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  • Truck Tents

    Hello all. I wanted to ask you all about truck tents. I think I'm going to purchase one and wanted to see if many people were using them and what the input was on the different brands. I think I've narrowed my search down to the Adventure brand or the Camp Right brand. But I'm open to suggestion. (I'd also consider a gently used one if anyone here is selling one.)

    Thanks in advance for any input you can offer.

  • #2
    Back when I had my 4X4 I took a serious look at these. They only had issues - quality, flexibility, price...Worse yet, most good campsites aren't set up to allow the rig right in camp, but have the parking offset or off a short path. The only area where this makes sense is a full-hookup RV site where you are the campsite. The big 3 high-end manufacturers don't make these kinds of tents, so kiss a lifetime guarantee goodbye - yet there's nothing cheap about these tents! I've seen some that work without the vehicle attached, and be used free-standing. There are situations where these would be ideal - let's say your "camping buddy" is too timid to sleep in a tent and thinks that being up in a pickup truck or SUV bed will make a difference somehow. In that case, I would say "Let's go camping!" :D
    Last edited by tplife; 08-04-2009, 10:56 AM.
    “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
    ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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    • #3
      I shared your concerns. I'll address them one by one.

      The main campsite I'd be buying it for does offer sites where I could set it up right on my truck. Any place where a truck style camper can be set up, I figure I can use one of these. I'm not a hardcore camper. This isn't for trekking out into the woods or unimproved campsites. This would be used in camp grounds. Also, at various race tracks, where I'd need to trailer in my motorcycles, then unload them and be able to spend a night in the pits.

      The guarantee does worry me a bit, but again, I don't camp often and not n harsh conditions. I figure if I use it 5-10 times a year, it should last quite a while.

      I didn't think the price was bad. I'm seeing them mainly in the $200-$250 range. Not chump change, but I've seen MUCH more expensive tents on the market.

      And, yes, now that you mention it, my "camping buddy" would prefer to not be at ground level. ;-)

      I'll tell you why I think it would work for me. Load my street legal dirt bike in the bed of the truck, head to the camp site. Unload bike, set up truck tent. I now have my truck set up to sleep in and a motorcycle was can buzz around town on if we need to get something or go see an attraction. I have the wife sleeping up off the ground, so she's happy. And best of all, I don't have to buy a travel trailer or RV. It would be used for one or 2 nights at a time at most.

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      • #4
        You're lucky as regular campgrounds where we live (SoCal mountains) keep your vehicle away from your campsite to some degree. Folks at our rallys just use their truck bed or bike trailer to haul in their tents and bikes. If you don't camp often of course your gear will hold up nicely. I have a Sierra Designs Electron for motorcycle camping, it sleeps 2 and fits inside one Harley HR saddlebag with more than half of the bag still empty for other gear. You still should shop Ebay and Craigslist for your truck tent! I only buy Sierra Designs tents that cost from $200 for the Electron to $450 for the Bedouin 6. I've always paid less than half for these new-in-the-box. I went the other route for my wife, since a truck would be a pricey toy and my gear is high-end from storm-proof tents to Kenwood Polk stereo, $400 sleeping bags and $100 ThermaRest pads, it's pretty easy to get her to sleep on the ground in such cozy digs. Of course I'm a sportsman too so I always "pack" for an extra measure of security. This is cougar country! :eek:
        “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
        ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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