I'll be dirtbagging it for a while at the end of the summer. I'm trying to figure out what I'll need to make my truck bed as cozy a home as possible. I figure a two-burner stove, a cooler, a lantern, and a camp chair or two are de rigeur (in addition to standard camping gear).

Thought I'd post on here to see if any of y'all have advice from your experiences.

"I sure wish I'd had _____" or "______ turned out to be a waste of space."

Thanks-

-Justin

Save room in that truck for beer and coffee.

A crazy creek chair is the most utterly worthless POS ever.

I've got one of those dynamo flashlights in the glove compartment, I love it. It's too big to lose, doesn't ever run out of batteries, and cheap.

Get all your stuff, lantern and stove, to run off propane. It's so much nicer. Also get a small foldable table, squatting is for what happens after you eat your meal, not before.

Wet wipes have 1000 uses (maybe 5, but they're nice).

I built a loft in my truck so I can store all my gear under. If you do that make sure that you've got a version than is easy to get to your gear. So many times I see those setups that simply waste all your space. Also, a hook on a stick clip is worth it's weight in gold for pulling and pushing stuff beneath the loft.

A deck of cards and a couple books

If you have a laptop, a movie breaks the tedium sometimes, bring an AC adapter.

A weapon of some sorts is very entertaining on rest/rain days. I think a pistol would be a hoot, so would a small rifle (.22). Bow and arrow would be cool if you've got somewhere to shoot it and I've had some fantastic days with a throwing axe. If you do any of these, be safe, pick up the shells, and don't destroy things. The guy with the axe brought his own log to throw it at. If I get around to it, I may construct an atelatl for my future roadtrips. Maybe even a combo atelatl, stick clip, puller.

Always have a spare bottle of whiskey. Beer always runs out faster than I expect.

I've got an electric pump and those little tar strings for fixing flats. Priceless.

That's about it on my end I think.

I've been using my truck as a camper for a while now, and the one thing that has made all the difference is a foam mattress pad (like an egg-crate foam pad). Mine is about 3" thick and is perforated on one side. Throw a sheet on, add a real pillow, and there will be no more mornings where you wake up with a sore neck/back. I've cut mine to fit on my sleeping platform, so it doesn't really take up all that much space. Thermarests are nice and all, but as long as you're car camping, why not do it right?

Everything JohnL said.

The weapon idea is precisely the reason I posted on here: something I never would have thought of and something I am absolutely going to do. Throwing knives seems like a skill I'd be glad to possess.

I'm in the early stages of planning my gear loft set up. I figure I'll build it so that my crash pad nests on top of the wheel well. An egg crate on top of that would be a nice addition -- extra cushion and easy to move.

What kinds of food have you found to work well or not at all?

I have to say yes on the guns and axes. I also just picked up a sling shot, no noise and there is always plenty of ammo around.
A real cutting board is also one of the best things that I always forget about,

A CUTTING BOARD? Getting pretty kush now aren't we??? J/K, that would be something that I would likely forget. Don't forget a sharpening stone of sorts, you will be glad to have it when you would otherwise have to resort to the throwing hatchet to gut your fish. Oh yeah, bring a fishing pole! I second the sleeping platform, it will give you much more storage space. As for food, take things like pasta, canned foods, and pita's or tortilla's as they last longer and travel better than regular bread. Probably wouldn't focus on foods that need to be kept cool, lest you intend on eating them right away. Procuring ice can be an intensive and over time expensive venture, especially on hot summer days. Bring a bike or some other form of transportation suitable for local camping transport, saves on gas and you can go places that a truck can not.
How I envy you, I would enjoy a great summer of dirt bagging it and climbing out of the back of a pickup... Ahhh good memories... Have fun and be safe in your travels!

As for food:

-for me, lunch staples that seem to do the trick are a block of cheese, tortillas, pb, jam, apples, and cheese-its
-couscous: great staple, all you need is hot water, much faster to cook than rice, noodles (but bring those too!)
-beef jerky: when you crave meat, and you don't want to go through the hassle of raw meat. buy way more than you think you need; you will eat it.
-if you like thai food, rice noodles, coconut milk, and the small glass jar of curry paste break up the monotony of dinner like nothing else. easy to prepare and cook.
-bottle of whisky. good on ya' johnL. the beer lasts half as long as you think it will.
-if you're doing the cooler, which you should if you have room, use ice blocks to line the bottom of the cooler, fashion a shelf/platform to rest on the blocks, then place your food on top. this keeps your food from getting soggy, and blocks last much longer.
-also, always have enough ice to chip some off to make gin and tonics, or whisky on the rocks for those warm evenings.

i think it's kind of funny that all of this would seem like common sense, yet it has taken me several extended road trips to figure this out. and every time, i still forget something.

oh, and bring a cribbage board too. sure-fire fun!

Make a bed out of plywood with carpet stapled on top. Pad with a layer of the Ridgrest between. Bed level should rest on top of the shell rim so that you can get a full-height Action packer underneath. Don't worry about headroom, you'll be lying down, right? Split the deck in half lengthwise so they stack on top of each other and then you can also get 2 bikes inside. Give you lots of flexibility. Strap the bed down with cam straps and you'll find that you can get it out in 30 seconds.







High high topper is nice, not so much for the extra headroom but for the taller window. Makes getting in and out much easier. Contractor window on the side is nice, as is the bottle opener on the back. Layer your whole tailgate with plywood to use as a cutting board. Cut a few 3" holes in it to act as cupholders. Buy an LED light bar and use hook-side velcro on it to stick it anywhere on the carpet liner that you paid extra for when you bought the topper. Glue two patches of soft-side velcro to the back window so your light bar will shine down on the tailgate for night cooking. By 2 pair of Yakima rain-gutter thingys and bolt to the side of the topper so you can put a rack up there. Hang bolt hangers from the inside to clip things to.

Best,
Mal

All good suggestions--Mal's got the idea there!

Extra TP and a quart of oil and window wash fluid always come in handy, as does a normal, short handled shovel--not one of those army fold up ones. Thousands of uses. A pair of leather gloves and a good first aid kit.




Room for plenty of BEER!!!!

Don't forget a beer cozy necklace. This little DIY wonder will be the envy of any campground or parking lot, plus, you'll never lose your beer again. Also great for belaying.

john's list was pretty much 100%. for a small weapon, i bet one of those wrist rocket slingshots would be awesome. think how much fun it would be to get wasted and sling rocks at random things. no shells to clean up, you won't hurt your self, takes a decent bit of skill. damn, i think i just talked myself into buying one!

The chalk bag catches the bottle caps. Sorry I forgot that detail. It's important.

Very Classy!

You may want to check out
http://bajataco.com/bajataco.html
for some ideas. One of the neatest, if not a bit over the top, rigs I've ever seen. There are also links to his friends' setups with other neat ideas.