Sleep Under Tonneau Cover -- interior release in bed?

[malditofman]

Sleeping under a tonneau cover is less than ideal, but it can be done. Is there a tailgate or tonneau release from inside the bed? If not, opening the tonneau with one's phone would work. Not a practice done often but may be a handy option in some circumstances. Sleeping diagonally give roughly 6 feet to stretch out assuming not carrying a huge amount of gear. Drive well.

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[Cycliste]

You can open the tailgate from the app. I would worry about a lot of condensation when winter sleeping in the enclosed bed with the tailgate up. All of your exhaled and perspiration moisture would decrease the performance of down insulation. Instead, I would leave the tailgate down and sleep in an alpine bivy sack, and when below freezing add a synthetic quilt on top of the down quilt with my head outside the bed. That way, your condensation freezes in the synthetic layer instead of degrading the performance of the down layer. Of course, you would need a winter insulated sleeping pad and head insulation. I love Winter backpacking.

 

[malditofman]

I love all season camping and bike packing. I have insulated air pad, down quilt and proper layered clothing. The "tonneau sleep system" will be used infrequently, but will come in handy from time to time. Could even plug in an electric blanket on a cold night and even stealth camp if necessary. My R1T Tri Max arrives 12/24 and I'll have lots of opportunities to experiment. Plan experiment with remote solar charging as well. Good times ahead. Drive well.

 

[Campmohave]

I probably would leave the tonneau in place, just drop the gate, and sleep like usual. I couldn’t sleeping in a locked bed, it’s just asking for something to go wrong.

We use a queen size heated blanket, which may take at most 3kwh to run overnight, if not half that.

We use a backpackers tent that is roughly the dimensions of the bed, and set it inside the box. We don’t own a tonneau.

I did install a softopper from a Ford Maverick, which has tent accessories available from the factory, though I have not tried it. The install is in my post history.

I have heard of some people sleeping in the gear tunnel.

 

[bfilippo]

Do folks have suggestions for a “bed” that fits in the truck bed with the tailgate down? I’m looking forward to camping with the truck next season, and interested in one of those fancy mounting tents, but they’re also a big investment. Wondering what other setups folks have that just use the bed.

 

[Campmohave]

We use https://a.co/d/eM5C4Bz

we put it in half full, then pump it the rest of the way in place since it is a tight fit

it works well enough. Like many air mats it can be noisy on shuffling. We use a blanket on top that cuts out that problem pretty well.

 

[Davethadog]

Are you a little person?

 

[Rivdog]

Idk how you’re gonna fit but hey, give it a shot! I also considered it, with the bed down, but it just wasn’t

Be aware that the bed is unusually shallow - it’s only about 17 inches deep. I can’t even fit my cooler under the tonneau.

I never thought I’d be a fan of a roof top tent but I’ve been converted. They’re so much better than I thought because of how comfortable the mattresses are and how much room you have to move around. The quality of sleep is just so, so much better than I used to get when camping in the back of my SUVs. They have come down in price so dramatically in the past few years that it’s worth a shot. You can get a good hardshell tent on Amazon for $800 shipped as of today. These things were like $3,000+ a few years ago.

 

[CrazyOne]

How do you plan on sleeping in the 4 foot bed?

There is an emergency release, just by the tailgate in case you are planning to lock someone inside 🫣

 

[PowerBugs]

Do folks have suggestions for a “bed” that fits in the truck bed with the tailgate down? I’m looking forward to camping with the truck next season, and interested in one of those fancy mounting tents, but they’re also a big investment. Wondering what other setups folks have that just use the bed.

We use the Exped Megamat Duo medium.

 

[av8or]

I’m getting claustrophobic just thinking about it.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Personally I’d recline the seat and sleep in the cab with the heat on.

 

[Laserboy1054]

I'd be really concerned about sitting up while bleary or flailing a bit during sleep and wrecking the tonneau. They're not designed to withstand force from below. One bad dream could do a thousand dollars in damage--turning it into a nightmare! But maybe the tonneau is tougher than I'm presuming.

 

[DeanB1452]

I use the Joy Tutus (5ft, aluminum rod) tent that I got from Amazon for the past two years. I also have the Hikenture Double sleeping pad https://a.co/d/a1DKJuH as the 4-6" mattresses were too bulky. You can plug in an electric blanket or even a small space heater to stay nice and cozy.

 

[W1SE]

Warning, if for some reason your battery becomes dead (12v) you are trapped. I had an issue with my HV battery that zapped my 12v. It made all emergency egress buttons not work. Don’t purposely trap yourself.

I couldn’t get my gear out of the gear tunnels even when reaching through the cab to press the emergency egress buttons.

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