camping in a truck cap

[paddington]

I am thinking about buying a truck cap for my pickup so that I can sleep off the ground when I camp with my horse. I’d like to get some thoughts on how well it worked from those who have done it in the past. Did you build a platform (over the wheel wells) to sleep on? (I’ve seen some on the internet and it not only widens your sleeping area but it gives you some storage space underneath.) Was it too hot? Too cold? Too claustrophobic? Did you have any leakage problems with your cap? What kind of cap (Leer, AER, Century, etc.) did you have? I have a full sized pickup with a long bed, so I think it will be enough space, but I’d like to get some ideas/opinions before I plunk down the money.

Thanks for all your help!

[gieriscm]

My old pickup used to have a cap, and I slept in the bed on an air mattress many times while camping with the critter. I have no idea what brand it was, though, and even though it was quite old it didn’t leak.

I didn’t build a platform for storage. I just moved my stuff into the front seat of the truck, onto the trailer, or to the side of the truck bed in front of the wheel wells since I only needed half of it to sleep on.

My only suggestions are to get a very good air mattress as I swear the truck bed is harder than the ground, and if you’re tall you will want to check into the caps that are higher in the back than the front, as it gives you more room to sit up and move around.

[chicamuxen1]

Truck Caps

I camped in my truck/cap for years before getting a bigger trailer. We bought an extra tall cap, makes a real difference. I had a Leer cap. I got the biggest side window available with sliders and screens. This helps with ventilation. If I did it again I’d get one of those SUV tents that attach at the back of a SUV or Truck with cap. http://www.tentsontrucks.com/SUV-Minivan.htm It would extend your living area but also give you much better ventilation in hot weather. You might want to see if a roof vent can be installed. It would be so much easier to cool the interior. Oh, a neighbor used to help as a volunteer at many rides and he would sleep in his small SUV. In hot weather he would put the hatchback of the SUV up and drape a big mosquito net over the back half of the Suburu. This way he could open his side windows and the back hatch and the interior of the car would cool off. This would work well for the back of a truck/cap IMO.

A cap is a lot like tent camping, no insulation, so hot and cold happens. I did learn to not put an air bed directly on the floor of the truck bed as the air in the bed gets unbelieveably cold from the metal bed and you will freeze your butt off! Use Foam under the sir bed or over it or just use a foam mattress. I’m short so I put the bed crosswise, just behind the cab. Raising it up would be an excellent idea. I made curtains for the windows also.

I also learned to keep all horse items in the trailer and only people items in the cap. It kept my living area much cleaner and less cluttered. I originally had a plain 2-horse bumper pull, no DR. I figured out how to use the second stall for the horse items and had a method that prevented anything from shifting under the divider. Later I got a slant load BP with DR and that was much easier to use for horse camping with rear tack, and stud wall divider plus an extra large DR.

Bonnie S.

[Shadow14]

I too have slept/camped alot in the back of my truck. It has sliding side windows with screens for ventilation and yet keep the bugs out. It was dry, I was well off the ground, I did not build anything special but used a box liner, the plastic slip in kind to protect the truck bed.
On hot nights with no bugs I left the back wide open and it was great. It also allowed me to pack alot of stuff, keep it from getting wind blown and dry if it was raining while trailering. Once at the camp sight we could use the trailer as dry storage.

[Leather]

I used a topper/cap one year and it just didn’t give me enough head room. I had to lie down in order to change clothing.

This year I’m planning on getting a truck tent for camping. In addition to the ones that chicamuxen posted, I’ve also found this one:

http://www.camp-right.com/

I hate air mattresses, so I use an old futon mattress.

[paddington]

I’ve seen those “tents on trucks” and was wondering if they would fit with a pickup and cap. The manufacturer’s mostly talk about SUVs so I wasn’t sure if they would fit. But I will definitely look into them. There’s another tent that just fits onto the back of the truck (with a cap) with the tailgate down. Doesn’t give you as much extra space but it looks like set up is a snap.

Does anyone know where to get those “memory foam” pads? That would solve the issue of insulation!

