Truck bed camping
- Thread starter skyriver
- Start date
I wouldn't waste any money on trying to convert an aluminum canopy. They are hot as hell in summer, cold and clammy in lower temps, always drip and make everything damp and are noisy when rain hits them. One that is carpeted inside would be better but the best bet is fiberglass with carpet bonded to the inside. The fiberglass is much quieter and doesn't conduct heat or cold the way that thin aluminum does. The carpet provides a bit of insulation in addition to the quiet it provides. Fiberglass also seems to provide a better foundation for windows and good windows are very important when camping to keep you dry, provide adequate ventilation and protection from bugs.
Another thing I will always preach is buy a taller canopy if you possibly can. It makes a huge difference in comfort and usability. If you are any taller than 4' 11'' you probably need a raised canopy. I view cab high canopies with the same contempt I have for short 6'5'' beds on pickups. Each one limits the carrying capacity of a pickup, ostensibly what you bought the truck for in the first place. The short bed has it's obvious limitations and the short canopy severely limits the vertical height of whatever the truck can haul. A double whammy on pickup utility.
Of course $70,000-$80,000 pickups aren't bought for utility to begin with.....
All true! I'm 6'4" and have a cab-high fiberglass canopy. Haha! The reasons? I wanted the paint to match and I wanted it to fit in my garage. Unfortunately, I didn't think about asking the builder of our house to make a taller than standard garage door. I had a 2wd without a canopy at the time. So I have just under 2" of clearance to get my rig in the garage even with a cab-high cap. Hence why I lowered my sleeping platform.I wouldn't waste any money on trying to convert an aluminum canopy. They are hot as hell in summer, cold and clammy in lower temps, always drip and make everything damp and are noisy when rain hits them. One that is carpeted inside would be better but the best bet is fiberglass with carpet bonded to the inside. The fiberglass is much quieter and doesn't conduct heat or cold the way that thin aluminum does. The carpet provides a bit of insulation in addition to the quiet it provides. Fiberglass also seems to provide a better foundation for windows and good windows are very important when camping to keep you dry, provide adequate ventilation and protection from bugs.
Another thing I will always preach is buy a taller canopy if you possibly can. It makes a huge difference in comfort and usability. If you are any taller than 4' 11'' you probably need a raised canopy. I view cab high canopies with the same contempt I have for short 6'5'' beds on pickups. Each one limits the carrying capacity of a pickup, ostensibly what you bought the truck for in the first place. The short bed has it's obvious limitations and the short canopy severely limits the vertical height of whatever the truck can haul. A double whammy on pickup utility.
Of course $70,000-$80,000 pickups aren't bought for utility to begin with.....
I was willing to park in the driveway if I could find a paint matched mid or raised canopy. I looked for over a year on the whole west coast and my standard one was the only one that popped up so I grabbed it. At this point, it does what I need and if I need anything more it will probably be in the form of a travel trailer.
Now let's see those pics!
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
So, next major purchase is a high top cap for a 23 yro 8 ft bed. 
How many miles does the 150 have on it? And which motor? I had a 2000 as well. 2WD Supercab 4.6L V8. I commuted in it for years and then both boys drove it in their HS years. It was a great truck except in the snow.So, next major purchase is a high top cap for a 23 yro 8 ft bed.
At 200k it got a major coolant leak. In fact, on a steelhead trip to the John Day. Thankfully, it held just enough to keep things from freezing during my 4 day float. It made it out of the canyon on the half a jug of coolant I had left for the shuttle driver (she's the one that told me about the puddle of coolant) and then made it all the way home (Covington) on 2 more jugs.
Unfortunately, it was the freeze plug between the motor and tranny. So to replace a $10.65 piece of hard rubber it was going to cost me about $3k just in labor. I sold it as is to a dude that fixes up trucks for he & his brother's landscaping company for $900.
The 4.6L was solid besides that. The 5.4L has the spark plug seizing/breaking issue. So yeah, that cheap canopy might not be worth building out if the rig is ready to call it quits.
