Larry has not one but two interesting camper projects; perhaps the world’s smallest hard side camper and the first we’ve ever seen on a GeoTracker, and a 31 year old Texson with some creative mods. Wait—a GeoTracker?
Larry of Work Less Enjoy Life More recently caught our attention with his outrageous and highly functional home-built GeoTracker truck camper. Just the idea of a truck camper built for a GeoTracker conjures up a lot of questions. Like why would you build a truck camper for a GeoTracker? And how could that possibly be a practical idea? And what about payload?
Larry ups the ante considerably by (a) living full-time in his full-size 31 year old Texson truck camper and (b) camping with two admittedly adorable and funny Chihuahuas; 13 year old Mason, and 8 month old Marty.
Above: The images are screen captures from the video. To see more, feel free to watch the video below.
Their mission is to explore the off-grid boondocking truck camping opportunities of the American Southwest while enjoying cast iron cooking, seeking out new fishing spots, and keeping his two unique rigs rolling.
All I can say is Larry, Mason, and Marty fit right into the diverse and colorful community of truck campers we’ve come to know. This is coming from a couple who travel half the year in a 21 year old camper with a bent-eared black cat with a white tipped tail.
With a laughing, “What the…” I knew we had to get Larry’s Micro Camper in Truck Camper Magazine. It’s technically demountable, but not by my usual four corner jack rule. Believe it or not, there are turnbuckles inside the GeoTracker and another at the rear. If that sounds a little sketchy, Larry assures us in his video that the camper hasn’t fallen off yet.
Above: Check out Larry’s Micro Camper in the video.
The Micro Camper is framed with 2×2 and some 2×3 lumber with a 3/8 inch plywood exterior protected from the elements with at least half a dozen coats of paint and urethane. That’s not an ideal way to finish the outside of a wood camper, but I get the feeling Larry did this mostly to see if he could and was on a tight budget. If he keeps an eye on things, maintains the seals around the windows and other features, it should be fine.
What makes this camper stand out is a clever design decision Larry made with the exterior features and proportions. Specifically, he included a tiny cabover and overhang that’s proportionate to a normal camper. This makes the camper ‘look’ like a normal-sized truck camper at first blush. Then the second blush probably mirrors my, “What the…” response.
The interior of the camper is mostly unfinished with a few comment-worthy exceptions. His bed is actually a 6’8” narrow plank (with a backpacking air mattress) that runs from the GeoTracker’s dashboard to the back door. That’s right, this tiny-tiny-and-impossibly-small truck camper has a most coveted feature yours probably doesn’t—a huge pass through!
Another unique interior feature is a pull-down Joytutus table mounted on the inside of the entry door. Larry calls this his ‘kitchen’ as it has just enough room for a single burner cooktop and a small plate. If that’s not enough for the kitchen sticklers out there, the table has a built-in removable cutting board. Not too shabby!
The Micro Camper is powered by a portable lithium power station and 400-watt portable solar panels. Given what that power station and panels need to power—a small Iceco GO20 dual-zone 12-volt refrigerator (which has its own battery), LED lights, and a Maxxair fan—the combination is likely overkill.
Larry plans to finish the interior with insulation, paneling, and dimmable LED puck lighting. And no, he hasn’t properly weighed the camper yet. And yes, we are encouraging him to do that, for Mason and Marty’s sake. We couldn’t find an official payload capacity for the GeoTracker, but it’s probably not much. Take it to a CAT Scale, Larry! That’s a video we’d all be curious to see.
There aren’t too many 31 year old truck campers actively on the road anymore. Heck, there aren’t too many 31 year old trucks on the road either. Most have long since served their purpose and been crushed and recycled. Furthermore, any camper (or truck for that matter) that has made it to this vintage has either been well maintained (meticulously pampered and/or garaged), or has suffered from neglect.
Larry was probably in grade school when his Texson left the factory. And from the exterior condition of the unit, any maintenance the camper had enjoyed ran out before he got it.
The result—as it was with our 21 year old camper—was the need for immediate seal maintenance, wood rot repair, and general TLC. Thankfully, Larry got on top of these issues and continues to work on bringing the Texson back to tip-top condition. Let this be a reminder to never neglect your exterior camper seals!
Above: To see the inside of the camper, watch the video.
Where Larry has really worked his restorative magic is on the inside of the camper. Starting at the 2:19 mark, check out the raised and widened dinette platform with a comfy chair and Cubic Mini brand wood stove. The wood stove sits on a 24-inch ceramic tile hearth with metal heat shielding. Larry says it heats his entire camper beyond his wildest expectations. We say keep a couple of windows cracked for proper ventilation. That’s safe practice for almost any heat source in a truck camper, but especially a wood-burning stove.
Larry removed his wet bath shower and sink to gain a ton of storage. Other mods include a fishing rod holder on his ceiling, a Whirlpool down fridge, a refinished or replaced wood kitchen countertop, and two EcoFlow 100Ah lithium batteries. All of the improvements are focused on form and function and are for his needs.
We greatly enjoyed Larry’s videos and hope he keeps us updated as these units continue their evolution. If you want to catch more of Larry’s adventures and lifestyle, check out his YouTube channel, Work Less Enjoy Life More.
