July 2012.
Without a tent, camping in the truck has always been a fair-weather affair. Which in Washington limits options. So I decided to change that. With products that contained the letter Z. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. You'll see.
The way I've always seen it, tent camping is reasonable if you have more than two people, but it's also very limiting. You can just roll up to a great spot, and be ready to go. You have to find some flat ground, setup a tarp, setup the tent, etc. etc. etc. Plus, everything gets dirty on the ground. And who wants their stuff to get dirty when you're camping?
Not me.
Plus, when you're in a tent, guess what you can't see? Not just stars, shooting stars. And who doesn't like shooting stars?
Not me.
But, I wanted to know that I could go camping rain or shine, and I figured there must be some solution for all those truck owners out there. Turns out, there was - a truck tent. A smart little contraption that fits in the bed of the truck, sets up in just a few minutes, and is quick to put away too, because it never gets dirty on the ground.
So, I got one. (Called the Sportz Tent III.)
And we used it. (First trip with @mrs.turbodb)
And, it was great.
Once there was a tent that fit in the bed, I knew there had to be a better solution for the air mattress as well - I mean, those wheel wells were taking up so much room. How are you supposed to get your ZZZ's when you have to deal with those things?
So a bit more investigating around and I found the Truck Bedzzz air mattress. This thing is pretty nice. It's made to fit around the wheel wells, and it comes with a 12v pump and check valves for ease-of-filling.
So now, when the bugs or weather are bad, or we need some privacy - out comes the tent. But if the weather is clear, it's just the Truck Bedzzz that we throw in the back.
Maybe someday, we'll get a CVT.
Update: As of October 2016, the Sportz Truck Tent and Truck Bedzzz are no longer in use, replaced by a CVT tent.
