It’s no secret that the pickup truck is an ideal adventure rig. Built to haul heavy loads and navigate rutted-out backroads, a solid truck can take you and your beloved gear wherever you want to go. Not to mention, a truck bed accommodates equipment that a standard SUV trunk just can’t, from muddy mountain bikes to kayaks. 

But you know what we love the most about trucks? They come ready to camp with a built-in sleeping platform and let you sleep up and out of the dirt, away from critters. That’s right—your truck bed is just a camp bed in disguise. All you need is an aftermarket truck bed camping mattress like our purpose-built Truck Bed Mattress or versatile AIR+FOAM Pro Camping Mattress, and you can snooze like a champ at camp - no matter where you park.

In this helpful article, we’ll define and outline the pros and cons of truck bed camping. We’ll also cover the pros and cons of truck camper shells and hard-shells, and soft camper toppers, two popular albeit pricier alternatives. Next, we’ll dive into a few of our favorite truck bed camping tips, highlighting everything from gear storage hacks to precipitation management. Finally, we’ll break down all four sizes of our AIR Truck Bed Mattress and our AIR+FOAM Pro Camping Mattress to help you find the right truck bed camping mattress for you.

What Is Truck Bed Camping?

When we use the phrase “truck bed camping,” we’re talking about tossing a comfy, rugged, inflatable camping mattress into the back of your truck. Simple as that. We’re a big fan of this style of camping for a truckload of reasons, but here are a few of our favorites. 

Unreal Comfort
First off, truck bed camping is incredibly comfortable. Your truck bed doubles as a flat and stable sleeping platform, and when you add a comfy mattress, it’s a match made in heaven. 

Quick And Easy Setup
Our truck bed mattresses are easy to install. They come with an electric pump, and setup takes a matter of minutes. Deflation is similarly a cinch. If you like to set up camp quickly and hit the trail, river, crag, waves, etc. as soon as possible, truck bed camping is a fantastic option. 

Take Advantage Of Your Truck’s Full Gear Hauling Potential
When you’re truck bed camping, you don’t need to sacrifice any of your gear-hauling potential like you do with a camper or truck shell (more on that below).  Instead, you can rely on your beloved truck to haul gear to and from your campsite, and quickly set up your mattress upon arrival. If you like to camp one day and use your truck normally the next, there’s no better way to play. 

Sleep Under The Stars 
Nothing beats sleeping under the stars in the bed of your truck. You’re on a flat, comfortable, raised platform, so you’re out of the dirt and away from creepy-crawlies, but you still get to enjoy the tapestry of constellations overhead.

Truck Bed Camping Versus Truck Campers

Another popular option for truck owners? Truck campers. These self-contained, RV-style units fit into your truck bed and turn your vehicle into a house on wheels. The benefits here are obvious.

When we use the phrase “truck bed camping,” we’re talking about tossing a comfy, rugged, inflatable camping mattress into the back of your truck. Simple as that. We’re a big fan of this style of camping for a truckload of reasons, but here are a few of our favorites. 

Truck campers offer incredible comfort and home-like luxuries on the road, including features like toilets, hot showers, built-in kitchen sinks, and cozy seating areas. They also provide excellent weather protection, keeping you dry and sheltered in rough conditions. However, truck campers come with significant downsides: they're extremely expensive—often costing six figures—and they negatively impact your vehicle’s aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, and maneuverability. Plus, they take up valuable truck bed space, limiting gear-hauling capabilities.

If you have the budget and plan to live on the road full-time, a truck camper can be a great investment. But if you're looking to save money, preserve your truck's full utility, and keep your setup flexible for both weekday commutes and weekend adventures, a truck bed camping mattress is a much smarter and more versatile choice.

Truck Bed Camping Versus Truck Campers

Another popular option for truck owners? Truck campers. These self-contained, RV-style units fit into your truck bed and turn your vehicle into a house on wheels. The benefits here are obvious. 

Comfort & Luxuries
First off, truck campers are often extremely comfortable, and they provide adventurers with the luxuries of home no matter where they roam. We’re talking toilets, hot showers, built-in kitchen sinks and stoves, tables and chairs for hanging out, you name it.

Weather Protection
Additionally, truck campers offer top-notch weather protection—a warranted source of concern for folks sleeping under the stars on a truck bed mattress (one we’ll get into further below). 

Cost, Aerodynamics, and Other Pitfalls of Truck Campers
However, campers are not without their disadvantages. Namely, campers are expensive—we’re talking well over six figures for higher-end options. And speaking of cost, campers can drastically reduce your aerodynamics and lower your fuel efficiency, increasing your gas spend by painful margins on longer road trips. Navigating narrow backroads, low-hanging trees, or even tight parking garages can become a struggle as well. Still, our biggest qualm is that you lose the gear-hauling capacity of your truck bed. 

