Truck bed tents questions

[goin camping]

Hi everyone,

New guy here so I hope I'm asking this in the right place.

Does anyone here have any experience with truck bed mounted tents like Sportz?

I'm curious to know your experience with them and in your opinion the good an d bad of them.

 

[austintaco]

I have one of the SUV tents that they make. It works and fits as it should, but I have not tested it in a torrential downpour for leaks. The fly is sealed on the underside, but the rest of the tent is not, so I seam sealed it.

 

[BKCowGod]

I enjoyed my Adventure II, but I also only used it in mild weather. If you happen to have a Dakota size bed (and I can find it in my storage) I'm happy to sell it to you for cheap.

EDIT - Holy sideways pictures, batman!

 

[robert]

One of my friends has one from Cabela's- http://www.cabelas.com/product/Adventure-I-Truck-Tent/714664.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dtruck%2Btent%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=truck+tent. It looks nice enough sitting there on a sunny day, but I figured it'd be pretty poor if it were raining. My friend and his wife ended up buying a camper during one of their extended trips after about the fourth night of being wet (they had been planning on buying one at some point, just not quite then).

It's probably just fine if it's not raining and if the bugs aren't bad. If it's raining when you go to set it up then your truck bed is going to be soaked and you'll have to deal with that. Mosquitos and other biting insects can go between any gaps such as your tailgate and get inside unlike a regular tent.

They're a neat idea and there may be nicer ones out there, I just haven't seen any in person to comment on them.

 

[Project510]

I have one on my 03 Frontier. I have used it 3 times and its a decent tent. I was lucky enough to find one on a forum with the custom fit air mattress for a cheap price. So for under $100 its a good deal. Not sure if I would have paid more than that.

Pros:

1. The GF feels a bit more secure off the ground
2. Since its off the ground it keeps the tent cleaner
3. easy to set up/take-down

Cons:

1. Venting is a bit of a issue, we spent a night in mid 40's weather with a chance of rain so we had the rain fly on the tent and woke to a high amount of condensation in the tent. Without the rain fly, in 50 degree weather it worked out just fine.

2. Stitching is not HIGH quality Id rate it a 7/10

 

[Accrete]

I can only vouch for the nice workmanship on the truck tentz...we have the make that has the vestabule attaching to the canopy on a truck (we've since sold the TACO but use the tent out the back side of the awd van).

makes for a cozy room while sleeping on the truck-bedz in the canopy.

 

[UNI]

Just a thought, have you looked at the Quick Silver truck campers. They look pretty nice.

 

[goin camping]

Thanks for the input and suggestions everyone.

The truck tent will be used in the deserts of Cal, AZ and Nev. I wondered about it's rain proofness because camping in monsoon season is a favorite around our house. Usually though we'll just be somewhere "out there" for three seasons a year. In winter we pretty much stick to the Airstream. Which is a pretty good dirt road trailer.

 

[PHXtaco]

I have had a sportz tent for almost 15 years now and really like it, but just ordered another sportz tent as a replacement for two reasons, the first being rain. The older model's rain fly did not cover the entry door and rain would eventually soak through the tent door in heavy rain:

The newer model has an awning that now covers the entry door. The other reason I replaced it was the one I had was for my old truck with a 6 foot bed and the new truck has a 5 foot bed. Not to mention 15 years of regular use has taken its toll, but hey, 15 years is not bad!

 

[CSG]

I've never tried this but wouldn't any number of conventional camping tents fit in the bed of your truck? Get a sheet of marine plywood or some other level base and just put up your stand alone tent. It's got to be quicker than these truck tents and better made and sealed.

 

[goin camping]

I've never tried this but wouldn't any number of conventional camping tents fit in the bed of your truck? Get a sheet of marine plywood or some other level base and just put up your stand alone tent. It's got to be quicker than these truck tents and better made and sealed.

I could not find a tent that fit in the truck bed with a door on the right side.

 

[01tundra]

We absolutely love our Sportz Truck Tent III, with the Airbedz mattress in it it's the most comfortable thing we've ever slept in while camping. Ever since we got it the tent cot and EZ-Up have been left in the garage .

On extended trips, like our recent 10-day trip through the Appalachian Mountains, all we did was remove the poles and roll my Access Vanish tonneau cover over the bed each morning. That way everything was kept dry while driving through rain and when we'd get to our next destination all I had to do was roll the cover up and throw the poles in it, which made for a very quick set-up time. We left the mattress inflated the entire time and would just throw our camp chairs on top of everything before we rolled the cover closed.

We got the Cabela's Adam & Eve Deluxe II sleeping bags and they are great also, keep us very warm. I had to buy a folding step so my better half can get in and out of the bed easier.


http://www.sportzbynapier.com/product.html?product_num=58

http://www.truckairbedz.com/

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camp...ng-bags/_/N-1100675/Ns-CATEGORY_SEQ_104770080

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U7HY92/"]Amazon.com: Stromberg Carlson Product S-100 Steel Folding Platform Step: Automotive: Reviews, Prices & more[/ame]

 

[xymox]

Hi everyone,

New guy here so I hope I'm asking this in the right place.

Does anyone here have any experience with truck bed mounted tents like Sportz?

I'm curious to know your experience with them and in your opinion the good an d bad of them.

Sportz makes really good products. I’ve reviewed a couple of their tents and it’s good quality.

 

[JackW]

One of my friends just bought this off craigslist - he says they are are around $3600 new - he's got about $1500 in it. Its a pretty nice rig - check out Quicksilver campers on the net.



You can also drop it into a standard 4 x 8 utility trailer too.

 

[Mr. Leary]

I got a cheapo from Sportsmansguide.com it worked well in my trailer (an old truck bed), but I got tired of having to unload everything to pitch camp, so I sprung for the RTT.