This may seem like a stray from the usual Bed Toys piece, but there's nothing about Four Wheeler that's usual nowadays. So we thought it might be interesting to showcase another unique toy that's designed to go in the bed of your 4x4 pickup.
Six-Pac is known in the compact-camper arena for having a well-rounded catalog of self-contained, slide-in campers that until recently have kept a pretty low profile in the off-road scene. However, Six-Pac was recently purchased by Four Wheel Campers of Woodland, California. Four Wheel Campers is well known for building those 4x4-friendly, pop-up-style cab-over campers that feature minimalist accommodations and just enough room for two adults to sleep comfortably. The convergence of the two companies has resulted in several improvements in both product lines. We tested an '04 SC-150 RD slide-in for a weeklong excursion in beautiful Northern California to evaluate the improved design and see just how much it affected our long-term Dodge Ram 2500's off-road abilities.
The spacious floorplan of the Six Pac SC-150 RD camper we tested is well suited for a family of four. We liked the cabinetry over the dining area because it is easily converted into a third sleeping area, and it also provided a good deal of space for storage.
What we found surprised us. Thanks to its lightweight construction, the SC-150 RD felt more like a load of home improvement supplies than a fully self-contained cab-over camper. Our 3/4-ton Cummins-powered Ram made short, predictable side-to-side movements during hard cornering. We're told this is easily remedied by the OE antisway bar, which ours was not equipped with. The added weight of the camper actually helped our Ram's open rearend maintain traction over loose terrain.
The SC-150 RD's floorplan offers ample room for amenities such as a full walk-in shower room with a flush toilet and lavatory sink, a kitchen area with a two-burner gas stove, a 3.0-cubic-foot refrigerator, an angled galley sink, and all the regular items like a queen bed with overhead storage cabinets and an L-shaped settee that converts to a double bed. Behind the scenes are a very effective 6-gallon hot water heater, a 40-gallon freshwater tank, and a 38-gallon wastewater vessel. Outside, our home away from home kept on impressing us with smart features like an exterior shower, and an aluminum ladder that allowed easy access to the walk-on EPDM rubber rooftop that doubles as the perfect setting for watching sunsets.
Most slide-in campers on the market today feature options similar to the SC-150 RD's, but few can claim the impressive 1,650-pound dry weight rating, and even fewer have a low base price of just $9,985 like the Six Pac. With all those creature comforts wrapped into such a lightweight and affordable package, we believe the Six Pac will likely find a steady demand in and among the weekend warriors and semi-retired crowd.