Sleeping habits

[Jorrie]

There is a lot of talk about our different setups, ranging from rooftop to ground to truck bed, and even a hammock under a awning.

What is your preferred method and why? What are the pros and cons of your sleeping setup? Please add a photo of your setup.


My setup differs each time depending om the destination and route.

 

[Eric Neal]

My wife and I use a Rooftop tent on a low rack system above the bed of our pickup truck. During the winter (well any cold nights regardless of season) we use a double sleeping (5' wide by 8' long) bag rated to 0 degrees (F). We also carry two hammocks with us in case an afternoon view and/or nap are in order (LoL). Or if the nights are warm and pleasant we sleep outside and don't even set up the tent.

We don't have an attached awning but I do carry a fairly cheap 10' x 10' tarp with telescoping tent poles so we can set the tarp up beside the vehicle or off at a distance in the trees for cover over our hammocks. We live in the Appalachian mountains of the eastern US so are frequently able to utilize trees in the nearby area of our off road rig. Need for a tarp or awning in our area is critical since on any given day it will rain, sometimes for 3-4 consecutive days (both day and night).

Our first trip ever using our 4x4 and camping consisted of 3 days of continuous rain but with moderate temps - so we loved it! Our previous life consisted of backpacking for 2-4 day trips on remote trails but my wife has had surgery on both knees over the past 5 years so hiking with a pack is limited fun for her now but not "out of the question".

I've been thinking lately of carrying a small "rack" of climbing protection such as a few nuts and cams (we were cliff climbers in our youth but that was decades ago) along with some extra webbing or rope so that I can anchor our hammocks in various cliff wall cracks, slot canyons, or boulder piles when the tent is just too warm and no trees are in the area.

We spent this past Christmas in the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona at, of all places, Christmas Pass and that's when the idea of carrying climbing protection hit me. No trees anywhere but a significant stone wall (finger ridge cliff) was right behind our vehicle/camp (think of stacked or piled up boulders) would have made a great anchor point if I had the "pro" with me. Then I could connect the other end of our hammocks to the vehicle for an afternoon or mid day reclining, restful book reading platform.

 

[Eric Neal]

Oops... you asked for photos;

 

[Luis Merlo]

Swag / Tunnel tent....simple to set up and packs away to nothing...works for me, cheers

 

[billum v2.0]

Trailer mounted RTT. Futzed with memory foam mattress toppers to dial in the comfort. Come from 25 years of backpacking, so the RTT/mattress/topper is the Hiatt Regency compared to ultra-light tent/egg crate pad spread on the ground. Like that we can drop the trailer, set up basecamp and come/go as we please with the Jeep. The tongue/bumper scissor jacks can lift the trailer entirely off the ground, so the suspension can be completely unloaded, eliminating any movement when we're in the tent. While we're lower to the ground compared to roof mounted tents, I'd still pay a premium if someone would come up with ladder rungs that aren't murder on bare feet. Sandals help, until one inevitably falls out of the tent while slipping the $#@? things on at 3;30AM.

 

[XwalkerX]

lower back seat out in the XJ
top back seat folds flat
both front seats slid all the way forward
then we use two 3" memory foam mattress toppers
an assortment of blankets and pillows
and if its really cold then we break out the sleeping bags too.

so far its great.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

A RTT is the best sleep I’ve had camping. I sleep on my side and my stomach and have been known to flip over through out the night. It’s so bad sometimes my wife describes it as breaching like a whale. Because of this, sleeping in regular bedding (sheets, blankets, comforters, full sized pillows, etc) is much better than being restricted in a sleeping bag or a hammock and is the closest thing to sleeping in my bed at home.



My RTT is trailer mounted which overcomes most of the drawbacks when vehicle mounted.

 

[1000sAreSailing]

A RTT is the best sleep I’ve had camping. I sleep on my side and my stomach and have been known to flip over through out the night. It’s so bad sometimes my wife describes it as breaching like a whale.

Ha! My wife's compared my sleep habits to an alligator spinning in the water after it's locked on to its prey...in this case my pillow.

 

[Tim N Michele Davis]

Love our RTT mounted on our Smittybilt trailer

 

[Kevin108]

I had a tried and true 8x8 I used for many years. I slept in it for a month straight after Hurricane Isabel in 2003. We had no power or water for 19 days after and I found I wasn't quite ready to go back indoors when the lights came back on. Once I met my wife, we continued to use it for several more years. We still have it, in fact.

