Fishing, hunting, or camping setups

I'm an avid fisherman and hiker (sometimes hunter) who is curious how others set up their Tacomas for short overnight or weekend trips. Do you have a rack with a popup tent? A camper shell? Maybe a small teardrop trailer? Or do you just throw a sleeping bag in an open bed and call it a night?

I've been kicking around a teardrop or teardrop-sized trailer so that I can reach my favorite outdoors destinations earlier in the morning by staying near them, but I am curious to know what all people have.

 

I went the RTT route as many of the spots I camp are not conducive to dragging a trailer.

 

Here is a good article from Field & Stream if you have not seen it yet.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/gear/building-my-ultimate-hunting-and-fishing-truck

 

Because I have a long bed, I made a bed drawer and bought a midrise cap. Best camping of my life. Camp is set when I put it in park. Shells are notoriously leaky on these so waterproofing is a fool's errand, but they're wind resistant. I've spent the night in thunderstorms without issue in mine. Throw an IKEA mattress topper on the drawer and camp in the lap of luxury.

If I had a short bed I would have probably gone RTT. In either case I personally wanted anything other than a trailer; too much to worry about where I like to go (dispersed camping).

Before adding anything I threw tubs in the open bed and spent a few nights in the driver seat, which worked but was kind of rough. However, it gave me ideas and motivation for what to make and buy and don't regret a thing.

 

I did a rear seat delete for a few reasons, but mostly so I could pack my camp gear in the cab and have it dry and secure. Only water containers and a bucket go in the bed. Currently building a teardrop, hoping to have it done for fall camping. I don't particularly like the idea of a RTT since it has to be stowed to leave camp in the vehicle.

 

This was our setup this weekend. 3 dudes, 4 nights and 220 miles away from home

we made it work, but coulda used a travel trailer or at least a cargo box connected to the hitch

19mpg for the whole 600 mile trip and a full bed

 

Ground tent and basic necessities. Keeping it very simple... 5 gal pressurized water, alcohol stove, or fire), ice chest and ice for food, LED lighting... etc.

I rigged a hexagonal 12' tarp towards the rear for use as an awning (also not shown as I camped a bit late that day...).

I carry a second 18' tarp + poles in case I want a shaded 'backyard' - or front yard...

If needed; I carry a cap tent set-up (not shown here) to cover /seal the rear of the truck so I can sleep in the back (on a cot when in the bed - not in ground tent) with the tailgate and cap hatch open. (Required with my short bed). It is roomy this way - for sleeping only since I don't have an extra height cap.

This set-up is rain proof and wind proof. It is Also useful when the ground conditions are not suitable for the ground tent. Otherwise I'm in the ground tent.

A trailer would be nice, but only once at the destination... I'd hate to lug one around behind me - especially off-road. I don't wish to buy and have to see it depreciate and get old mostly being stored.

The RTT I find a bit too clunky as well . Too heavy and needs to be stored 99% of time. Can't leave it in place to go explore either...

So a ground tent it is... it works great for me!

 

Small camper ( 6x8 ) weighs about 1000 pounds empty. Made by Runaway.
Paid about $5,000 several years ago for it, they are much more now post-covid etc.
They come completely empty so you have to trick it out yourself on the inside.
The wife and I have spent many a night in it our longest trip was a 16 day stint to YellowStone.
Still in good shape after 7 years, I could sell it for what I bought it for.

If you're a big person it might be a bit cramped....




The wife tricked out the inside... she does good work 'eh - we keep the solar panels under the bed and use a GoalZero 400
to power the lights and my CPAP on the inside... it fits in that open spot bottom left.

 

No photos but I have a long bed with an ARE CX Classic shell that amazingly, doesn't leak. I'm generally a solo traveler, so a good mattress and sleeping bag make for a comfortable bed. Stove, water, food, etc. all go in the bed of the truck and are moved to the passenger side when it's time for bed. Every option you mentioned has its advantages and disadvantages. Camper shells limit the height of what can go in the back of the truck, rooftop tents (generally) need to be installed and uninstalled before and after each trip and trailers tend to be expensive but allow more gear and goodies to go along with you. You might start with a simple ground-based tent as the least expense starter option and go from there.

 

These are some great posts. Some days, I wish I had a long bed so I could do the shell setup @Meclizine mentions.

 

First draft of the hunting trip setup - I've changed it up a good bit since, as this was an October trip, I've added a bedslide for easier thing access that I should be able to sleep on when traveling during the season. Since I use the bed space for work, it can't be set up for camping much. It's very cozy, I'm 5'9 and it's a 6ft bed. Green box is for the hunting bird to travel in, there's a cooler behind it

 

Simple, functional, dry, bug free'er, easy to heat, quick setup/teardown and comfortable for me and the wolf...

 

I get it and you're not alone in feeling that way sometimes. I mean, I had my current setup as the ultimate plan from the beginning but not the particular details, though it does mean driving a trail limo since it's also a double cab. As it stands my truck is like a stealthy small RV, minus the toilet. What about a GFC? That gets around the bed limitation. As it stands my config isn't great for carrying game anyway, which is fine for me since I don't hunt. A GFC or RTT in general leaves your bed usable for much more messy cargo.

 

Humans in the cab or a ground tent, dead animals in the bed.