Can You Put A Tent In The Bed Of A Truck?

We love our truck, and our family loves camping, but sometimes it’s a pain to get out the truck camper or camper trailer. 

And sometimes, it’s a literal pain to sleep in a tent on the ground with a mattress. 

Last summer we were camping, and we saw some tents in trucks. 

It got us intrigued, and we wondered: Can you put a tent in the bed of a truck?

It’s easy and convenient to put a tent in the bed of your truck. Traditional tents will work, but they may scratch your truck. Truck bed tents are specially designed for your truck bed and work really well. 

Check out the rest of the article for more details on each type of tent to put in the bed of your truck. 

Save yourself some trouble in searching for the best truck bed tents by checking out our review here with pictures and a helpful buyer’s guide. 

Pop-Up Tent In The Back Of Your Truck

The first option a lot of folks consider is putting a pop-up tent in the back of their truck. 

To be honest, this does work, and it’s pretty cheap. 

I wouldn’t try it with any other types of tents because they often take too much floor space to fit in the truck bed. 

Dome tents may work if they’re small. 

Measure the bed of your truck and then look at the specs or measure your pop-up tent. 

Make sure it fits inside well. 

The biggest downside of using this is that the pole may scratch the bottom of your truck. 

Cover the bottom of the pole with a piece of felt or cloth, and it should be good to go. 

Pro-tip: Don’t forget to use straps to secure the tent to your truck. 

Without tent stakes, you won’t have any security in windy weather. 

Specific Truck Bed Tents

If you want to camp in your truck bed, a specifically designed truck bed tent is the way to go. 

These come in different sizes to fit your bed, so they maximize the space. 

They make compact truck bed tents as well as full-sized and extra longs too. 

They keep water out of the bed pretty well and attach it to the truck for maximum stability. 

Sure, they cost a bit more than a regular tent, but the pros make up for it if you’re really into camping and want to give this a shot. 

It’s really one of the most comfortable ways to camp with a tent.

It’s a little limited on space, but there are some truck camper tent extensions to look into.

If you’re still on the fence, check the pros and cons in our detailed answer to the question: Is a truck bed tent worth it?

DIY Truck Bed Tent

Of course, if you don’t already have the right size tent and you don’t want to spend the money, it’s always possible to make your own DIY truck tent. 

Attach some poles or supports to your truck and throw some canvas tarp. Strap those down too, and, voila, you’re all set!

This essentially makes a floorless truck bed tent at this point, so you’ll want to use a mat or mattress for sure.  

Pro-tip: Let the canvas flow over the sides of the truck so the rain never gets in the bed itself. 

On the downside, if you don’t strap it down a bunch, a DIY truck bed tent won’t handle windy weather as well. 

It may even scratch your truck if you don’t set it up right.

Learn more in our article answering the question: Do truck bed tents scratch your truck?

Overlanding Truck Bed Tent

Overlanding truck bed tents aren’t actually for the bed of your truck. 

Some may take up the space there, but this isn’t how they attach. 

Overland tents are also called rooftop tents. 

They attach to the truck by rails or racks attached to the roof of your truck. 

These ones are often quite secure in all kinds of weather, easy to set up and save space in the truck bed. 

But they were quite a bit more expensive. 

Tips For Truck Bed Tenting

Whichever method you choose, there are some tips and things to be aware of to make the most of your experience: 

• Never forget to strap down your tent. You don’t have tent stakes to keep it secure. 
• Setting up these tents requires you to get up at the bed level of higher. Bring a step stool or small ladder to help. 
• Take your tent down whenever you drive your truck. Even at a slow speed, the tent will rip right off and hurt your truck.
• Pack light. When your tent is up, you won’t have the space to keep things in your truck bed. 
• Make sure your truck bed drains well. If your bed holds water, it’ll seep through the tent bottom and ruin your trip. 
• Park your truck on level ground if possible. While the bed of the truck is even, if the ground is way off, you’ll be sleeping on an angle.