How to Camp from Your Truck this Summer

Here in Southern Oregon as the weather gets warmer, the urge to go out and explore the wilderness grows in us all. Camping is a summer tradition here and we all have our favorite camping spots. How we camp is a different story–some of us prefer simple tents while others prefer the comfort of an RV or caravan. For the younger generation, there’s been an increase in “van living” or “van life,” where you make a functional living space within a van. While I’m not suggesting you do that, camping within the comfort of your truck or truck bed could be a very interesting option this summer.

Tips on How to Camp From Your Truck:

• Determine Your Shelter – With your truck you have three options, do you want to set up base inside the cab, in the bed, or use the truck to supplement your shelter in a tent? If you have a shell already, utilize that! There’s most likely more room in the bed of your truck than anywhere else. If not, you may want to put a few seats down to create a more spacious area in your truck. Yet whatever area is best for your comfort and your ability to get a good night’s sleep is up to you. If you lack a shell, you could always go onto the internet and consider investing in a truck bed tent. They can fluctuate in price, but some moderate-sized tents are available for under 100 dollars.
• Sleeping Arrangements – Sleeping bags are probably the most ideal gear to have for camping due to their portability and insane warmth they can provide during chilly nights. This goes for truck camping as well, and you should probably prioritize sleeping bags over other potential arrangements. With that being said, you may also have the luxury of being able to use your entire truck bed for sleeping space, to which you could feasibly include a mattress in the back–a regular mattress or an inflatable one. Or, if you’re not planning on spending money to purchase a mattress, you could always sleep inside the truck with several blankets and a pillow. That right there is an example of the luxury of camping from your truck.
• Camping Storage – Bringing along your equipment for camping while simultaneously living out of the area where the storage needs to be held could be slightly tricky to manage. The key to solving this issue is deciding which section of your truck you want to be camping out of. The rest of your truck can be devoted to your storage containers and other equipment. Just be sure to pack light during these truck camping trips because you won’t have excess storage that you would have in an RV or caravan.
• Kitchen Setup – If you’re not staying at a devoted campsite with a traditional picnic table or fire pit, then setting up your kitchen base is something you will most likely have to do out of your truck. Small camping stoves have become commonplace in a regular camper’s gear, so clearing a space in the bed of your truck for that might not be too large of a hassle. If you’re relying on a firepit as your primary cooking source, consider creating a portable grill and pole. Simply make your fire, and attach a ventilated grill cover to it. You could also purchase one of these, but the price for a pole and a grill run a bit steep.

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