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Anyone have a Truck Bed Tent for their pickup?

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The lovely Mrs_Bob has an idea to drive to Boston.

But she doesn't want to stay in hotels.

She also doesn't want to ride the motorcycles and sleep on the ground in sleeping bags and a tiny tent. She wants to buy a truck bed tent :hammer:

So here is what I found on Amazon that will actually fit my Nissan Frontier compact pick up with 6'2" bed. I want to stay reasonably CHEAP because this will be a very lightly used tent, possibly 3 or 4 set ups and then sell it to the next sucker who gets sucked into a hair brained idea by his/her spouse.

Napier Backroadz => https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HX6ZX97/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Rightline Gear => https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FSBE9EO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Prices are within a few dollars of each other.

Napier has 4 poles and has an integrated bottom so it is fully enclosed. That probably makes is a bit more sturdy. Probably makes it a bit more bug proof. But also, after watching the videos, makes the set up a litte bit more complicated.

Rightline has 3 poles, no integrated bottom, but it has a sleeve that fits over the tailgate and seems to be more straightforward in the set up. 3 poles is probably not as stable in a storm as 4 poles. Ideally we would not travel in a storm!

I want something that can be assembled quickly and easily, especially if we pull into a campsite in the late evening. Is there peril in my thinking. Should I find a heavy duty one and suck it up because inexpensive lightweight truck tents don't hold up to even a few nights on the road? Bear in mind we will only stay the night, disassemble and leave, arrive somewhere else and set up. We are not planning to "live" out of the tent, rather we are looking to sleep and go.

Anyone have thoughts?

The Napier seems to have a bit more interior space, but does not have full length pole sleeves so the poles need to be clipped to the tent. The Rightline has less space and a sloped rear but full length pole sleeves to eliminate a step. Both have separate rain flys that fit over the tents.
 

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Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Way before truck bed tents were available we were camping out and it rained ...and rained. Tent was not as waterproof as we thought so it was damp and stuff inside got wet, especially around the edges. So, since the truck had a topper we moved stuff from the truck bed to the cab and slept in the truck bed. Worked great. We stayed in the truck bed the rest of the weekend.

All that to suggest you might consider a truck topper for your truck instead of the tent that you have to set up and take down each day. Toppers can be handy for other things too and are pretty easy to put on and take off with two able bodies.

Edit to add: I just looked at the prices of the tents. A topper would cost a whole lot more so not such a good idea unless you had other uses for a topper. Nevermind. LOL
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just get one of those Sprinter camper vans.

I looked at renting those. But roughly $225-$250 per night, plus add on 2 extra nights because we plan to leave early and return home late, so we'd need to pick it up a day early and take it back a day later so we'd easily pay for a fiberglass camper top in the nightly rental fees, plus they run about $0.35 to $0.50 cents per mile over 100 miles per day . . .

The whole goal of this trip is to pick up Dasha and bring her home. The lovely Mrs_Bob doesn't want her on an airplane due to Covid.

We thought we could take a couple days to get there, enjoy the drive. Then do 1 long day home. And do it for a reasonable price. Be extra safe at the same time.

But at some point just having Dasha fly home may be the most practical thing, she can live in the basement in quarantine :smileywac
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Can't help you with the truck tent but do have something for you to consider.
You didn't mention what you have on your truck beds floor but if it's anything ribbed, you're probably not going to like laying on it.
If not already flat, consider getting a horse stall mat and laying that in there. They come as 4x6' so it'll fit nearly perfectly. Here's a link to one at Tractor Supply.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4-ft-x-6-ft-x-3-4-in-thick-rubber-stall-mat

I use these things all over the place, primarily for anti-fatigue and anti-cold on the shop floor.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Screw all that. Pick up a Prevost or BlueBird Class A and be done with it. Make it a real nice trip. Doesn't need to be new. Couple years old is ok. She should be good with it since you are buying at a huge discount over new. Sell it in a few years for close to what you paid for it.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Screw all that. Pick up a Prevost or BlueBird Class A and be done with it. Make it a real nice trip. Doesn't need to be new. Couple years old is ok. She should be good with it since you are buying at a huge discount over new. Sell it in a few years for close to what you paid for it.

You need a lot of smilies after that suggestion.

:yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum::yum:

There, that should be enough.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Can't help you with the truck tent but do have something for you to consider.
You didn't mention what you have on your truck beds floor but if it's anything ribbed, you're probably not going to like laying on it.
If not already flat, consider getting a horse stall mat and laying that in there. They come as 4x6' so it'll fit nearly perfectly. Here's a link to one at Tractor Supply.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4-ft-x-6-ft-x-3-4-in-thick-rubber-stall-mat

I use these things all over the place, primarily for anti-fatigue and anti-cold on the shop floor.

