Camping

How do you guys camp with your 4Runner? This Boreas XT, built with no wood and in Pueblo, CO makes things real comfortable! Not cheap, but worth every dime in my opinion! Boreascampers.com if you want to check them out! 4Runner is towing it better than I thought as the trailer is about 2200lb dry.

 

Went camping this past weekend. This picture is not from this weekend - but same setup. Got down to about 42degF overnight - but with the windows zipped up, the rainfly on, and an electric heater running in the back of the 4Runner we were warm. Yeah, I'd probably not want to be camping in this tent out in the middle of nowhere with bears/wolves/mountain lions about - but at state parks within a 2-3 hour drive from our house it works pretty good for less than $400.

 

I like that! I do a lot of camping in National Forests/BLM in Colorado and Wyoming, so a hard sided was a must for me!

 

Wife and I use this same setup but sleep inside the 4Runner. We’re soon adding a Solid Wood Worx drawer system and will sell the Luno mattress to purchase a larger mattress.

 

Whew! That XT is not cheap! We purchased our popup tent trailer about a year ago and its been excellent. We bought ours new from Robert's Sales. Highly recommend them if you want a popup trailer in Denver. Just renewed my KOA account and plan to camp at KOAs, 11 mile and other places here in CO. Hopefully the mosquitoes wont be quite as bad as last summer. Can't wait to go fishing & be on the water!

 

I couldn't sleep inside the 4Runner - too tight with two people for me. Queen sized are mattress fits fine in the tent. Once you add the drawer system you'll be sleeping in the tent?

 

No, we still will sleep in the 4Runner. Neither of us are very big, but still it’s “cozy.” Drawers are only 8” high so there’s plenty of head room. Before buying the blueprints I mocked it up with boxes and spare lumber, and the height is wife approved; she likes the relative security of being inside the 4R v a tent.

 

Depending on reason for the trip out, either inside, on top of, or in a tent. Pulling a trailer is just too much load with steep hills and a lot of gear. But they do look nice.

inside setup
https://lunolife.com/products/vehicle-sleeping-platform

On top setup (also used for my pickup and ground - mattress is great)
https://c6outdoor.com/collections/rev-rack-tent-collection

Ground tent for serious cold and wet weather.
https://kodiakcanvas.com/collection...0-x-14-ft-flex-bow-deluxe-canvas-camping-tent

 

Welcome

 

Nice setups, we have a RTT and pack the runner full. Spent about 30 nights in the RTT last year, between trips to Florida in February, and the Smokey Mountains in June, a couple bluegrass festivals, plus our normal Northern Maine August camping. This June we are headed west to the Grand Canyon and about a week in Utah.

 

Simple Mattress in the cargo area for me.

https://www.top4runners.com/ja/2007/losthorizon.html

 

I hear ya - my wife has voiced reservations about the security of sleeping in the tent also. However, we aren't overlanding and camping out in the middle of nowhere. We've only used the SUV tent to camp at state parks that are within about a 2 hour drive from our house. We've got a few favorite campsites that have great lake/sunset views that we reserve months in advance. These are nice campsites with electric, picnic tables, fire ring/grill, restrooms/showers nearby, etc... - and there are always folks camping in the nearby campsites as these are very popular sites. Definitely not roughing it. I've convinced her that a wild animal ripping into the tent and attacking us is not something to worry about. We'll sometimes hear racoons getting into the trash bag we tie to the picnic table in the middle of the night - but nothing that would freak her out. The campers shown above are really cool - but we don't camp enough to justify something like that - we camp maybe a couple times a year (usually once in the spring/once in the fall) for 1-2 nights max - so the Napier SUV tent works pretty good for us.

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

I have a few options, depending on what kind of trip it is.

For staying in the same place a few nights, I'll set up a tent, or a pop-up camper. The pop-up has a lot of space for being easy to tow, but takes a little time to set up and take down.

For island camping/carry in situations, I use a small Kelty tent. It packs up small, but has held up well for me.

For remote solo camping, or moving around every day, I built a platform for sleeping in the 4Runner. Nothing fancy, but it's comfy enough. I like this setup for trips when I just skip town without a plan.

 

My camping is solo as my wife prefers lodges. I was Army 50 years ago, then 15 years sailboat cruising and then backpacking. My runner is comfort enough and I love the outdoors.

 

Simple but works.

 

Depending on how long I'm out or the location, either inside using the Luno setup or with the Ironman 4x4 annex

 

Anyone hitting Overland Expo West this weekend in Flagstaff?

 

Small improvements each trip. Looking to get a tent that attaches to the back of the truck to the ground while keeping the trunk open so my girl could be in the same area as me.

Not a huge fan of rooftop tents.

 

Dog will not sleep in the tent. So we sleep there, he stays in the 4Runner.

Having a free standing tent to leave in place, when you want to hang on to your spot, is a great idea.

 

welcome

 

I just got my 4runner last week and took our pop up camper out for 4 days. Towed fantastic. Much easier to back the camper into the garage with a sloped driveway then my 6 speed Tacoma was. No burning clutch.

 

Looks like I found a tent that suits my needs, I'm excited to try it out! Fits my 5th Gen WITH Gobi ladder. I could also use it with my Thule Pule M cargo box on the TRD Pro roof rack with no issues.

So spacious and the tent doesn't cover the exhaust. Easy disassembly with 4 straps if you need to leave the campsite as it turns into a normal tent. ​

 

Ratmosphere: What brand is that tent in your pictures? We've got a Napier SUV tent that appears to be nearly identical in size/shape (~9'x9') - except it is blue/gray. Same type of connection sleeve that attaches with 4 straps -same type of rainfly. We've used ours about 4 or 5 times with our 4Runner and it works great. We sleep in the tent on a queen sized air mattress and leave our large cooler and some other stuff in the back of the 4Runner. We usually camp at campsites that have electric so I run an outdoor extension cord in through the bottom of the connection sleeve. We've got a small oscillating electric heater that we plug in and run in the back of the 4Runner blowing into the tent. With the windows zipped up and the rainfly on we stayed very warm in temperatures that got down to high 30's/low 40's. I think we would be just fine in this setup down to about 30deg - and that's just sleeping on the air mattress under blankets. With the right sleeping bags you'd be fine even colder than that. Getting up in the middle of the night to take a piss would be a bitch though. We've used the tent multiple times and so far so good - no holes, no rips, no bad zippers, no broken/bent poles. The Napier brand tent was a little under $400 when we bought it a few years ago - and it has been worth it.

 

We started off camping in a tent "upgraded" to a rooftop tent and a Rough Country awning. These pics are from this past weekend trying out the new roof top tent

 

I like to camp fast and lite. Granted i bring a ton of stuff but all fits in my 4R and i prefer to sleep in it as well.

 

Pretty comfortable

 

Nice sticker

https://youtu.be/P8tTwXv4glY?si=5joj1VfyS0757b_7

 

Classic John Prine song