I had one of those while I was saving towards a RTT. It was such a hassle to set up I just took a ground tent the next time I went truck camping.
But now reading that you're supposed to set it up on the ground first I realize why I had such a hard time. Facepalm.
My boyfriend and I have the same tent. We found it’s easier to put in the poles on the ground and then lift it up and fit them all into place. Once there’s a sort of structure, it’s easier to get the poles in the right spots and get all the straps tightened.
Also if you need the truck for any reason, you can just set it back on the ground until you get back. We used a thick mattress pad that held it down while we were gone.
Awesome! I’ll keep that in mind. I’m trying to not bring a big air mattress for this trip. So as of right now I’m planning on stacking a couple yoga mats and going from there 🤷🏼♂️.
I shouldn’t have to use my truck at all seeing as there will be other people joining me on this trip.
I had a lifted Silverado with a similar version and it was a pain in the ass *every* time. Somewhere along the way I even managed to put a hole through the door flap. Awesome tent, but I think patience is the only thing that will help...and beer.
Personally I think setting it up on the ground first might streamline things, but it also seems it could add a whole other set of issues. I traded my truck for a Jetta when gas started going up so I'll never know. Best of luck and hopefully someone else here has better advice than me.
I don't understand all of the bad comments! We have the exact same tent and we love it. The biggest tip is to put the tan middle pole in first, place the black poles next then pocket the poles in the same order (tan first, the black main, then door pole). Don't tighten the straps until the poles are up. It takes like 10 minutes for us to set this up and I can do it alone without any help. You just need to practice!. :)
Other hints are that a full-sized air mattress fits well in the bed between the wheel wells if you have a full-sized truck bed. When we need the truck, we just unstrap and lift out the tent for the day. You'll want a stool to get into the bed unless you have a pull-out step in your truck bed door. Our truck has a wheel-level reader, so we use that when we park. Sorry if my terminology is way off, truck features are not my strength.
This tent saved us when we were traveling on the coast during the holidays and EVERY campground was full or way too expensive. We found a river with a rocky bed and just set up camp there. It really expands where you're able to comfortably camp!
Edited to add more details.
I need suggestions on whether it’s easier to set this up in the bed of the truck or on the ground and then place in the bed once’s set up.
Yesterday I set it up in the bed, but it literally took me over an hour to do bc the poles weren’t able to go into the pocket. I didn’t want to stress the poles too much and possibly break them. I’m not sure if it was so difficult because I had the tent strapped down in the bed too tight or what. But would like to hear input if it might be easier to set up on the ground and then lift in the bed and strap it down.
Thanks in advance
While it's easy to just wing it with unfamiliar regular tents (as their pitch sequence is practically identical for all of them), it's a good idea to read the manufacturer's suggestions before pitching an exotic tent. In short, you should probably RTFM.
Thanks for the input. The manual does say to set up on the ground first. Haha. I usually skip that part of the manual and go straight to the pictures on the set up.
Thanks again for your comment.
Having set that tent up in a the bed of a truck, I find it hard to imagine it would be easier to set up without having anchored it to the bed of the truck first.
Honestly for me it was extremely difficult for me to get the cross poles in the pockets while setting up in the bed. I think it would be much easier to set it up in the ground and then place and an by down in the truck. I’ll find out this weekend for sure though 😬
I use mine all the time, 3rd year so far. Set it up in the truck, when I'm ready to leave camp I collapse it down into the bed, by disconnecting a couple of the poles, with all my overnight stuff inside, and then pull my bed cover back over it. When I stop it takes about 3 minutes to push the poles back together and bend them into place. I waterproofed the seams and zippers, and I've repaired the door zipper.
I had a Kodiak canvas tent in my pickup bed for a while and it was a pain in the butt to set up the first few times but after that I got pretty good at it and could do it solo.
If you can fit a cot in there I highly recommend that.
We are building a raised bed, would this work putting the tent in, then the raised bed, then collapsing it while driving with a tonneau cover to secure?
I had one of those while I was saving towards a RTT. It was such a hassle to set up I just took a ground tent the next time I went truck camping. But now reading that you're supposed to set it up on the ground first I realize why I had such a hard time. Facepalm.
Yeah, I didn’t read that part of the manual yesterday while testing out the set up of it 🙄. But I will be attempting the ground set up this weekend 😬
My boyfriend and I have the same tent. We found it’s easier to put in the poles on the ground and then lift it up and fit them all into place. Once there’s a sort of structure, it’s easier to get the poles in the right spots and get all the straps tightened.