[Leather]

You can get a memory foam pad just about anywhere. I’ve seen them at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target, etc.

overstock.com is a good online source for stuff like that.

[katarine]

FWIW we use an air mattress in the LQ with an egg crate type mattress topper. Stays nice and warm. I didn’t want the foam or regular mattress b/c it just sits there 24/7, and they can get a little ripe/musty smelling- I’m in the deep south and anything will get musty and mildewy if it sits up too long ;). With this set up I wash my bedding as usual and it’s all fresh.
Got the egg crate thingie at Bed Bath and Beyond.
think about storage and lighting. a headlamp on a ball cap works fine for a reading light, soft sided bags for your clothes so you don’t snag or beat up the air mattress. and NO horse gear in the bed of the truck I’ve seen folks carry rolled up tarps to put down on the swept-out horse stalls in their trailers- makes for a pretty clean floor for tack, feed sacks, etc. not to mention covering poopy walls where they made a mess along the way.

Think about ventilation and such- the truck tent may be the ticket, if you can secure enough head room. Wallowing around on your back, wiggling into fresh drawers on a hot dammit day- BTDT - get thee some headroom!

[CosMonster]

I use an old futon mattress in mine, it is the perfect size. I think it is quite comfortable.

I can’t recall what brand my cap is but it’s about 15 years old and doesn’t leak (well it didn’t until a terrible windstorm blew a skylight off the house and it landed right on the cap, punching a nice hole in the roof. All I did was screw a piece of scrap metal to it and epoxy around it and it still doesn’t leak as long as I periodically tighten the screws).

[Icecapade]

my bf has a tent for his truck and he has used it once and was very pleased w/ it.

we had a cab on our truck and i think it wasn’t nearly as nice cause you couldn’t stand up in it… the tent has an awning over the tailgate so you can sit on the ground and be covered and its tall almost enough to stand in on the bed.

not a bad way to go actually.

[cheryl_ann]

I have two truck tents, both Enell Adventures. They are great; extremly sturdy in high winds (50 mph in Ohio last year w/ horizontal rain, and I’ve been snowed on, too) and I’ve never had a drop of rain get inside, ever. Inside height for my tent is five feet, so almost enough for me to stand up completely. Since I have a mid-size truck w/ a 5’ 3" box, I don’t have much room, so I always use a cot unless the weather is below 20* or so. Then it’s too cold to use a cot, and I sleep below the box walls, on several inches of foam and carpeting and padding.

I have a 1" thick cut-to-fit foam mat which I put down in the truck bed, and more foam padding along the side and front walls, and I use a carpet remnant over that. Then my cot, a cheap closed-cell foam camp pad (Wal-mart), and then my toasty self-inflating 4" foam pad. I don’t like air mattresses. With the carpet remnant, it makes for things looking nicer and being more cozy, even if it is a bit more work.

The truck tents are easy to set up, and store in a nice small bag.

I like the idea of a topper cap, but I would pay the extra money for a high one; but it still wouldn’t be as tall as the truck tent is.

If I owned an SUV, I would get a tent for that, also.

[2enduraceriders]

Go with a fiberglass rather then metal. It will not be as hot/cold. Get sides that open for air flow. There are some really nice caps out there that have a rise to them and will give you more room.
Most will have a light you can have wired in.
Lots better then the ground…

[jeano]

All great posts, but I will add this caveat–do not think of a fiberglas cap as something you will be able or willing to take OFF the truck if and when you need to use the truck bed for something (like hay) that wont conveniently fit IN the truck bed while the cap is on.

I’ve done the truck cap thing with an aluminum cap–two people can uninstall and reinstall these. You will create your own strategies for coping with the weatherstripping tape you have to use. The hot ticket for storing the cap when it’s not in use is to hang it from the rafters/trusses of garage, carport or barn–then you just drive under it to put it on the bed.

Fiberglas is great but it really is a permanent deal. Will add that there are relatively inexpensive, lightweight pop up slide in campers even for little pickups that have amenites like beds and kitchens. Had one of those once, it was pretty cool. (and had a furnace for when it got, well, pretty cool.)

