Tacoma Bed Camping Build: BedRug Mat or Liner

Hey all,

I just picked up my 2020 Tacoma TRD Off Road with a 6ft bed & 30k miles yesterday. Very stoked to be part of the community.

It came with a topper / shell already, so now I'm looking at building the inside out to be comfortable off-grid camping, stealth camping, etc.

I came across this video of a nice, easy build that's also easily removable, which is appealing to me as I still might want to use this as an actual truck for hauling occasionally: https://youtu.be/zfLIM3PAwhs

Instead of the cot he's using, I'm looking at one of the Roll-A-Cots which will fit in the 6ft bed and also right over the wheel well, conserving some space: https://www.camptime.com/collections/cots/products/wide-roll-a-cot

I researched the above a bit and found a thread on this forum of some people using it the cot to satisfaction in their setups, so I'm optimistic about how that will work out.

My main question is whether I should invest in a full BedRug Liner (around $400) or just the BedRug Mat (will only cover the bed itself and not the sides), which would run me closer to $150.

Would I regret only having the mat? The guy in the video claims that the liner does an excellent job at keeping the dust out while off-roading. Will just the mat also accomplish this, or am I going to need to do the entire liner? Anything else people here would recommend?

 

Welcome!

Does the mat keep dust out, or does it just soak up the dust?

I haven’t watched the video, but you’ll want to seal the gaps at the head of the bed and also consider ways to keep dust out where the tailgate folds up.

I’ve never found a cot my back likes, so I would go with supported plywood and a therm rest or exped-style air mattress, or just get a memory foam pad and leave it there (they soak up dust).

 

Rollacot does fit; couple of inches above the wheel well so you do lose a little bit of headroom compared to a setup like bambeds

 

Ha jus posted this in Softopper thread, I use cot, & have used my other one for more than 10 years. The one at Camp has old school therma rest pad on it. Truck one I actually cut 3ish inch off legs to give lil more head room. When I slid black plastic feet off I was surprised to see they put a washer in there so legs won’t poke through, I used a pipe cutter & worked great. Great family company in Spokane WA.. when I called & talked to them I got some 2nd (slight blemish) & saved some money.

 

Thanks for the info. Good looking truck

Thanks for bringing bambeds to my attention. I'm kind of leaning toward just getting one of these and sealing the gaps with weather stripping like Malvolio mentioned

 

Back to other question. I jus have Tacoma bed mat. It is truck like you said.. I had that fire wood in there & wet muddy things. So that’s what i do & use yoga mat on tailgate usually. Jus keep it simple & cheep.

 

For the tailgate get one of those pieces of black pipe insulation. Comes in six foot lengths.

Split it down the middle. It’s already perforated so it’s easy.

Cut it to length. Line it up with gap between tailgate and bed with the opening of the curve facing the cab.

Make a slit or cutout where the wires are on the right side. With the curve style facing the cab slide one side in between til it’s roughy in the middle of the foam.

I have a snail armor panel that leaves a bigger gap and had to use the insulation for larger pipe. Keeps about 95 percent of the dust from coming in there. Just make sure the tailgate is pushing into the foam. Should have to push it a little to close.

 

Do you like your snail armor panel, would you buy agin? jus look’n at all the options today.

 

I'd recommend the full liner. It just feels cozier when inside the bed to have the carpeted sides rather than the composite bed. Not to mention since the sides zip to the bottom mat it keeps all the dust/dirt/water from penetrating from underneath the bed where you will be. Also, if you still have the stock tailgate your knees will thank you having some added padding - if you do go with just the bed mat I'd suggest getting the tailgate mat as well.

 

I do and I would.

A lot of people opt for the ones made out of the cutting board like material. I chose this one because I can put a blazing hot iron skillet right out of the fire on it and my can also use my stove.

Doesn’t have cup/can holders but I drink a beer and don’t put it down and my 15 gals of water is in the back of the cab.

 

Welcome to the forum! Adding the BedRug Classic Bed Liner would certainly be a cozy option if you're going to be camping in the back. You're going to be spending a lot of time back there, so you'll need the extra protection for your truck bed between the gear and the cot. It extends onto the tailgate, too, helping to keep out dust around the tailgate seams. The polypropylene material is easy to clean- you only need a hose; and if it's a messy one, use a mild soap and a soft bristle brush.

 

I have the Bedbug mat and the Bedrug Tailgate liner. Works great for camping and for keeping stuff from sliding around. It's easy to pull out and clean and nice on my knees.