Truck camping can give you a lot more possibilities than your average backcountry trip. Which can make planning and preparing seem scarier.
But this beginner guide to truck camping will have you on your way in no time!
Below you’ll find everything you need to do before your trip in the order that makes the most sense. From the choices that need to be made to the items that need to be bought and everything in between.
Pick Your Setup
When truck camping, there are lots of different ways that you can set up your vehicle.
Slide-in Campers
Slide-in campers are definitely the most comfortable way to complete your trip. Especially if you’re traveling as a family. But they’re also a bit more expensive.
The average camper will cost anywhere from $8,000 to $50,000 and include a kitchen, dining area, bed, and sometimes a bathroom. Most are made for larger one-ton pickups, but there are some smaller ones that can be hauled by a half-ton.
Roof Top Tents
A rooftop tent is something that you can attach to practically any vehicle. It’s a simple tent built into a platform with a ladder attachment.
They come in a fold-out or pop-up design and can be difficult to attach to your car. But they are very easy to set up once installed. And their airy designs make them the perfect truck camping setup for your summer trips.
Canopies
Canopies are truck bed caps that you reconfigure to accommodate a bed and storage area by adding a shelf that splits the canopy into an upper and lower compartment. Whether your bed goes on the smaller top shelf or the bottom depends on how much headroom you want.
This is the most secure way to go truck camping in every sense of the word. The hard-shell walls will keep you protected from anything and everything. But it also doesn’t give you a lot of room, and it can be hard to bug-proof.
Truck Bed Tents
A truck bed tent, at its most basic, is a bottomless ground tent that pitches right over your truck bed. This makes it the cheapest and least intrusive way to go truck camping.
And the fact that it raises you off the ground helps protect you from animals and flooding!
Pick Your Dates
Truck camping is much more comfortable in nearly every season, and here’s why.
Summer
In summer, the best part about truck camping is the air conditioning. The truck itself will have it, but you can also equip your sleeping area with a unit as long as you pay attention to your energy supply.
Camping on the fly will also be harder in the summer because parks book up fast. But knowing you always have a safe space to sleep can ease any worst-case scenarios.
Winter
With a well-insulated slide-in camper or canopy, you’ll also be able to go truck camping comfortably in the winter months.
But you’ll still need a good sleeping bag that’s meant for below-zero temperatures. And keep an eye on your electricals and water to make sure they don’t freeze.
Fall/Spring
Fall and Spring trips will need both summer and winter preparation. Since the days can get hot, but nights can still cool down drastically.
That means hard-walled truck campers, like slide-ins and canopies, will still need an air conditioning unit. And soft-walled truck campers will need the right clothing and insulators.
Where to Book a Campsite
When it comes to truck camping, there are lots of different websites you can use to find the perfect campsite for you!
National Park Websites
When planning a trip to a National Park, the first thing you’ll want to check is whether or not that park allows truck camping. And the park’s official website is the best resource for that information.
If truck camping is allowed, the official website will also have information on the size and amenities available at individual campsites, the check-in process, and any other restrictions you need to follow.
Maybe they only allow rigs of a certain length into the campground. Maybe they only allow hard-sided campers. All of this will be on the national park website. So, even if you don’t end up booking through it, you should always give it a good read-through.
Camping Websites and Apps
If you’re looking for free campsites or things that are a little more off-grid and unique, there are a bunch of websites and apps that you can use.
iOverlander is a global directory of campsites, RV parks, restaurants, hotels, filling stations, dumping stations, and other useful facilities. It has everything a truck camper would need to find throughout their trip in one convenient place to help make planning nice and easy.
Harvest Hosts and Campendium are specifically for RV and truck campers. If you’re looking for unique stays on farms and breweries, Harvest Hosts could be worth the price of a subscription. If you just want a free truck camping database, Campendium is the better option.
The Allstays app gives you way more information on the terrain and stores around campgrounds. If you’re running low on water and need a site that’s well-connected to the amenities and facilities your truck needs, Allstays is the app you want.
What to Look For
The type of truck that you have will affect the amenities that your campsite needs. If your slide-in camper has a bathroom, you don’t need to worry about where the campsite’s public restrooms are. But you will want to be close to the water and waste hookups.
All other truck campers will need to consider the distance to the bathrooms. Without a kitchen, you’ll also want to look for campsites with firepits. Unless you have enough propane to use a cooking stove for your whole trip.
And, no matter what your setup, you always want to look for a campsite with a flat area large enough to park in and a decent amount of tree coverage. You want shade and protection from the elements. But too many trees can make it hard to find a high enough area to fit your rig.
