Truck bed sleeping platform

If you spend any amount of time camping out of your truck bedyou know the difficult balance of comfort, organization, storage and security. When you only have a few square feet to work with, it can be tricky business to make everything fit in a convenient way while allowing space to relax and rejuvenate. No other competitor comes close to creating a camping drawer system so secure and truck bed sleeping platform.

In this video, I talk about the two fundamental approaches that people take when building out their truck bed sleeping platform setup, in the back of their canopies for long term truck camping and the pros and cons of each approach. While both approaches certainly have their merits, they also have their drawbacks, making each more appropriate for certain types of travelers compared to others. I did a ton of research about truck camping builds in the months leading up to building out my truck and what I found is there are generally two approaches that people take. The first and most common approach is the elevated sleeping platform approach whereby you build a large plywood sheet or some other variation on that theme where you can place all your gear underneath, organized in drawers or boxes and then sleep above that. The main advantages of this approach are the organized and dedicated gear storage space underneath the wood and the living area above.

Truck bed sleeping platform

Selecting the right truck bed sleeping platform for your truck camping setup is a tough process - there are literally thousands of inspiring and unique builds out there! You can use this guide to help select which sleeping platform design is right for your diy truck camper build, and then customize it to best fit your own truck camping needs. Determining your budget is a pivotal part of deciding which sleeping platform will be right for your truck shell camping adventures. But the great thing about truck camping is that there is virtually no barrier to entry see our complete guide on how to get started truck camping here. For weekend camping trips and short-term travel this is a great truck bed camping solution since you can just as easily pull everything right back out and go about your daily life, while still being able to use your truck like a truck. However, this is not an ideal solution for long-term travel, overlanding, or extended truck canopy camping trips. For one thing, setup time is greater than other options because you have to remove or at least rearrange your gear every time you stop to sleep or set up camp. And things get disorganized FAST! For our purposes, this just was not the way we wanted to go down. Plus with a child and all things that go along with them, this amount of disorganization would inevitably lead to marriage counselling. This is the second cheapest option for building a truck bed sleeping platform, depending on how you build it. Though a PVC sleeping platform like the one above does require the use of storage bins to store and organize your gear, this does allow you to store your gear under the platform in a slightly more organized fashion while truck shell camping. This is a great option when weight is a concern, because, unlike wooden truck bed sleeping platforms, PVC is very light. We needed something more substantial, and because of our dual battery setup plans we needed fixed storage options for our equipment. This is definitely the most common option for creating a truck bed sleeping platform, and can provide a good mix of sleeping and storage solutions while truck shell camping.

This approach is simple but it is, truck bed sleeping platform, perhaps, slightly more work to build out compared to the elevated truck bed sleeping platform since you may need to make more precise cuts to build out the side bins along the wheel wells. Written by. My top recommendation is to find an elevated canopy like the Leer what I use.

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After adding a new Tune M1 camper to our truck, we spent a lot of time looking at ways to shave weight from our Tacoma Overland Build. One way was to redesign our Tacoma Truck Camping Setup , this time using extruded aluminum as the primary building material. Working with was an incredibly tedious and time consuming process be ready to dedicate several days to a week to the project. For the average truck camping setup, plywood is a much easier and practical build material. And while the measurements used apply to our short bed Tacoma, you should be able to modify them to fit your truck's dimensions. This walkthrough will show both the completed sleeping platform build and some detailed aspects of the construction to lend context to the rest of this build guide. This means we may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. See our full disclosure. These are all the tools we used to successfully build this aluminum truck bed sleeping platform with drawer storage.

Truck bed sleeping platform

Since purchasing a SnugTop for my 3rd Gen TRD Sport read the review and overview here , I have been working in my free time to build and refine my camping setup. After researching online and a little bit of problem-solving, I found the setup that has worked best for me. With limited knowledge on how to build camping systems and access to only basic tools, I built this platform that anyone can make with a few supplies and a free afternoon. The process is very simple and can be a great use for scrap wood you might have laying around. Remember to double-check your measurements and draw the cutting lines using some sort of straight edge. These will go across the bed into the grooves located along the walls and act as the supports for your platform. As with the planks, cut the plywood according to your desired measurements. Note that you will have to cut notches on the rear corners of the plywood because the corners of the bed are slanted.

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There are a wide variety of configurations we can utilize to fit your lifestyle. So there you have it, the two primary approaches to truck camping sleep setups and the pros and cons of each approach. It is, simply put, much more comfortable. More often than not though, the reason to retain the dual approach is the ability to lock and secure my gear underneath whether at a trailhead, or parking it on the street in the city—always good to keep away prying eyes. That is how I get ideas for my blog posts and what to write about! Truck shell camping is an incredible way to travel and experience the outdoors; we hope this guide has helped you choose the best truck bed sleeping platform design for your own truck camping setup or overlanding build. In our first sleeping platform build we used long drawer slides and custom built-in storage to house all of our gear and equipment in a fixed and organized fashion in a full-width truck bed sleeping platform. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. You are essentially prioritizing gear storage over livability. When you only have a few square feet to work with, it can be tricky business to make everything fit in a convenient way while allowing space to relax and rejuvenate. Travel takethetruck March 4, kids, family, road trip, budget travel. Your email address will not be published. If you have any questions about truck camping, road trips, budget travel, or anything else shoot me an email at ryan desktodirtbag. If you need some extra headspace, consider a thinner tri-fold camping mattress.

And if the prospect of building your own truck bed sleeping platform seems completely overwhelming, know that we felt exactly the same way - having literally no prior experience with design or carpentry. But all you need is a little time, patience, and the right tools and you can do just about anything.

Purchase essential gear to start truck camping which includes a sleeping pad or mattress , sleeping bag , two-burner stove , cooler, storage boxes, etc. We would love the chance to help you build the perfect truck bed camping system to suit your needs. In our first sleeping platform build we used long drawer slides and custom built-in storage to house all of our gear and equipment in a fixed and organized fashion in a full-width truck bed sleeping platform. The Truck takethetruck March 4, diy , how to , build , truck camping Comment. But cost will increase when you begin buying plywood and integrating built in storage. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. It is, on the other hand, a relatively easy approach, requiring you to cut but a few pieces of wood to fit the length of the bed, with no moving parts. There are a wide variety of configurations we can utilize to fit your lifestyle. If you need some extra headspace, consider a thinner tri-fold camping mattress. For one thing, setup time is greater than other options because you have to remove or at least rearrange your gear every time you stop to sleep or set up camp. You can use this guide to help select which sleeping platform design is right for your diy truck camper build, and then customize it to best fit your own truck camping needs. When in platform mode, your storage bins can easily slide underneath.