Debating on my shell and bed and what to do

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to be moving to an offroad flatbed setup. Went to Moab this weekend and the group I ran with had a tundra on 40s and a flatbed and that bed setup sold me on it. So now question is , should I sell the bed and the shell and put that toward the flatbed , or take the bed and shell and convert it to a basically a teardrop trailer setup...... I like the trailer idea but not sure how much I would actually use it vs money spent. I currently use my bed and shell to camp in , so going to flatbed I'll lose that ability but the versatility it had on the trail was just no question worth it..... decisions decisions

 

Sounds like you wheeled with my buddy Ryan.
Maybe it’s time to test out camping in tents to figure out what you like.

 

I think I was , he mentioned you. Does he drive this ?? If so then yes lol I've never cared for ground camping much due to back issues... how bad is our trucks with a rtt? I know the 4runners and tacomas etc get super twitchy, but is the same true for our trucks??

 

Yeah that’s his truck.

I’ve never driven with an RTT so I wouldn’t know but you would definitely be top heavy. A nice cot works pretty damn good. I picked up this one on Amazon and I would actually end up oversleeping cuz it was so comfortable. I tried the Kamp-Rite tent cots but those were not comfortable at all.

$135 TETON Sports Camping Cot with Patented Pivot Arm - Folding Camping Cot for Car & Tent Camping - Durable Canvas Sleeping Cot - Portable Camping Accessory - 85.5" x 35.5" - Universal

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GLGRWCK

 

I think that’s Noe’s @beehivetundra truck next to him. Wish I could’ve made it.

 

Yes it is , Noe is the one that invited me. We had a great group. Like 8 toyotas total, 3 4runners, an fj , a gx and 3 tundras. It was a blast

 

They would make a pretty decent little trailer for mobile camp deployment. Pack everything in it, drag to location, setup, wheel, sleep, wheel, drag home...

 

That's pretty sweet looking.

As for trail twitch, how any people do you need to sleep? How much does your shell weigh?

The reason I ask is you can compare it to the weight of a small RTT. I've got an iKamper Skycamp Mini 3.0, and it's only 120 pounds. I went with a mid height rack that puts the tent top just above the roof line, not sure how rough and technical you go on trails, and I'm nowhere near as adventurous (or built) as @Cruzer so I'd definitely follow his lead on whether or not that's enough weight to pose an issue.

 

Usually it's just me , however now that I'm doing harder trails with groups I'm trying to get my wife to come more often (at all lol) . It's getting pretty technical, and only growing as i become more capable as a driver

 

I'm going to weld an inner support frame for my Leer XR100, mount roof rails onto the frame, so I can load a considerable amount of weight on top. Have driven a small Volvo XC70 w/ roof-long steel basket and 250+ lbs on it, never had a problem, once I've replaced both sway bars with a beefier ones. Similar setup would work even better for Tundra.

No way I'm giving up with my shell. Maybe an open bed, or even lack of, is OK in south, but in Noreast we get rain, snow, subzero temperatures and wind (personal record is sleeping in -4F windy weather in unheated shell).

 

I’d probably stick with what you have if you’re planning to do harder trails. Flat beds are cool but other than not having to worry about damaging the bed sides I don’t see that much more of an advantage. I’ve done obstacles in Moab that even Ryan wouldn’t follow me through.

 

Yea I like it from a body damage standpoint, I dont want or like body damage and this way I wouldn't have to worry about it, and the storage options for side boxes etc , and it just looks badass

 

It would also give me high clearance from an offroad perspective which I currently do not have in the least. I dragged on everything lol and I'm not really a fan of the chopped bed look on our tundras personally in order to get high clearance

 

it all depends on tent placement, if you put it on the roof or on top of a camper shell, then the truck will get super top heavy (or twitchy)... my tent is mounted about 1/3 of the way down my rear window and I don't have any issues

 

Reasonable.

If you're worried about being tippy or twitchy you could mount a RTT lower. Helps MPGs too. Cuz that's what we bought Tundras for.

My tent will sleep 2 comfortably, and is a quick setup/teardown. Not cheap, but hands down worth every penny.

 

I sleep on a cot as well and I put a sleeping pad on top of it and I sleep like a baby. My wife loves the setup as well. I get a fantastic night’s rest while camping which makes a world of difference when wheeling for 3+ days because you wake up feeling refreshed and ready for more.

That said, your truck went everywhere you wanted it to and the only reason you dragged on everything was due to your existing ground clearance and stock bumper. When I wheeled with @Cruzer i never saw his bumper touch anything, mine on the other hand got many love taps. On the other hand, this past weekend I only tapped my rear bumper twice and that was on extreme break over obstacles. A high clearance bumper will solve that easy enough.

If you like the utility of the flat bed I think that’s great and I say go for it if that’s what your needs are, but I wouldn’t negate the bed and camper as being a setback from being able to do challenging obstacles or trails. I’m gonna let you know on the next outing we do and get some more trails under your belt. As your off-road style develops you’ll get a feel for what works best for you and what compromises you’re willing to make.

Do you see yourself hauling a bed trailer around the trails? If you think the bed ON the truck was a hindrance on the trail we ran, forget about it hauling a trailer along on the trails that are more technical ones.

Maybe look into building a shelf system in your bed with gullwing doors on the camper, it would give you the utilitarian need and still retain the best of both. I built a shelf for mine and it worked fantastic, I am planning to rebuild it better.

Either way you go, sounds like a promising future for your truck as an off road rig lol.

 

Nah if i did the trailer I'd be dropping it as a base camp type setup. Kind of like yall did with your tents. I have a cot currently that I tend not to use, a) takes up alot of space, and b) without some type of padding it's not very comfortable to me. With padding its marginally better. With the trailer I could build a platform and have a legit mattress in there. I also like the idea of being able to leave all my camping crap packed in the trailer and not have to spend so much time loading before the trip.

 

Can't wait for the next trail run. I deleted and reinstalled my dji app so next time we will have the drone working too

 

Get your sliders on too lol

 

Haha yea no kidding. It's on the list for sure. I'm waiting to run my tank down a bit and decided I'm going to drop the tank to install, and those rivets I'll just pop out and bolt through them

 

They will be pretty high and tight when I get them on . I like how tucked in they are

 

Agree. In pre-COVID times was regularly sleeping for week+ in old Volvo wagon that folds the second row flat. Night rest is must.

My Coleman cot was too long for 6'5" bed in Tundra, had to build a bed that still has enough space for chainsaw, axes, crossbow, etc. May enhance it further with a cargo slide platform. It kills me to crawl into the bed a few times a day just to pull my gasoline stove and food out.