Some of my most vivid memories happened in our first truck bed camping setup. One morning in particular stands out: I woke up barely able to move in the three inches of room left after Hayden, Willie, Ernie, and I had piled into the back of our five-and-a-half-foot truck bed, curled up in a few zero-degree bags. We were parked in front of a diner at ten am in a no-name town in the Dakotas, and I shivered as my tired eyes fixated on the gaps between the tailgate and the topper, no doubt letting more than a fair share of 19-degree air flood our makeshift sleeping area. This was the start of my first cross-country hunting and camping trip, and we’d spent weeks getting ready with our first camper setup (albeit not expecting this type of weather).
Nothing more than a topper for the truck bed, a homemade drawer system that doubled as a platform for a small mattress and a few insulated panels for the windows to block the light and provide some warmth. We had just finished a twenty-six-hour drive cross-country through the night and practically collapsed in the back of the truck bed for our first “morning” of sleep before the rest of the trip.
Ernie was just a puppy on that trip, but somehow, we all managed to pile into our little bunk every night and did everything from camping in parking lots to the wide open prairie that year. As much as we learned in that first trip, the idea of camping out of the truck has continued to evolve into one of our favorite parts of traveling west.
Year two, we upgraded to an iKamper. For those not familiar, this pop-up tent mounts to the roof of your truck, so you’re regaining some space in the truck bed and expanding your sleeping quarters pretty significantly.
One of the benefits of the iKamper was that the dogs’ kennels could live in the truck bed and we had a whole sleeping area the size of a King Bed to pop up and down depending on where the day took us. We have done a lot of camping on public land in that tent over the past two years.
Last year, we base camped on the prairie and caught a glimpse of the northern lights from the small windows lining the interior. I love being elevated off the ground in this type of setup. I can still hear the snorts of the cattle that always seemed to show up at camp around one am or the wild horses traveling by in the moonlight.
The only downside to this set up was being separated from the dog’s kennels and having to crawl out of the tent into the cool morning air to make a cup of coffee before starting the day. Hayden had also experienced his fair share of weather events on the longer trips out west, and there’s nothing worse than being stuck in a rooftop tent all day when a thunderstorm rolls in.
We’d been considering other options for this year, from a tow-behind to a slide-in, and finally landed on an integrated tent and topper system — the Warlock, from NightOwl Off-Road — which extends the height of useable truck bed space and opens up an additional level for a mattress and sleeping quarters above.
What I love about building these new setups is that it creates a great weekend project. Last weekend, we built new shelving for the kennels to mount to on the inside, and got those installed as we’re gearing up for our big trip this year. It’s wild to think back to that first morning pit-stop, trying to stay warm, packed into a tiny topper, dogs included, but something about truck camping has served as the platform for some of my fondest memories.
From My Kitchen
A few tips on camp cooking and my favorite recipes for the road.
Before our camping trips, I love to come up with a menu beforehand and prep as many of the ingredients as possible for quick grab-and-go meals. A light Greek Pasta Salad and Chicken Caesar Wraps have become a staple for roadtrip days and quick lunches.
Packing a good assortment of snacks like Chomps, parmesan cheese, sourdough crackers and dried fruit is amazing to have on hand instead of having to stop at gas stations and scrounge for wholesome options.
I usually plan each day’s meals around one big cooking moment, either breakfast or dinner, and then we stick to our pre-made snacks or grab-and-go items the rest of the day.
Our dinner rotation almost always includes a taco night, an Americana burger night (pretzel buns, of course), and some form of cowboy steak and potatoes. A big pancake breakfast or two is another can’t-miss moment on the trip, but making the batter ahead of time and pre-portioning ingredients will save you on cooler space and make cooking much easier on the road.
For our hunting trips, I like to keep recipes simple so cooking is a low barrier to a great meal, but if we’re doing a more casual camping trip, I love nothing more than making something more elaborate to gather the crew around.
This Week’s Find
Everything I carry in my GoBox 60 for my camp kitchen
Prepping and planning is one of my greatest joys in life, and when we go on the road, getting the camp kitchen ready is my favorite job. Even though we’re still a few weeks out, I spent some time putting together our camp cooking essentials and ordering a few new items for this year to make sure we’re ready for some great meals on the road.
On the Calendar
More training and recovery days (sauna and cold plunge included)
Visiting a local farm store for ingredients for our trip
Catching up on reading and spending time in the sun
Giving the pups their summer shave and nail trims
I would love to hear about everyone’s camp setups and what you’re planning to make at camp this year. If you have a favorite recipe, let me know in the comments below!
Here’s to a few more days on the road and nights exploring wide open country.
Until next Friday,
Kait