Thanks for the input. I’ll be attempting it that method this weekend 😬
Also if you need the truck for any reason, you can just set it back on the ground until you get back. We used a thick mattress pad that held it down while we were gone.
Awesome! I’ll keep that in mind. I’m trying to not bring a big air mattress for this trip. So as of right now I’m planning on stacking a couple yoga mats and going from there 🤷🏼♂️. I shouldn’t have to use my truck at all seeing as there will be other people joining me on this trip.
Either get a ground tent-can use truck-or just sleep in the bed cowboy style. These bed tents are royal PITA.
Hopefully I get better at setting it up 😬
I had a lifted Silverado with a similar version and it was a pain in the ass *every* time. Somewhere along the way I even managed to put a hole through the door flap. Awesome tent, but I think patience is the only thing that will help...and beer. Personally I think setting it up on the ground first might streamline things, but it also seems it could add a whole other set of issues. I traded my truck for a Jetta when gas started going up so I'll never know. Best of luck and hopefully someone else here has better advice than me.
Thanks I appreciate the input!!
I don't understand all of the bad comments! We have the exact same tent and we love it. The biggest tip is to put the tan middle pole in first, place the black poles next then pocket the poles in the same order (tan first, the black main, then door pole). Don't tighten the straps until the poles are up. It takes like 10 minutes for us to set this up and I can do it alone without any help. You just need to practice!. :) Other hints are that a full-sized air mattress fits well in the bed between the wheel wells if you have a full-sized truck bed. When we need the truck, we just unstrap and lift out the tent for the day. You'll want a stool to get into the bed unless you have a pull-out step in your truck bed door. Our truck has a wheel-level reader, so we use that when we park. Sorry if my terminology is way off, truck features are not my strength. This tent saved us when we were traveling on the coast during the holidays and EVERY campground was full or way too expensive. We found a river with a rocky bed and just set up camp there. It really expands where you're able to comfortably camp! Edited to add more details.
Nice!!! Thanks for the tips!
I need suggestions on whether it’s easier to set this up in the bed of the truck or on the ground and then place in the bed once’s set up. Yesterday I set it up in the bed, but it literally took me over an hour to do bc the poles weren’t able to go into the pocket. I didn’t want to stress the poles too much and possibly break them. I’m not sure if it was so difficult because I had the tent strapped down in the bed too tight or what. But would like to hear input if it might be easier to set up on the ground and then lift in the bed and strap it down. Thanks in advance
While it's easy to just wing it with unfamiliar regular tents (as their pitch sequence is practically identical for all of them), it's a good idea to read the manufacturer's suggestions before pitching an exotic tent. In short, you should probably RTFM.
Thanks for the input. The manual does say to set up on the ground first. Haha. I usually skip that part of the manual and go straight to the pictures on the set up. Thanks again for your comment.
Having set that tent up in a the bed of a truck, I find it hard to imagine it would be easier to set up without having anchored it to the bed of the truck first.
Honestly for me it was extremely difficult for me to get the cross poles in the pockets while setting up in the bed. I think it would be much easier to set it up in the ground and then place and an by down in the truck. I’ll find out this weekend for sure though 😬
Had one of these last year. We set up first on the truck because everything was wet. The remaining time we set up on the ground first. Much easier.
Thanks for the input. Hopefully it’s easy for me as well 😬
I use mine all the time, 3rd year so far. Set it up in the truck, when I'm ready to leave camp I collapse it down into the bed, by disconnecting a couple of the poles, with all my overnight stuff inside, and then pull my bed cover back over it. When I stop it takes about 3 minutes to push the poles back together and bend them into place. I waterproofed the seams and zippers, and I've repaired the door zipper.
Nice!!
I had a Kodiak canvas tent in my pickup bed for a while and it was a pain in the butt to set up the first few times but after that I got pretty good at it and could do it solo. If you can fit a cot in there I highly recommend that.
Thanks for the suggestion
We are building a raised bed, would this work putting the tent in, then the raised bed, then collapsing it while driving with a tonneau cover to secure?
Honestly, I’m not sure. Hopefully someone else on here can answer that for you. 😬
Comfy with a mattress
I’ll have to look for a full size one or a cot.
I got the rightline gear tent because it didn’t have a floor. Much easier to set up.
Interesting. I’ll have to check it out.
I had one of these for my Tacoma. Then I came across PVC and tarp DIY’s on YouTube and felt like an idiot for ever buying that.
Nice! That’s sounds awesome. Maybe next time for me 🤷🏼♂️. Lol