How to Camp on the Fly
One of the biggest perks of truck camping is the ability to keep loose plans. So here are some tips for your first time camping on the fly.
Plan A, B, and C
Truck campers will often leave booking to the last minute. Sometimes you won’t even know where you’ll be staying the next night. But that doesn’t mean there’s no planning at all.
To successfully camp on the fly, you should have three running plans at all times. Options A, B, and C will ensure you don’t end up stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Know Your Must-Haves
And your list of campground and campsite must-haves will make sure that you never pick the wrong landing.
Some items should be staples, like cell reception for planning your next night or any of the other campsite amenities mentioned above. But other things will depend on your supplies, like whether or not you need access to fresh water to refill your tanks or a dumping station.
How to Choose the Right Gear
Truck camping trips often require a little more gear than your usual backcountry outing, so here are some tips for choosing the right stuff.
Sleeping Gear
Truck campers can be equipped with an inflatable mattress, a sleeping pad, or a memory foam mattress.
Inflatable mattresses are better insulators than sleeping pads. But memory foam mattresses are more comfortable and durable than inflatable mattresses. Sleeping pads are more portable and convenient than a mattress. But mattresses are better for sleeping more than one person.
Repair Gear
When off-roading with a truck camper, it’s always good to have some sort of jack, a winch, recovery boards, different straps, and shackles on hand in case of emergencies. As well as a full tire repair kit and tool kit.
Storage Gear
Storage will be one of the biggest issues for first-time truck campers. So here are some tips to get you started!
Gear Storage
Before you begin, find all the storage spots available to you. Once you have an idea, purchase as many storage boxes as you can fit.
Inside the boxes, organize the packed items by categories of your choosing. Similar items can be stored together inside reusable bags or containers within the box. And get odor-proof bags for storing things with a scent, like a bug spray and deodorants.
If you have open ceiling space, you can also buy a cargo net attachment to slide extra gear into.
Kitchen Storage
To make the most out of your space, add hanging pockets to the inside of your cupboards and raised baskets to free up counter space. Nesting and collapsible products should also be bought wherever possible.
When camping, you’ll need dry and cold food storage boxes. You can also put the ingredients from one meal into reusable bags to help organize the inside of your box. And always pack extra bags of all sizes.
Water Storage
To choose the right size, consider the free space you have to fit it in and the fact that you need at least two gallons of water per day, per person, every day. And that’s not including water for washing.
Camping Gear
Tire tables are one of the benefits of truck camping since they are much easier to level than your average camping table.
You’ll also want to consider buying bug netting and curtains for your doors and windows. And a cable lock for any expensive truck camping equipment attached to the outside, like solar panels.
How to Take Care of Business
Personal hygiene can be hard to maintain on the road. So here are some tips and tricks for taking care of business while truck camping.
Bathing Methods
If you have the water supply for it, there are some amazing pressurized shower attachments you can add to your truck. Electric ones are best for trucks equipped with solar panels. Whereas gravity camping showers and hand-pump showers are good all year round.
Bathroom Techniques
Even when slide-in campers don’t come with a bathroom installed, a lot of models will provide a storage closet big enough to fit a portable toilet. Then you need to consider whether or not you want to hook it up to the camper plumbing or just dump it like normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you mount a truck camper?
First, you want to raise your camper about six inches above the truck bed. Then you can carefully back your truck up under the camper just enough to connect the wiring. Once connected, finish backing it into place and lower the camper in small increments until it rests fully on your truck. Finish by attaching turnbuckles to both the anchors on the camper and your truck’s tie-downs at a torque of about 300 ft/lbs.
Can I leave my tailgate on with a truck camper?
Yes, you can leave your tailgate on without any technical issues. But it will add weight to your truck that will take away from your payload capacity.
Time to Plan your First Truck Camping Trip
Planning and preparing for your first trip is easy when you follow this guide to truck camping. Find all the equipment you’ll need and all the steps to take while organizing in one convenient place!
And for more info on campgrounds, check out our guide to campgrounds all across America!
- About the Author
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After years of camping in the Canadian wilderness and finishing her Bachelor of Communication Studies, Liv Headley brought her passions together through the Apple Pie Media platform.
Armed with stories under open skies, at the tops of mountains, and from as young as eight years old. When it comes to picking the right camping spots, packing the best gear, and cooking the most delicious food, Liv’s got the expertise to make planning your trip easy!
Liv can be reached at livheadleyfreelance@gmail.com