Bed tents

My wife suggested a tent for the back of the truck!?!? She’s great! So I’ve done some Amazon shopping and see two basic design options.
One a full tent with side walls and floor the other with no floor and the side walls go outside the truck bed.

with the second option you don’t have to empty the bed to setup the tent - I’ve set up camp too many times in the rain so that sounds good. My question is can strong winds get under the sidewalls and blow into the tent?

lookin for actual personal experiences, second hand stories and WAG’s but please identify what yours is.

also brand suggestions and why you are suggesting it (I own the place is a reason - offering a discount is even better).

thanks

 

Napier Tents

 

I had a Napier with a floor before I went to a RTT. I would think that wind and rain could be an issue for the ones without the floor.

 

I have a rightline tent, no floor in it so no need to unload the bed to set it up and you can put in a sleeping platform without dealing with a tent floor bunching up.

 

Get a camper shell...

In a battle between a camper shell, roof top tent, and bed tent, the bed tent is the worst of all worlds. The only thing going for it is price.

 

Another vote for Napier truck tent here! I use my travel trailer now but in places they are not allowed this tent is MONEY. Use it with an Airbedz mattress and you won't be disappointed.

 

But where do you carry your other stuff?

 

I wouldnt say the only thing going for it is price. If you only camp a few times a year, then a bed tent is great.

I have a soft topper and a bed tent, when I want to camp I fold down the the soft topper and put the tent up. The tent has more ventilation than the soft topper, it keeps bugs out better, more head room in it. My bike with the wheels on is taller than my soft topper, so I have to fold down the topper when I take my bike, wifes bike and both kids bikes with me places, a fiberglass topper would not let me do this, I would have to lay them all down or get a roof mounted rack for my bike. With my setup, when I need to move to a new location I can just pull the tent poles, put the soft topper up and then go where I need to. No need to remove the tent or any of my stuff from it (same can be done with a tonneau cover)


Shell Cons
- Not easy to remove if you need to haul taller things
- No ventilation unless you spring for the screened in windows

Shell Pros
- better insulation
- better rigidity if you want to haul kayaks/bikes on the roof

Roof top tent cons
- Generally higher than anything can limit parking option
- Have to put it down when you move

Roof top tent pros
- Designed for camping
- More comfortable

Bed tent cons
- Have to put it up and down every time you plan to drive somewhere
- Can limit what you keep in the bed with you

Bed tent pros
- Full use of the bed and height when the tent is packed up
- Very small storage space taken when its not in use


There are other pros and cons to each of these, but I wanted to limit it to 2 each. Each option has good and bad things about them, the best option in my eyes is to get a dedicated travel trailer, but thats a whole new game beyond tenting.

 

In the bed! A stowed bed tent is actually pretty small. You have lots of room for cooler, camp stove, table, E-Z up,, etc.



OR you could get one of these bad boys...

 

Personally if I'm going to the trouble of setting up a tent I'll put it on the ground where it belongs. I think it comes down to how important is sleeping in the bed of the truck to you. For me, sleeping in the truck bed is all about convenience. The bed tent is lacking in that department. I guess in a situation with a flat piece of ground, I don't see much if any advantage to putting the tent in the bed vs on the ground.

 

OK, now where does all your stuff end up while you're sleeping in the bed tent?

 

Roof top tent cons
-when you get older, the chances of falling off that damn ladder and breaking a hip significantly increase (unless you will always remain young as I will)

 

I set up my EZ up, table underneath, camp stove on top of table, cooler underneath table, lantern on top of table, clothes and such inside tent. Pretty straightforward.

 

I vote for low mounted RTT and bedslide. All the functionality and like none of the downsides

 

That thing is bad ass! How much does it weigh? What is that back end open for, is that a storage space?

 

It's a Braxton Bushwhacker:

https://www.unlimitedrv.com/--xInventoryDetail?id=7869794

The back is a mini kitchen:


It's 1400 lbs or so, a very easy tow.

 

Na

 

That is awesome! The wife would love this. You can do some minor off road with this too? Also, how much for that model? Sorry for all the separate messages and questions

 

Coming from 20 years of tent camping... You definitely want one with a floor. Otherwise, there's really no barrier between you & the outside world, so YES, insects, scorpions & overzealous snakes will get in there - depending on where you camp. Also, if your truck bed is wet, dusty, muddy, from wherever you came from - so is your bedroom. Where weather is concerned, like everything else man - preparation and maintenance is key. We seal the seams on our tents every year and never had an issue. I've camped next to people with extremely pricey Eurekas and Keltys only to wake up with them saying "man...my tent leaked last night."

I can tell you what kept us away from RTT's - unless you want to drive around with it mounted up all the time, you'll need a place to store it, and a way to get it on/off. If you have to prep by yourself, you'll need a hoist of some sort. With 2 people, not so bad, but still a PITA (for us anyway - your experience may vary). Camper shells are awesome, but they have their limitations - mentioned in other posts here. Wind getting under those side walls...it'll have to be pretty strong wind to affect the integrity of the tent, which, unless you're in an expedition-quality one, will happen no matter what. GET OUT THERE!

 

I am going roof top tent.
I plan on building my own bed cage (like the brute force one) using the bed to frame bolts instead of mounting it on the weak bed rails.