Later, I made a collapsible filler for the rear floorboards in the XJ. With the rear seat bottom removed the seats slid all the way forward, the cargo area could be extended 14", save for the center console, to a length of 6' or so. My wife and slept back there cozily too. No good pics of that setup, but I have a pic of the filler piece. The slightest bit of weight would make the seat back sit flush with the boards.

After that, we upgraded to a 10x10 Coleman tent and bought some awesome sleeping pads and some sturdy cots. I've spent one night in it after a backyard party, and another night in an OBX campground. Drunk both times, so no pics of that either.

But then, a dream came true, and we wound up with our FJ and RTT.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

While my RTT sleeping mat is quite comfortable, I’m thinking if I had an air pad/mattress that was only 2-3” thick inflated under the mat it would make all the difference in the world. And an air mattress that size could deflated when not in use and kept in place when the tent is folded and packed.

 

[Mr E]

I'm leaning to the roof top tent, more the idea of overland it gives me - but at the minute it would be an expensive ornament!
i need to weld the roof rack first before i buy that, i suppose!

 

[Joey83]

Will find a solution here, don't need much as it will just be me travelling alone.

DSC09449 by Joachim Sandven, on Flickr

 

[Natchez]

We are Cowboy campers, Hammockers, Ground Tent, Truck bed Camper, and Rooftop tent campers. Really depends on the situation, location, weather, Travel weight restrictions. Sorry for all the different photo sizes.

 

[dziner]

I've gone through so many different setups. I'm back with a roof top tent, but a hard shell roof top tent this time. And I love it.



I still have a 3-season ground tent that I can use if I want to camp somewhere that I can't take my truck. It's small, lightweight, and is easy to setup and tear down.

I started with a clamshell-style roof top tent mounted to my cap. And while it was comfortable, it was a complete pain in the butt for me to setup and tear down. I absolutely hated dealing with that.

Then I bought a hammock and hammock rain fly. And while it's absolutely awesome for chilling in, I'm not comfortable sleeping in it. I tried it, with my 25 lb. pup laying on top of me, and it just wasn't going to work. I like to change positions at night, and that's just not possible when you have a pup sleeping on top of you. lol

I also have a sleeping platform in the back of my trip under my A.R.E. cap. While it is mostly used to simply separate my gear, it also allows me to stealth camp while traveling, and it gives my pup a place to get out of the rain when we're at camp.

 

[CJ Adventure Oregon]

Currently we use our backpacking equipment, as we are only about a year into overlanding. Now we are addicted and researching what to purchase. A small adventure sleep in trailer or a trailer with a tent......we are leaning towards the Recon trailer by Teardrops NW. However for now we use our backpacking gear (small tent, etc). It’s not ideal. Especially in Oregon rain.

Sent from my iPad using OB Talk

 

[Sgt12XU]

Either in a ground tent, in the Jeep, or in my RTT. Lately the RTT is my go to sleep setup. Dry, warm (or cool), and comfortable. Tuff Stuff Ranger tent with annex and condensation mat. Mounted to a Gobi Stealth roof rack on my JK.

 

[dziner]

While my RTT sleeping mat is quite comfortable, I’m thinking if I had an air pad/mattress that was only 2-3” thick inflated under the mat it would make all the difference in the world. And an air mattress that size could deflated when not in use and kept in place when the tent is folded and packed.

I found that by adding a nice memory foam mattress topper on top of the mattress in my last RTT made a world of difference.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

I found that by adding a nice memory foam mattress topper on top of the mattress in my last RTT made a world of difference.

We take additional bedding to include down comforters and feather bed toppers but those can’t be stored in the RTT because of the added thickness not allowing you to fold the tent. I’m am looking for something that you could inflate/deflate under the existing RTT mat allowing you to keep it in the tent and provides that little bit of extra cushion or roughly giving you the equivalence of a 6” mattress. It’s even the type of thing you could ignore and not inflate and you’d never know it was there.

 

[Eric Neal]

Hey Vegas, I have been using "pilates" mats which are just like yoga mats only softer and thicker by about 3/8 inch. I slide them under my RTT foam mattress and leave them in. They provide just a little more cushion without a lot of volume. However they do require a bit of mindful attention when opening or closing the RTT to make sure they don't slip out into the hinge-side mating area and then foul the levelling point or extend out which can interfere with the cover replacement.