Short Bed Truck Camping Setup

WKexpedition

Built, not bought!
Hey guys, so typically I'm an on the ground tent camper kind of guy, but having recently purchased a new short bed frontier I wanted to see if there are any good ways of converting the bed into a sleeping area that can fit a 6ft tall person? I saw one picture of a short bed with a topper with the glass extended up and the tail gate dropped and an awesome "tent skirt" around the opening to close it off and keep out the insects and weather. But i cant for the life of me find this product anywhere or what its called. Do you guys know of any companies that make such a thing or any other options out there? I know a lot of people are probably going to tell me to save up and get a RTT but that's not really an option financially for me right now, and i don't really have the space to store it when its not in use.

thanks for any input or ideas!
-Evan
 

anickode

Adventurer
I looked at those for a bit to use in conjunction with a cap I was going to buy. Then I bought a cap with swing-open style doors and ditched the tailgate, making my 5 foot bed totally useless for sleeping. Still trying to come up with a nice in-between option because I really like the double swing doors.
 

JJEH

Member
I have a short bed Ram and was asking myself the same question. My mid term goal is a custom rack and a RTT.
 

WKexpedition

Built, not bought!
The links are roughly the idea I'm looking at. But the one I'm after is a lot simpler looking. Here is a picture that I found a long time ago and of course can't find it again.

image.jpg
 

thethePete

Explorer
Yeah that looks custom, and if not, easy enough to get made at a local tarp shop, just make it like a sleeve, basically like a fitted sheet, then you'll probably want some sort of poles to keep the canopy hatch open against gusts and to reduce strain on the gas struts...

Not a bad idea though, to gain some valuable and useful space.

Another option would be one of the 270* awnings like a Foxwing or whathaveyou, with the sides. Then you have a fairly large area enclosed, as well as the bed.
 

anickode

Adventurer
I remember seeing (I think it was) in the "truck cap mods" thread someone who made a tailgate tent using two army surplus, canvas shelter halves. It actually looked quite good, and was rather inexpensive to make.
 

fortel

Adventurer
The links are roughly the idea I'm looking at. But the one I'm after is a lot simpler looking. Here is a picture that I found a long time ago and of course can't find it again.

View attachment 341014

The only problem I see with this one is that it will be hard to stop leaks where the fabric channels water down to the topper's door hinge area. The Tents on Trucks models extend up and over the topper and help some with that leak point. I had one of theirs on a previous truck with a Leer topper and it worked really well unless the truck was parked a little nose up. A couple of times with the topper roof slanted towards the back some rain found its way under the fabric panel and still leaked in a little at the hinge of the topper's door.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I had the DAC truck tent on my Tacoma and it worked well. Easy to set up and take down and not expensive (around $115 IIRC.)
.
2008_1013_184800AA.jpg
 

WKexpedition

Built, not bought!
Yeah that looks custom, and if not, easy enough to get made at a local tarp shop, just make it like a sleeve, basically like a fitted sheet, then you'll probably want some sort of poles to keep the canopy hatch open against gusts and to reduce strain on the gas struts...

Not a bad idea though, to gain some valuable and useful space.

Another option would be one of the 270* awnings like a Foxwing or whathaveyou, with the sides. Then you have a fairly large area enclosed, as well as the bed.[/QUOTE]

This is why i love this forum. I cant believe I did not think of this. This idea will also give me a great awning option for when I go shooting. Thanks guys!!
 

drifter_r6

Observer
I don't have a topper but utilize a similar setup as you are envisioning. My ladder rack provides the frame structure and I made panels which encloses the truck bed, the bedslide fully extended provides additional sq. footage to the bed and the foxwing provides coverage over that. A problem to look out for is the hatch glass to the topper, it will come into contact with the awning if you don't have it mounted high enough.

This is an old pic and the setup has evolved quite a bit but you get the idea. Please excuse the mess, if I remember right a down pour came out of no where and I hastily threw everything under cover.
IMG_4854.JPG
 
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thethePete

Explorer
To remedy that you could just opt for shorter gas struts. You can buy them by length.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk
 

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