Short Bed w Shell - Sleeping Options

I value the 6ft bed w a shell option so you can build a kit and sleep in the back. Very convenient and safe on Baja excursions to keep all your stuff below and sleep on top within the shell.

Does anyone have a good sleeping/rig option for the short bed? Might be getting a new truck, and I may have to go for the four door (kids, dog, etc), but the four-door with the 6ft bed is just too much truck for me to drive around the city.

 

$200 DAC Mid - Size Truck Tent by Dac Inc.-Vehicle Tents

https://www.amazon.com/DAC-Mid-Size-Truck-Tent/dp/B00BYA10F4

I don't have it, but I do have a short bed and this will be the route ill be going when I get a shell.

 

Here’s mine - DIY extendabed sleeping platform:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...between-4’-to-a-6-5’-bed-in-a-weekend.539080/

 

In the project I show above, we just bought a cheap Walmart tent and cut the back wall and floor to accomplish the same thing for less than $40. Ripstop nylon is good for that in that you dont have to resew seams when you cut it, or just use good duct tape for seams, too

 

Interesting...Seems like the bed extender / tent combo is the most common solution. Didn't know they actually made tents for it.

The other option I guess would be to remove the shell window and extend the bed into the cab. I wonder if anyone has done this? Seems like the lesser / more difficult option though.

Arrrggghhh would rather just have the extended cab with the six foot bed!

 

The one I made here sits below the cab window quite a lot. I also made one a long time ago for my 1st Gen but only had a shell that matched the height of the truck cab, and when we slept in that the ceiling was very low. I have an MX ARE shell now with a high ceiling and sleeping on the platform I made allows me to sit straight up in bed with a little headroom. Extending the platform through the rear window? Never tried crawling through my slider window before, I guess one could sleep halfway through it but....

If you are in bear country with little kids, I wouldnt sleep in a open shell either, as you are likely to also have a lot of food smells inside there too, and there's the wandering little kid issue, too. I’d also look into the 6’ bed, or a pop up camper or rooftop RTT option for sleeping, and make a standard platform for secure gear storage below. I do use a RTT above my cab, so my truck can sleep 4 adults if needed.