Owner story — adapted from Mike Idell's Substack, General Sport Club. Used with permission. Read his full piece here.
With one truck, one camper, and a year of nights under stars X1 Owner Mike Idell says his camper on track to outlast the Tacoma it rides on. He installed his X1 over a year ago and since then, it's been the basecamp for a surf trip in central California, a three-week hunting run across the West, and more overnighters than he bothered to count.
It makes it so....easy
"It has now been a full year since the install, and my camper has seen and done just about everything that I have. From surf trips in central California to a 3-week hunting trip across the west, and many overnighters in between, I have now officially put it through the ringer. "
"I have now camped more in the last 365 days than I did in the previous 5 years combined. This camper makes it so easy to say yes and go at a moment's notice."
One truck, two jobs
"My daily driver works double duty as an adventure rig. For an outdoor activity generalist with one vehicle only, this set up cannot be beat. It excels on gnarly country roads yet around town it's not overkill."
Built to outlast the truck it rides on
"It's clearly the best-built product available of any version of this type of wedge camper, and it's on track to outlast my actual truck. As far as most gear that I own, it is the final boss of buy-once-cry-once."
X1 for Tacoma, by the numbers
- Weight: 354 lbs. (365 For 6' Bed)
- Deploys into a 4-season camp in under 15 seconds
- Three modes: Gear Locker, Bunk, and Living Room
- 9 oz marine-grade tent material — the heaviest-duty fabric in the category
- Bomb-proof aerospace construction
- Non-proprietary M6 hardware — no locked-in accessory ecosystem
- 5-year warranty
It keeps a truck a truck
"I am regularly throwing very messy things into the back, so having an open truckbed remains a top benefit of this style of camper. In August I transported a whole deer in the back, and in November I drove out of the woods with 12 elk quarters that Foster Huntington and I packed out, both times with zero hesitation or worries of making a mess. I’m constantly packing and unpacking coolers, crab pots, wetsuits, and other gear, so the convenience of being able to just go home and hose it off is hard to beat. I will miss the open truckbed if I ever decide to upgrade to camper that is more like a living space that needs to be kept clean."
In it for the long haul
"As long as I have my Tacoma, I will have this camper. It doesn’t make sense to have any camper that’s heavier or more cumbersome on a truck of this size. ... Its versatility is hard to beat for my specific needs and I don’t want to lose the double-duty ability and nimbleness that it has. For at least a few more laps around the sun, it has well-earned its place."
Read Mike's complete year-in-review with his X1 Camper — on General Sport Club.
