Finance

Kane Financial Services offer finance packages for campers like these.

Insurance

Some providers include

• Adrian Flux - 0800 369 8590 (my customers get £50 cashback when quoting an exclusive code)
• Shield insurance - 0800393966
• Devitt Insurance (through Caravan & Camper Club) - 0345 504 0338

Start by thinking honestly about how you like to camp.

If you want remote, wild camping adventures with a proper bed, heating and a kitchen waiting for you at the end of the day, a demountable truck camper is hard to beat. If a standard campsite with hookups is more your style, a motorhome might suit you better. If you're happy in a sleeping bag and don't mind the faff, a roof tent is cheaper.

I've owned a campervan, used a tent, and now run a demountable camper. I'm not going back.

Stephen has been through every option going — caravans, campervans, roof tents. Here's his verdict after two years with a Gladiator:

Depending on the model, two people comfortably — and with a roof tent added, up to four, but keep an eye on the over weight. Our customers tend to be couples who want the freedom to go further and wild camp in places most people never reach, not families who need to pack a lot in.

A demountable camper is on a par with a short-wheelbase campervan inside — compact but well thought through. You also retain the back seats as boot space, so storage is actually better than most campervans in practice.

The trade-off everyone makes with leisure vehicles is space versus agility. Motorhomes give you a lot of the former and very little of the latter. A demountable pickup truck camper gives you genuine off-road capability, a manageable footprint in car parks and on narrow Highland roads, and — if you need it — the ability to park somewhere unremarkable and not attract attention.

Yvonne and Paul have taken their demountable camper to the Western Isles, across Europe, and into conditions most leisure vehicles wouldn't attempt. On why they chose a demountable over a campervan:

The Hotomobil Gladiator range starts, on the Team comes in at 490 kg, the Adventure+ at 585 kg, the Expedition at 610 kg and the Expedition+ at 625 kg. Pickup trucks are typically rated to carry around one tonne over the rear axle, so even the heaviest Gladiator leaves a comfortable margin for passengers, luggage and fuel.

As a real-world reference point: a Ford Ranger with a driver, a full tank of diesel and a Hotomobil Gladiator demountable camper on the back weighed in at 3 tonnes on a weighbridge.

The Hotomobil Gladiator uses ratchet straps — 3000kg / 35 mm width is correct for the system. The camper has four dedicated tie-down brackets, each engineered with substantial load capacity and each secured with five M10 structural bolts. These connect to the pickup truck's bed anchor points, which are rated at around 500 daN each — approximately 500 kg of force per point, giving a combined system capacity of 2,000 daN across four points.

To put that in context: against the 625 kg Expedition+, that's a ratio of just over 3:1 before dynamic forces are even considered. For the 490 kg Team camper, it's over 4:1. The camper brackets and straps are rated well above the anchor points, so the system is deliberately built with headroom throughout.

Road forces are higher than static weight alone, and it's worth understanding this to appreciate just how well the system is designed. Under hard braking — a deceleration of around 0.8g — a 650 kg camper generates a forward force of approximately 510 daN. That load is shared primarily between the two front straps, with each carrying around 255 daN of braking force plus its share of the vertical load — combined, around 300 to 350 daN per strap. Against a 500 daN anchor point rating, that's a comfortable margin. Cornering generates lateral forces of 325 to 455 daN at typical road speeds, again within the system's capacity and spread across the straps on the outside of the corner. The most demanding real-world scenario is hitting a sharp road imperfection mid-corner, where vertical, lateral and longitudinal forces combine briefly. Even here, a correctly specified four-point system on a demountable camper of up to around 650 kg handles these loads confidently. The engineering exists precisely for these moments.

On tension: Hotomobil's guidance is that straps should be firm and snug — sufficiently tight to do their job, but not cranked to the mechanical limit of the ratchet. Over-tensioning introduces unnecessary pre-load on the brackets. The opposite problem is equally important to avoid: a slack strap allows the camper to build momentum before the strap arrests it, creating shock loads that can be two to three times higher than a properly tensioned strap would see under the same event. Get it right, check before every journey, and re-check after the first 30 minutes of driving — straps bed in as the system settles.

Standard four-point securing is the right setup for the vast majority of demountable camper owners. For the Adventure+, Expedition and Expedition+ models, fifth and sixth strap attachment points are available for those doing heavier off-road work. For pickup trucks where the standard bed anchors are bolted rather than welded to the chassis, it's worth adding eye bolts driven into the chassis behind the cab — this gives you a more solid foundation and means the full capacity of the strap system is properly utilised.

Given the constant weight in the back, improving the rear suspension is a good idea. Up-rated rear leaf springs, TÜV-approved airbags and stronger tyres (BFG KO2s are a popular choice) don't increase the rated payload, but they rebalance the handling and significantly improve how the truck drives with a demountable camper on board. For larger demountable campers, J-braces to reinforce the tub are also worth considering.

Milner Off Road are a good supplier for pickup truck parts, like these rear leaf springs. If you need to increase the truck's official payload rating, companies like SVTech and Van Weight Engineering can up-plate by around 230 kg — they handle the paperwork for DVLA too.

Wooden frames rot. Panel construction has seams, and seams let in water — a particular problem with demountable campers, which flex slightly with the movement of the pickup truck. Look for a seamless fibreglass unit. The Hotomobil Gladiator is a single-piece fibreglass moulding for exactly this reason.

Stephen, who's owned pretty much every type of camper going, puts it plainly: "one-piece construction, no leaks — it'll outlast me."

Speaking from experience with Ford Rangers and Hotomobil Gladiator demountable campers: it drives a lot like a car. The weight in the back becomes easy to forget — particularly because the Gladiator sits entirely within the tub with no overhang. The thing to keep in mind is the height, which is up to 3 m — similar to a high-sided van.

Hire customers who've only ever driven cars have got on with it immediately. Fuel consumption runs at around 30–35 mpg.

Stephen took his demountable camper along the NC500 and around the Isle of Mull — some of Scotland's narrowest roads — and found it no problem whatsoever. His take on how the pickup truck camper compares to his old campervan on tight roads:

It takes a bit of practice, but once you've got it, it's no hassle. The easiest approach is a flat surface and a spotter — walkie-talkies make that easier than shouting across a car park. Mark a reference point on the demountable camper and in your wing mirrors so you can reverse straight back to the same position every time.

When the camper is off the pickup truck, most people store it on pallets to keep it at the right height for loading. If you remove the bed liner permanently, treating the tub with polyurea is a good idea — it's the same material that coats the outside of the Gladiator itself.

Gavin covers the practical side of fitting a demountable camper around everyday life — including what he's learned about keeping it on the truck versus taking it off between trips:

You'll need a specialist policy. Adrian Flux, Motors Direct and Coast Insurance all come recommended by demountable camper owners. Shop around.

There are six Hotomobil Gladiator demountable camper models:

• Team — more seating, well suited to dog owners
• Adventure — adds a fridge/freezer
• Adventure+ —adds a compact shower room
• Adventure+ Extended —more space that it's smaller sibling
• Expedition — includes a shower room
• Expedition+ — larger bathroom

The best way to work out which demountable camper fits your style of travel is to start with our qualification quiz. It takes a few minutes and gives us both a clearer picture of what you actually need before we spend time on a call.

Viewing and test drives are possible at our Bradford on Avon location in Wiltshire. We start with a video call for people who are seriously considering a purchase — get in touch and we'll take it from there.