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Overlanding Options for Newb

Started out with a ground tent. Waking up in the middle of the night with water running in the tent sucked. Moved to a tent on the flatbed trailer. Better, but hated setting it up (old school tent, not one of these fancy self-setup jobs). Moved away from tents into travel traileror toy hauler. Super comfortable, but very limited on use. 2 years ago, wife wanted a RTT. Built a rack for the back of the Tacoma, just high enough to clear the fridge, and bought a used SB Gen 1. Have spent a lot of time in it the last 2 summers. I do like having the ability to just go check out some random road to see where it goes, and just being able to set up camp anywhere I want. We have woke up many mornings to the truck being surrounded by cows. Thankful to not be sleeping on the ground. I had to upgrade the sleeping pad because Im old and need a little more padding. We have a very short bed, same as OP, so space is a premium. We keep a dry box prepped at all times. Bed has the fridge, a cooler, food box, grille, 5 gal fuel, and 5 gal water pretty much all summer. I take it off during the winter months, store it on a shelf in the garage.
It is a PITA to have to tear it down to go somewhere, but we don't usually stay in one place for more than a night anyways, so that isn;t usually an issue for us. The weight up high is not really as noticable as I expected. Makes the truck handle differently, but not enough to say its a deterant.
Having to use a ladder for access is a pain, and not being able to stand up to get dressed sucks, but those are really the only two drawbacks that I have. I tried to minimize the weight and height by building the rack as low as I could. The top of the RTT stowed is just about even with the top of the cab.

I think any option you choose will work, but like stated above, they all have their advantages/disadvantages. I think in the end, use what you have, or can easily acquire, and get out and use it. If its not ideal, try something different. I completely hated the idea of putting a tent and fridge on my truck, but now that I've done it, I think I may become a closet overlan....Vehicle Based Adventurer. @notajeep would be proud :D
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I know that the GoFast Camper have a unit for the F-150 similar to this video... this allows you to climb up in the bed and open a door in the bottom of the tent to climb into it. then move the hatch back so you have full room up there. When you want to stand up you can pull the floor over and climb down into the bed of the truck. I have used my rtt a few times (see video 2) and I hated the climbing down to go bathroom so someone told me to just take a spare gatorade bottle up with me, use it then empty later in the day... My Ikamper2 folds up in mins and weight about 160lbs. I have my fridge behind the drivers seat, load the back of the JL with fuel and recovery gear, use the passenger side rear seat for storage of food and clothes, table, chair. I bought the Milwaukee packout 4 drawer to put small stuff in.


 
I got down the rabbit hole of Go Fast Campers/Super Pacific/etc

My largest issue with Go Fast is you got to pull the floor to get down, I'd prefer something where there is always room like this:
 
If Im going to have a base camp the canvas tent and cots are my go to. If I’m going to be moving around then I run the RTT. I leave the RTT mounted on bars (Rhino rack bars I think) and can drop it on my truck or take it off in less than a minute. The pulley system mounted to the garage ceiling let’s me do this by myself. Like others I pull up the off road level screen in the truck and call it good enough. my only complaint about the RTT is the mattress, I’m a side sleeper and my hips get pretty sore by morning. I’m considering upgrading the mattress to a Hest RTT mattress. I’ve heard good things about them.IMG_6075.jpegIMG_6076.jpegIMG_5490.jpegIMG_5614.jpeg
 
There was a time I was a VERY big advocate of the RTT and I spent a ton of time dialing in MY setup for MY needs, which were somewhat unique with my mobility limited daughter.

I had a few loose goals in mind when I built my rack and revised it several times.
  • Be able to get away from the 5th wheels and SXS
  • Camp in comfort to the level/standard of my wife and daughter
  • Minimize the shittly parts of camping i.e. the cleanup once home, the prep to leave, etc.

Here are a few of my takeaways after 15ish years and thousands (ok, maybe not thousands.... but over 1000) of nights in the same tent on the same truck.

Speed of setup and take down - Some RTT's are better than others, and like all things a little practice and familiarity go a long way, but in general, there is no real advantage here, and in my experience these claims are all way over hyped. Although the Wedge style seem to setup fast, but are similar in take down time in practical use. For full disclosure, I have never used one.​
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Campsite Finding - I don't think there is any real advantage here for a RTT. I never spent a ton of time trying to level the truck. This is more of a personal preference though. as long as my head wasn't downhill, I'm good. One exception here though is I have stayed dozens of nights on an isolated beach, where the camping was very desirable, but the terrain (slope toward the water) would make setting most tents unpheasable. Flattening the uphill tires on the truck made this possible, and some of my favorite camping experiences. This assumes your tires are large enough that flattening them makes enough of a difference, and air to address the tires.​
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Camping Comfort - For me, this is where an RTT shines. The nature of the RTT allows you to carry, use, and keep clean and out of the way much more/different bedding than most people would normally use for regular "Camping". I keep the exact same bedding and pillows in the tent as I have on my bed at home. The less different my comfort levels are, the better I sleep. The RTT makes this easy.​
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Truck Stuff - Most years, my tent rack never comes off my truck. I built it so that everything is attached to the rack, so it all comes off as a unit. Disconnect the solar and 1 other electrical connection and it lifts out. I have access to a forklift, and that goes quick and easy, but by hand I can get it out, and with help from a couple neighbors I can get it back in, but the forklift is much easier. The advantage to leaving it in is I don't have to help people move or haul things... Sorry... my tuck bed is full. ;) Again though, I have access to other truck and trailers if I need.​
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Offroad - My truck (08 Ram 1500) is reasonably heavy and large. I don't have a lift per say, instead heavy duty rear springs, a leveling kit, and airbags. But it fits 37's fine. Yes they rub, no I don't care. I do not have any aftermarket bumpers, armor, sliders, skid plates, etc. I added a Detroit locker to the Chrysler 9.25 axle years ago, and that's it. I'm not shy about following most jeeps through most trails. It's obviously no rock crawler, and was never intended to be. The additional weight of the tent and rack, at this point, are beneficial to me. I find my truck to be both predictable and balanced. I know how it will react in most situations, what it will, and will not do.​
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Rack - This is where I have spent the most time making adjustments and changes, and probably the most unique part of my "setup". Here is video made about the solar, but gives a good view of the rack:​
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Advise - The interwebs is full of experts, and they all have opinions. The "influencers" and "content creators" I always found to be the least helpful and most annoying. People with ZERO imagination. Pet peeve - (mostly) Tacoma owners with RTT opening to one side, awning to the other, and cooking at the tailgate in the rain with nothing overhead. - My point here, do what works for you. Don't be afraid to change it up and try something new. Don't limit yourself to whatever the aftermarket has. You have a welder, build what you need and want, and make life at camp pleasant and enjoyable. that includes the setup and take down. A blanket on the ground is fast, but is it a pleasant experience? Find that balance for you and don't let others tell you what your balance should be, but also don't be aftraid to learn from others and and adjust.​
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@DAA is always faster than me, and that's ok. He's never left me behind in the 10 minutes longer it takes me to pack camp.... Just like I've never left him in the 10 minutes longer his compressor takes to air up.​
 
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