A 6x6 canopy ties down with guide wires and offers both you and your bike a bit of shade from the desert sun.
Seeking shelter from wind, rain, cold, and hard (and possibly bug-infested) ground? Look no further than Sportz' innovative Truck Tent II. True to its name, this tent allows campers to leave the ravages of local terra firma behind for the luxury of a cold-steel pickup bed.
Opening Sportz' meticulously stuffed stuff sack revealed a virtual three-ring circus wrapped within the tent itself. Inside, were separate bags for the shock-corded tent poles, canopy poles, stakes and guide wires; the rain fly was rolled up by itself.
Initial setup was a bit tough, as the instructions are sketchy and one of our tent's poles came delivered one section too long. After the directions were properly deciphered and annotated, the offending pole section removed, and the remaining poles coded with a permanent marker, setting up the tent became a breeze.
Simply unfold the tent in the bed, affix all nine plastic bed-attachment hooks (three around the tailgate, three on each side of the bed) with their adjustable, nylon engagement straps, insert the proper poles in the proper slots, and raise the dome-like shelter. The canopy and rain fly are just as simple to set up.
The Tailgate Tent is designed to sit atop the bed's rails, and once strapped on tight, held its composure, enduring mighty winds and a sandstorm.
Although not suggested by the manufacturer, Napier Enterprises, to keep the truck scratch-free, we suggest cleaning it with a spray-on detailing polish before attaching the nylon engagement straps. Extremely anal truck-care mavens can
Great care must be taken to leave a pickup truck's paint unscathed. We first cleaned the finish with a basic spray wax and, for added safety, taped off sections that the tent's straps rubbed.
better ensure a scratch-free stay by affixing tape to the bed where the straps would sit on the paint. Using this method, we kept our test-truck scratch-free.
The Sportz tent comes in different sizes to fit compact, mid-size, and full-size pickups with short-bed, long-bed, and flair-side styles. In a mid-size Toyota Tundra short-bed, the tent's thick, woven polyethylene floor space worked out to be a tad larger than the truck bed. This was enough room to comfortably lay out a pair of 20x72-inch mattress pads which are desperately needed on the bed's ribbed surface. The tall dome sports a generously sized and thoughtfully screened door, four big, mesh windows that can be zipped shut, a pair of generous pockets and a sleeve attached to the rear that allows electrical cords to run from the cab to the cozy interior.
The 6x6 canopy offers modicum of protection from the elements but nowhere near the shade of a stand-alone pop-up shelter. When not in use, it can be rolled up and attached to the tent. Fortunately, we never had a chance to test the 800mm nylon rain fly, which attaches to the tent with an assortment of dedicated plastic fasteners.
The Sportz' interior features beautiful vistas via its zip-to-close windows and small, mesh compartment for storage.
So, is there room in the camping world for a truck tent? That was a question we pondered while sleeping high off the ground in the Sportz Tailgate model. As far as quality and accommodations go, this tent is on par with conventional domes that retail for less. Add in the cost of damaging a truck's paint job and ground-based shelters look mighty good.
Bottom line: The Sportz Tailgate Tent II is comparable in quality to less-expensive ground-based tents and solves a problem most never thought to ask. But that added comfort could cause damage to a truck's paint job if the shelter-seeker isn't fastidious in protecting his investment.
PRICE: $169.99 Blue/Gray; $189.99 Advantage Timber
Pick one up at
Cabelas.com: 800-237-4444.
