Jeeps are Awesome!

Oru Designs: Bruin Camper

The time has finally come to where the traditional roof top tent has finally run its course in my Overlanding adventures. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with my previous tents (iKamper, ARB, Tepui) but I was ready to move to something with a little more room and comfort. Enter the Oru Designs Bruin Camper. Oru Designs is a relatively new company out of Southern California, designing an manufacturing a product that can fit nearly any truck bed on the market. The vertical pop-up designed allows for a maximum amount of living space and utilizes a lightweight, hard composite for the pup-up sides which gives it rigidity in the worst of weather. I opted for the Bruin Pro model, which includes the 5 inch mattress, side winged panels that open, and rear barn doors that can be removed to make the space even larger. The camper comes in around 325 pounds, which is impressive when compared to other campers on the market. Although there are some manufacturing and design concerns (see below), I have really enjoyed this camper and it has greatly improved my Overlanding experience.

Why a camper?

Yes, I know I drive a Jeep and yes, it is not the greatest platform for campers, trailers, hauling stuff… I know. But, I have it and I’m determined to make it work.

As stated above, the roof top tent was not longer cutting it for several reasons. It was cramped, I was limited to what I could store in terms of pillows and bedding. and sleeping was always difficult due to the really thin mattress. I wanted to utilized my extremely small truck bed to its max, have a little more space in bad weather, and for once, not have to wiggle and squirm to put my pants on in the morning. Basically, I wanted to be able to stand up while inside. So we started doing our research on all the options that would work on the Gladiator.

Why Oru Designs?

I’m a huge fan of Leigh and Steph from Grizzly’n Bear Overland, especially their removable 4Wheel Camper set up. I initially went down this path only to find that those campers do not fit the Gladiator truck bed, which was a huge bummer (maybe I should have gotten a Tacoma?) Having an Alu-Cab bed topper, the logical next step was to go with the Canopy Camper, the wedge design that fits on the outside rails of the Gladiator. The Canopy was at the top of the list for months, and plans were in place to start to figure out the financing and potential build out ideas. However, there were a few things that started to put me off from the Alu-Cab. Doing some intense research and attending Overland Expo West in 2023, I found that the Canopy camper was lacking in the bed size and thickness, and was also limited with bedding and pillows. I also was not a huge fan of the wedge design - I thought there was a lot of wasted space by having that design. But the biggest issue was that fact that my Jeep is not a full-time expedition vehicle, and that I need to be able to use it for other things like transporting lumber, moving stuff, basic truck things. The Alu-Cab rear door does not allow you to throw stuff in the bed or have 2x4’s hanging off the back. The Oru allows you to use the entirety of the truck bed and remove the rear doors, which allows you to utilize the rear bed. And because it does not eliminate the drop door like the ALu-Cab, you can have stuff hang out the back. Finally, I have a need to remove the camper and the Alu-Cab made it more difficult in terms of removal operations. The Oru is 6 clamps and can be lifted by a hoist or forklift.

What I like.

• the vertical top gives you so much space and the hard sides do a great job of keeping out the weather and wind. We have had some serious wind in Colorado and the hard sides made the night comfortable to say the least. No flapping canvas or noisy zippers.

• The 5 inch bed is really , really comfortable.

• The space for bedding is exactly what I was looking for. Currently the bed has a fitted sheet, a regular sheet, a duvet, and 4 pillows, and that is when it is closed. No issues at all with fitting that all the bedding in there.

• The bed can fold up which allows for maximum space within the camper.

• The rear doors can be removed very easily, allowing for full use of the truck bed.

• It’s fairly light, coming in around 325 pounds.

• Set-up and tear down is about 30 seconds. There is plenty of videos on YouTube on how easy it is.

• It’s a blank canvas. Although Alu-Cab has every attachment and add-on for their products (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), the Oru Design campers are a blank slate and they give you the ability to be creative with your build out. I opted for a simplicity, but there is plenty of opportunity to make it what you want.

What I don’t like.

• although I like the barn doors, they do pose a problem. To close while inside, the barn doors need to be shut first, and then the tailgate. To open from inside, you have to stick your hand out the window, open the tailgate, and then the bard doors. This is a problem with the Jeep Gladiator as the design of the tailgate does not allow for the bard doors to be closed with it up. Not necessarily Oru’s fault, but it is annoying to have to do that process.

• Quality issues. I’ve had the camper about 6 months and I have a torn rain flap, a damaged screen window, and a small hole where the hard sided panel meets the base of the aluminum. They suggested some sealant to seal the hole, but I opted for some window flashing which seems to hold. Another really concerning issue is that the glue or adhesive keeping the corner screens and rain panels have started to melt in the sun. Yes we’ve had some hot days here in Colorado, but the camper should not be melting. I’ve had to re-seal these myself. Finally, some of the other seals don’t look great and as if it was thrown together quickly. A little disappointing

Overall, I think the Oru camper has a lot of potential, and I’m confident they will work on their build and quality issues. I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for this type of camper with the caveat of potential issues that I’ve had.