I’m planning on taking a long road trip by myself. I plan on staying in hotels when I can but I’ve dreamed of sleeping in my cab so I can get night and sunrise pics. I thought about buying a tent and tent in the bed of my truck. I want to pack my telescope with me. I have a goal zero with solar panels already. I plan on eating mre while I’m in the parks. I have a 12v fridge too.

im 5’8. Would it be better to have everything in my bed and try to sleep in the car? Or would it be better to pack everything in the cab and sleep in the tent? I will have a toner cover to secure my stuff. I’m thinking early spring so it won’t be too hot.

 

I’m 6’3” and I’ve slept in the back of a Super Crew. It wasn’t great but I’d do it again if necessary. Shortly after, I purchased this, but have yet to try it out. https://a.co/d/0gyTVbT

 

I’ll also add that this item is on my short list of things to buy for my next overnighter.

https://a.co/d/6aPOaCM

 

i thought about buying the same thing lol. I read that I would fit better if I elevated my head. I wish I had that ability to flatten the front seat out. I wonder how I hard it would be to convert my lxt to so that lol

 

My 2016 XLT had a camper shell and I did quite a bit of camping in it, fun times. The new 2022 is a Lariat and I did want to block the camera and the third brake light so I bought a tonneau cover instead of a shell.

If it's 5.5' bed, may be hard to sleep in it even diagonally. That was why my 2016 had 6.5' bed and so does my 2022 Lariat. I liked the bed better than the cab, I have a rug and an inflatable mattress to sleep under the tonneau cover.

 

I’ve spent a lot of time sleeping in my trucks over the years, including numerous trips to Montana from my home in SE PA. Presently, I have a 2018 Platinum with a 6 1/2’ bed and an ARE cap on it, and am waiting on a 2022 Platinum that is on order, that I’ll also put a cap on if it ever gets here!

I’ve built a bed frame in the bed of the truck to sleep on, with a Hest memory foam pad on it, which is very comfortable for sleeping, which I’ve done there down to the teens. On warmer nights, I also have a rechargeable lithium battery operated fan which makes sleeping there in temperatures into the 80’s pretty comfortable.

I think where and how you sleep in you’re truck is a matter of personal preference. I’d suggest trying out sleeping in multiple ways for several nights at home, or nearby, before making a longer trip.

I’ve also slept in the front seat, with it pushed back as far as it goes, and fully reclined, and that wasn’t half bad. You could also put something on the floor, like a pad, to elevate your feet, and sleep in the passenger seat. Personally, I wouldn’t sleep on the back seat of my crew cab unless I removed the seats entirely and slept on the floor, or I would consider building some type of a platform in front of the back seats so the entire area was the same height up to the back of the front seats.

As I mentioned, it’s a matter of personal preference, but I wouldn’t use a tent mounted on or in the truck bed. I don’t like to spend a lot of time pitching a tent and later taking it down when I want to sleep somewhere (I’ve tented a lot in the past though, and in a wide variety of conditions.). If you’re going to the western US, tents aren’t very comfortable in high winds, which are pretty common, nor are they very enjoyable to pack up after a night of rain or snow (which you can have any month of the year).

 

There are plenty of hotshot drivers who sleep in their crew cabs at rest areas. It's not unusual to remove the rear seat and build up an bed platform in its place.

 

Got the fold flat front seat option in my truck. I have tried them for short periods of time and they seem very comfy when folded flat.

 

Consider sleeping in the bed. It's a lot easier with a truck cap, but it can also be done with a tonneau cover without too much trouble. Use a camping sleeping pad on the bottom, much like you would in a backpacking tent. If you have a cap, you can easily set up a cot in the back.

That said, if you have the 5.5' extra-short bed, it will get a lot more difficult. But even the 6.5' shortbed is just long enough to fit a typical sleeping pad.

This is one of the many reasons I chose the 8' bed over any of the crew cab models. Very easy to set up two cots in the back under the cap for extended road trips.

 

i was going to get the 6.5 until i saw how well those tent beds work. i said worse case i can open the bed then fit my air mattress. since my xlt can't get the flat seat option has anyone tried removing the passenger front seat then putting a memory foam bed? I didn't think wind would be an issue for the tent but i see how that can be. My goal is to venture out west. I've been to a lot of national parks but never spent the night in one. My kids could care less about seeing the sunrise or stars. we always end up driving through. I'm lucky i work for a company that allows me to be remote so the game plan would be drive after 4pm every night to go where i need to and spend Fri-Mon in the parks. thanks for all the input!