Best Truck Tents: Sleep Comfortably off the Ground

Best Overall: Rightline Full Size Truck Tent

Best Budget: ProZ Premium Truck Tent

Honorable Mention: Ford Genuine OE Ford Sportz Truck Camping Tent

Best Sustainable: Thule Basin Wedge Tent

Best Waterproof: Kodiak Canvas Truck Tent

Most Durable: Overland Vehicle Systems Nomadic 4 Extended Rooftop Tent

Best Compact: Napier Backroadz Truck Tent 19 Series

When gathering your car camping essentials, the tent is one of the most important pieces of equipment. Unfortunately, you can't throw your ground tent in the truck bed and hope for the best. The team at The Drive is dedicated to helping you find the best tent and truck camping accessories. I started with well-known brands with an established reputation in the camping world. I then looked for tents that would work for various truck beds and in different camping conditions. That way, the final list would be inclusive with a solution for everyone. For example, an open-floor tunnel tent could be best for one person, while a compact hardshell tent may be ideal for someone else. When it came to features, I considered overall design, mesh panel placement, internal storage, awnings, and setup difficulty.     

If you're going to spend time out in nature, the equipment you're using should be environmentally friendly. That way, you make as little of a negative impact as possible on the nature you are enjoying. While there have been some impressive advancements, camping tents seem to have lagged behind. There are some truck tent manufacturers that have made an effort, though. Thule's sustainability efforts are worthy of recognition, with improved manufacturing processes, longer-lasting products, and lower impact during customer use. Napier has tried to make an effort, but unfortunately, it's more focused on education than actually improving its products. When looking for a sustainable or eco-friendly tent, opt for aluminum poles over fiberglass. The canopy and rainfly fabric should be cotton or natural fabric without chemical treatment. The construction should be durable, helping the tent to last as long as possible and reduce replacement needs.  

My top pick for the best truck tent is the Rightline Full Size Truck Tent with its single wall design and fully sealed seams. There are enough vents to give you plenty of breathability. Inside, you'll find gear pockets and hooks for hanging items. 

For a more affordable option, the ProZ Premium Truck Tent features simplicity that doesn't sacrifice quality. It has a fully seamed floor and plenty of headroom. 

When we start shopping for tools and products, we never overlook the secondhand market. In fact, it’s usually the first place I look. Whether you’re scrolling through Amazon’s Renewed section, eBay for car parts or tools, or flipping through the pages of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, you have hundreds of thousands of used tools, parts, and gear ready to be shipped to your doorstep. Refurbished to like-new status, they’ll be willing to give you many more years of faithful service all while saving you money. 

If those options don’t have what you need, your local salvage yard is great for car parts, while swap meets are a great resource you should tap. Just Google either and head on down.  

To make your secondhand search easier, here are two tips to finding the best deals and making sure your new-to-you stuff wasn’t destroyed by the previous owner. 

The design needs to match your intended camping style. For example, some truck bed tents don't have a floor, so your truck bed needs to be clean, or getting in the tent will be gross. Your tent should also have cab access. This allows you to access the cab through the rear window without getting out of the tent. Now you can access more storage space and charge your electronics. Awnings are nice to have because they provide you with better rain protection so you can open windows and not give up ventilation in inclement weather. Look for zippers to secure the door and mesh coverings to prevent bugs, rain, and dirt from getting in. Finally, having storage pockets and hanging hooks inside the tent make it easier to keep your tent clean and organized. 

Just like any other type of camping, your tent needs to work with the climate you're camping in. You're already at a disadvantage because you are lying in the truck bed with walls on three sides of you. This means there needs to be plenty of mesh panels in the upper half to give you cross ventilation. Having an adaptive rainfly is also nice. Some have windows that you can open and awnings for extra coverage. A thicker rainfly is nice when camping in cold climates because it will provide a layer of insulation to keep heat in. 

Measure your truck bed and know its exact dimensions. For example, a five-foot bed may not be exactly 60 inches in length. Then beds come in a wide range of widths, depending on the manufacturer and model. The camping gear for trucks that you buy needs to fit both the width and length, or you will end up with a tent that doesn't fit quite right. In addition to size, look at the attachment method. Some tents use a rail system while others use straps. The attachment system needs to work with your truck bed design. 

You can buy a basic truck tent for $500 or less. These tents resemble a standard ground tent with a fabric canopy and rainfly that are supported by poles. More affordable options are made from treated nylon or polyester. More expensive options are made from sturdy cotton or duck fabric. Another option is a rooftop-style tent. These tend to hover above the truck bed and are supported by a metal frame with a ladder leading up to the tent. These tents typically start at over $1,000 and can easily be a couple thousand. There are more parts and materials to these tents. Because the supportive frame needs to be strong enough to hold a couple of hundred pounds, they tend to be more expensive. 

You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.