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Can You Put a Camper on a Jeep Gladiator?

Can You Put a Camper on a Jeep Gladiator?

If you enjoy truck camping but prefer an indestructible Jeep utility vehicle for backcountry travel, you just might love a Jeep Gladiator camper. With the addition of a camper, you can have the best of both worlds without the hassle of towing. 

You’ll also have a fantastic pickup in your driveway that can pull a trailer, haul toys to the lake, or carry a payload to and from the job site. If this sounds appealing to you, maybe a Jeep Gladiator camper is for you!

What Is A Jeep Gladiator?

Since 2018, Jeep has been manufacturing the Gladiator, the company’s re-entry into the lucrative truck market. This five-passenger, four-door, midsize truck comes with a five-foot cargo bed and four-wheel drive. 

There are four trim levels and two engine sizes from which to choose. You can select from a Sport model or work your way up to the Overland, Mojave, or Rubicon trim levels. Prices start at$34,040.

Offering a 3.0-liter or 3.6-liter engine, the Jeep Gladiator series is a guaranteed winner for the manufacturer’s devotees. It should gain traction with new buyers, as well.

Jeep Gladiator Overland Build: Our Alu-Cab Canopy Camper

What Is the Jeep Gladiator Towing and Payload Capacity?

If you choose to tow with a Gladiator, the towing capacity can be anywhere from 3,500 lbs to 7,650 lbs. Plus, drivers can carry payloads from 1,080 lbs to 1,700 lbs, based on the trim model and engine type.

Group of friends on a road trip with their Jeep.
Road tripping with a Jeep Gladiator offers opportunities to tow your camper or use a slide-in roof tent or pop-up camper.

Can You Put a Camper on a Jeep Gladiator?

We wouldn’t necessarily suggest slide-in hard shell campers for the Gladiator. But many camping enthusiasts have found that aluminum pop-up and roof tent campers work very well. A few options for fiberglass truck campers will fit the 5ft box, like the concept that German company, Gehocab, is designing. 

But there’s some trepidation about the small payload limit and a higher center of gravity, so a hard-shell Jeep Gladiator camper may be challenging to find. We’ve listed three suggestions below that might help you enjoy camping in the Gladiator of your choice. 

Pro Tip: Unsure what camper option is best for your vehicle? Why not try making your own! Read more to find out How Do You Build a DIY Truck Camper?

Jeep Gladiator with pop up tent on top parked along beach.
Aluminum pop-up or roof tent campers are the best options for a Jeep Gladiator.

Best Jeep Gladiator Camper Options

You may not find quite as many options in truck campers that fit the bed of a Jeep Gladiator, but there are still numerous designs that can turn this truck into an outstanding camper. Here are just three:

Summit Truck Topper Camper Bed

Weighing in at 340 lbs, the Summit Truck Topper is a combination pop-up bed and truck topper. It utilizes the space in the truck bed and the area above where a 48in x 80in bed sits. 

Build out the truck bed to your liking. Or add accessories to your order, including cabinets, lithium batteries, a front cab slider, or a Maxx Air fan. The base price is $12,000 for this aluminum-sided truck camper that will fit your Jeep Gladiator.

Summit truck topper camper on top of a jeep gladiator.
The Summit Truck Topper is an excellent option to pair with your Jeep Gladiator.

Alu Cab Canopy Camper

For a sturdy Jeep Gladiator camper, the Alu Cab Canopy Camper provides an all-in-one solution. Its aluminum “truck topper” is open to the pop-up bed above. You can equip metal windows and doors inside the topper with baskets or hooks to hold items on the wall, freeing up floor space. 

The bed is 102in x 52in, but you can fold up one end for access below it at any time. The Canopy Camper is priced competitively at $10,022. But if you accessorize it with awnings, solar panels, a furnace, shower cube, and a propane mount, etc., the price will rise accordingly.

Pro Tip: Using solar is great for your budget and the environment. Learn more about how Ground-Mounted Solar Panels Are A Powerful Inexpensive Way to Double Solar Energy.

Introducing the Alu-Cab Canopy Camper

Total Composites Truck Camper

Total Composites has created a DIY empty fiberglass camper shell to fit a five-foot truck bed like the Gladiator. It offers endless possibilities for structuring a truck camper to suit your needs and tastes. The shell weighs no more than 700 lbs, leaving plenty of room to add necessities to the camper. 

Building materials are all lightweight with no wood, so the payload limit on a Jeep Gladiator camper shouldn’t be a problem. The skeleton of this camper is reminiscent of a truck camper that fits a full-size pickup. But the box is only five feet long, and the bed over the cab is shorter. 

