Scout Olympic camper full of clever touches and portable gear

Overlanding and #VanLife were already huge when the coronavirus got everyone locked in their homes for a few months. With summer coming on, road trips the go-to escape, and RV rental bookings skyrocketing, there’s always room for another way to get away. Scout Campers has one of them, an oldie turned into a goody. The Olympic 6.5 starts with the hoary pickup camper, redesigning just about all the features in order to expand how much can be done during the bug-out. The aluminum framing and gel-coat fiberglass build forestall rot and keeps weight down to 1,133 pounds. At 71 inches long and 47 inches wide, that makes the Olympic a candidate for any half-ton pickup with a bed at least six feet long, with optional removable jacks making it easier to navigate to the deep-woods campsite.   

As standard, the Olympic sleeps four, in the extension over the cab and at the convertible four-seater dinette. Stock fit includes features like a solar-powered porch light activated by motion sensor; a moonroof that can be covered by a solar reflective shade; LED strip lights; gravity-fed water system with detachable water storage, a stainless steel sink with drainage direct to outside plus a filtration system good for 100,000 gallons; a 160-watt Renergy solar panel that also feeds a portable Goal Zero Yeti 1000 lithium power station; and dual 100-volt outlets. The Olympic tries to make nitty gritty living easier with Pendleton indoor/outdoor fabrics; removable marine-grade flooring; dual five-pound propane tanks in a vented compartment; a 5-cubic-foot gear locker; a 4.9-gallon jerry can with charcoal filter; and spray wand, and smoke, gas, and carbon monoxide detectors.

The outdoor part of those Pendleton fabrics is key because one of the Scout’s prime USPs is portable components. Said David Epps, CEO of parent company Adventurer Manufacturing, “The unit’s components can be enjoyed ‘inside out,’ meaning the dining table, water storage, battery, and more optional features can be enjoyed outdoors and even taken on other expeditions without the camper itself. The exterior storage tray also doubles as a functional tabletop, letting users cook and spend more time outside.” So owners can cook on the exterior table, and set up the camper’s four-person dining table to eat outside, too.

The options list gets to the other noteworthy detail about the Olympic, which is being able to sleep six by adding a Roost rooftop tent with an interior access hatch. Anyone with a mind to splurge can upgrade with a refrigerator/freezer combo with Wi-Fi, a portable 3,000-BTU heater to make the camper all-season friendly, a 4,500-BTU gas fireplace for Arctic trips, and a 270-degree Batwing awning.

Choose options judiciously, because the Olympic already starts at $19,980, which pays for stout build, light weight, clever design, and the fact that each unit is built in Yakima, Washington. Nor is Scout a virgin opportunist trying to take advantage of an enormous trend — parent company Adventurer Manufacturing has been in business since 1969, and makes a line of other get-out goods from the ginormous Eagle Cap slide-in campers to the Ford F-550-based Overlander. Scout’s taking pre-orders for the Olympic 6.5 now.