Topic: The Best Truck Bed Tents of 2023 (Read 32 times)
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The Kodiak Canvas Truck Bed Tent’s cotton duck canvas and 3/4-inch steel tube frame make it a fairly heavy lift at around 30 pounds. But that’s the trade-off for the tent’s extreme durability and year-round usefulness. It’s not designed to support more than a few inches of snow accumulation, but the canvas is fully watertight and will hold heat in during colder months. It’s also very breathable and has windows on either side for ventilation in warmer weather.
If you’ve got a need for speed–when it co*es to setting up or breaking down camp, that is–the Fofana Truck Tent is the clear champ. It’s a quick and easy pop-up, and five minutes after parking the truck, you’ll be rolling out your sleeping bag. But there are some trade-offs for that convenience. Namely, sturdiness. The lightweight material is more than acceptable for temperate camping, but some testers have reported tearing after just a few uses. Still, for ease of use the Fofana is tough to beat.
A great truck bed tent can easily turn your truck into a mobile hunting camp, and the Backroadz Camo is perfect for getting co*fortable without giving yourself away. This spacious offering from Napier Outdoors has quickly beco*e one of my favorite places to sleep. The Backroadz Camo Truck Tent makes great use of the available space, easily acco*modating an air mattress to make things even co*fier. And there’s plenty of room to store your hunting gear or pack. The large rainfly keeps things dry, and the sealed seams keep moisture and bugs out.
The dark pattern and sealed seams are light-blocking for those mornings you don’t want to get up right at first light. It also means your lantern doesn’t announce your presence to the whole forest, making it that much easier to roll out of bed at dawn and go hunting. The co*bo of the interior blackout layer and the rainfly can make it rather humid inside, so this tent is ideal for slightly cooler weather during most hunting seasons, but even on a muggy East Coast day, I found it co*fortable.
The Rev Tent by C6 Outdoors is designed for a truck bed, but it can just as easily be used as a rooftop tent or even on the ground. Campers’ styles can sometimes evolve over time, or even change season to season. In addition to being one of the best truck bed tents, the Rev Tent by C6 Outdoors can be used on any platform-style roof rack or right on the ground. Plus, a built-in 4-inch foam mattress ups the co*fort-factor and is one less piece of gear you have to pack.
Set-up is quick, with a half-dozen poles to snap together, and the dual-layer, fully coated fly (which co*es in three different colors) makes it a true four-season tent. Inside, there are lots of hooks and pockets to keep things organized, which is important in a fairly snug space, with a ceiling just over three feet at its highest point.
The Guide Gear co*pact Truck Tent is designed to fit trucks with beds measuring 72-74-inches from the cab to the end of the lowered tailgate. With a center height of just 4-feet, 9-inches, most folks can’t stand inside, but the low-profile works well in a smaller truck and the footprint makes good use of the space in the bed.
The construction is decent, and despite unsealed seams, the water-resistant polyester should stand up to light rain showers. Mesh windows provide lots of ventilation, but you should use caution when zipping and unzipping the tent, as not to catch the fabric. The Guide Gear Tent isn’t fancy, but it’s a very solid option with a small price tag.
The Rightline Gear Truck Tent is a convenient floor-less option that doesn’t require you to empty your truck bed of any other cargo before set-up. The design leaves the entire truck bed open as sleeping or storage space, and mesh panels on the sides and roof provide a great breeze and a view of the stars.
This is definitely a three-season tent. While the material itself is waterproof, the seal between the truck bed and the tent isn’t tight, and depending on the model of your truck you may get some gaps near the tailgate. As long as temperatures don’t dip super low, it’s a perfect fit for anyone who prefers a floor-less tent for a full-size truck.
Even if your tent has a floor, the ridges in a truck bed can make for a bumpy sleeping surface, so you’ll need to make it more co*fortable. A piece of plywood offers a quick fix. Just lay it in the bed under the tent, then use your normal camping pad or air mattress inside.
Metal truck beds can also stay unco*fortably hot or cold, depending on the temperature outside. Give yourself a layer of insulation by using a piece of carpet under the tent.
A full mattress, at 54 inches x 74 inches, will fit in most truck beds, including co*pact trucks, with the tailgate down. Larger trucks can acco*modate bigger mattresses, like a queen at 60 inches x 80 inches. Just make sure the dimensions of your mattress are smaller than those of your tent’s interior. Several co*panies make air mattresses designed specifically for truck beds that either fit between the wheel wells or have recesses to fit over them.
Some truck bed tents can be used on the ground, and some can’t. The Rev Tent by C6 Outdoors is designed to be used on the ground, in a truck bed, or on the rooftop. But others use the truck as a structural co*ponent and won’t work on the ground. Floorless tents don’t stand on their own, so they can’t be used anywhere but the bed of the truck.
It depends on the truck and the tent. Some tents fit well in the bed, even with a tonneau cover, though you may have to make some adjustments. The Kodiak Canvas Truck Tent, for instance, can be used with a tonneau cover in most beds, as long as you have some deep C-clamps to secure it.
The first step to choosing the right truck bed tent is deciding what kind of camping you plan to do and the best materials for the job. If your main concern is a lightweight tent that takes up little space inside the truck bed, polyester and fiberglass may be the best bet. If you plan to camp in especially wet or wintery conditions–and don’t mind hauling a heavier tent–classic canvas might be a better option.
Truck bed tents are sold in different sizes to fit specific truck beds of varying lengths. The Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra, and Ford F-Series, for instance, are considered full-size, with beds between 5-feet, 5-inches and 8-feet, 2-inches. co*pact trucks, such as the Toyota Taco*a, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, and Chevy Colorado, have either short or regular beds, ranging from 5 feet to 6-feet, 1-inch. Before you start shopping, measure your truck bed to make sure you’re getting the correct fit.
Unlike a typical ground tent, not all truck bed tents have a sewn-in bottom panel. A tent with a floor offers more protection from the elements and puts something between you and the metal of your truck bed. And some of these tents can even be used on the ground. An option without a floor is convenient when there’s other stuff in the bed you don’t want to move; the tent goes right over top.
There’s a ton of variation when it co*es to truck bed tent size and shape. Some are roomy enough for tall campers to stand up inside. Others are lower-profile and a bit more subtle, offer a snugger sleeping space, and if you’re camping in windy places, they won’t be as buffeted. In terms of footprint, tents range from a simple half-dome shape to more spacious acco*modations with extras like awnings or vestibules.
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There’s a lot to love about camping in the best truck bed tents. You’re up off the ground, there’s no dirt or mud to shake off in the morning when you’re packing up, and it can feel super co*fortable and secure. Plus, depending on your flexibility, it can be a lot easier to climb in and out of a truck bed than to get up off the ground. The Napier Sportz checks just about every box when it co*es to durability, co*fort, and ease of use.
That said, small modifications can go a long way toward making any truck bed tent extra co*fortable, like using a canopy (if you go with a model that doesn’t have an awning), and insulating the bed below your tent. The most important thing to consider when truck bed tent shopping is fit; as long as you’re choosing a truck bed tent that works with your truck, you’re bound to have a good trip.
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