Those using the finished product can have all of the amenities of an RV if they wish. The shell price is $16,000, and buyers can have the company preinstall some items like a water heater, windows, and roof hatches at the factory before delivery.

Total Composites Full size truck camper kit

What to Look for in a Jeep Gladiator Camper

Jeeps are renowned for their capabilities on rugged and unforgiving terrain. So a Jeep truck like the Gladiator should have those same qualities and more.

With the proper engine selection, this pickup can easily tow up to 7,650 lbs. That gives you a wide range of travel trailers to pull. And if you enjoy off-road boondocking, it can get you virtually anywhere you’d like to set up camp.

Here’s What I Love & Hate About The Jeep Gladiator After Living With It For a Year!

Is It Worth It?

Owning a Jeep Gladiator camper could be a ‘win-win’ for those who want to camp and explore off the beaten path. Jeep has long been held as a dependable off-road vehicle ready to scout out rugged terrain.

With a camper on your back, you’d be ready to head off-road or kick back and revel in hidden locations. Depending on what you seek in a camper and off-road vehicle, this could be a great option for you.

Could you see yourself owning a Jeep Gladiator camper? Drop a comment below.

Watching sunset over a lake from a Jeep Gladiator camper.
A Jeep Gladiator can take you off the beaten path while giving you a safe camping option along the way.

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Tom & Caitlin Morton of Mortons on the Move gave up the stationary life for one where they are constantly on the move. They are full-time travelers, television hosts, and digital media producers.
They left their jobs, sold their house and possessions, and hit the road in September 2015 in their full-time “home on wheels”. Since then they have traveled the US, Canada, and even internationally by RV.
Now, they are Discovery Channel & PBS TV Co-stars of “Go North” on Amazon Prime Video, co-founders and instructors of RV Masterclass, and contributing authors for Hwy.co and an Arizona travel guide.

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Joel Peters

Tuesday 7th of September 2021

Hey Tom and Caitlyn,

My wife and I really loved your Canada/Alaska videos and others as well. We have been checking out all possible vehicles and camping options such as F series, Gladiator, etc for either slide-in, pop-up, roof tent, or trailer like Lance or RV camping, Your newsletters/blogs/videos have been invaluable! We plan on getting something for 4x4 off-road camping and boondocking for at first multiple week/month trips and later semi-full time living/traveling and overlanding. We will eventually be the "Peters's on the Move" for our take on the adventure. So we have gone through phases of what we were sure we were going to get as out rig and it's style. We've been planning and dreaming for years. I now own a jeep rubicon and wish to get a Jeep Gladiator and rig it out as some in bed/roof rack fully prepared off road remote camping and traveling scenario. Then pull a trailer to haul more gear and bikes, etc... We are looking to create a real self-sustained/contained overland off/on road rig fully equiped to be prepared for any trip, travel, recovery with the best creature comfort that a gladiator can carry/haul on and off road .... that makes sense without compromising much performance. I;m Sur we will be making compromises, but we are excited for the unknown adventure. Any further suggestions?

Mortons on the Move

Wednesday 8th of September 2021

That sounds like an exciting plan! We'll be posting more overland content here on the blog and our YouTube channel as we build out our own overland rig. If you stay tuned for those posts, you might get more ideas for your vehicle. We're so glad to hear you loved our Go North series, too. Happy Travels!

George

Sunday 29th of August 2021

I have a Gladiator Rubicon with a Alucab Canopy Camper. Be careful with the recommendations, if you want to tow 7000 lbs you will need to be alone in the Jeep with nothing in the bed. Like ours with the AluCab it leaves room for two in the front seats but not much else. I see very few people posting the payload available with a camper and extras onboard.

Mortons on the Move

Monday 30th of August 2021

Thanks for the tip!

Not So Free

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Back in the (olden days) when the Chevy Blazer had a removable hardtop, there was a camper made to fit. by Kadis (sp) Kampers. I believe it was fiberglass. I only ever saw one mounted.

Dean

Monday 30th of August 2021

I had a chance to check out the old GM factory option ChaletI. Tiny but neat! Four Wheel Campers also made one to fit.

John Lockhart

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Tom, I was interested to see your piece on the Jeep Gladiator. I don't own one or have any plans to buy one, but am interested in all things automotive and RV. (Currently towing a Grand Design Imagine 17MKE with a Silverado Duramax 3.0) I recently watched a very interesting tour of a Gladiator overland rig and wanted to share the video with you. https://youtu.be/OFN-ybDG9cs I think you'll like the approach that Brad uses on his Trail Recon channel.

Looking forward to seeing the completion of your truck camper rig and where it takes you!

John Lockhart Dillsburg, PA

Mortons on the Move

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Thank you so much for reading our blog and sharing the Gladiator overland video. Happy travels! :)