Temporary Overland Setup

The best exercise I've been able to pull off during COVID has been hiking in the Shenandoah Vally and along the Skyline Drive of Va. Most of that is just over an hour from where I live and now that its getting hotter out I really want to be able to camp near the trails so that I can hit them at daybreak and get 7 to 9 miles in and get back down before the heat of the day. To that end...I wanted to be able to have a setup in my Tundra that would allow me to get to the campsite, setup fast, and break down just as quickly in the morning with a good sleep in between (read as - on a mattress not some BS sleeping bag on the ground that'll beat my 53 year old frame into oblivion). I also did not want to invest thousands of dollars in campers or elaborate caps that would render my truck useless as a truck once I am done with all of this. And so...
All of the products are from Amazon

1- Rollback Tyger bed cover $189


2 - Napier Backroadz Truck Tent $179. It is easier to set it up first on the ground and then pull it into the bed.





3 - I have a cot with a single mattress for when its just me and the dog (mattress not shown but the cot and mattress were $160 on Amazon) or a full Sized folding mattress that I can use if I ever convince my wife to camp with me (Another $120 there)


4 - The step up ramp is for the dog (mostly because I don't want her injuring her shoulders jumping out of the truck). The tool box is the step up for me...and I can keep some camp equipment in it. I had them both already so they were free for me but I can't imagine them costing much. For the purposes of this I'll call it $100.


5 - And now for the grand finale...
Each morning I can throw the ramp and the chair and whatever else I have into the tent, partially collapse the tent (leaving the poles largely in place) fold the edges of the tent in, close the tailgate, and roll the cover down.

Upon arrival at camp I can just roll the bed cover back, unfold the tent edges (the poles are already mostly in place except for one end) pop the pole ends back into their pockets and raise the tent in minutes with the bedding and other camp furniture already in place.

I practiced today and I can have it all set up in under five minutes and I can break it down in under 3 minutes.





Total cost = $748 plus tax. Delivery was free because...Freaking Amazon rocks during pandemics!

I still have some odds and ends to pick up like a good rechargeable fan, some lanterns, sheets for the cot, etc... but Im pretty sure I can stay well under a grand and I now have a setup that'll allow me to hit all of the parks and camps that I want while preserving my truck's ability to be a truck when at home. I do have plenty of camp cooking gear but I really don't like to cook much when I camp anymore. If I have a fire it'll be mostly because I like fires and light. Simple and raw food is just fine...except for coffee. Thats a detail I need to work out.

If travel proves safe and possible this summer I might try Park-hopping my way from Virginia to Colorado. In that scenario I would drive in the evenings during the week, camp in National Parks at night, hike in the morning...repeat. I've noticed that on weekends the parks are filling to the gills with Zombies (my name for the morons who think that they won't get a virus and are not even trying to keep it at bey) so Ill aim for hotels in less populated areas on Friday and Saturday nights. We shall see. First to test out in Va!

 

Simple and usable. This being used is far more respected than a $5k rack and roof top tent setup that spends most of its time at the mall.

Consider adding a tailgater tire table to your setup. Highly usable and great for coffee in the morning.

 

cool - thanks Ill look for that!

 

BTW - I considered a rack and RT tent but chose not to b/c it would be pricy and hard to break down when I wanted my truck to do truck things like haul dirt. I also did not see how my dog would get into a RTT and could easily see myself doing damage to myself trying to get out of a RTT in the middle of the night to hit the head