Long story short, if you’ve got unlimited funds or are going to be living in your rig near full-time, a camper is a great move, and you’ll want to add racks to tote gear. But if you are camping on a budget, want to maximize your truck’s gear-hauling capacity, or need your weekend adventure rig to double as your weekday commuter, then going with a simple truck bed camping mattress is the smartest move.

Another Option? Hard- And Soft-Topped Camper Shells

Another option truck owners can consider? Camper shells. Unlike RV-style campers, shells don’t come with beds, bathrooms, or kitchens. Instead, they simply encapsulate the truck bed and protect it from the elements. Camper shells are much less expensive (and less livable) than RV-style campers, but they do offer excellent weather protection.

You have two options here: hard- or soft-topped camper shells. Hard-topped shells are usually crafted from fiberglass, while soft options feature a canvas-style fabric that stretches over a metal frame.

The Pros and Cons of Hard-Topped Truck Camper Shells
Hard-topped camper shells are sturdier. They’re a much better option if you want to install racks and other aftermarket accessories. Additionally, hard-topped shells are lockable, so they safeguard valuable gear better than softer alternatives. 

The Pros and Cons of Soft-Topped Truck Camper Shells
While soft-topped camper shells don’t provide much peace of mind when it comes to petty theft—it’s possible to slash through the fabric with a pocketknife, after all—they still offer top-notch weather protection. They’re also cheaper than hard-topped shells. Finally, soft-topped shells are much lighter, making them easier to install, uninstall, and store than their hard-topped compadres. 

To wrap this up, if you plan to camp in your truck bed on a Luno mattress, a shell is a welcome addition, at least in terms of precipitation protection. However, shells are pricey, and they can reduce the hauling capacity of your rig—a sacrifice some adventurers aren’t willing to make. (For instance, it’s much easier to shuttle mountain bikes without a camper shell.) 

That said, it’s worth noting that it’s possible to camp comfortably in your truck bed without any shell or camper—and we’ll teach you how to do just that in the next section.

6 Tips for Truck Bed Camping

1. Sleeping Under The Stars? Invest In A Warm Sleeping Bag

If you’re camping in an open truck bed—meaning, without a camper shell—you are more susceptible to lower temperatures. We highly recommend checking the forecast before your trip to ensure you have a suitable sleeping bag that’s rated to withstand the weather at hand. 

If you’re in need of a new sleeping bag, we’re always quick to recommend these synthetic options from Mountain Hardwear. They’re not the lightest or most packable sleeping bags on the market, but they’re toasty and affordably priced. Besides, because you’re truck bed camping, not backpacking, you don’t need to bother with more expensive, lighter, more packable options.

2. Be Prepared For Precipitation

When you check the forecast, it’s important to keep an eye out for precipitation. We love the magic of camping under the stars in a truck bed, but that becomes a less romantic prospect when rainclouds roll in. 

If there’s a chance of rain (and even if there isn’t), it pays to have a plan for precipitation management. Here are a few ideas in that department:

• Camper Shell: The best way to manage precipitation while truck bed camping is definitely a camper shell. These offer stellar, seamless weather protection, although, as we mentioned above, they are pricey and reduce your gear-hauling potential. 
• Tarp: Bring a tarp, either to toss over your truck bed or string between trees.
• Tent: Bring an old tent as a backup plan. You can set up a tent at camp anyway for gear storage—a pro tip from Luno team member and avid climber Nick—and if the rain comes down, you can hop in as needed. There are specifically designed tents that go on the back of truck beds that are a great option for someone looking to not have a camper shell on their rig.

3. Smart Food Storage 

If you’re camping in an open truck bed, it’s important to be mindful of your food storage and kitchen gear, especially in bear country. 

Our advice? Cook, clean, and store your kitchen gear a safe distance away from your sleep site (the Forest Service recommends a distance of 100 yards). Use a bear box for food storage if available, or a bearproof canister. If you do store food or a cooler in your vehicle, be sure to lock your doors.

4. Smart Gear Storage 

When you’re truck bed camping, you’re typically hauling gear in the bed on the way to camp, then removing gear upon your arrival so you can set up your mattress. Because you’re inevitably shuffling gear, it pays to be organized. Don’t forget that your front cab and front seats are now prime storage space to move items to after you’ve parked at camp.

Managing loose, random items is a royal pain. Instead, we like to compartmentalize gear into plastic bins, boxes, etc. Our Mesh Gear Duffel is another pro move, as the transparent mesh allows you to quickly take stock of contents. Organized, intentional storage allows you to quickly empty or re-pack your truck bed, plus it makes it easier to find individual pieces of gear. 

