Jeep Build: Ursa Minor Camper Top

A big part of my recent road trip was picking up and using my new camper top. This is the beginning of building my Jeep into an overland camper and the end of my time tent camping. I’ve spent many nights tenting, and my current tent was purchased out of that experience, before embarking on my 3 month trip to Yukon. After 3 months in a tent, I was beginning to envy the slide-in truck campers that are common in Yukon. That led to planning to get a truck/camper, but I was slowly convinced that I still wanted the Jeep’s smaller size and off road capability(I already had a 2 door Jeep). Providentially, my old Jeep started having issues, I started looking to trade it in, that led to looking at 4-door Jeeps and the possibility of experimenting with them as a camper platform, and now I’m all in.

My previous setup was a higher end, 3-season tent. It was a big 5 man tent with a full fly, including a storage/shelter vestibule.  I bought it specifically for my Yukon adventure. It had to be more than just a little backpacking tent…I was going to live in it for 3 months, and it had to be decently weather proof. I think it succeeded as a great car camping tent. It was pretty much completely weatherproof, it was roomy, the front vestibule worked well as shelter from the rain. However, it took up a lot of space(both packed and setup), it was a more complicated tent build and pretty much impossible to setup or takedown in the rain without soaking the interior. Being weatherproof, it had no windows and the vestibule meant that just to look outside I pretty much had to exit the tent. It was also poorly ventilated(common for 3 season tents) which meant it was very hot in sunny/warm weather. It was very roomy, and I could hang out inside to escape rain or bugs, but the lack of windows/ventilation made that somewhat oppressive. That being said, for the most part, these reasons weren’t what drove me to look for other shelter.

My main reason to look into roof top shelter was to be able to camp anywhere. I’ve been creative with ground tents, but there are limits, as it requires mostly flat ground to setup, and ideally the ability to drive stakes into the ground. When I was in Yukon, I was jealous of truck campers I saw that would be able to camp right by a river or lake, where it would be too rough for a tent, but still easy enough to park a vehicle there.

I had already been exposed to the Ursa Minor, through following Dan Grec of theroadchoseme.com. I love that the top is fully integrated with the Jeep. This allows it to have a lower profile, potentially lower weight, and I really like the ability to enter/exit from inside the Jeep…unique to the Ursa Minor. Being truly part of the Jeep also makes it something I can just leave on the Jeep year round while I use it as a daily driver. It is, however, quite expensive when compared with other options…but I think it performs so well that it’s worth the cost. Also, they are made in San Diego, California, which made shipping to Ontario very expensive…so I made a road trip out of picking it up.

Here’s my thoughts on the pros and cons after finishing a road trip with it:

Camp anywhere the Jeep can go:
This is truly awesome after coming from tenting. I camped out in the Utah desert a few times, and stealth camped at a picnic area once. It completely changes what I’m looking for when wilderness camping, in a good way! Coupled with the next point, this makes it an amazing win.

Incredibly easy and fast to setup or take down:
I would show up at a camp spot, open the top and feel like I had forgotten to do something….it was that fast. Same with putting it away. It helps too that now all my stuff lives in the Jeep full time. With tenting, after setting up the tent, I need to transfer my sleeping gear to the tent…in this case, I have it in the seat below, and just toss it up.

Windows and Ventilation are great:
I love the big windows at the rear! They allow great ventilation, but also a great view. It was amazing to wake up to a sunrise and see it while still in bed. Considering how hot the desert was, it performed really well, especially with the white top. It would get a little hotter up top, but as long as there was a breeze blowing it was fine. The top is also wired for 12v power, so I can eventually get a fan for those still nights.

Doesn’t affect the Jeep much:
It might drive a bit different with the higher center of gravity, but the difference is so little I quickly got used to it. It didn’t feel any different on 4×4 trails. I don’t think gas mileage was affected much. There was maybe a wee bit more wind noise, but nothing major. It does have some squeaking over the rear roll bar, but I gather there are some ways to fix that. Now that I’m home, in my normal daily driving I don’t really notice it’s there. I think the rear might ride a touch lower, but as I add more things to the build, I probably need stiffer springs anyway.

Extremely good in wind:
I had a couple of evenings with serious wind that I know would have been rough for a tent…and the top hardly noticed. The thicker canvas on the sides also doesn’t flap as bad as tent polyester, so it’s much quieter on stormy nights.

Good in rain:
I haven’t had it in serious rain yet, but it seems to do well from what I read. The few times it did rain, I didn’t have any issues…aside from needing to close the windows. One downfall to the desert heat is leaving the windows open at night, and then waking up to rain getting me wet through the mesh. With the windows closed it seems waterproof. I also didn’t have to setup or take down in the rain, but just looking at how quickly it sets up, I’m guessing that will go much better than it does with a tent.

If I was to complain:

Climbing up and down can be a little annoying:
This one is interesting. I really enjoy the idea of having an interior hatch vs an exterior ladder(more on that coming with the next mods). The reality can be a pain…mostly because I’m out of shape. After a couple weeks I got more used to the motion of climbing up. I open the hatch on the driver side, and sit in that rear seat when I enter, take my shoes off, then kind of use the seat to get up. I’m thinking I could maybe build some sort of step that hangs off the roll bar to help.

It is more cramped than the big tent:
I think that’s to be expected. It is however roomy enough I can sit up top if I want to stay indoors. I can stand up when the hatch is open, which is nice for changing clothes…however that means my lower half is visible through the Jeep windows…which might be problematic in a busier campground when changing. Could be solved with some curtains I guess. Otherwise there is more coming in the future for living space in bad weather.

It is nicer if the Jeep is level:
I found that kind of defeated the “camp anywhere” idea, as rather than looking for spots to setup a tent, I was looking for places to park that were decently level. I plan to get a level installed in the Jeep to help, and then probably get some levelling blocks.

Lack of a base camp
I had worried a bit that I would have trouble not having a base camp tent. It could get annoying if every time I wanted to head out I had to take down the roof. However, now that I have it, setup and take down is so incredibly easy, I don’t see that as an issue. I do also lose the ability to take stuff out of the jeep and leave it in the tent while I go exploring…but that was mostly so I wouldn’t have loose stuff flying around when off roading. That can be fixed with better storage solutions in the future.

Overall I think it’s been a great success. No solution is perfect…but this is close…closer than my tent was. I’m excited about the next parts of the build, and already have a few things on order. Stay tuned!