Which Approach to Camping Makes Most Sense for You?

Homeless in a 02 Silverado with a topper. I stretch a 9 x 12 foot tarp over the back end length wise securing with bunjis to the wheel well support rods and stake down the other end. In side a twin mattress and milk crates full of equipment. a folding chair and a camp stove, I'm good to go.

Dan's slide out camper shell system is by far the simplest and straight forward approach. I've done similar to Dan in the past as well as a roof top tent, slide in pop up and van. My next will be a teardrop size trailer mainly for convenience, tow it with any vehicle rather than a set up specifically for one truck only. It's always ready to go with very little set up or take down and it eliminates the need for gear storage in the house/garage. Great video!!!

The slide outs the contractor made for the truck bed were the best!

As soon as he said "if you don't wanna watch all the video scroll" automatically liked it.

Really interesting video. Great seeing the comparisons of the different styles. When l used to go tenting with my daughter we used lidded plastic bins that were permanently filled and stored in the garage so they were also available as grab and go evacuation "pods". The tent was separate but all other gear went in bins. One was filled with cooking gear and all other camping "hardware", lanterns, plates, dishcloths, soap, games.....(l kept a list of what went in there taped to the lid so anything that came into the house to be washed was sure to go back out again), one with my clothes and toiletries and one with hers. All the gear had been purchased cheaply second hand and was left in the bins and only updated with a change in clothing size or season. The advantage of that was minimal handling and they were all waterproof. The last bin was all our canned and dried food and, as money was VERY tight l used to refill the food tote by buying an extra can or packet or three everytime l shopped. (I also had a tried and true list of what we'd need taped to the lid on this one.) Usually by the time we were ready to go away the tote was full again and the only expenses were extra fuel and fresh food. It made a HUGE difference in our ability to go away as, the extra food cost topping up the tote was barely noticed and it was quick and easy to grab 4 bins and a tent and leave, knowing nothing had been forgotten. It was also really reassuring knowing how quick and easy evacuating in an emergency would have been. Hope this helps someone else.

back in '78 I had a 55 dodge power wagon and a 'baja camper' that was a 55 Ford pickup bed trailer with a homebrew camper shell on it, had twinsize mattress on the floor and a cabinet of drawers next to that for all my clothes, food and cooking gear. I liked being able to drop it off and go way up in the back country

This no doubt one of the most interesting episodes on this topic. It's awesome to see how people apply themselves to setups that they desire.

Awesome video. Most Youtubers spend the 1st 5 minutes talking about their channel and why you should subscribe, without creating an outline. You told us exactly what was happening, how it was going to be explained, and even separated it into segments for us. Thank you!

i have been hunting in the mountains for over 15 years now and we all (6 families) have settled on the idea a slide in camper seems to fit the need the best. We can get out of the snow and dry out quickly with the heater. Inside camp equipment is at the ready and the ability to be outside is always there while also enjoying a harder shell package if weather is bad. Some newer shells are all aluminum frame and weigh in around the 650-800 lb range, making them very versatile and light for what we do.

So I've been taking camping trips with my 2021 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Trail Boss and I use a backseat air mattress that has supports to fill the gap from floor to the bottom of the rear seat and it spans the distance from the back of the rear seat to the back of the front seat, used it a few times and its actually quite comfy. I use my pickup bed to haul my totes that hold my cooking equipment and extra tools. So far its been a good set up

It's always good to catch one of your older videos. Thanks and best wishes!

Donald! You knocked it out of the park with this video. So incredibly thorough and well thought out. You really pulled out all the stops and put in a ton of work. So many options out there right now in terms of how you can get out and explore, it’s almost overwhelming!

I lucked out into a Napier truck tent for $100. Bought the companion add on tent for it for $150. Doubled my space which is a hell of a lot cheaper than your other alternatives. With that saved money I bought a Jackery and solar panels for off grid fun. I also have a tow behind camper for the wife....gotta have that bathroom. : - )

Great breakdown as always! Some additional considerations: - Tents and other soft-sided campers (yes rooftops too) aren't allowed in some campgrounds that have bear issues. Not sure about the 4wd Camper style pop-up. Rooftops only provide perceived bear safety, and less if you are cooking right under your rooftop tent with that sweet slide out stove "flavoring" your sleeping area with bacon smells... - Payload - It's more than just suspension sag (brakes, cooling, handling) and can ruin your day if you get in an accident. If your insurance company realizes you were over payload with a camper, they may not pay out and don't have to. (ie, just about any mid-size + slide-in). How we love to modify our off-roaders ruin our payload, even though weight is the enemy of performance. - Mileage = range, also mileage = $ - Ground tents have the advantage of still being usable if you roll your vehicle, it catches fire, need to hike out after too much fun, etc. - Truck caps have almost 0 setup/breakdown time. You can also do lazy dust sealing by placing any soft-sided storage next to the tailgate while driving. Even with the massive gaps of my Tacoma tailgate I get near zero dust just by placing my duffle against it after driving all day in the dirt. - Slide-ins are probably going to be warmer/cooler, even pop-up style. The construction just naturally creates more dead-air space.

Its like Coke or Pepsi it all comes down to taste. Some like Campers some like tents. I lean towards a campers no tents. Seen to many killer Grizzly movies the guy in the tent is the first to get it! ( :

I have truck bed tent, and yes they’re a pain to set up, but after adding a slide out floor like your first interview and a soft-topper, we just drop the tent into the bed and pull the soft top over it for the day. This avoids about 90% of the daily setup when we’re camping… Why not just use the soft-topper? The tent has more headroom and extends out onto the tailgate, so it has a lot more usable space. In the end 90% what it’s adding is a flat floor up off the ground… You did nail the need for a separate kitchen setup… I have been looking at an ~easy-up tent (easy-up style top with a “tent” that hangs underneath and has a floor). I’ve see one where you can back your truck up to it and bridge the gap with a built in extension so that you can access all your gear from inside the tent, and to go exploring you just detach the extension to the truck. Lots of room, relatively low cost and your truck remains a truck (but I haven’t tried it yet)

Thanks for the shout out. Very humbling to be featured in one of your stellar videos. One day we will enjoy some good conversation around a camp fire.

I like my truck bed camper set up in my Tundra with a 6'6" bed and an extended 4" high canopy. I built a 10" high x 24" wide 6'6" long bed. For me, I like to go to a fishing location, and fish, If I can stay in that spot good, if not I go to a spot nearby. I also like that I can stealth camp when I travel, go in town, hit a bar or store, crawl in back and disappear, I can park almost anywhere in town. I also like that I can go to a friends and if I have too much to drink, I can crash in back and drive out in the morning without disturbing my friends. When I camp, I set up a cheap tent and camp chair to hold my camp site when I'm out fishing.

designing a setup that can go from work mode to weekend camper is a challenge and i have a lot of respect for those who don’t have a dedicated overlanding rig

For the family, we have a large travel trailer with slides and a bunkhouse. It's a great way to get out of the house and on the road. We have a one ton diesel that works great. It's large so boondocking in remote locations is not possible and it needs lots of room with all the slides. When I go out on hunting for fishing trips, I use a Kodiak Canvas truck bed tent. I have a comfortable cot and bedroll and can fit a lot of my gear inside with me. I stay warm and dry for two to four day trips. My next purchases down the road will be a Jackery and a fridge for solo camping, but coolers fit the bill for now with limited time out in the woods. Great video!!