This month’s issue of Tiny House Magazine features a story of the MoonLander truck topper by Radica, a Denver-based design company. The MoonLander story itself is well worth a read, but what is interesting is how Radica was established. Founded by Luke Bushek, Radica comes from Luke’s idea of wanting to feature “rad stuff made in America”.
Radica’s MoonLander is a truck camper that breaks out of the traditional mold.
After a not-so-stellar experience in a heavy popup camper and a standard truck topper, Luke decided he could do better.
“I wanted something that was enjoyable to sit up in and easy to get in and out of, and that I could access most of my gear with,” Luke says. “I wanted something that had a bit more room, and was purposely built for camping in. After a weekend trip, I could go home and start using my truck for truck things again. I also wanted it to be built really tough and to handle the abuse of off-roading in Colorado.”
A full interview with Radica founder, Luke Bushek, can be found in the February issue of Tiny House Magazine.
He built out an aluminum frame that extended past the sides of the truck. That’s really all it took. Just a tiny change to the otherwise ordinary truck topper. Those extended sides create a long East/West bed that allows the rest of the truck to be used for storage and living space. The tailgate can even be used as a front porch.
“After almost a year of building the first model, testing it out in the Rockies, and enjoying what we had so far, my girlfriend and I decided to take a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We got asked so many questions as we drove around the parks, that I decided to just post an ad on Craigslist to see if anyone else would want an early model. Sure enough, I had three orders within the first few days and had to take down the ad because I wasn’t quite ready for it. Four months later I quit my job and took Radica on full-time. Since then we have been refining the MoonLander, growing our team, and building an assembly line to meet demand.”
The camper interior bed setup, windows, door, and exterior shell can be customized.
MoonLander is an all-aluminum truck camper that is made for some tough off-roading fun. It features a reinforced diamond plate roof that you can stand on and add solar to, a full-size bed frame, and truck bed clamps. Each camper is custom-made and available for all truck bed sizes. The interior framing can have a variety of insulation installed such as foam board and wood paneling by the owner or an outside company.
MoonLander is a simple camping solution for any sized truck bed.
If you are interested in learning more about or ordering MoonLander, visit the Radica website or pick up your issue of February’s Tiny House Magazine.
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
The post Radica: A Small Business Built with Tiny Changes first appeared on Tiny House Blog.
