Know the truck I want, but what bed setup for a new family in the mountains?

[307]

Don't you people have wind? I'm from Wyoming. A rooftop tent sounds like the seventh ring of hell. I'd put mine in a hole in the ground if I could.

 

[tombombadilo]

Quote," based on my situation, what would you suggest?"

I changed my mind. You need a Subaru Outback.

Find a weed shop on your way home. Hopefully they have big parking spots.

Don't you people have wind? I'm from Wyoming. A rooftop tent sounds like the seventh ring of hell. I'd put mine in a hole in the ground if I could.

It can be a bit much, especially in the spring, but it doesn't blow all the time. When I was mostly camping in the FlipPac, I just wouldn't open it if it was too windy or rainy. I'd sleep on the carpet kit in the truck bed instead. Sometimes if it was really cold I'd do that too, because with the camper closed the space was a lot smaller and the mattress in the roof was great insulation.

 

[Dos XX]

If you want a decked system, look at a shell that is above cab height. I think my decked is 13" tall. I get 7" of it back with my ARE MX shell. It works for what I do. I have never slept in it, though.

 

[william schmaltz]

I have a crew cab with an 8 foot box and topper. Two kids under 6 and we fill that sucker to the gills when we go camping. Cooking tote, tent tote, sleep gear tote x2, waders/boots tote, misc gear tote, 110 cooler, two bikes, canopy, 4x bags (2 outfits a day per kid, gear for 3 seasons and rain), toys tote, stroller, etc, etc, etc………

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I sold my 23 f150 with a 5.5 bed after one trip from South Carolina to Wyoming with 3 guys. Back in 6.25 bed in my Cummins. No way I will ever buy a short bed after having mostly 8 ft standard beds, 6.25-6.5 is the smallest. Also have 3 kiddos so it fills up quick as mentioned.

 

[TaperPin]

A low mileage 20 year old Toyota Camry commuter will quickly pay for itself in the wear and tear saved on a new truck. These literally come up for sale under $5k with barely 100k miles, so they’re good for another 100k. What’s the depreciation per mile on a new truck?

 

[SHTF]

I have my first kid on the way and Im looking into buying a new truck and thinking about the setup I would have for this new sized family. Based on our situation below, What do you suggest?

1. It will be me, my wife, 90lb lab, infant in a car seat.
2. We live in Colorado and are very outdoorsy which means at times we have a lot of gear. Mountain bikes, fly fishing gear, camping gear, hunting gear, all dependent on whats going on. We also do a lot of off-road stuff in the mountains
3. I will be getting a F150 Supercrew with 5.5 ft bed
4. Thinking if I need a bed shell, decked system, bed cover, combination of these, none of these etc. to make my life easier.

Hey Pikes, Colorado here as well. Check out my setup. This is a 2018 Ram Diesel 2500 with Crew Cab and completely decked out with all the fun things youd want for Overlanding. I even made my own diesel heater and the bed is setup with decked system Shell Bed 18 gallon fresh water with electric pump and solor panels for the 2 MGA batteries under the hood 150w total those are the black things mounted to the hood in the photos. I bought this truck in 2023 after blowing up my Hemi Ram motor. Youll enjoy what Ive done and may spur some ideas for you that Im happy to share my process and thoughts on. I keep a full setup to stay out for 2 weeks and sleep in the bed of the truck. Hope this helps. https://www.instagram.com/jwt355/

 

[Austink47]

For the wife, kid, dog and I we have something like the decked system and a standard camper shell. It sounds like we live similar life styles and we absolutely love this set up. Roof rack is flexible sometimes we have kayaks, other times we have a roof box. Trailer hitch for bikes.

Congratulations on having a child. Absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me.

 

[7mm-08]

I'm thinking that a canopy and a decked system with a big memory foam mattress would be the ticket for everyone. You could virtually all sleep in the canopy. You should really consider buying the taller canopy unit that is a few inches above the cab-height, standard canopy you see on everyone's vehicle (except all the old gray-haired geezers). I have an ARE MX series canopy on my truck and those few extra inches in height are incredible. Especially if you do decide to go with a decked system. That extra height would make up for some of the space you sacrifice. Good luck with your decision(s).

 

[Blowdowner]

Van

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

Our needs might differ from yours, and ours are focused mainly on camping, but here's what works for us. We're in northwestern NM, so mountains and deserts in NM, CO, UT, and AZ are our usual haunts. We have a 4WheelCamper on our Tacoma, and it's been a game changer for us in terms of getting out often and easily for overnight trips. I'll admit that it's a little snug with my wife, myself, a 14 year-old kid (sleeps on the couch), and a 50 lb lab mix, but it works! We keep it loaded with bedding, shelf-stable food for 2 days, water, and a change of clothing for each of us. What we get in exchange for it being so tight is that it'll easily go anywhere a 4x4 truck can. We don't use the furnace much, but it's so nice to turn it on when making coffee on a cold morning in the mountains. The fridge means we don't have to take a cooler (but sometimes do), and we use it all the time for bringing cold groceries home in the summer, because we live a ways out of town. The hot water and exterior shower are things I didn't know I needed. There's nothing like being clean when we get into a clean bed at the end of a sweaty day. We use the exterior shower for doing dishes, too. The trailer hitch often gets a swing-out bike rack or a platform carrier for extra gear. Our bumper has a swing-out storage box, which is super convenient for things that don't seem to fit elsewhere, or if something is wet or smelly and we don't want it in the cab or camper. The other side of the bumper has a swing-out for a spare tire that I don't use, so I'm planning to convert it to something else. Maybe another storage box with a fold-down galley table since we do most of our cooking outside. An awning on the side of the camper makes sweet and easy shade in the desert. I can tell you more about cheap little things in the camper that help to keep my wife comfy and eager to go out if you want. In terms of our overall lifestyle, we've found the central tenet of behavioral economic rules: If you want to do something more often, make it easier to do. So almost everything about our setup is centered on that idea. The result is that we spend a lot more time exploring new places than we used to. We can head out with very little planning or preparation, and deciding to turn a day trip into an overnight can happen at any time during the trip. We also have a small pop-up camper (early 2000s Fleetwood Cobalt) for when we want more space (needed to add another person) or if we want to leave a camp set up somewhere while taking the truck on day trips, though we only do that a couple times a year. I wouldn't say we have everything perfectly dialed, but we're at least 80% of the way there and finding ways to make it better is fun but not necessary at this point.

Let’s see some pics!

 

[Manny1608]

The mid sized bed is the way to go, you run out of room quick with the short bed.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I have a 6.5’ bed. I can fit two dog crates (Dakota 283 mediums), a 65 qt RTIC cooler, and my entire wall tent camp in the back (I have a topper).

I am fairly certain with a little more discipline and using my roof rack, I could get the same in a 5.5’ bed.

 

[fngTony]

Don't you people have wind? I'm from Wyoming. A rooftop tent sounds like the seventh ring of hell. I'd put mine in a hole in the ground if I could.

My part of Colorado can get bad wind. The city mandated that in my development homes had to be built to withstand class 1 hurricane winds, some homes built for class 2.