I always admire slick setups. You know, smart ones that are easy & fast. And they get bonus points if they don't cost a bunch of money. I mean, I'd love to just buy a Super Pacific X1 and call it good, but my next $15k is probably going toward a better boat or a travel trailer that would meet my wife's requirements.
I was getting too old & cranky to tent camp, especially in the rain or cold, so I bought a canopy for my 2013 F150 6.5' bed with the idea of using it for overnighters or even 3 day weekend type of trips. I'm 6'4" and have a 9.6' raft so the 6.5' bed was no-brainer.
And I was hoping to find a mid-rise canopy to make the longer trips a bit more enjoyable, but when I had the chance at a really nice used Leer XL100 that matched my not so common color I grabbed it. The bonus is the regular height canopy means I can still fit the truck in the garage.
My first iteration of a sleeping/storage was fine, but too big to store when not in the truck, too tall to comfortably sit on and a few other annoyances:
So I lowered it and was a little happier. Btw, the platform was made out of an old long dresser that my wife and I had for 20 years and some leftover plywood. It was beefy...read heavy. But it served me pretty well on a few trips. It was really nice for trips that didn't involve my raft. If using my Commander, tube or boat I could setup at home and leave it. Worked great for rough spots that appeal to me. Like this:
But it was too much trouble when the raft was in play. And I didn't want any reasons keeping me from utilizing the raft. So, I scrapped the old build and watched a ton of YouTube truck camper videos. Holy crap, there's a bunch of them.
One guy had many of the same requirements that I did- 1- Quick setup, 2- Few parts for better truck storage...aka an inflated 9.6' raft! 3- More headroom than I had before.
I'll post his video at the end because he deserves a shout out. His ideas were what I was looking for and the biggest of those was 1/4x20 inserts so setup & take down is effortless.
Here's the new platform that is lower, lighter, and can be taken down and stacked at the front of the bed, under the raft.
I have a big 56 quart bin that fits underneath it that holds all I need for an overnighter or a long day on the raft.
I can also store 3 fully rigged rods in cases, oars, battery pump and a couple smaller bags like a my OPST waist pack that is also an awesome boat bag. Highly recommend.
Adding 2 Rubbermaid Roughneck bins would give me enough stuff for a multiple night trip and those can go in the back of the crew cab.
The quick take down is due 2x8s with the inserts. The bed is 3 pieces of 3/4 plywood. The pieces at my head and my feet are bolted. The piece in the middle that is just a bit bigger than the bin will be hinged so I can access it while inside the canopy. I've been in enough downpours to make that a requirement. They will be flag hinges for quick pull-apart take down.
The tailgate is naked right now since I finally removed the damn Ford stripper pole and knee busting plastic POS cover. The handle is nice if the canopy is off and I'm needing to jump in and out of the truck a lot. But that is so rare it's not worth it. The bar also made loading the raft harder since it sticks up quite a bit even when tucked down into it's horizontal resting place.
A Hooke Road ABS tailgate cover is on it's way! They get good reviews and will be a very overdue mod. My knees can't wait.
Once taken down, which takes about 3 minutes, the 2x8s lay flat, side by side, right down the middle of the bed and then the 3 pieces of plywood and the bin stack on top of them.
I confirmed the raft still fits in the bed with the parts like that. Mission accomplished.
Here's the video-
And his step by step video is also good. I used 2x8s on edge instead of his style of runners. I think it's more stable and easier to store.
Let's see some dirtbag chalets! I know I'm not the only slacker making due in the back of a truck.
I was getting too old & cranky to tent camp, especially in the rain or cold, so I bought a canopy for my 2013 F150 6.5' bed with the idea of using it for overnighters or even 3 day weekend type of trips. I'm 6'4" and have a 9.6' raft so the 6.5' bed was no-brainer.
And I was hoping to find a mid-rise canopy to make the longer trips a bit more enjoyable, but when I had the chance at a really nice used Leer XL100 that matched my not so common color I grabbed it. The bonus is the regular height canopy means I can still fit the truck in the garage.
My first iteration of a sleeping/storage was fine, but too big to store when not in the truck, too tall to comfortably sit on and a few other annoyances:
So I lowered it and was a little happier. Btw, the platform was made out of an old long dresser that my wife and I had for 20 years and some leftover plywood. It was beefy...read heavy. But it served me pretty well on a few trips. It was really nice for trips that didn't involve my raft. If using my Commander, tube or boat I could setup at home and leave it. Worked great for rough spots that appeal to me. Like this:
But it was too much trouble when the raft was in play. And I didn't want any reasons keeping me from utilizing the raft. So, I scrapped the old build and watched a ton of YouTube truck camper videos. Holy crap, there's a bunch of them.
One guy had many of the same requirements that I did- 1- Quick setup, 2- Few parts for better truck storage...aka an inflated 9.6' raft! 3- More headroom than I had before.
I'll post his video at the end because he deserves a shout out. His ideas were what I was looking for and the biggest of those was 1/4x20 inserts so setup & take down is effortless.
Here's the new platform that is lower, lighter, and can be taken down and stacked at the front of the bed, under the raft.
I have a big 56 quart bin that fits underneath it that holds all I need for an overnighter or a long day on the raft.
I can also store 3 fully rigged rods in cases, oars, battery pump and a couple smaller bags like a my OPST waist pack that is also an awesome boat bag. Highly recommend.
Adding 2 Rubbermaid Roughneck bins would give me enough stuff for a multiple night trip and those can go in the back of the crew cab.
The quick take down is due 2x8s with the inserts. The bed is 3 pieces of 3/4 plywood. The pieces at my head and my feet are bolted. The piece in the middle that is just a bit bigger than the bin will be hinged so I can access it while inside the canopy. I've been in enough downpours to make that a requirement. They will be flag hinges for quick pull-apart take down.
The tailgate is naked right now since I finally removed the damn Ford stripper pole and knee busting plastic POS cover. The handle is nice if the canopy is off and I'm needing to jump in and out of the truck a lot. But that is so rare it's not worth it. The bar also made loading the raft harder since it sticks up quite a bit even when tucked down into it's horizontal resting place.
A Hooke Road ABS tailgate cover is on it's way! They get good reviews and will be a very overdue mod. My knees can't wait.
Once taken down, which takes about 3 minutes, the 2x8s lay flat, side by side, right down the middle of the bed and then the 3 pieces of plywood and the bin stack on top of them.
I confirmed the raft still fits in the bed with the parts like that. Mission accomplished.
Here's the video-
And his step by step video is also good. I used 2x8s on edge instead of his style of runners. I think it's more stable and easier to store.
Let's see some dirtbag chalets! I know I'm not the only slacker making due in the back of a truck.
