Tacoma and camping....

Hey all, Im looking for the guys and gals that use their Tacomas for camping trips. I just picked up my 2019 dcsb sport a couple weeks ago and thanks to a friends facebook post of his Yosemite trip (he flew out) my wife and I are talking about taking 2 weeks off next year around this time and driving out. We are from southern Indiana so it will be 2300 miles give or take one way. Talked about stopping in Colorado, Grand canyon, Yosemite and such. Camping most of the time. Looking for truck set up ideas, what you should have done sooner, what didnt work out...etc.etc. We have a year to plan this out or so.

 

I would start by looking at 3rd gen build threads.
Look for builds that are geared more toward overlanding/camping.
The really good ones are the ones that show justification for their purchases.

 

Softopper.

 

Just rent a little trailer, save thousands over getting into RTT

 

Softopper and inflatable mattress.

 

If you’re only looking for a setup for this trip then just keep it simple and get a decent ground tent. There’s no reason to buy an expensive RTT and rack setup.

 

A used budget friendly topper, even if the color does not match, to secure your gear, a nice pop up tent, quality air mattress and compressor, along with basic gear and you should be fine.

 

A comfortable place to sleep and get some new tires. Never know when you could end up down a wrong road and need better traction or get stuck in some mud.

 

Do get good tires, and forget what the others said about not getting an RTT- They’re great for nomadic camping where if you are traveling a long distance, you can pull up to any site, even at night, with wet ground, snow on ground, cow poop on the ground and even rocks and a slope and still be able to set up your tent and level it in 5 minutes and be in bed in less than 10 after that if needed. In the morning, striking the tent is almost as fast, and it does not get dirty! You’re lucky too, right now Smittybilt roof top tents had a big drop in price:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-sale-at-659-free-shipping-and-no-tax.517841/

 

As of right now yes, its just for this trip. But if its something we really enjoy and want to do every year or multiple times a year with shorter trips id look more into an RTT.

 

Two words. Camping World. Rent a small trailer. Use it like a rented mule. Drop it off and hand them the door key. Done. Do some little trips first w tent to see if she's going to like it. Or check out camping-style hammocks. Most comfortable sleep there is in the great outdoors.

 

They look great and i would love to have one. I have 2 problems with an RTT.
1. Its likely that my 150lb great dane will go with us as he loves the outdoors and would be almost impossible to get him up there and im not fond of leaving him outside.
2. The price. While this is a great price, id like to make sure this is something we will do on a regular basis before i jump in that deep just yet....
Thanks for the reply

 

"if shes going to like it" Lol thats not the worry. Not gonna lie, im the diva compared to her and sleeping outside. I CANT sleep if its above 70 degrees out. Its miserable and idk why anyone would do it HAHA. We are 30 and she grew up in a house without air condition or a hot water heater...

 

Definitely not worth it if you’re not using it. Great Dane? I thought you said you were taking your wife JK, We take our dog too, but she’s smaller and can easily be brought up the ladder to the tent.

A good shell that locks is always advisable, and if you want to sleep in it, a platform is great. I made a DIY one that lets you store and hide things underneath, and slides out to make a full length bed and it cost less than $100:


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/build-a-shortbed-deck-that-extends-from-between-4’-to-a-6-5’-bed-in-a-weekend.539080/#post-17388634

 

Just do some shorter trips to camp in the meantime and you’ll get a feel for what you really need... you could do your trip with tents and hammocks, a trailer, a soft topper, roof top tent, etc., but I would not go invest in something until you get a sense for how you want to camp

 

Where were these women when I was looking? Okay, 70 degrees. You want a small travel trailer with at least a 13,500 Btu A/C on it. RENT ONE FIRST.

 

honestly we will plan around the average night time temps in the area. Spring time shouldnt be an issue with comfortable camping at night. Night time is the only time i worry about. I just dont sleep well if im hot. We are also discussing Glacier park, and that for damn sure wont be a heat issue at night lol.

 

Hits on all points.
Sister
You, camper
Rent

 

Keep in mind some of the places you’re talking about going would be long detours between them with a trailer, and you would be missing some of the most scenic routes because of it. I would consider going with a tent. So much easier to find campsites that way too. If you have a trailer, you’re going to have to start making reservations soon for next year. Don’t get me wrong, we even have a trailer, it is set up for light off-road camping with solar and extra large water and holding tanks so we can bring it to remote sites if necessary, but we use the RTT offroad more often it seems. There are some instant pop-up tents that I’ve seen where you simply throw them on the ground and they fold out by themselves, Coleman makes one of those too.

Also with the trailer you’re looking at having to drive slower and more gas consumption. One of my friends spent a lot of money updating their RV for a trip around the US. They were only gone for two days and came back early, parked their rig and jumped in their Subaru and left for their trip. He said the cost of gas alone made it worth them staying at motels and eating out instead!

 

I wont pull a trailer that far. We have camped before, its not our first time just our first time on this long of a trip. Pulling a trailer sucks, I rode 2 years of National Enduros and camped when weather was good. Pulled a trailer to all of them. 10,000 miles just in traveling to races. But that was in an f150 ecoboost that pulled a trailer effortlessly. I just wanted to see how some guys were setting up the truck for it or long trips, space saving ideas, helpful mods. I like the platform idea thats been posted for the bed. I also saw a video of a guy that build an extension that slides out to his tailgate and closes it in with a campershell. I liked that idea and had thought about a campershell anyway. Getting some good ideas.