainly lower than any brand-new pickup camper, topper or camping trailer we're aware of. It's even cheaper than premium pickup camper shells like the Venturous Ozark or RSI SmartCap.
Tent Camper After revealing the HitchHiker online last week, Tusca is showing it at this week's Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It's available for preorder now, and Tusca is currently offering $500 off. You can learn more in the intro video below.