Straight-pop vs wedge truck camper: how they differ

If you have been shopping pop-up truck bed campers, you have run into two roof styles: the wedge and the straight-pop. Both fold down flat over your truck bed for driving and pop up into a sleeping space at camp. How they get there, and what it is like to live inside them, is where they differ. We have built and sold wedge campers since 2022, and we are now building a straight-pop too, so here is our plain-language breakdown of the two.

A wedge camper is hinged at one end, usually the front by the cab. When you open it, the back of the roof lifts and the tent forms a wedge shape: tall at the tailgate, low at the cab. Our Lone Peak Camper V2 is a wedge. It sets up in about 15 seconds, and it has a lift-away bed, side access doors and a rear tent extension.

What people like about wedges:

• Fast setup. One hinge, one direction, and you are done.
• A simple roof mechanism. Fewer moving parts to raise and lower.
• Standing room at the tailgate end, where you change, cook and get in and out.

The tradeoff is that headroom tapers toward the hinge, so the front of the sleeping area is lower than the back.

A straight-pop camper lifts the whole roof straight up, so the tent walls rise evenly on all sides. That gives you full height across the whole sleeping area, not just at one end.

What people like about straight-pops:

• Even headroom from front to back, which makes sitting up in bed and moving around easier.
• More usable space along the walls, because nothing slopes down toward a hinge.
• More tent wall for windows and airflow on every side.

The tradeoff is that raising a full roof evenly usually takes more lift hardware than a single hinge, and most straight-pops cannot be opened from the tailgate. (Ours can)

There is no single right answer. It comes down to how you camp:

1. How often do you move camp? If you set up somewhere new every night, setup speed matters most.
2. How much time do you spend inside? Rainy days, cold evenings and working from the camper all favor even headroom.
3. Who is coming with you? Two adults, kids or dogs change how much floor and headroom you need.
4. How will you install it? Some campers go on at an installer, some at home.
5. What do you already carry? Racks, drawers and water systems all have to work around the camper.

We are keeping most of the details under wraps until the unveiling, but here is what we have said publicly on the straight-pop page:

• It takes everything we have learned building the Lone Peak Camper V2 and puts it into a smaller, lighter straight-pop.
• It is designed to be easy to install at home, and it ships to your door for free.
• We have designed it to open from the tailgate, which most straight-pop campers cannot do.
• We are building new accessories to fit it.
• Photos, pricing and full details will come at the unveiling. We do not have an unveil date to share yet.

Trailhub is where we will post build updates, testing and the unveiling first. Just like with the V2, we want the community to help shape it. Join the interest list to get updates as they go up.

If you want to see a wedge in person in the meantime, you can find a demo or start a V2 build at lonepeakoverland.com.

What matters most to you in a straight-pop: headroom, weight, setup speed or something else? Tell us below.