My rig is an '05 Escalade ESV we bought back when we needed a Brady Bunch rig. Don't need it for kid hauling anymore but has turned out to be a pretty good fishing rig. The Escalade fanciness is long gone, but it runs, and is comfortable in spite of a faint "au de tuna" aroma.
All I did to turn it into a camp rig was buy a foam pad at HD which fits with room to spare beside the 150qt cooler. Still plenty of room for rods, gear, and basic camp stuff.
All I did to turn it into a camp rig was buy a foam pad at HD which fits with room to spare beside the 150qt cooler. Still plenty of room for rods, gear, and basic camp stuff.
DKL
Steelhead
Here is my version.
I got rid of my pop up, slide in camper last year and went the way of a canopy. A huge step back in comfort. It is a few inches higher than the cab height, but I still can't even sit up completely, but it works. I used one piece of plywood for the entire bed, including the middle support beam and I still have left over plywood. I happen to have had some outdoor carpet I bought from Costco several years ago and never used to cover each piece of plywood. The Tacoma's bed is pretty slick and makes something like this pretty easy to do. There are 6 pieces that cover the entire bed, they are easier to manage and store this way when not using them and it provided me with a lot a flexibility in how I set things up. My everyday set up is the right side panels are in and the left side has the fridge and one panel covering the battery and a few other items. This leaves an open section in the back for loading some items (like my rolled up Striker raft). I have found this to be the best everyday configuration for me and it works well for camping. My pup can sleep on the one platform on the left side. I have plastic bins that fit perfectly under the platform for storage. Because the platform is modular, I can simply lift one of the sections to get at the bins below it, and of course I can slide out the last bin onto the tail gate.
I have had a pretty nice high efficiency compressor fridge from the days of my Eurovan Camper and I had a 100 Amp/hr LiFePo Renogy battery in my pop up camper that I kept when I sold it since it was virtually brand new. I bought a blank 7 pin connector and some wire and I run that up in through one of the little storage hatches in the rear of the truck bed and it goes to a DC to DC charger and charges the battery when the truck is running. From the battery it goes to an inverter and the fridge plugs into that as well as a power strip with USB ports.
My canopy is lined, so that takes care of most of the condensation issues, the windows can still be an issue. I have made curtains from black out material and velcro to hold them in place agains the carpet. I am in the process of making the bubble foil pieces that will attach directly to the windows with velcro for cold weather camping. These should help with the condensation from the windows too. I also have cargo storage netting/cord in the roof of the canopy that is quite nice to keep some things out of the way. I put some of the rubber gasket you can buy to seal up the gaps in the tailgate. I also have the windoors on each side of the canopy so I can easily get at things anywhere in the truck bed without having to crawl in and it provides good ventilation when it is hot out. I have buddy heater for cold weather that I turn on for a few minutes as I get into my bag and then maybe in the morning before I get out. It heats up the area really quickly and doesn't need to be on for long at all.
I have a Hest Foamy Sleeping pad that I sleep on. Pretty comfortable 4 inch memory foam pad made for this type of thing so it has waterproof fabric on the bottom. It is a little longer than the bed of my truck but it just rolls up a bit on each end against the tailgate and back of the truck bed. I'm a little over 6'1", my feet are up against the tailgate when lie straight flat on my back, but I still fit and I don't tend to sleep on by back much anyway.
I put a SnailArmor tailgate panel on and that is a much bigger deal than I would have thought. They are one of those things that are way more expensive then they should be, but you are really glad you have it. Kneeling on the ridged tailgate was really uncomfortable and putting some items on it didn't work well. It is a flat surface and takes care of each of those problems. To go with it, I got a Husky kneeling pad from Home Depot for getting in the truck bed starting with your knee, that is a must too. Cheap item that you are really glad to have.
