Over here in the United States, the Mitsubishi lineup is down to the Outlander, the Eclipse Cross and the (78-horsepower) Mirage. Over in Germany, however, they also sell a midsize pickup truck — and more excitingly, theycan also order those trucks with an awesome rooftop inflatable camper.
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First brought to our attention by TruckCamper, the camper is called the GT Pickup and produced by Austrian manufacturer GentleTent. It’s super low profile when closed, adding only seven inches of height and weighing about 60 pounds. It inflates, via air compressor or hand crank, into a large living area, one that can accommodate a full-size air mattress (sold separately) and a five-foot-long living space with seven feet of standing height in the bed. GentleTent says it has constructed the GT Pickup to be waterproof and “wind and storm-resistant,” with ample ventilation to boot.
Normally, this would be where I tell you that (insert great camping product here) is only available for Europeans. But that’s not the case here. No, Mitsubishi won’t bring the L200 pickup truck to the U.S. — long live the chicken tax — but the GT Pickup is not L200 specific. It should fit any midsize truck, so mothing is preventing you from buying a GT Pickup or one of their other rooftop options from GentleTent and importing it, though you may have to pay additional shipping costs outside of Europe.
GentleTent also has a U.S. distributor selling the GT Pickup, which it says will fit Rangers, Colorados, Frontiers and Tacomas, for a little under $4,300. It’s also shown fitted to a Ram 1500, so full-size trucks may work as well.
Ordering the camper separately and installing it yourself is not as great as having it come dealer-installed. But there’s no reason Mitsubishi’s controlling owner Nissan — which is firmly cognizant of the camping trend — couldn’t develop a similar option for the all-new Frontier.