Truck bed camping setup

In the process of turning my truck bed into a camping setup and curious on what everyone uses for sleeping mats or air mattress? Which product you recommend and what not. Would love to see photos of set up too!

 

You might get a better response posting on the Outdoors thread. Anyway here’s what I do. I’ve been an outdoorsman my whole life and been sleeping in the back of my trucks for 40 years. This works for me, others will have multiple different suggestions. First stay away from any kind of air mattress. All of them will at sometime will leak, tear or get punctured. There are some great air type mattresses but they will leak sometime.
Here’s what I do, don’t know anyone else that does exactly what I do. I use a patio lounge mattress (which is comfortable in itself) then I put a piece of tempur pedic foam on top of it. Like sleeping on a cloud, I sleep like a baby. Has to be tempur-pedic type foam. Regular foam isn’t as comfortable and you will sweat. I also have carpet padding and a piece of carpet cut to fit the back of my truck perfectly.

 

I will have to post in there too but thank you for the reply! I see so many companies advertising the air mattresses but that was my concern was air leaks and tears and what not. I plan on using it fairly often and want something that is easy to load and pack out. Thank you for the reply!

 

My suggestion is easy to load and pack out. When I get home I just roll up the pad and foam (separately) bungee them and I’m good. When I head out again I just unroll them in the back of the truck , takes a couple seconds and I’m good to go.

 

ive slept in my tacoma bed, i like to use the bed mat as a base layer a camping pad up under my bag, and i also keep an inflatable one in a box and then sleep in the truck cap, window open just a bit

 

just a general camping pad? know the brand off the top of your head? how was it crawling around in the back? my concern is it beating up the knees after a couple nights.

 

I've heard nothing but good things about the Exped mattresses. That's what I'd go for if looking for a comfortable mattress.

 

yes just the simple foam ones, on top of the rubberized bed liner, the bed it self somehow beats my knees up worse then most steel box truck beds

as for the sleeping pad, think just a generic foam Coleman pad, and think my inflatable one is something off Amazon, that i keep in my Gambler500 box

 

That's a bummer you haven't had luck with them, but I've known tons of people that have never had issues with air mattresses. Wife and I have used some REI 3.5 inch ones for ... 7 or so years with no issue. First year or so they were rolled up and deflated after each use and stored that way. Then I glued velcro to them to adhere them to my AT Habitat where I could leave them attached, but aired down when not in use. Then they went back to regular rolling up and jammed into a tote for next use, and now they are hung up, with air in them, in the garage now that I made room. They look practically brand new other than the marks from the glue I used. As long as you don't buy cheap crap, they can be great and last a LONG time. Just don't stab them with a pocket nice or something sharp. If an Exped mattress fit in my Scout Camper, I'd for sure have one in there. They just don't make a size that works in my Yoho, and the corners are curved too, so that doesn't help.

 

these keep coming up as im doing research and i also see nothing but great things. Bit of a high price point but seems to be worth the cash

 

I am using an Exped Megamat. The regular size fits perfectly in my 6' bed and I sleep better than at home. Quality is good, no leaks in 3 years of use both in the truck bed and in the tent when car camping, probably 45-50 nights on it now. I don't have a platform at all, just lay the pad directly on the bed mat to sleep and pop it up on its side to pack up - I do leave it inflated on trips, partially deflate when at home. They can be found fairly frequently in REI's used gear "Resupply" (formerly Garage Sale) areas. The pads are a bit of an investment, but so are most quality things.

 

I have used both the air mattress option and the foam options in various camping set ups. I have to agree that the air mattresses are more comfortable at a given thickness but they all leak eventually. For my current camp set up in a RTT I ordered a custom mattress from foambymail. I was able to get the exact size I wanted, a dual layer composition for improved comfort, and it came with a custom cover. I have had multiple friends use them for their builds including truck beds and one who converted a Sienna to be a stealth camp rig. Everyone loves them, they are essentially 0 maintenance, and there is no risk of an air leak.

 

I am in the pro air mattress camp! I love the comfort and how easy it is to pack away into a shoebox. I like how they conform to the shape of the bed. I've patched mine a few times. I have gone through 3 or so. They are cheap. Sometimes they are free when someone throws out a perfectly good one with a pinhole. Eventually it breaks somewhere that can't be patched, like the valve or a seam.