With the sheer preponderance of flappy, fabric-walled pop-up truck campers, hard-sided pop-up pickup tenting techniques really feel leading edge, even right this moment. However they really have an extended, proud historical past relationship again to the mid-Twentieth century. And no producer then or now has been as integral to that historical past as Alaskan Campers, a real pioneer that is been constructing telescopic-roofed pickup campers for over 60 years. Now the corporate takes a detour and turns its consideration to a distinct model of camper, launching a hard and fast high-roof composite camper meant to save lots of weight and broaden availability to extra truck platforms. The all-new HS640 kickstarts a brand new period in Alaskan truck tenting.
We knew Washington-based Alaskan Campers predated the overlanding craze of the twenty first century by a good variety of years, however we did not notice simply how deep its gnarled roots ran till only recently. Once we had been trying again at some classic telescopic hard-sided campers in masking the revival of the Australian-developed Prattline Low Tow, we found that Alaskan founders Don and Irene Corridor had been engaged on their first-of-its-kind telescopic pickup camper across the similar time Prattline and Hello-Lo had been kickstarting the telescopic tenting trailer market.
Impressed by mishaps on an Alaskan journey of their very own, and the sliding top-over-bottom motion of hat and match packing containers, the Halls began constructing their prototype in 1953 and took it for an official Alaskan shakedown in 1957. Similar to right this moment, you possibly can’t take a conspicuous new camper on the lengthy street with out getting peppered with questions and buy inquiries, and even on a visit to lonely, distant Alaska, the Halls discovered themselves fielding inquiry after inquiry. The choice to show their camper design right into a enterprise turned an apparent one, they usually confirmed it at a sportsmen’s expo in Los Angeles in 1958.
Alaskan turned the unique trailblazer of the hard-sided pop-up pickup camper idea, which has obtained some new attention in current years. The truck camper market at giant was little greater than a decade outdated when the primary Alaskan campers arrived, and older fashions just like the Cree Truck Coach had been fixed-roof designs. Alaskan, then, was even a pioneer of pop-up pickup campers on the whole, predating different long-running innovators like Four-Wheel Campers by over a decade.
Alaskan Campers
At first, Alaskan specialised completely in boxy non-alcove hydraulic lifting-roof campers, however by the early 70s it expanded right into a cabover model that finally proved so common it turned Alaskan’s signature and, in some mannequin years, its solely obtainable physique model. It is these cabovers that we finest acknowledge as Alaskan Campers right this moment, and whereas the producer has made tweaks and enhancements through the years, a 2026 Alaskan camper nonetheless seems very very like one from the Nineteen Seventies.
The campers are additionally recognized for his or her rugged, heirloom-grade sturdiness, in order that Alaskan you see in 2026 may in reality be from the Nineteen Seventies.
Alaskan Campers
So why swap tacks when you could have such a deep, profitable historical past in a market area of interest that you simply invented?
After altering palms a number of occasions through the years, Alaskan got here below its present possession in 2024. There isn’t any signal the brand new house owners are abandoning the corporate’s bread-and-butter hard-walled telescopers, however they’re working to adapt and evolve for contemporary market realities, each by way of product choices and growth and manufacturing strategies. The HS640 has been developed from the bottom up as a light-weight, well-insulated camper that is appropriate with a greater variety of truck platforms.
Alaskan began off by leaving the normal aluminum-skinned wooden body development behind in favor of 1.5-in fiberglass-skinned PIR foam-core panels supported with an aluminum/PVC hybrid body designed to interrupt up thermal bridging at vital factors for higher insulation.
The HS640 takes the type of a fixed-roof cabover that reminds us extra of the Scout household of campers than something that is beforehand worn the Alaskan badge, solely a bit extra crisp-edged and angular than Scout’s design. Weight begins proper round 1,200 lb (544 kg), about 350 lb (159 kg) lighter than anything in Alaskan’s present lineup.
Alaskan Campers
The preliminary HS640 renderings present a well-recognized structure with a 60 x 76-in (152 x 193-cm) east/west mattress up within the alcove and a wraparound couch and eating desk just under. The galley begins instantly subsequent to the lounge with an obtainable 90-L Isotherm door fridge/freezer and extends down the passenger sidewall with a countertop with inbuilt sin and obtainable moveable induction cooktop. The kitchen space additionally contains under-counter and overhead aluminum cabinetry.
Throughout the aisle, the entry is flanked by a full-height cupboard, and a row of overhead cabinetry runs again to the mattress. It is a extra mounted, everlasting structure than the widespread modular inside on campers from Scout and others, creating extra of a secure, acquainted place to remain from one campsite to the following. Along with all of the aluminum cupboard storage, Alaskan mentions underfloor storage and provides a number of obtainable MOLLE panels throughout the outside for securing gear.
Alaskan Campers
Alaskan plumbs in a 57-L contemporary water tank as normal and in addition builds out a full electrical system with 324-Ah battery financial institution and Victron 3,000-W inverter, touchscreen command heart and DC-DC converter. It additionally wires in a 200-W photo voltaic panel, 30-A shore energy hookup, and exterior photo voltaic and Starlink ports. Tools like air-con, diesel heating, water heating, dry separating rest room and indoor/out of doors bathe system are elective.
The “Premium” flooring plan and gear bundle proven in renderings is considered one of 4 particular person choices obtainable and begins at US$48,995 earlier than add-on choices. Different packages begin at $44,995. Alaskan launched HS640 ordering final week and says it is obtainable to suit contained in the closed tailgates of 6.5-foot-bed full-size vans from Chevy, Ford, Ram and Toyota.
Supply: Alaskan Campers
