Truck Bed Camping Setup

[fusseli]

I'm curious if you got your setup working? I have a tri fold tonneau cover and am having a hard time finding a bed tent that might work.

yes the setup works great, I use the trifold as a shelf within the tent. I wish I went with the Napier sport tent however since it is a larger volume. I am 6’1” and feel cramped in the right line. It works though and is faster than a normal tent to setup once you’ve done it a few times

Sponsored

 

[HenryMac]

Its spacious, but not fun having to take out whatever is in the bed just to set it uo and sleep in it. Fits a full queen size mattress no problem.

Bears love these. They refer to them as "The Human Burrito"

 

[Blue Streak]

Here’s the truck fully loaded and then set up. Instead of taking the kayak off to setup camp I just slide it forward. Looks silly but it’s much easier.

The Rino look. It might catch on.

 

[RoadBoss]

Well I did a complete overhaul of my setup. I completely ditched the idea of trying to sleep in the bed, and just worked on maximizing storage and efficiency. I've been using this all summer now and it's been working perfectly for how I use my truck.

Made a video about it, complete with a cheesy title screen

 

[JohnnyO]

I have a tent and canopy setup. If I used the bed to sleep in then I wouldn't have room for much else, besides which I'm too tall to comfortably sleep in even the 6' bed of the Supercab. Had a Sport Trac before with a 4.5' bed. We keep most of our camping gear in large plastic storage totes, tent gear in this one, cooking gear in that one, etc., so they're easy-in easy-out and stuff stays organized and relatively space-efficient in both the bed and my basement. For the most part we camp at race tracks so when there's a race we just load the totes and roll. If there's a downside it's that the totes take up the same amount of space empty as they do full but they're pretty much waterproof if it rains.

 

[deton8r]

Napier 82000 9'x9'x7.5' SUV tent. We unload all the gear from the truck into the tent and sleep in the bed. A twin air mattress fits perfectly between the swing cases. The truck bed becomes an extension of the tent.

I like the flexibility with this setup as you can detach the truck from the tent easily if you need to drive somewhere and the part that attaches around the truck zips into a window. You can also lock up valuable gear like solar generator or fridge in the truck bed while you hike, etc. Works with our Subaru Outback too.

 

[NurseNeil]

I went with an open bottom truck bed tent so it sets up over my hard folding tonneau easily, and a bed mattress that's the perfect fit between the wheel wells with a full length with the tailgate down. Both were from Rightline Gear.

Haven't tried it out yet so I don't have pics.

Have you tried this since posting? So,you have the tent on top of your cover with tail open since the straps adjust, you keep storage of the bed as well...

 

[clubber_lang]

Truck beds of EU Raptors have a rolling cover. Which rolls inside a box near the window. This does make the usable space less for transporting large goods.
As I am not intending to use it for heavy transportation, but more as a work/leisure/camping toy, I bought a rooftop tent (long version). And have it stick over the end of the cabin and spoiler.
The standard bed rails will shift over the rollcage and then hold a truck-wide duffel bag with awnings, ground tent, hammocks etc. So inside the factory bed spoiler.

Due to Corona restrictions it is still waiting at the supplier. So here I add a quick Paint-job. Inside the bed will be food, coolers and Q-s.

For mounting I will use Rhino Rack crossbars which will be mounted directly to the roof. So no longitudinal bars. And I can easily unlock them and lift tent including bars to roof of my shed.

Have you had any issues mounting your tent over the cabin with those Rhino bars?

 

[Raptor-EU]

Have you had any issues mounting your tent over the cabin with those Rhino bars?

Well, due to rough riding I am planning to replace the 4 roof mounted parts by rails.
They cannot handle the sideway wiggling very well and will come loose.
Sadly I wasn't aware of long Rhinorack roof rails from the beginning. But I will soon try and install them.
I do love the quick release of tent plus bars.
And next time probably go for a smaller tent.

 

[Raptor-EU]

Well, due to rough riding I am planning to replace the 4 roof mounted parts by rails.
They cannot handle the sideway wiggling very well and will come loose.
Sadly I wasn't aware of long Rhinorack roof rails from the beginning. But I will soon try and install them.
I do love the quick release of tent plus bars.
And next time probably go for a smaller tent.

Regarding issues? I'm not sure what you mean. I love the fact that it keeps my cabin in the shade, but hate the fact that cleaning is a bit difficult.

Sponsored