Short bed truck sleeping?

[Thinkingman]

I posted in other threads, my 6.5' F150 is perfect for sleeping.
My 5' Tacoma was worthless.

 

[Weldor]

Years ago, slept in a 8' bed and a aluminum cap. It rained so hard I thought I was in a drum. At 6'4" I can sleep in my Ram 6'4" not great but doable. I prefer a cot and lightweight tent for camp. Bear country prefer camper top.

 

[browtinebull]

Just get some cheap mounting rails and one of these. you will not regret the higher quality sleep.

 

[Jeffro]

I added one of these to my soft top canopy. It allows the tailgate to be down and extend the bed length for more comfort. I do have a 1/2 ton with 6.25' bed, but with 2 dogs in there with me, this was crucial. After the initial couple set ups, I had it down to less than 10min to be on the road and moving. Just threw a cot in the back.

Tailgate tent

 

[browning2480]

Buy a Tahoe, Yukon or if Toyota floats your boat a Sequoya. Sleep well

 

[KenLee]

I've used a 98 and 05 Burban w mattress in back, hitch rack and roof rack and been extremely comfortable w a lady and smallish dog. Camping and hunting.

 

[satchamo]

I added one of these to my soft top canopy. It allows the tailgate to be down and extend the bed length for more comfort. I do have a 1/2 ton with 6.25' bed, but with 2 dogs in there with me, this was crucial. After the initial couple set ups, I had it down to less than 10min to be on the road and moving. Just threw a cot in the back.

Tailgate tent

This is what I do as well. I have a 5.5 foot bed, drop the tailgate and throw this on. It takes only a few minutes to setup.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I am 6’ and sleep diagonally in my 5.5’ Tundra bed during deer season under my Softopper. Just keep most of my gear in the backseat but can still stack two totes in one corner and have room for a Buddy Heater in the other corner to warm up before getting dressed in the morning.

I haven’t messed with a platform because this is only a few nights a year, but the space could definitely be improved if I really wanted.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Instant tents are really underutilized. Between that and my bed roll, it takes me 60 seconds to set up or takedown. I like the A-frame one, paid $60 for it.

I have a topper. 6.5’ bed and I’m 6’. I can sleep in the back, but honestly I prefer throwing my tent up and sleeping in that most times.

It’s always cleaner and I don’t have to mess with moving gear and coolers.

 

[northhiker83]

I have the short bed Tundra with a deck system and if I’m not pitching my tent I’ll usually just pop the tailgate down, put a tote on the tail gate, and throw my mattress down. I’m 5’10” so it’s just my feet dangling over that I’m compensating for. With a foam sleeping mat and tote I can sleep perfectly fine. Before I had the deck system I had no issues sleeping in the bed.

 

[Dos Perros]

I've slept a lot of nights in my 06 Tacoma with the short bed. I just drop the tailgate. I do have a topper and sometimes I'll pull the window down but obviously feet are still exposed. If the weather gets western I can shut the tailgate and kinda smash diagonal but it's not comfortable for too long. Usually in poor weather I'll opt to setup a tent. Sometimes I have setup a tarp that extends out a ways that helps with rain but if it's windy it doesn't work too well.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

To Me...dropping the tailgate, using a tarp, etc defeats the entire purpose of sleeping in the bed. Ditto those suggesting pitching a tent. The beauty of a well fitting canopy over a truck bed is super weather protection. If I was simply needing to pitch a tent I can do that out of my Subaru or throw down vehicle.

I expected misery from those who have attempted a 5ft bed diagonal sleep. But wanted real world feedback, as I've never tried it.

Simply cannot find Happy with a new truck and the offered configurations. I really do not want to sacrifice a sub 6ft bed from what Im reading.

 

[Dos Perros]

Poor weather is like <20% of the time. I'm a cheap bastard tho so I roll with what I got.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

The only problem with a setup like this is...it's so comfortable it can be tough to get out and going at 4 AM. No issues with rain, working on some dust mitigation this weekend.

 

[txpanhandle88]

I've always brough a tent, a good mattress does the truck

 

[Buffalo-Jo]

My Silverado bed is 5' 9.75" I believe and I am 5'9". I sleep on top of my decked system all the time. Curl my knees slightly or sleep a little diagonal if really stretching out. The decked makes for a very nice flat sleep spot.

Dave Ramsey is great for people that are bad with money. And pretty bad for anyone that can reasonably stay within a budget and manage consistent cash flow. His philosophy always trades short term risk (default on a debt) for long term compounding. Once you start comparing interest rates of what you get from the Toyota bank vs what your 401k is returning, it doesn't make sense to move $38K from any investment account to pay cash for a vehicle. SP500 is up 20% YOY vs 1.9% APY from Toyota bank. It costs you almost $7,000 in the first year to pay cash for a vehicle instead of leaving it in SP500 index funds... And there isn't even any compounding there. Even if the S&P underperforms and vehicle interest rate is higher. I would think it would still make sense to finance a vehicle until market performs under loan and at that point pay it off with the cash you left in the market.

I would shop for a good deal on a new tacoma with the bed configuration you are looking and just know that you will have that vehicle for many years.

 

[tony]

Roof top tent - that one above is a smoking deal. I'm sure this and the big dollar ones are all made in the same Chinese factories.

Maybe one of those swagman type bed roll/tent things. But those approach the price of the RTT above

Edit - the sky ridge tent is $1049.00, still a decent price

 

[bbrown]

I bought the short 5’6” roll-a-cot for my tundra crew max and cut the legs down a bit to give a bit more headroom under the soft topper. Pretty simple setup that some storage under the cot and when the weather cooperates I just sleep with the tailgate down and my feet off the end. If the weather is crap it’s a snug fit with the tailgate up but better than sleeping in the back seat.


Only once have I woken up covered in snow after the wind switched in the middle of the night…