Family Adventure/Camping setup questions

What are you guys calling a hybrid? Picture?

 

Grandma had one of these for a couple years, but always had to have someone help her set it up and down. Hers had 2 queen beds fold down, but you couldnt put 2 fat folks on the same bed. Mom and dad borrowed it, tore the tent, and buckled the supports. Lucky they didnt get hurt.



I didnt mind the set up, but i wasnt comfortable with her pulling a trailer.

i think thats a hybrid?

 

Yes, that's a hybrid, although it has the unconventional "rounded" bed ends. It's called a hybrid because it's a cross between a pop-up and a conventional hard-sided travel trailer. One of the advantages is that you get a lot of living/sleeping space in a trailer that packs up pretty small for towing. I don't really care about that though. I have one because I camp exclusively off the grid, so have no power hook-up, which means no AC. The ability to open the canvas ends during the day keeps inside temps comfortable. When temps are in the 90s, the people I camp with who have conventional hard-side campers are roasting at night. We're cool as cucumbers in our screened-in beds.
There are a number of reasons why a hybrid might or might not be right for a given family or situation. For what we do, I wouldn't own anything else.
This one has the more conventional bed ends:

 

Wow @chris32win, I bought basically the same truck this week and am looking forward to the same sort of build. 2005 SR5 TRD double cab in that same color with 150k. Only 1 kid though!

Anyone have experience hanging a mtb over the tailgate with a camper shell on the vehicle? I want a camper, but don't want to run with a hitch bike rack all the time (I have one I can put on for road trips though).

The soft toppers look like a good option, but I also sometimes travel with a canoe. It doesn't appear the soft topper "canvas cage" system is available for the '05 tundras. https://softopper.com/products/datin-fab-canvas-cage-rack-tc74o/ Does anyone have experience with other load bars that are compatible with softopper mounting hardware?

 

Yes. It works fine. The glass has to stay up or mostly up.Anything other than local trails and the wheel comes off and they go inside. @MrDirtjumper has a nice setup.

Softtoppers are disposable. They won't last anywhere near as long as a fiberglass or aluminum shell.