Sleeping in a crew cab truck ?

[Elite]

Hey everyone! I have been tossing around the idea of some how sleeping in the back of my gmc crew cab for random short hunting trips. I do have a holiday trailer but a lot of land owners do not like you camping on there land with a trailer due to dry conditions and fire hazards. So I have been for shorter trips it would be a lot easier to just sleep in the cab. Has anyone built some kind of mattress system for it? I was thinking of flipping up then back seat and having a small mattress platform on the floor then I would be able to simply flip the seat back down and put gear on the seat. I was also thinking of cutting a plywood sheet and making legs on the front of it and using the seat has a rest but the rear seats seem to have a good slope in wards on them, Just looking for some ideas


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[Dunndm]

Hey everyone! I have been tossing around the idea of some how sleeping in the back of my gmc crew cab for random short hunting trips. I do have a holiday trailer but a lot of land owners do not like you camping on there land with a trailer due to dry conditions and fire hazards. So I have been for shorter trips it would be a lot easier to just sleep in the cab. Has anyone built some kind of mattress system for it? I was thinking of flipping up then back seat and having a small mattress platform on the floor then I would be able to simply flip the seat back down and put gear on the seat. I was also thinking of cutting a plywood sheet and making legs on the front of it and using the seat has a rest but the rear seats seem to have a good slope in wards on them, Just looking for some ideas


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There is an inflatable mattress that does exactly what your talking about with the plywood and leg system. I would need to look around to find the link, but I know amazon sells them. My buddy goes on road trips a decent amount and uses it and says it works fine for a few nights and isn’t to much of a head ache.


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[ndbwhunter]

How tall are you? If you're less than 6'0 go for it, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're over that. I've done it a few times and wake up sore and stiff. Doesn't make it easy to get going early in the morning.

 

[OFFHNTN]

I have slept in my truck(s) a fair amount. I am 5'10" and laying across the back seat is just a few inches too short and I can't sleep comfortably, I am much better reclining the drivers seat back.
BUT, a couple years ago I bought a truck that has a 6'6" box and a shell topper. I have spent several nights in the back of that and it is awesome. The 6'6" box is long enough to get a full size cot back there and I sleep like a baby. I've done a few later season hunts where it is chilly, so I throw a little buddy heater in the one corner and turn it on first thing in the morning, takes literally 4 minutes to warm up and I can dress in relative comfort!

 

[NV HUNTER]

My Brother and i have done this for many years, but as i have got older....I bought a camper shell on the truck. fold out 2 cots and buddy heater and i get a much better nights sleep!

 

[tdhanses]

Look into a softtopper. Sleeping inside the cab sucks, I’ve never found a way to be comfortable and get good sleep doing it.

 

[Elite]

Those inflatable air mattress for the truck do look they would work well! I am 5’ 10” so it might be tight for length, I have thought about the topper but I have a large slip tank with fuel in my box that is a royal pain to get in and out


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[widnert]

I have slept in my truck(s) a fair amount. I am 5'10" and laying across the back seat is just a few inches too short and I can't sleep comfortably, I am much better reclining the drivers seat back.
BUT, a couple years ago I bought a truck that has a 6'6" box and a shell topper. I have spent several nights in the back of that and it is awesome. The 6'6" box is long enough to get a full size cot back there and I sleep like a baby. I've done a few later season hunts where it is chilly, so I throw a little buddy heater in the one corner and turn it on first thing in the morning, takes literally 4 minutes to warm up and I can dress in relative comfort!

^^^^This. As a kid with Dad, we did this a lot. No heater though but, better than the ground. Later in life, tried the cab thing and it sucked (6'4"). Slept in the bed many, many times w/o even a camper shell. Always got a good night's sleep. Now a days, with the wife along, we have a slide-in truck camper. This is the way to go! But, camper shells still have their place!

 

[*zap*]

I do not recommend sleeping in the cab of any truck, much better off in the bed.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Always sleep in the back under shell.Self Inflatable pad.

