I try to do 1 race a month which requires a 2 night stay during race weekends. In the past I would get a hotel room. But now with my 2 year old daughter in daycar money is a little tighter and plan on camping at the track to save some dough.

I was planning on sleeping in the cab next race. I have a super cab and tried sleeping in the back bench earlier this year but it was just too small. Next race I am going to attempt to sleep across the front seats and remove the center arm rest / console for more space.

Anyone else sleep in the cab? Any tips?

I have also looked into the truck bed tents and might go that route next year but that means I have to unload everything out of the bed...... I thought about a regular tent on the ground but that is not my favorite option for some reason.

ps, I have an open car trailer.

thanks,

 

I'm in the same predicament. I plan on doing the same once I start traveling a little farther for races but I have a crew cab so it makes it a bit easier to sleep. I've thought of bringing a tent and setting it up on the trailer bed (open car hauler) but my steel deck is noisy. Sleeping on the ground isn't bad as long as you bring an inflatable mattress.

 

I pull an open atv trailer (one of those smallish, side loading aluminum ones), and I rigged up a tent to fit on that. Two quality army cot setups from Cabelas, and I sleep like a dog after each long, hard day.

 

Guess you won't count this, but i take a nap in the parking lot while my wife grocery shops.

 

I have thought about this and that might be a better idea then the truck bed tent since you can not drive into town the tent setup in the bed.

 

I have a job that occasionally will cause me to work late nights far away from home on short notice. Sometimes I will get too tired to drive and pull over to grab some sleep.

The rear bench of the Super Cab isn't big enough and the front buckets don't recline back far enough for any meaningful sleep, although a short nap is possible.

I've tried some padding on the rear floor of the cab (with seats folded up) but that was still pretty lumpy. Maybe I didn't use enough padding.

If you have an enclosed trailer, I would get a cot and a fart sack and sleep there. Even a cot in the bed, with a tarp over the top of you (poor man's tent) would be better.

 

There is a guy up the rode from me that has a crew cab. He took off his rear doors. It has what looks like a sleeper. The kick outs come out almost even with the rear duals. I havent looked close at his setup. He ran this for I know 2 years. He has now taken it off. It looked like a clean install.

 

I race hare-scrambles, etc on bikes and atv's, and I am tired at the end of the day, often sore, too. Its nice to hop up onto the trailer/tent anytime you want, and have the comfortable army cot, and a comfortable folding chair, a cooler full of Coke's, etc.

Although, I'm in the over-40 league. lol

I welded some additional cleats (tie down hooks) on the trailer where I needed them, and my shelter goes up pretty quickly when I'm alone.

good luck

 

http://www.swaygogear.com/articles/t...g/default.html
http://www.bajataco.com/Camper1.html

We're going to attempt something similar to this next April when we go to Texas. On the Ranger all I need was a couple 2x4's, sheet of plywood and some foam. I have a high-rise topper on the Ranger but for a Superduty a regular one should work fine.

 

One of my friends used to put plywood across bed rails (from drivers side to passenger side) on lip of cap, in front. He used 2 -3/4" pieces of plywood, some 2" foam and a sleeping bag. he put wood across and slept at an angle. This way you would only have to clear a little room in the back. Of course I don't know your weigth or height. He was 5'7" and about 170lbs. If your weight is up there, maybe you could reinforce it with some 2"X4" for added strenght.

 

I sleep in my truck at times also. I have a CC and have a blanket and pillow behind the back seat. I can lay in the seat and not touch the doors. lol. But I am only 5'5". Makes for good sleeping with the engine running and ac on.

 

There are many time that I find myself in the back of my cc grabing a few z's. I am kinda tall at 6'-4", but I manage to get pretty comfortable with just my pillow and fleece blanket. I usually lay on my side or back with my legs bent. I can last about 6 hours like this, but I usually only grab 4 hours or so. When I stop it's to keep from plowing off the road with $50K or better in tow.

 

I recently purchased a cheap aluminum camper shell new for $600. I would not hesitate to sleep in it. Philip.

 

Many of the superduties have a rear seat that folds out into a nice flat bed suitable for children, so at least your kid is covered.

You might consider a piece of foam for the bed. I have a wooden platform in the back of my truck. It is essentially a 4x8 plywood and some hinged plywood flaps sitting over a frame of 12x2 rails going front to back agaisnt the wheel well humps and some 2x4 cross members to support the plywood. On top of this I have some cheap indoor outdoor carpet I got from Home Depot, cheap. Then I have a 4 inch thick foam pad I got from a War surplus shop. On top of that more carpet and then whatever sleeping bag I want.

There is tons of "hidden" storage under the wooden platform and I sleep absolutely the best in my truck bed with camper shell thatn anywhere else. Better than my own bed, our travel trailer and certainly better than the ground.

The wood probably costs about $20, the foam about $40, carpet about $20 maybe less. It has been in service since about 1997. Very easy to remove from the bed when I need all the space.

Just an idea.

Jim Henderson

 

Better get a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector

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I have a cap/topper, and put a full-size air mattress in the bed. I know you said something about not wanting to remove the stuff in the bed, but it works great. You could potentially use a tarp and an a-frame and make a tent over it to avoid buying a topper.

Another idea that I just thought of is to make a plywood and 2x4 platform above the rear seats. Put the front seats as far forward as possible, and you could make a pretty wide platform. Put it together with wing nuts, and take it apart, store in bed, and then reassemble when you want to go to sleep.

Depends on how tall you are.

Hmm...