As I still get used to it, I'm refining things. Being that it is a Tacoma, the bed is obviously not that big, so I try to keep as little in there as possible. I have added to the roof top storage so that I can keep as little in the truck as possible. I have a pretty large cargo rack over the cab and a large 18 cubic foot storage box. When going on a fishing/hunting trip I use the cargo box. If going surfing, I take it down and replace it with board racks. I just added the Doublehaul rod storage rack too, so that is really nice and gets rods out of the truck plus they can stay setup while stored. I also put a 270 awning on that covers the back half of the passenger side as well as the tailgate area. I spent a little on that one too because I wanted one that didn't need poles/legs. This one is self supporting even in mild wind. I can whip it out in a few seconds and store it back up in a minute. Awnings I have had in the past got little use because they were a pain to setup and take down. This one is so easy to use, you won't think twice about deploying it.
I feel like I have it set up now the way I like and the only thing I'll do going forward is maybe swap out some of the stuff I bring or don't bring with me. It definitely is a far cry comfort wise from a real camper, but it works and it doesn't keep my truck from still being a truck like the camper did.
9/10/23 Added a few additional pics in use.
I got rid of my pop up, slide in camper last year and went the way of a canopy. A huge step back in comfort. It is a few inches higher than the cab height, but I still can't even sit up completely, but it works. I used one piece of plywood for the entire bed, including the middle support beam and I still have left over plywood. I happen to have had some outdoor carpet I bought from Costco several years ago and never used to cover each piece of plywood. The Tacoma's bed is pretty slick and makes something like this pretty easy to do. There are 6 pieces that cover the entire bed, they are easier to manage and store this way when not using them and it provided me with a lot a flexibility in how I set things up. My everyday set up is the right side panels are in and the left side has the fridge and one panel covering the battery and a few other items. This leaves an open section in the back for loading some items (like my rolled up Striker raft). I have found this to be the best everyday configuration for me and it works well for camping. My pup can sleep on the one platform on the left side. I have plastic bins that fit perfectly under the platform for storage. Because the platform is modular, I can simply lift one of the sections to get at the bins below it, and of course I can slide out the last bin onto the tail gate.
I have had a pretty nice high efficiency compressor fridge from the days of my Eurovan Camper and I had a 100 Amp/hr LiFePo Renogy battery in my pop up camper that I kept when I sold it since it was virtually brand new. I bought a blank 7 pin connector and some wire and I run that up in through one of the little storage hatches in the rear of the truck bed and it goes to a DC to DC charger and charges the battery when the truck is running. From the battery it goes to an inverter and the fridge plugs into that as well as a power strip with USB ports.
My canopy is lined, so that takes care of most of the condensation issues, the windows can still be an issue. I have made curtains from black out material and velcro to hold them in place agains the carpet. I am in the process of making the bubble foil pieces that will attach directly to the windows with velcro for cold weather camping. These should help with the condensation from the windows too. I also have cargo storage netting/cord in the roof of the canopy that is quite nice to keep some things out of the way. I put some of the rubber gasket you can buy to seal up the gaps in the tailgate. I also have the windoors on each side of the canopy so I can easily get at things anywhere in the truck bed without having to crawl in and it provides good ventilation when it is hot out. I have buddy heater for cold weather that I turn on for a few minutes as I get into my bag and then maybe in the morning before I get out. It heats up the area really quickly and doesn't need to be on for long at all.
I have a Hest Foamy Sleeping pad that I sleep on. Pretty comfortable 4 inch memory foam pad made for this type of thing so it has waterproof fabric on the bottom. It is a little longer than the bed of my truck but it just rolls up a bit on each end against the tailgate and back of the truck bed. I'm a little over 6'1", my feet are up against the tailgate when lie straight flat on my back, but I still fit and I don't tend to sleep on by back much anyway.
I put a SnailArmor tailgate panel on and that is a much bigger deal than I would have thought. They are one of those things that are way more expensive then they should be, but you are really glad you have it. Kneeling on the ridged tailgate was really uncomfortable and putting some items on it didn't work well. It is a flat surface and takes care of each of those problems. To go with it, I got a Husky kneeling pad from Home Depot for getting in the truck bed starting with your knee, that is a must too. Cheap item that you are really glad to have.
