Hows Camping with a Double Cab Short Bed?

I'm looking to get a 4x4 05-07 Tacoma, I want the double cab for sure (I have a Ranger with the shitty jump seats) and i'm trying to decide between the long bed or the short bed.

I personally like the shorter bed (looks, shorter wheel base) but I'd like to go camping and I'd want a bed big enough to comfortably sleep through the night in.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

The short bed is what... 4 to 4 1/2 feet. I don't imagine that would be particularly comfortable, though depending on how tall you are and if you camp alone I suppose it could be ok on the diagonal.

For what it's worth you may want to consider the access cab. I had an 04 access cab and those, while a step up from the ranger jump seats that you describe, I would consider shitty still, but the rear seats in my 07 access cab I consider to be down right comfortable. That way you still get the shorter wheel base and still have the 6 foot bed.

Of-course you could just go with my idea of camping and pull a travel trailer and not worry about sleeping in the bed.

 

I love the way the short beds look, but that being said - when you need a long bed, you need a long bed. You never really "need" a short bed over a long bed except for looks.

I was looking at the short bed double cabs, and I reallized that the whole point of me having a truck (and not a 4Runner, RAV4, or FJ Cruiser) was to have a functional bed. My wife and I are going to buy a bed tent once I do some research and find a deal on one. What little research I have done, I have not been able to find one that fits a short bed.

Hope this helps.

 

Correction kinda Cir... the DB Cab short bed is 5 foot and with the tall gate down you gain another foot and a half or so.. The long bed gets you 6 foot! hehe I've measured mine... just to make sure..

 

I've used my shortbed to go camping and it works great for me. I'm 6 ft tall and witht he tailgate down i'm very comfortable. even with the tailgate up, i rarely stretch all the way out when i sleep so i have no complaints

 

Eventhough its bed time, I need room to play.

 

Touche. In all honesty the long bed is probably more practical. I got the short bed for a number of reasons. 1st, i think it looks better. 2nd, really dont need the long bed. 3rd, didn't wanna pay for it if i wasnt going to need it. 4th, the short bed is more manuverable, 5th, i cared more about the offroading capabilities so i wanted it to be more manuverable and have a shorter wheel base. Those are the reasons i went with the short bed and i love it. but if you need the extra space and don't mind the extra money, the long bed is probably more practical

 

It definitely looks better on the double cab. I would love to see what one looks like on an AccessCab. I would think the manueverability would be awesome as well (although I have never looked into it).

 

Thanks all, I needed to hear "I'm 6 ft tall and with the tailgate down i'm very comfortable." I wanted the short bed, just wanted someone to reinforce my opinion haha.

I saw a lifted double cab long bed today, it looked pretty nice, accept that the guy had to back in and out 3 times to park the damn thing. The whole point of me getting a smaller truck is to keep its maneuverability.

I'm building a custom bed tent that fits the short bed (tailgate up) then slides out a foot on the end and attaches to the tailgate (tailgate down)

Thanks.

 

With the tailgate down i'm confortable but like i said, i don't sleep fully extended usually. go to a dealership and drop the bed in a shortbed and lay down. you may look like an idiot but when you spend that much you better make sure you're happy with it. Just to put things in perspective, i am also ok just laying a bag on the ground and sleeping under the stars with no padding. But in my truck, i just lay down a thin blow up pad and curl up and pass out (im usually drunk when i camp) basically what i'm saying is that you're idea of comfortable and my idea of comfortable may be very different, so i would check it out for yourself before you take my word for it

 

Short bed 60.3 long, with lowered tailgate adding 19" including the gap at end of bed to t/gate, so, plenty of length.

 

I stumbled on this camper that someone put on their Tacoma:


Link to a reseller website: http://www.loftyshelters.com/MaggAdventureENG.htm

 

HEY! I know that guy. That's surfponto!

Notice in this pic, He doesn't have a V6 logo on the back. He camps in his 2.7L AccessCab 4x4 (and I'm sure his FJ sees the trail too).

 

There were pics of a FJ on that site.

 

Extreme Tacoma camping: http://www.4x4offroads.com/camping-survival-vehicle.html

 

Huh what....oh wait thats one of the main driving reasons I bought a truck in the first place HA.

 

Thats an awesome littel camper, i wouldnt mind getting one of those

 

Pro: very durable, and when mounted over the bed, you still get storage underneath

Con: Cost! $1800+

 

The con's outwheigh the pro's on this one, i'm ok sleeping under the stars on the hard ground, so there's no way i'm gonna pay more than a few bucks to do anything more than that. I have a double cab, i'll just sleep inside if it gets nasty. plenty of room in there

 

Going to have to second the motion that the cons outweigh the pros. I think the design is cool as hell, but for a couple of hundred dollars more you could get a bare bones pop-up camper or a really nicely equiped used pop-up.