Bed tent recommendations/experiences?

that bed tent is badass my buddy had one on his tacome

jonny585 said:

that bed tent is badass my buddy had one on his tacome

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Which one?

Well, after the Meet in Texas. I've had a few thoughts regarding my camping setup with this truck.

I had been using a cheapy inflatable mattress in the bed with my North Face Cat's Meow (rated to 20 degrees) sleeping bag thrown on top. Overall I like this setup- even in the storm we encountered at the Ranch. I just put all my crap underneath my truck, shut the tailgate, shut my Bak-Flip and slept diagonally. Note: This is not for you claustrophobic types!

Well the cheap Wal-Mart mattress got a slow leak that last night down there and I've been thinking how I can improve on this setup. Been looking at the Truck Bedz mattresses that utilize the entire bed (good if my wife or one of the boys decides to join me) and possibly setting up a canopy over the bed like one of the vendors at the Raptor Run had. Did any of you guys notice that one?

I thought that might be cool so I can cook my meals off the tailgate with some overhead cover, not have to fold my Bak-Flip shut if it rains, and be able to drive right out from underneath it when I'm ready to shred on the track.

I wonder what size that canopy was? Maybe 10'X10'?

Anyway give me your thoughts, positive and negative.

Edit: Crap, just realized my bed extender is going to be a problem with the Truck-Bedz. May just have to take that thing out whenever I go camping.

I was thinking the samething as your setup. Decided on a large 8 person tent, so I had enought room to offload everything in the tent. Using the tent as base camp so I did not have extra stuff/weight in my truck. The tent held up fine through the storm once I parked the truck next to it, and lashed the guylines to the truck.

-Greg

Thanks Greg. I've almost exclusively tent camped through the years until I got my Raptor. really like the idea of sleeping up off the ground though. Also I noticed the morning after the rain that a few tents were in a low area where the water pooled. Rookie mistake, huh?

What would be ideal (for me) is to have a canopy that you can unzip the side panels and roll/ tie them up during the day and then down at night to enclose the bed of the truck. That way you keep out the bugs/ dew/ rain.

So really it's like your large 8 person tent that you can back your Raptor part way into. I don't know if such an animal exists but I'd totally be in if it does!

Just out of curiosity, other than room inside, what advantage does something like what you guys are talking about have over a cot and a tent? Something like this (disclaimer: this is what I've settled on for single person or even two smallerish people):

BigJ said:

Just out of curiosity, other than room inside, what advantage does something like what you guys are talking about have over a cot and a tent? Something like this (disclaimer: this is what I've settled on for single person or even two smallerish people):

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Hey J, I'll chime in. I'm not necessarily opposed to that setup. Just thinking an air mattress would be more comfortable than a cot but maybe I don't have the right cot. Also I like the idea of cooking my meals under the shade of a canopy.

I've never had a canopy before so I don't know if this is even feasible as far as sturdiness/ wind and weatherproof/ sealability at night/ cost of a good one, etc.

My two tents that I have are lightweight backpacking tents that would barely fit one cot and certainly not an air mattress so if I went that route I'd have to buy a bigger tent (already have a cot).

Edit: This reminds me of a joke: Guy goes to the doctor and says, "Doc, something's wrong with me! One minute I feel like a teepee, the next I feel like wigwam. Teepee, wigwam, teepee, wigwam...like that."
Doc says "I think I know what your problem is. You're too tense"

(Two tents- get it?) Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaahahaa!

Hah! So bad. But funny!

And I gotcha on the usage. Makes sense. I'm just thinking that when and where I go out, wind is almost always a factor. A canopy would almost probably for sure not survive one trip. But it would be nice to have, I agree with ya there.

As for comfort... I can't speak for other cots or pads, but I gotta say the Teton cot all by itself is pretty darn comfy. Combine it with a pad and its almost as nice as my Temperpedic at home. No joke. Maybe see if someone local to ya has one (or a store?) and give it a try. I'll bet you'll be pretty surprised.

just do an air matress and a bestop cap

I saw this of Extreme 4x4 tv show

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