5. Optimize How You Use Your Cab

Another piece of advice? Use your cab wisely, and adopt systems that will help you stay organized and keep track of your belongings. For instance, we’ll store clothes in the front seats, climbing gear in the back of the cab, toiletries on the dash, so on and so forth. You’d be surprised at how much storage space 

6. Invest In The Right Truck Bed Mattress For You

The majority of your comfort while truck bed camping depends on your truck bed mattress. We’re a little biased here, but we’re big fans of our AIR 2.0 Truck Bed Mattress and AIR+FOAM PRO Camping Mattress—they’re both comfortable, rugged, reliable, and easy to set up. 

AIR Truck Bed Mattress
Our AIR Truck Bed Mattress is crafted from our ultra-tough, 300D, polyurethane-coated Oxford fabric. Not only is this fabric waterproof and easy to clean, but it’s also tough as can be and able to withstand everything from puppy paws to pine needles.

Inside each mattress, we deploy our trademarked CloudSupport Technology—a grid of supportive, comfortable O-beams that cradle and conform to the body.

All of our truck bed mattresses have two independent chambers, allowing you to camp comfortably with your favorite adventure buddy. They’re also double-chambered, so you can fold the mattress in half, inflate a single side of the mattress, and roll solo, enabling more room for gear storage in the truck bed.

If you love the sound of the Luno AIR Mattress, you’re in luck. Luno offers configurations for both full-size and mid-size trucks, covering all short and standard bed box sizes. For shorter truck beds, we offer mattresses with Tailgate Buddies—inflatable rectangles that allow you to drop the tailgate and extend your sleeping platform. We’ll list the four mattress sizes below, as well as a few common vehicle options for each mattress size. 

Mid-Size Trucks With Short Beds (5ft): This is our shortest offering, and it comes with Tailgate Buddies, allowing you to extend your sleeping space. The mattress fits short-bed trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, Jeep Gladiator, Nissan Frontier, and Chevy Colorado. You can also use them as a couch to sit back and relax in the bed of your truck, perfect for camp or the drive-in theater.

Mid-Size Trucks with Long Beds (6ft): The Tacoma, Frontier, and Colorado are also available with longer, six-foot beds. This mid-sized mattress is purpose-built for those trucks, featuring a six-foot mattress length. It doesn’t come with Tailgate Buddies. 

Full-Size Trucks with Short Beds (5.5ft): Designed for full-size trucks with shorter, 5.5-foot beds, this option comes with Tailgate Buddies and is best for the following vehicles: Ford F150, F150 Lightning, Toyota Tundra, Dodge Ram 1500, and Chevy Silverado, to name a few. This one also comes with Tailgate Buddies to use as a couch to sit back and relax in the bed of your truck, perfect for camp or the drive-in theater.

Full-Size Trucks with Long Beds (6.5ft): Our longest truck bed mattress, this one measures 6.5 feet long and fits full-size trucks with long beds, like the Ford F150, Toyota Tundra, Dodge Ram 1500, and Chevy Silverado. It doesn’t come with Tailgate Buddies. 

If you don’t see your vehicle listed, measure your truck bed before you shop to ensure a perfect fit. 

AIR+FOAM Pro Camping Mattress

We do have one more option for truck bed campers: our AIR+FOAM Pro Camping Mattress. This mattress features our new, revolutionary AIR+FOAM Pro construction, which sandwiches comfy, open-cell foam between rugged, protective exterior fabric. The foam is inflatable, allowing you to fine-tune mattress firmness to match your personal preference. Honestly, this is our most comfortable mattress to date, and sleeping on it is a dream. 

Now, unlike our truck-specific mattresses, the Camping Mattress isn’t purpose-built to fit in your truck bed, and it doesn’t accommodate two campers. Instead, it’s a standard rectangular shape and sleeps just one camper. However, the shape actually makes the mattress exceptionally versatile, as it can be deployed in your truck bed, a tent, or even an SUV trunk. The mattress is also available in three sizes (short, regular, and long), so you can measure your truck bed and find the size that’s right for you. 

Keep On Truckin’

To be transparent, we don’t care if you decide to invest in a truck camper, add a hard- or soft-topped shell to your rig, or sleep under the stars on one of our mattresses. What stokes us out the most is that you’re embarking on adventures and enjoying life on the road. More than anything, we hope this deep dive into truck bed camping helps you learn a few tricks of the trade and inspires you to get out and get after it, no matter what rig you’re driving. 

Thanks as always for reading, and we’ll see you on the road.

–The Luno Crew