I have looked at those bed tents on occasion but like you I have wondered about the ribbed floor on the truck. I had thought about a sheet of plywood cut to fit but your stall mats would work pretty well I think. I use those things a lot around the place. They are especially useful as kneeling pads on the asphalt driveway during the summer. They are a life and knee saver.
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
2 or 3 cheap motels.
Same price as the tent.
1 night in the pickup, and she'll be tossing the tent in a dumpster.

That is all.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
So you plan on 3 people being able to sleep comfortably in the back of a Nissan frontier? Just trying to picture it in my head. Lol

Seriously though. Even a full sized truck would be cramped with 3 people let alone a midsize truck.

My vote is for at least a 4 person tent. Most can be set up in minutes and would be more comfortable than a truck tent.

Are you planning on hauling a trailer for her things? That plays into it as well. I'm just picturing you having to empty out the back of the truck with all her things in a rain storm and trying to set up a tent then being cramped in like sardines meanwhile no room for storage so everything is sitting outside on the ground getting soaked.

I keep picturing how my grandfather traveled when I was a kid. He had a Nissan truck with a topper on the back and a mattress to sleep on. It barely squeezed a single sized mattress between the wheel wells. I'm not an expert but 3 people sleeping on a single mattress in the back of a truck?
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
2 or 3 cheap motels.
Same price as the tent.
1 night in the pickup, and she'll be tossing the tent in a dumpster.

That is all.

This is the same woman who rode her motorcycle around all 5 Great Lakes. This is the same woman who backpacked 600 miles from Southern France across Spain over 3 mountain ranges stopping at the Atlantic Ocean. This is the same woman who walked from the North Sea to the Irish Sea across England.

I think she can manage a couple nights on an air mattress in the back of a truck with the camping gear we carried on our backs. In fact, I think she would find if fairly luxurious compared to some of the places we've slept.

This is, after all, her idea :hammer:
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
This is the same woman who rode her motorcycle around all 5 Great Lakes. This is the same woman who backpacked 600 miles from Southern France across Spain over 3 mountain ranges stopping at the Atlantic Ocean. This is the same woman who walked from the North Sea to the Irish Sea across England.

I think she can manage a couple nights on an air mattress in the back of a truck with the camping gear we carried on our backs. In fact, I think she would find if fairly luxurious compared to some of the places we've slept.

This is, after all, her idea :hammer:
I had no idea.
Sorry.
 

jimbo

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have a pickup tent, along with a custom fitted air mattress. I think I bought it from Leonard. I used it on an 8000 mile don't know where I'm going, don't care when I get there, trip.

It worked for me, but for a couple days, I don't think I'd bother.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have a pickup tent, along with a custom fitted air mattress. I think I bought it from Leonard. I used it on an 8000 mile don't know where I'm going, don't care when I get there, trip.

It worked for me, but for a couple days, I don't think I'd bother.

I'm kinda liking the idea of renting a Class B or C motorhome. Not a bargain solution but it could be fun and we could make a few stops.



I had no idea.
Sorry.

No need to apologize but while she is a pampered wife she is also pretty adventurous and willing to rough it.
 

Jim_S

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Can't help you with the truck tent but do have something for you to consider.
You didn't mention what you have on your truck beds floor but if it's anything ribbed, you're probably not going to like laying on it.
If not already flat, consider getting a horse stall mat and laying that in there. They come as 4x6' so it'll fit nearly perfectly. Here's a link to one at Tractor Supply.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4-ft-x-6-ft-x-3-4-in-thick-rubber-stall-mat

I use these things all over the place, primarily for anti-fatigue and anti-cold on the shop floor.

:thumb:

Same here. Stall mat in the pickup bed and more mats in the shop.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm kinda liking the idea of renting a Class B or C motorhome. Not a bargain solution but it could be fun and we could make a few stops.

No need to apologize but while she is a pampered wife she is also pretty adventurous and willing to rough it.

Bob, I'm an RVer and that would be my choice but they can be pretty expensive to rent. Right now mine is sitting in the driveway useless because the slide stops need to be reset.

Your Mrs. Bob sounds a lot like my Mrs. Frank. She does enjoy her comforts and luxuries but when I take off on one of my "things" she's all in. I'm never sure if it's because she loves me or that she doesn't want to be left behind. :bolt:
 
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