Have pickup truck, will journey! At least, that’s what many of us inform ourselves after shopping for a pickup truck. And it’s easy to peer why: with just a little bit of coaching, and maybe a few thousand greenbacks in extras, a pickup truck may be transformed right into a first rate camping rig.
But it isn’t without its compromises, so it allows to recognize what you’ll want, and how to get the maximum from your pickup. Here are some suggestions for truck mattress camping.
Buy A Camper Shell
Add a camper shell for your pickup truck, and also you’ve just converted it into a bona fide RV in one fell swoop – albeit a small one. It’s that clean. True, camper shells can be high-priced.
The trick is understanding what to search for, and deciding on one based for your price range. Companies like Snug Top, Leer, and A.R.E. Have a wide variety of camper shells to pick from, luckily, so that you ought to be able to find some thing that meets your needs. You could also check on architecture side as for a few more, well, thoughts.
When looking for a camper shell, the first aspect to don’t forget is to shop for a truck-precise utility. Not all camper shells in shape all automobiles, of course.
You can then go approximately picking a shell. If you ought to do a little camping with it, windows and bubble tops (shells with extended roof strains) are fantastic alternatives, as they’ll make your revel in greater comfortable and exciting. Don’t lock yourself into a windowless coffin all night time long. Once your shell is chosen, the rest is coasting!
Consider Building a Bed Frame
Buying an air mattress or futon and setting it at once on the bed of the truck is a rookie mistake. One, you’re no longer imparting for any insulation area; you’re actually sound asleep directly on the bloodless metallic bed of the truck with nothing however a thin mattress between your frame and it.
Two, you’ll discover that you couldn’t use the gap above you for storage – however you can use the gap below you. Finally, in case you vicinity your mattress at once on the bed, you will probably discover that the wheel wells intervene on your to be had area. This is why you should build a mattress frame.
Using a few 2×4” boards and plywood, assemble a easy body that extends over the wheel wells. This will not handiest widen the gap to be had to you for a bed even as raising you above the cold difficult metal, but it will create some a lot-needed garage space in the mattress on your numerous add-ons as properly (which we’ll be going into below).
If you’re feeling industrious, you can even construct some slide-out drawers so that you don’t have to cross digging below your bed with a massive hook for gadgets which have shifted.
Barring that, put money into a few plastic tubs that suit in the storage area you’ve created.
Accessories, Accessories, Accessories
Anyone who has ever been to a Bass Pro Shop knows how quick camping add-ons can upload up! Propane stoves, LED flashlights, transportable lavatories, out of doors showers, garden chairs, exceptional climbing tree stand, turbines, mini fridges, pots and pans, and any number of other camping add-ons might serve a cause for your next tenting ride. You will find a entire list of the accessories that you must take with you during your subsequent camping on Stuffoholics.
The key is to prioritize what you want and don’t need, take a measurement of the to be had space, and then purchase consequently. Otherwise, you can cross bankrupt on all the camping accessories which can be to be had! You can use Goleta Storage if you ended up shopping for too much add-ons.
Items that you surely will want to buy encompass a small range, camp chairs, sleeping luggage or heavy blankets, dishware, Water Filter, a cooler, a bed, an sufficient deliver of water, and a flashlight (or two or 3). Consider these your truck tenting necessities. Once those are covered, you may dive into the more user-unique objects.
Perhaps you’re a photographer. Or perhaps you’re a hunter. Put a list together and test them off one-by means of-one so you’re no longer lacking whatever when you get to the campsite.
If you’re tenting alongside the Empire State Trail and want accessories in a pinch.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Believe it or not, a huge truck isn’t a prerequisite for truck tenting. In truth, with a suitable camper shell and a well-built bed frame, a medium-sized truck just like the Chevy Colorado is greater than adequate for maximum, if no longer all, truck camping purposes.
Plus, you will possibly find that many large pickup trucks definitely come up with less mobility; their big size and further weight regularly leaves them a piece out of place on smaller trails, hearth roads, and different off-avenue routes. You may even spend less on fuel with a smaller truck, that’s always an amazing factor.
Take this into consideration in case you are looking for a pickup truck to serve double responsibility – each for private use and the occasional tenting – however are hesitant to decide to the vast model.
Keep Things Clean
If you propose to apply your truck bed for camping, then you definitely ought to treat it like you will your home (or truck bed tent). Keep things clean and organized. Don’t actually throw gadgets inside the mattress and forget about about them.
A camper shell with a bed frame is higher than any tent you’ll ever discover, but simplest if you treat it with appreciate and maintain matters tidy. To ensure that no dust or water makes its way into the truck bed, ensure that the camper shell is nicely sealed against the factors.
If your shell is professionally hooked up, then this ought to be a non-issue, but in case you are putting in the shell your self, ensure that you are the use of right weather stripping, seals, and gaskets where the producer recommends.
Bundle Up!
A mild winter’s nighttime can sense like a night time on Hoth while your simplest safe haven is your truck mattress. In truth, even in case you are tenting within the wilderness in a exceedingly heat weather, it’s nevertheless recommended that you deliver lots of blankets (or appropriate sound asleep bags) and additional garb, as in a single day temperatures can get tremendously low.
When it comes to staying heat, it’s actually better to be safe than sorry. If you discover that you don’t want all the blankets and garb which you’ve added alongside, without a doubt store them below the mattress or throw them within the cab. It’s no huge deal.
Remember, it’s higher to convey substances and not need them than to need materials and not have them.