Soaring Eagle launches a hard side camper for long bed half-ton trucks. Want a simple, light, and affordable long bed truck camper? The 2024 Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL is calling. And it’s more than a stretch.
About ten years ago, the truck camper market all but abandoned long bed hard side truck campers for half-tons. There were some notable exceptions, but the majority of manufacturers cited the lopsided sales ratio between short bed and long bed half-tons, and focused exclusively on the short beds.
Even with that short bed focus, most camper manufacturers avoided the half-ton market altogether for fear of building a half-ton camper that inevitably exceeded the flea-weight payload capacity half-tons offer.
Above: The 2024 Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL. All images courtesy of Soaring Eagle Campers
Ultimately, deciding not to pursue long bed half-ton trucks was short-sighted. Yes, the majority of trucks sold in America are short bed models, but truck camper folks are not most people. In fact, some of us are quite peculiar, but that’s another story for another time.
The point is that truck camper enthusiasts understand that the bed of their truck is a major determinant of the living space inside a camper. A long bed truck means more living space. Want proof of this long bed preference? Look at our annual Dream Truck Survey results going back to 2012.
Long bed story short, there’s a market for long bed, half-ton truck campers. There’s even a market for simple, lightweight truck campers for three-quarter-ton and one-ton long beds.
Maybe the person wants to tow a thirty-three-foot Chris-Craft Cruiser with his long bed diesel dually and needs every possible ounce of capacity spared for towing. Maybe they just want a hunting camper for their long bed work truck and don’t want all the frou-frou. That’s right. All that stuff we put in our campers is frou-frou to some folks. Want to sell them a long list of options? Frou-get-about-it.
Above: The Adlar 8.0XL being built in the Soaring Eagle factory
Soaring Eagle Campers: No Frou-Frou
Almost exactly one year ago, Soaring Eagle campers debuted some distinctly frou-frou free hard side and pop-up truck campers. To up the competitive ante, they built them with welded tubular aluminum and composites, a la Livin’ Lite.
This means their campers are not only built to last, but they’re also lightweight. Add some aggressive pricing and distribute the units to a network of dealers from coast-to-coast and Soaring Eagle has quickly become a player in the half-ton truck camper space.
Of course none of this would matter if the scales were tipped in the wrong direction. Thankfully, Soaring Eagle has managed what many manufacturers have failed before them; to design and construct truly half-ton compatible truck campers. It’s one thing to do this with pop-ups, but Soaring Eagle has achieved this grail with several hard sides as well. The Soaring Eagle secret is baked into their recipe; simple campers built with aluminum and composites. They make it look easy.
More Than A Stretched 6.5XL
We first stepped foot in Soaring Eagle Campers in August of last year. Angela and I explored the Adlar 6.5 and Adlar 6.5XL hard sides, and their OV-X 5.5 pop-up. I was particularly impressed with the 6.5XL. I have since seen the 6.5XL several more times and my initial opinion holds. For the size, weight, and price, the 6.5XL is one heck of a camper.
The new 2024 Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL starts with the 6.5XL design and extends the camper just far enough that a long bed tailgate can close. This means you can keep your tailgate on and maintain your factory rear view camera system. It also gives you a platform deck (the tailgate) when you’re camping, and allows you to securely lock your truck camper when you’re on a hike, riding your bike, or playing open mic at Mike’s Bar and Grille in Campbellsport, Wisconsin.
Two Floor Plans
What’s unique is that Soaring Eagle has developed two different floor plans that take full advantage of the additional floor length. The first option is to extend the dinette bed to 48 inches (see floor plan above).
This is a seriously large dinette that converts into a seriously large dinette bed. I can see families navigating to this option purely for sitting and sleeping space. Two adults and two kids? No problem whatsoever, Ferris.
The other floor plan retains the 6.5XL’s 30-inch dinette and extends the countertop and storage on both sides. This layout would be perfect for folks who need–or want–a large open space in the middle of their camper.
Maybe they’re hauling stuff for a rally or expo they attend every year. Or maybe they want space to stretch and exercise when they camp at the starting line for marathons or bike races around the United States and Canada. I’m not 100 percent on this, but it may be possible to fit a bike in that space too.
Wait… What’s the Weight?
Soaring Eagle reports the dry weight of the Adlar 8.0XL, with the standard 30-inch dinette, to be 1,220 pounds dry. That’s well within the payload capacity of most half-ton long bed trucks. You still need to check your specific truck and need to consider the weight of options and everything you will bring, but that weight is well within the half-ton ballpark.
And that sane half-ton friendly weight extends to all of Soaring Eagle’s nine-model strong line-up. That’s five Adlar hard sides and four OV-X pop-ups. We happen to know that a tenth model is in the works. That would be ten models in a little over a year. If the other companies debuted campers this fast, we might run out of electrons. From any standpoint, it’s an impressive launch year and an auspicious beginning.
Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL Specifications
The 2024 Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL is a hard side, non-slide truck camper made for long bed trucks. The interior floor length of the Adlar 8.0 XL is 91” and the interior height is 76”. The center of gravity is 40”.
The Adlar 8.0XL has no fresh or grey tanks, but it has an optional 5.3 gallon porta-potty. It can accommodate four Group 24, two Group 27, or two Group 31 batteries.
Soaring Eagle is reporting the base weight of the Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL at 1,220 pounds. The base cost of the 2023 Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL starts at $22,999.
Options for the Soaring Eagle Adlar 8.0XL include a North-South pull-out bed, rooftop air conditioner, rooftop solar panels, roof racks, electric jacks, Maxxair fan, and a 12 volt portable cooler-style compressor refrigerator.
For more information on Soaring Eagle Campers and the Adlar 8.0XL, visit their website at soaringeaglecampers.com. Click here to request a Soaring Eagle brochure.
