Tacoma and camping....

Short bed. Won’t work unless OP is less than 5 feet tall.

 

You mentioned Glacier. I think Yellowstone has some restrictions on soft sided campers like pop ups and tents in some areas due to bear activity, Glacier may have similar policies. Personally I just got a Taco to pull my lite trailer and it pulls it fine(use to pull it with an FJ with no problems as well). I got a Taco because we added a dog to the family (truck bed for the dog as the wife kicked him out of FJ and trailer). My plan is to more than likely get a hard sided camper shell for the truck bed for the dog to ride in and sleep in at night when camping. That way I know he’s safe and secure. Right now I use a large dog kennel/crate with a cover over it secured in the bed that he rides and sleeps in at night (he loves it). I like the trailer cause I can find a camp site I like, drop it and take off for whatever reason and know my campsite won’t be taken. We got away from tents after waking up in Moab with about an inch of sand on us in the tent, me andmy son had respiratory problems for monthes after breathing in sand all night. if I did go with a tent it would be a single wall style unlike those double wallstyles that have the screen and the rainfly. Those are great in mountains but don’t keep sand out in windy desert conditions. I was mountain biking in Moab last weekend in the trailer and the wind picked up one night but it was not an issue in the trailer. Made dinner and played cards and listened to the wind...and wondered if I remembered to secure the dog kennel in the truck bed or was he a tumbleweed in his kennel?? Just kidding he was fine as his kennel cover seals up real good to keep rain and wind off him. My current setup is in the towing section, dog kennel and all if interested.

 

YES, Tents not a good idea in heavy bear areas like Yellowstone, there area some areas with restrictions on tents.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campinginbearcountry.htm

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

 

The bears in Yosemite prefer picnic baskets. I saw it on TV

 

I’ve been trying out some different setups with my Tacoma. I like this one that I did with my hammock. It worked for me down to 27 Fahrenheit and I still had to take some layers off in the middle of the night. A good sleeping pad and a space blanket/ reflective tarp made all the difference.

I liked having the bed there to use as a shelf for lanterns/shoes/extra clothes. Downside is that this set up is probably very terrain dependent.

 

i dont disagree. We were discussing it a little further last night and probably wont be camping unless its for a couple days. On the way there and the way back we would likely just get a cheap hotel for the night. Its just quicker and easier and worth the 80-90 bucks in my opinion. We arent looking to do the full 2 weeks camping every night. Probably get to the grand canyon, camp a couple nights and hike, pack up early one morning, and head toward yosemite and camp there a few nights.

 

Very nice, how long does this take to setup/break down?

 

I hadnt made it far enough into my research to make it to the soft sided tent restrictions yet. My inlaws do a lot of cross country camping with their goldwing so we plan to have a good discussion with them about some things like that as well as plenty of interwebs research. We are still trying to decide if we will take our great dane. Id love to take him with us but being a large dog it makes camping arrangements more difficult and pretty well keeps us from being able to go to glacier. They dont allow pets on hiking trails

 

Tent sets up in about 5-6 mins, 2 mins is just getting the straps adjusted evenly. Air mattress goes quick i use the tail gate plug-in for regular air bed pump 2 mins to inflate and pack the pump away after. so if i take my time about 10 to 15 mins to have sleeping arrangements set-up and ready. breakdown is quicker on the tent, the mattress i am at will of the air releasing but still faster to tear it down than the set-up.
First time took me a few extra mins to get through the how to part, now its easy and goes super fast.
Video Instructions:https://youtu.be/Sr5rn1S_OeU

 

I take my dogs camping, it's just a rule. You'll feel guilty if you don't. Yeah it Keeps me from hiking the national parks which is a bummer, but it also let me discover some amazing state parks and national forests that I otherwise would have passed on by.

Oh, and, since you're fresh to it, I'm with the don't jump in whole-hog crowd. Start with a minor investment. A midtier Academy tent, air mattress, camp stove, a pair of camp chairs. I used Contigo boxes to keep my crap organized, dry, and secure. Start here. (Camp gear adds up fast, you don't realize how much you spent until 20 purchases later.) See if it's for you. If you dig it, then have the debate on whether you're want to throw money at a RTT, or a trailer, or a Disney cruise.


Two years ago I invested in a popup trailer, love it. Convenience of a trailer, but still has some of that open-air, natural character that only a canvas tent can have. Doesn't do bad on the freeway either.



I'm not too worried about bear country, that's what bear mace is for. keep the camp clean, and you likely won't be bothered to begin with. It really doesn't matter which mode you choose, there are always going to be some sites that don't accept it. Some places don't like RVs, some don't like tents. Don't let that influence you, there's always adequate camping nearby.

