Truck Camping Photo Thread

April 1, 2016.

 

April 2, 2016

 

Caruthers Canyon?

 

The first one yes, second one is Beale Mountain.

 

@CVYota

 

I couldn't park near everyone because of my snoring

 

For what's worth, I never once heard you. And at best it maybe kept any night creatures away.

 

I love the new avatar Weesa.



I didn't think pink was your color

 

You got your name fixed

 

Dunno. One of the many reasons I sleep inside the cab.

 

Great picture I love it.

 

How do you sleep in the cab?

 

badass!!

 

First camping trip to Moab last weekend. A ton of fun, can't wait to go again. Slept in the back of my truck, even with Friday night dropping into the 30's. Then hit a few easy trails like Onion Creek and Picture Frame Arch.

Parked off the road at Onion Creek to let my dog play in the water. Saw a Honda CRV going through it.


At Picture Frame Arch. I couldn't figure out how to hike up to it, but next time I would like to. Really nice drive, got shown up pretty badly on the trail by some rock crawlers.


The dogs riding spot while I took my brother and his family on the trails.


My bed/sleeping area/storage. Have to sleep diagonal in it, but its pretty comfortable. For a mattress I got a 1.5 inch memory foam topper and a thin foam topper. Do need to get a fan to move some air back there once it starts to warm up though.

 

Just got my tent and awning today. Getting steel to build the rack at the end of this week and then the first camping trip next weekend.

 

How tall are you? I'm always amazed seeing guys sleeping in the back of their short beds. I wish I could get away with that but I'm 6'1" and a long bed is already pretty cozy for me. I couldn't imagine doing it in a short bed, especially with a cuddle buddy.

I have the same canopy but in a long bed. I use an Endless Breeze crate fan from Fan-Tastic Vent for cooling down my canopy while sleeping in hot weather.






(Bad photo, but the only one I have of it setup)

It is a great fan, power efficient, quiet, and moves a ton of air. If you have the battery system to support it I highly recommend it and its a way better fan than any of disposable battery powered units that you can buy. It fits perfectly in the sliding windoor openings or at the front sliding window on the canopy and you can easily secure it with some velcro straps to your carpeted headliner.

Another thing I do to combat the heat in the early morning once the sun rises is have a Silvicool Reflective Tarp setup over my truck. Do not confuse this with a silver tarp. They are not the same, this style is painful to look at in the sunlight and reflects light and heat as good as a tin foil emergency blanket. They are pretty pricey but it makes a world of difference blocking out the sunlight and the heat. I've had mine for a few years now, they are surprisingly durable. You can also make your own cheap DIY version by simply taping and gluing an emergency blanket to an old tarp.

 

I am 5'8", and with the bed being raised, it makes a perfect 5'x5' sleeping platform, so at the diagonal is almost 7'. Works great for me, and my dog sleeps in the upper corner. It's a little tight, but I slept really well for three nights along with my duffle bag in there and two oversized pillows covering the windows and taking up space.

I was thinking about getting a ridgid fan that goes with the batteries I already have for my drill so I wouldn't have to do anything electrical. What kind of battery system do you use for your fan?

The Reflective Tarp looks like something I will invest in. Even though the nights were in the 40's, as soon as the sun hit the windows of the topper I had to either get out or open all the windows.

I also like your shelter you park the back end of your truck into. I was thinking of getting an REI Alcove shelter for my next trip.

 

Ya I was going to mention that If you have any 18v cordless tools most manufacturers make a portable fan. I know Makita makes a nice one (that's the brand I have). The Endless Breeze is nice because it will sit right on the ledge on the top of the bedrail beside the window so its out of the way and not sitting taking up space on the bed.

I have a 105 AH Deep Cycle Battery underneath my platform. I use a 30W solar panel to charge the battery. Under the most ideal situations the solar is enough to keep up with the fan on the low setting and still put a small charge back into the battery. I'm in the process currently of upgrading my auxiliary battery system with a CTEK D250s Dual. It is a DC-DC smart charger and solar regulator. It will allow my auxiliary battery to charge off the trucks alternator while running and solar when it's not.

Follow my build thread if you have any more questions about my setup. I'll be posting more about my auxiliary battery system in the next few days as I'm in the process of currently overhauling it.

 

Thanks!

I have 18v Ridgid stuff right now, and I saw they had a fan on Amazon for $60, but it did look big. If I ever get a battery set up, I'd rather do something like you have. I don't know much about electrical stuff though so I am always hesitant.