Before I started camping with it, I never thought I’d love camping with a truck bed tent so much.
For a couple, it’s one of the easiest and most comfortable ways to get into camping.
But when I bought my first one, my friend who was offering advice to me told me in no uncertain terms never to drive with it up.
Of course, I’m not one to take commands with a little research, so I asked around to find the answer: Can you drive with a truck bed tent?
I’m glad I did because it saved me money and heartbreak.
Do not drive with your truck bed tent up unless you’re driving at 5 mph or less. Any higher speeds will cause the moving air to treat your tent like a parasail and rip up your tent, potentially damaging your truck in the process. If you’re just driving around a parking lot, it should be fine.
Check out the rest of the article for a few more details on why this is and how to get around it for convenience’s sake.
Why Can’t You Drive With A Truck Bed Tent?
It may not be obvious to most why you can’t drive with a tent up in the truck bed.
After all, part of the setting up process is using straps to attach it to the truck itself.
Isn’t this strong enough to hold onto it?
Yes and no.
Your tent won’t go anywhere with the straps on, but the poles your tent uses aren’t designed to withstand the pressure.
The poles break and fold and then flap around in the wind, scratching your truck in the process.
It all comes down to physics.
If the air is perfectly still and you start driving, you’re essentially creating a wind at the speed you’re driving at.
So if you drive 25 mph down a gravel road, it’s like exposing the tent to a constant 25 mph gust.
While the cab of the truck will block some of the wind, it’s a good rule of thumb to count the speed as the gust strength.
Most tents top out at 30 mph, but keep in mind: this is for wind gusts!
It’s a whole other issue when the wind is constant.
Even a lower wind speed will cause damage when the wind is constant.
This does mean you need to take it down every time you drive anywhere faster than a parking lot speed.
Tips For Making Driving With A Truck Tent Easier
As inconvenient as it is, I don’t want you to pass up the chance to try a truck tent out for this single reason.
Here are a few ideas to try to help make it less inconvenient.
Don’t Take It All The Way Down
Just because you need to take the tent down doesn’t mean you need to take it down all the way.
If it folds down, so it fits inside the truck bed and doesn’t hang up above the truck sides.
This could save you some time, especially with the straps.
Just make sure the straps don’t cause any issues with the truck as it moves (such as straps getting caught in the wheels).
Use A Truck Bed Cover
By the same token, if you have a truck bed cover to make a top at the same level as the sides, this would be great for saving time.
You wouldn’t have to take the tent down much at all. Just get it beneath the level and close up the top.
Pick An Easy-Up, Easy-Down Option
Not all truck bed tents are made equally; some are much easier than others to set up and down.
A few even use hydraulic poles for super easy ups and downs, saving on time and effort.
If you want to figure out which ones they are, check out our list of the best truck bed tents (With AC capability, too) at the link.
The length of time it takes to set up a truck tent is longer than a ground tent, but it’s really not that long once you get used to it.
For most people, it’ll only take 10-15 minutes to set up, and if you follow our tips of not taking it down all the way to drive, it’ll be even faster resetting it up.
Read more in our article on how long it takes to set up a truck tent.
Bring A Second Vehicle
It seems like extra work, but if you have the ability to bring a second car along, you won’t have to worry about putting it up or down at all.
Just take your other car.
We do this a lot when we go camping to visit friends who live nearby.
We leave our tent up and borrow their car or just travel with them.
