Post-pandemic adventurers, control yourselves. Behold, the Rossmӧnster Overland Baja truck camper, one heck of a cool looking off-grid camper that happens to come with a name suitable for shouting from the mountain tops. Cue the Ricola cough drops commercials.
The “Ross” in Rossmӧnster comes from Ross Williamson, the founder of the company and mastermind behind the Baja. Rather than the scary creature that hides in closets (made scarier by umlauts), mӧnster in Rossmӧnster refers to “mӧnster” in the Swedish language, meaning “to design and create artistically, simply, and skillfully,” according to the website.
In 2015, Rossmӧnster Vans started building custom vans out of its shop in Longmont, Colorado, suited for adventuring and overlanding. Next, Rossmӧnster Rentals, launched in 2019 and also run out of the Longmont location, provides opportunities for people to rent Rossmӧnster Sprinter 4x4s, VW Vanagons, Promaster Cities, and (now) pickup-truck-based campers.
Most recently, Rossmӧnster Overland launched in 2021 with its first truck camper model, the Baja. Broadening from its van-life focus to include truck campers was a natural expansion since the truck market is huge and there seems to be tons of demand for off-grid camper setups like the Baja. Not a spur-of-the-moment idea, the Baja project took about a year to fully develop and test.
The base truck for the Rossmӧnster Baja is a 2019 and newer half-ton or heavy duty truck with a 6.5-foot bed. That means a Ford F-150, Ford F-250, Ram 2500, Chevy 2500HD, and GMC Sierra 2500HD all work. Many truck bed campers utilize trucks equipped with long beds, but notice that the Baja is not a traditional in-bed truck camper that attaches to the factory truck bed. It’s not a slide-in camper, either. Instead, the camper replaces the whole bed, seamlessly continuing the cab’s body lines throughout the length of the camper so that it still looks like the bed could be there. Notice how the back of the camper overhangs beyond the length of bed, adding additional room.
Since the Baja camper replaces the bed, the whole setup more resembles an RV with its connected cab and living space. There’s an insulated pass-through from the cab of the truck into the camper, which can be closed via a roll down insulated partition that seals off the camper to reduce noise while driving. The camper also can be entered directly through its rear door.
Besides the pass-through, Rossmӧnster says the truck cab remains largely untouched and retains four factory seats. As for the rest of the truck, Rossmӧnster adds custom front and rear bumpers, Baja Designs fog lights, a Warn winch, upgraded rear air bag suspension, and front and rear locking differentials.
The custom composite Baja truck camper shell is inlaid with a Baja Designs LED light bar. Electric actuators control the rear door, while a 400-watt Zamp solar setup, customizable exterior rear storage racks, a Fiamma awning, and a custom MAXTRAX table mount round out some of the exterior highlights.
The hard shell top of the Rossmӧnster Baja truck camper pops up, adding over a foot of additional height. This feature keeps the camper compact and more fuel efficient while driving but more spacious, less dungeon-like while camping. The extended top uncovers a bounty of side and front windows that allow for a healthy amount of natural light to enter.
The Rossmӧnster Baja truck camper has three layout options that sleep 2 to 4 people. There’s a Queen-size bed with a fancy Tochta mattress and elegant skylight. It features multiple lighting zones, a 30-gallon fresh water tank, Cruise 85 Isotherm stainless fridge/freezer combo, True Induction cooktop, Ruvati workstation sink, exterior hot water shower, Rixen hydronic heat/hot water system, and Victron power system (3000-watt inverter, 400 Ah lithium battery bank, and Bluetooth battery monitor). An AC unit, water filtration system, and onboard air compressor are a few of the items on the upgrade list.
The Rossmӧnster Overland Baja starts at $175,000 (which includes the truck), a detail that may keep this dream rig locked tightly in dreamland. That’s an outrageous price tag when contrasted to the run-of-the-mill slide-in truck bed camper or used toy hauler, but right on par when you consider other luxurious, niche expedition vehicles (think EarthRoamer, a super-sized truck camper). These lightweight, compact off-grid setups are inherently expensive. Despite this healthy price tag, the crew at Rossmӧnster doesn’t seem bored, as the next available build slot is August 2021. The build itself takes about four weeks. If you’re interested and not currently rich, hey, maybe cross your fingers and think to-the-moon thoughts about your crypto investments…
