My custom Bison Overland Camper

Picking up my ideal escape pod.

Yesterday, I made the five-hour drive up to Bellingham to pick up my Bison Overland composite camper. Last winter, I took the leap and sent a deposit in on a custom camper that I'd been toying around with in my head for years. I wanted the technology of a composite camper and the insulation and weight, but without the size and complexity of a cab-over camper. I am a firm believer in the idea that campers are for sleeping and hanging out in bad weather, not replicating an apartment experience. Years of living on the road taught me that cooking and shitting where you sleep is a fantasy used to rationalize spending more money on a spouse or even yourself. Most of the campers on the market are either way too complicated, large, and expensive or designed for a few weekends a year.

The reality is that when I'm traveling, I really don't need much, and none of the existing campers on the market really checked those boxes, so I decided to design one myself.

• I wanted insulated foam construction, without a pop-top and with an asymmetrical design allowing me to use a lockable bed top box for my pantry, garbage, and extra gear. I wanted it tall enough to be able to sit up while in bed but short enough that it allows me to go places I want to go. I wanted it to fit the common full-size truck with a short tray footprint so that in the future I can swap it around.

• I wanted to rely on solar for my electricity and use simple all-in-one electrical boxes like the ECOflows for power. Too many times I've had to troubleshoot complex and expensive systems.

• I wanted an externally mounted heater. I've had too many internally mounted heaters fail and fill the cabin with smoke.

• I wanted a side entrance so that I could fully use the camper while hauling a trailer or using a motorcycle rack for Ebikes.

• I wanted a simple modular interior setupwith a sleeping platform that turns into a couch that's big enough for two people. I wanted to be able to reconfigure the refrigerator and storage with T-slot tracks for different trips.

• I wanted insulated windows with shades.

To me a camper is more of an escape pod, a place where I can sleep on extended trips without having to pop a soft top or reconfigure a rigid hard top. I want to be able to pull over at a truck stop and sleep for a few hours or in a parking lot while maintaining privacy and cutting out exterior noise and light. I want to be comfortable in single-digit snowstorms and hot beaches in Mexico. I wanted to do my own build-out with materials and components spec'd by me.

After a few hours messing around with Collin from Bison Overland Northwest, the camper was loaded up, and I was heading back down I-5. Immediately, I was shocked at how light it was. I could shift it on the flatbed easily, moving it a few inches in any direction without breaking a sweat. From the outside, it looks shockingly small, but I can still lie down, barely touching my toes and the top of my head. The fit and finish and components exceeded my expectations. It's exactly what I dreamed up last winter.

15 hours after heading north, I was back in my driveway. I immediately grabbed a tape measure and started planning out my build. I ordered some materials, a mattress, and some electrical odds and ends off Amazon and crawled into my sleeping bag for the first night in my new escape pod. This weekend, I'm building out the camper, or at least getting it road-ready for a bow hunting trip to California next week.