Who camps in a truck with a topper?

[Carmen1979]

I most often camp alone, and find setting up a tent just to take it down a day (or two) later annoying. I just recently got a truck, and am thinking about snagging a cheap topper off Craigslist and using the bed of my truck to camp in when car camping. I have a tent I'd use with other people or if I was hiking somewhere to camp. But this is the sort of thing I doost often. Do y'all do this, and how do you like it? Any pitfalls?

[James.]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I don't have a shell but I have had the same thought about my ladder rack. The next time I head out alone it will be with a tarp that I can throw over my ladder rack to become my "tent". I don't think I would like a topper as it makes it hard to get things in and out of the bed.

[Carmen1979]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Oh that is a very good idea about the ladder rack. I actually like that idea better for camping, but the shell would more useful in other ways for me, more versatile. My husband could use it to discreetly camp when he travels for conventions, which would save quite a bit.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I have seen a few who do it. The build a platform to go over the wheel wells. That way you can still store stuff underneath the platform and have a flat place to sleep. If I ever get to upgrade to a long bed, I will go that route.

[toedtoes]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I did it when I had a truck. It worked fine. The one trick is to get the right mattress/pad - the truck bed gets very cold with the air underneath it. I used an eggcrate pad and it worked OK. A friend had an off-size mattress that fit perfect in her Toyota 4x4 (back in the day when Toyota only had one truck) - it slid in between the wheel wells. My dad made a platform that went along one side (twin size). He could store most of his gear underneath the platform and his dog had the other side.

[Gdawgs]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

We've done it before. My dad used to have a pickup with a full sized box. We made a bed by laying a sheet of plywood on top of the box(where the topper rests). This was at the front part of the bed, just behind the cab. If I remember correctly, we had a regular twin bed mattress on top of it. This gives you lots of storage underneath, and leaves a good section of the pickup bed open. We had carpet laid out over the rest of the pickup bed, so it was actually pretty cozy. We deer hunted this way one year and the overnight temp dropped to -20 one night. We stayed nice and warm.

[James.]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Oh that is a very good idea about the ladder rack. I actually like that idea better for camping, but the shell would more useful in other ways for me, more versatile. My husband could use it to discreetly camp when he travels for conventions, which would save quite a bit.

If you are planning to use it for boondocking (urban camping) you might want to consider just getting a truck camper. It would definitely be more comfortable than the shell. Just not so aerodynamic.

[Carmen1979]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Well the reason we haven't thought about getting an actual camper is the expense. They're not found near as cheap used.

[coloradowalt]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Here is my setup...



Both drawers run the full length of the bed. I used ball bearing roller casters in place of slides. Drawer slides that would fit were too expensive.

[Denni2]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

We've done it before. My dad used to have a pickup with a full sized box. We made a bed by laying a sheet of plywood on top of the box(where the topper rests). This was at the front part of the bed, just behind the cab. If I remember correctly, we had a regular twin bed mattress on top of it. This gives you lots of storage underneath, and leaves a good section of the pickup bed open. We had carpet laid out over the rest of the pickup bed, so it was actually pretty cozy. We deer hunted this way one year and the overnight temp dropped to -20 one night. We stayed nice and warm.

This is how our family camped when we first started. Mom and dad would sleep on the bed and I would sleep on the floor. We used beer boxes to hold all our stuff under the bed.

These trips is how I fell in love with camping. My parents soon upgraded to a travel trailer but my happiest memories were sleeping in the back of the truck.

[James.]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Here is my setup...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4637[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4636[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4638[/ATTACH]

Both drawers run the full length of the bed. I used ball bearing roller casters in place of slides. Drawer slides that would fit were too expensive.

Thats a nice set up and I think it would work well for the OP when boondocking. I on the other hand keep looking at the headroom

[Malamute]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I've done it extensively over several years. I lived semi-nomadically for about 5-6 years and made 3 trips to Alaska camping that way.

At first I had a full size truck and a utility shell I built when I worked at a machine shop. Tool boxes along the sides, a top that was about 6" taller than the cab with angled sides. The rear door was a lifter, not a side swing.

I made a folding bed from angle steel and could leave it partly made up and still not take all the room inside up.

Later and smaller trucks, I made a bed on one side of the truck bed. The bed was angle steel at the level of the wheel well, and halfway across the width of the bed. I made sides of plywood and made the bed in two parts so I could get under it without lifting the entire thing. That gave me lockable and out of sight storage also.

I've seen beds that went al the way across the width of the bed, and it may be needed for two people, but I liked having some foot room to get dressed etc and move around.

After truck camping without a shell, I'd never consider a truck without a shell for any purpose. It gives relatively secure storage, room for people and dogs, gear out of sight, dry space for groceries or whatever. I still base vehicle buying decisions on whether I can sleep in them, even though I haven't done it in years.

FWIW, I ended up going to Suburbans, as there wasn't much real difference in what I could carry with a truck with shell, and it was far easier to take other people. My dogs aren't isolated in the back either, and have heat and AC. I built a rack in the back of the Suburbans that allows me to have a dog bed above my legs, and other gear stowed and still have room to sleep. I take a nap in them now and then, but haven't overnighted.

A bed I built in the back of a smaller pickup. It could be set up to have removable platform for the other half of the bed for two people. Poor old truck is now just used for storage.

[Malamute]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

Forgot to mention, the Expedition Portal forum has quite a lot of home built truck/SUV modifications to make vehicle camping easier, down to swing out kitchen setups, small scale hot and cold running water for kitchen or shower use. The truck mod section as well as a number of the trailer threads have some really interesting ideas. I had no idea some of these things were practical.

[toedtoes]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I don't know Malamute, that kinda looks like a coffin....

[Malamute]

Re: Who camps in a truck with a topper?

I don't know Malamute, that kinda looks like a coffin....

:D I decided to cut the corner off when I made the frame. With the narrower door, it sort of cramped the door accessibility. It never seemed to cause trouble sleeping on it.