As I still get used to it, I'm refining things. Being that it is a Tacoma, the bed is obviously not that big, so I try to keep as little in there as possible. I have added to the roof top storage so that I can keep as little in the truck as possible. I have a pretty large cargo rack over the cab and a large 18 cubic foot storage box. When going on a fishing/hunting trip I use the cargo box. If going surfing, I take it down and replace it with board racks. I just added the Doublehaul rod storage rack too, so that is really nice and gets rods out of the truck plus they can stay setup while stored. I also put a 270 awning on that covers the back half of the passenger side as well as the tailgate area. I spent a little on that one too because I wanted one that didn't need poles/legs. This one is self supporting even in mild wind. I can whip it out in a few seconds and store it back up in a minute. Awnings I have had in the past got little use because they were a pain to setup and take down. This one is so easy to use, you won't think twice about deploying it.
I feel like I have it set up now the way I like and the only thing I'll do going forward is maybe swap out some of the stuff I bring or don't bring with me. It definitely is a far cry comfort wise from a real camper, but it works and it doesn't keep my truck from still being a truck like the camper did.
9/10/23 Added a few additional pics in use.
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wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
2000, 150 XL, 2wd, 4.2l v6, 187K, 5 spd. Original clutch, work cab, bench seat, manual windows, barebones am/fm,How many miles does the 150 have on it? And which motor? I had a 2000 as well. 2WD Supercab 4.6L V8. I commuted in it for years and then both boys drove it in their HS years. It was a great truck except in the snow.
At 200k it got a major coolant leak. In fact, on a steelhead trip to the John Day. Thankfully, it held just enough to keep things from freezing during my 4 day float. It made it out of the canyon on the half a jug of coolant I had left for the shuttle driver (she's the one that told me about the puddle of coolant) and then made it all the way home (Covington) on 2 more jugs.
Unfortunately, it was the freeze plug between the motor and tranny. So to replace a $10.65 piece of hard rubber it was going to cost me about $3k just in labor. I sold it as is to a dude that fixes up trucks for he & his brother's landscaping company for $900.
The 4.6L was solid besides that. The 5.4L has the spark plug seizing/breaking issue. So yeah, that cheap canopy might not be worth building out if the rig is ready to call it quits.
4th set of brakes, 2nd alternator, 4th battery, normal maintenance cycles. Been such a reliable old girl I call it Old Paint.
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
Surprisingly, I get 20-23 mpg on the highway with a 1000- 1500 lb load .
What kills it, is when you have to sit stuck at idle in traffic like we have around the tacoma dome at times
. Then, more like 14 mpg.
What kills it, is when you have to sit stuck at idle in traffic like we have around the tacoma dome at times
. Then, more like 14 mpg.
I saw the Milliard 6'' cot size 31'' x 77'' on sale today for $112 with free shipping. I almost ordered one but made a final measurement before I hit the order button. Good thing I did, 28'' is the drop dead maximum mattress width I can use in the Casa. The 6'' mattress would have been a nice upgrade.Confirmed- Milliard 4" Deluxe was comfy. I got some good sleep.
My friend says an electric turkey knife cuts foam mattresses very well. Got one of those? 31" is standard cot width. I think the next standard down from that is 25". You've already measured once. Measure twice and cut?I saw the Milliard 6'' cot size 31'' x 77'' on sale today for $112 with free shipping. I almost ordered one but made a final measurement before I hit the order button. Good thing I did, 28'' is the drop dead maximum mattress width I can use in the Casa. The 6'' mattress would have been a nice upgrade.
Josh Martin, surfboard shaper (his father Terry, RIP, was a legend in the biz) and dedicated Baja rat, built himself one of the trickest and lightest camper shells possible..the simple 'hinge' tube up front so the roof can be tilted up when parked is genius
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wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
@ skyriver; this guy went all out. Talk about Luxe.
That's awesome work. A LOT more than I need and my raft wouldn't fit. I can literally make due with 2 bins and my tail gate, although a picnic table is nice. And if no table, I have a portable one. I'm not a "gear on the outside guy" (see video) or a too much gear on the inside guy either.
This is hilarious-
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