# Truck bed camping??



## sobar

So, I've been out of the outdoors game for almost twelve years unfortunately. I've recently acquired a more regular schedule that will allow weekends away. Unfortunately my new budget doesn't allow for full weekend amenities either though. Gonna try making a few weekend fishing/camping trips out of the back of my F150 w/cap. Just looking for a few tips on sleeping comfortably/heating the back of the truck on those colder night?? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!


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## Waif

Insulation under you.
An air mattress can be partly filled at a gas station ,then more air added later.
A wool blanket or inch of newspapers between your sleeping bag and the mattress help.
Have ear plugs in case it rains hard. 
You want some ventilation to avoid moisture build up, plus the fresh oxygen.(Even without a heater).

A tent on top of a bale of straw (or half bale if a small tent) will sleep fairly warm.
A tarp over the tent (or a tent fly over it) will help keep the tent roof clean and shed precip better sometimes.
Dry and air bedding each day. Even if it seems fine.

Heaters you sleep with ,have bugged me when truck camping.
Safety about prohibits most. I don't trust a low o2 device....
Then too, keeping from touching it while sleeping.
Made a rack for my catalytic heater but did not use it.

Thought about heating rocks(not river rocks or any that can hold water) and putting them on a steel rack in the truck ,but abandoned the idea.

Never froze to death though. I wake up if too cold...


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## Luv2hunteup

Double height air mattress.


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## sNeAkYpEtE11

If you have a few 2x4s, a piece of 3/4 plywood/particle board, and a little time, you can make a raised sleeping platform. It's nice because you don't have to empty all your stuff out of the truck every night. I like to put a couple layers of carpet pad down, then a new remnant piece of carpet on top. For heat I would use a Mr buddy next to a cracked window or just sleeping bag/blankets depending on how cold it is


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## Quack Addict

I use to know a father and son that died in a pickup truck using a gas heater. If you're close to a 110v electric outlet (campground for example), maybe an electric heater, but no way I'd use a gas heater.

Throw down a sheet of plywood and some carpet or a couple blankets to take the edge off the corrugations in the bed's sheet metal and get a GOOD sleeping bag that you can pull up over your head if it gets that cold. You'll find that you want to keep the windows in the cap open a fair amount, otherwise you'll have a lot of condensation that builds up, sometimes to the point it gets drippy inside. Then you're cold and wet...

Growing up truck camping, dad acquired some 2" thick foam somewhere that was egg crate shaped on 1 side. It was really good over some 3/8" plywood with the foam and a good sleeping bag.


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## old professor

Quack Addict said:


> I use to know a father and son that died in a pickup truck using a gas heater. If you're close to a 110v electric outlet (campground for example), maybe an electric heater, but no way I'd use a gas heater.
> 
> Throw down a sheet of plywood and some carpet or a couple blankets to take the edge off the corrugations in the bed's sheet metal and get a GOOD sleeping bag that you can pull up over your head if it gets that cold. You'll find that you want to keep the windows in the cap open a fair amount, otherwise you'll have a lot of condensation that builds up, sometimes to the point it gets drippy inside. Then you're cold and wet...
> 
> Growing up truck camping, dad acquired some 2" thick foam somewhere that was egg crate shaped on 1 side. It was really good over some 3/8" plywood with the foam and a good sleeping bag.



I used to do a fair amount of truck camping with a simple rig beneath a cab high or slightly higher cap on the bed -- take two sheets of 3/4 or 1 inch ply or particle board, cut then in two length wise. Trim to length that will span the inside width of the cap when mounted on the truck bed - minis an inch or so to enable easier insertion. If you use only three pieces(=6 ft), you will have room to wiggle out without lowering the tailgate. All four pieces and you have a two level platform under the cap, although I almost always used only three sheets. This system has the advantage that all three or four pieces can be stood up on their side, to give full access to the inside beneath the cap, with out removing the plywood, although it does mean blocking the view out the rear windows.


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## plugger

When I truck camped I used a cot in the topper. You could still pack stuff under neath and it was quite comfortable.


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## sobar

Good tips, thanks for the insight everyone.