[paintedtrails]

[QUOTE=jeano;4040377]

Fiberglas is great but it really is a permanent deal. Will add that there are relatively inexpensive, lightweight pop up slide in campers even for little pickups that have amenites like beds and kitchens. Had one of those once, it was pretty cool. (and had a furnace for when it got, well, pretty cool.)[/QUOTE]

Do you remember the model or where you can find one? The only ones I’ve seen are camper toppers and they don’t look easily removable… Or, if you want something ‘temporary’ (only for trips) is it best to just get the bed-tent?

[jeano]

I’d say google a little–thing is, NO slide in camper is gonna be “easy” to get on and off, you do have to jack it up, drive under it, lower it etc. But its learnable and doable. Me, I’d go with aluminum cap and the attachable tent provided I had the help available to get the cap on and off when I needed to use the truck for hauling hay.

[paddington]

I’ve camped in a 2 person tent for years (think small and no head room!) and am interested in a quick set-up (no more pitching tents in the rain or taking down a wet muddy tent at the end of the trip). I also like the idea of being off the ground and out of the puddles that inevitably invade my tent during downpours. I like a dry bed at night! I’m still in the investigatory phase and was intrigued by some of the “systems” that are out there (cavers and rock climbers seem to love to sleep in their truck beds). So any and all opinions are appreciated. I have already done some research on slide-in campers but wanted to get some opinions on other options. Thanks for all your replies so far.

[chicamuxen1]

Maybe the truck tent would be the way to go if you need to use your truck for a lot of other things? It would certainly be cheaper. I see that the Leer caps now have insulated roofs.

Bonnie S.

[KCFoxy]

in the trailer

I’ve been setting up camp in my stock trailer…pull a tarp over it, cot in it…and hunker down

[JackSprats_Mom]

Did the ‘in the bed of the truck’ thing ONCE! Damn most uncomnfortable night I ever had. That said my hubby was there too and he’s 6’3, not alot of room and my back was up against the wheel well most the night freezing!

So if I did ever do it again (went a bought a used camper instead…trying it this weekend YAY!) I would make a platform bed to get above the wheel wells.

Also head room is an issue…there’s nothing that comfy about it IMO

[ReSomething]

When we were young and broke DH and I slept in the truck bed hunting and camping more times than I can count.
We’re both about 5’ 7" and it was do-able with extra sleeping bags for padding, and moderate weather. At first under the stars and then we got an aluminum tall shell - big ugly thing, but it was free. When we got older he got a truck tent from Cabela’s for the Tacoma, and a big thick Coleman air mattress,you can buy them from WalMart but they don’t hold the air for more than a couple days, (either that or old bones are more tender) and that worked OK for a spare bedroom at Grandma’s, and then an overhead rack and a Century brand insulated camper shell - which I guess you guys are calling a cap - there are products out there that are level with the top of the bed in both vinyl and fiberglass which I have heard called bed covers or caps also. Back in the day the Century would have been Heaven, but it is a bear to get on and off, just a little too heavy and awkward, does need some kind of set up to store on or it gets really nasty inside. Has thick gaskets and can leak between the bed and the shell base. We keep a thick sheet of plywood in the bed and that is higher than any puddles that have formed. Carpet kits - well we use our trucks too hard to warrant those. Spill one thing and it’s trashed. We keep stuff in the cab and reach through the rear slider, the shell has a slider that matches up so it is easy to keep the cooler etc in the xtra cab. He purchased the shell mostly as a truck box to keep tools and purchases dry and secure - a regular truck box is a space sucker. We also inherited somebody’s junker full size slide in, which sat on jacks next to the house and housed my ne’er do well BIL for a while. Some of those, especially the ones that hang over the back of the truck by three feet, are really fancy! Old beat up ones, not so much, but they do have tables and storage.

A two man tent was a step up from the (open) truck bed, but the shell was definitely quicker, easier, faster and could be locked up while we were gone. Slide-ins, ummm, great for paved campsites, I suppose you could get out in the woods with a 4x but IMO they are top heavy.