 

I have a feeling our great dane will have to sit this one out. (dont worry, he has traveled the eastern U.S. with us going to national enduros) We just feel like that long of a trip in the back seat of a Tacoma is going to be restless and overall not fun for him. Not to mention sleeping arrangements can be a pain. The more i look into it, the more Im leaning toward going to Glacier. They dont allow dogs on any of the hiking trails which is 90% of the reason we want to take this trip. Im really liking the camper shell idea with a slide out to the tail gate to give the extra room since its a short bed. This isnt our first camping trip, just our first long distance one. We have camped out at enduros before but we generally got a hotel on the way there if need be. I had already thought about getting a camper shell for my truck anyways since we do travel quite a bit and I have a large enough and tall enough garage to hoist it out of the way easily and I like the idea of a camper shell sleeping area since it would already be set up for the most part and could be done generally anywhere. Plus gear stays dry and i have plenty of room for storage. We would still take a tent Im sure just to have the option. Anyone out there with a camper shell set up they sleep in?

 

That's quick!
Thanks for insight!

 

I'm 5'9 and sleep comfortably with the tailgate up.

 

I have slept in a few different camper shells and I've gotta say the taller camper shells are totally worth the extra headroom even if you think they are ugly. Something like this would work well if you're planning on storing stuff under a little platform.

 

There is always a strong temptation to take everything and the kitchen sink when camping out of a vehicle since you don't have to physically carry it. I grew up backpacking and spent a lot of my 20's camping off of a 250cc dual sport (Yamaha WR250R, great bike), so I always lean towards the less is more approach. I've taken the whole family (me, the wife, 2 kids under 3) in the Tacoma for a couple long weekends and I was amazed at how fast we filled up the bed of the truck compared to what I'm used to bringing when its just me. My personal rule is "everything must fit under the soft tonneau" and "don't look like the Clampetts driving to camp". I hate having a messy tossed together pile in the bed of my truck!

Make a list, and try to separate the "Must-Haves" (shelter, water, food, clothing) from the "nice to haves" and "but we might need it!"s. Give everything it's own tote or bag or other packing solution to help keep everything organized.

We have a huge coleman tent that the whole family can sleep in, but it is massive even when packed. I also have a couple small 2 and 3 man tents that I use on the motorcycle that are 1/4 the size when packed, but also don't have enough room for the kids... We're keeping the big tent for now, but I'm considering alternatives including a pop-up trailer.

We had an REI Kingdom sleep system for us and a pair of fold up cots for the kids, plus some blankets from home. I hate sleeping on an air bed plus it took up way too much space, so we've gone with significantly smaller folding cots for us, plus self-inflating air mattresses and sleeping bags for everyone.

I'm still working on putting a proper chuck box together to store all of our cooking and kitchen items. I like having a big coleman two burner stove, but a jet boil and a small camp stove would probably work just as well and take up less space between propane canisters and the size of the stove itself. Work in progress...

Don't forget some sort of tarp or easy up. It's great for shade if you spend a day somewhere not driving or get caught in the rain. Probably less important if you plan to move every night vs setting up for a few days.

 

I’ve got a few different set ups depending on what the purpose of the trip is. If I’m car camping or at a festival I’ll bring my “chuck box” with and it’s really great to have. Here’s a couple pics of mine.

 

1. I think that for a 2 week car-camping trip in Yosemite, an RTT might be more of a pain that anything else (I have an RTT, but I'm more of a nomad, constantly on the move. Closing your tent for every beer run is a PAIN). A good oversized ground tent will serve you well (4+ man tent for 2 people means a queen-sized mattress and room for gear!). I vote ground tent over sleeping in some kind of camper shell, because then you can keep all your gear packed in the truck without needing to move it for sleeping. Two weeks is a long time and that's a lot of gear you'll be carting.

(Ground tents are also great at "claiming" territory from overzealous campers looking for an empty spot)

2. Organize your gear by function. Kitchen, tools, etc. Get a selection of different sized containers. I like Action-Packers (I have more than fit in my truck), but any kind will work. Clear is cool, but they tend to break on rough roads, especially if the contents are able to move inside (you should see what one cast-iron pan did to all of my gear when it decided to break out of a box and join his friends in another). You can go fancier with drawer systems, but the trick is to be organized so you can just relax and camp, and not be digging through 3 boxes for a lighter.


3. A pressurized water source for dishes, hands, etc. is nice, too. I have a WaterPort ($100-150ish dollars), but even a cheap hand-pump/sprayer is maybe $25 at Home Depot and works well enough.

 

Now that's a cheap, but great idea!!!!

 

Hammocks are the best sleep ever. Once met someone who ripped out the beds in their 5th wheel and installed a custom bunk-style hammock stand. A lot of parks, especially natn'l parks, ban their use, though. You could bring your own stand, but it kills both the cheapness and space saving qualities of a hammock.

 

Love this, looks just like my portable gun rack