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## miruss

lots of videos online


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## TK81

I had a raised platform too. Storage underneath. Sectioned similar to waterbed frame set-up. I could slide fishing tackle underneath, firearms, coolers, golf clubs, etc. I just had a particle board top with a piece of carpet pad and then a plush nap carpet remnant on top. A good sleeping bag and I was comfy down to 20 degrees or so. Spent many a night in the UP and northern lower like this in my younger days. You can buy a ceramic heater at Walmart for about 15 bucks if you will have electric hook-up.


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## Fishndude

I used to live out of my truck for days, mostly in pretty iffy weather - Steelhead fisherman. These mats were what I used for sleeping. If you will be truck camping in truly cold weather, get a sleeping bag made for truly cold weather. And realize that none of them are actually good for the lowest temps they advertise. And eat a chocolate bar before you go to sleep. And set an alarm to wake you in the middle of the night, in case you are actually freezing to death.

https://www.overstock.com/search?keywords=foam+pool+float

The only time I felt dangerously close to freezing it was -5*, at Tippy dam, in January. I woke up, and could hardly move. I was wearing good polypro, heavy sweats, 2 pairs of socks, and a knit hat, and still was freezing - literally. I got into the cab, and fired up the heater, and didn't even start shaking from the cold for about 20 minutes. It took 45 minutes of the heat blasting to warm up. I slept the rest of the night in the cab. But I caught Steelhead, and only saw a couple other guys fishing in a weekend.


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## bhugo

Get a good sleep bag and thick camping mat and you’ll be real comfy. Small mr. heater to turn on when you wake is very nice. Need to have vent windows for it.


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## Sling

maybe an electric blanket....or a cordless heated vest


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## Fishsmith85

I sleep many nights in the UP right in the cab of my truck. I’ve done this down to sub freezing weather. Just wear heavy clothes and a good sleeping bag for comfort. You wake up warm a lot of times. I do this probably 15-20 times a year may-November. 


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## ma1979

This is my setup, I have a 2" thick soft foam pad that I put on my cot and then a sleeping bag on it then I sleep in my sleeping bag, no heater required. I use a CPAP so I run a 900watt harbor freight generator 100' away from my truck to a inverter and plug my machine into it along with a small lamp in case I need to get up at night for anything. This setup is super comfy.

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## Clum

This thread sure makes me miss my F150. The 8 foot bed is a must. My old man used to just use a small sunflower heater in the back with the windows cracked open. Never died. I have a Colorado now, with a 5 foot bed which sucks for me because Im just shy of 6 foot and HATE sleeping curled up. I usually end up letting the tail gate down and my feet hang out of the back. Ive though about customizing a tarp bunged under and around the tailgate and back window.

Another option to look into, maybe it was mentioned, but they have tents that fit onto the back of your truck.


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## JBMetalworks

Glad I saw this thread! I am planning on camping out of my f250 in about a month for the spring turkey season (and hopefully some mushroom hunting) in the northern lower. Lots of good tips and some ideas to get me thinking. Anybody have any other tips not mentioned above for a first time truck camper?


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## spikehornkid

Get a military surplus sleeping bag which consists of three layers. They sell them at general Jim's next to Jay's. We use them out west camping and sleep in your underwear in them.


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## Stand By

Just food for though for the gas heaters guys. The fumes will be heavier than air. If you're sleeping flat on the bed, having windows cracked open above you may not be sufficient. Also, fumes from the raw unburned fuel (gasoline, etc) act the same as the exhaust.


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## 6Speed

spikehornkid said:


> Get a military surplus sleeping bag which consists of three layers. They sell them at general Jim's next to Jay's. We use them out west camping and sleep in your underwear in them.


Yea, this. While many think soldiers sleep in a tent that's usually not true unless they're a REMF. They lay their fart sack on the dirt, a pile of tree boughs or a foam pad if they feel like humping the extra weight and crash out. If you're tired enough you can sleep with no bag at all but not for more than an hour or two.

Going down to your skivvies works the best but it's kind of shocking to roll over and feel the cold steel of the machine gun you also have in your bag so it doesn't leave your side...

I've slept in my truck many times with no issues. Please do not ever use a heat source that will emit carbon monoxide or you could die. I keep chemical hand or body warmers in my truck. Pop a couple of those and toss one in the bottom of the fart sack and keep another one close to your middle to keep your core temp up and you'll sleep like a baby.


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