 

[Jskaanland]

I spent quite a few nights in the cab and in the bed(with a canopy). I've found I sleep way better in the bed with a 2" foam pad than sleeping in the cab. I reserve sleeping in the cab for when I'm doing long drives and need to take a couple hour nap in the middle of the night. In the cab, I pile up stuff on the side so I'm almost sleeping in a sitting position. At 6' tall and with the bumps in the back seat it's not worth trying to lay flat with a mat to smooth out the contours of the seat.

 

[Crippledsledge64]

I’ve done it multiple times as another 6’ guy, can’t say I’ve ever had a good sleep in one. Offhntn looks like he’s guy the right set up figured out.

 

[davsco]

I was also thinking of cutting a plywood sheet and making legs on the front of it and using the seat has a rest but the rear seats seem to have a good slope in wards on them, Just looking for some ideas

yeah my supercrew f250 back seat area is crap. with the actual seat tilted up/back it really doesn't provide good storage place at all, or a good place for our dog to hang out. i did just what you said, cut a sheet of plywood, screwed some 'legs' to it, tall enough so that when the back side rests on the shelf below the folded up seat, it is pretty flat/level. i just used 1/4" for the dog but 3/4 should be sturdy enough for a person.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I have an '06 GMC crew cab and I fold down my seats and sleep in the back just fine. I'm 5'10, no cushion or air matress, just a bag and pillow. I also have a canopy on the back and I've slept in that too. I prefer the cab so I can just turn the truck on when my alarm goes on in the morning and warm up a bit.

 

[diyhntr]

I would go for the bed too. I’ve done the cab driving from Oregon to Colorado and by the time I get there I’m shot. No real rest for two days does not do a body good. I’m 6’, and just not enough room to stretch out.

 

[CorbLand]

I have slept in the back seat of my 01 Tundra a couple times. It sucks. I have done the air mattress in the bed a couple of times as well, much better than the back seat. Ultimately I settled on a small cot that I can throw out next to or under my pickup. Works great for early season when its not getting terribly cold at nights.

https://www.sportsmans.com/camping/...tsmans-warehouse-ultralite-camp-cot/p/1381023

 

[SW hunter]

I have spent a few years trying to perfect this exact thing. I do it to have the option of sleeping in there. I use it to rest a few hours on long trips or if i get someplace after dark and weather is bad. This year i came up with the best solution yet and i will do it from now on. Pull the back seats out. It was seven bolts total. The seats are akward to carry not terribly heavy. I used 2x2s to make a frame. I needed three sets of legs framed into a rectangle approx 30” x 24” then that held up my platform frame which was approx 30” x 66” with a brace across middle making it look like a figure 8. Then 1/2” or 5/8” plywood top. I put 2 thermarest pads and a blanket down, slept on top like a baby. I did sleep diagonal. And it left a ton of room undrneath to store gear. I could fit a cooler under it. This way youre not moving any gear to lay down. Makes a 20 hour drive much easier. The above measurements are rough approximations off the top of my head to describe it. I used a screw gun to build it inside the cab. I lettered and numbered the pieces so i can screw it back together next year.

Before this i screwed around for years. I tried a platform just above the floor but had to shuffle gear from backseat to front seat to sleep which sucks. I made a platform atop the seat with it folded down, that sucked. I made one with it folded up and it sucked. Those seats zipped right out with an impact. Toughest part was finding a place to store them.

 

[eamyrick]

I also vote for the bed of the truck. I’m 6’3 and spent a week or so last year in the back of mine and slept awesome. I use REIs long inflatable camp beds and have a mil surplus bivy if it gets rainy.

 

[Wolverine]

Love the 8' bed on my truck! Plenty of room to stretch out and all to room I ever need for gear. Sleeping in the cab is ok for a nap but the back of the truck with a cap makes for great multi day trips.

 

[Whitty]

I bought an ARE topper of craiglist for $600 and then built a platform with drawers...gear and cooking items goes in the drawers, coolers on top. When it's time to "camp" I have a slumberjack roadhouse tarp that goes up over the back half of the truck. Roll out a twin size egg crate with inflatable pad on top of the platform and sleep like a baby. Bought a small folding table from amazon to cook/eat on and use a cooler for a seat. All goes up and down in 10mins. Just a different idea...