I'm a big fan of the tri-fold memory foam mattresses you can get in multiple sizes on Amazon.
Just want to emphasize, if you can pull of tents by all means make it happen. I know the tent vs. RV is always going to be a debate. This is just my own personal experience as a tent camper before marriage/kids. It got challenging for our family camp trips, but I have seen families pull it off. We've used the newer Coleman instant tents which are super fast as well to set up and far less expensive. The challenge is getting all the bedding set up for everyone. Then pack up usually involves all the stuff that was moved into the tent. Climate control is an issue for families. I personally can handle 80 degree humid nights in a tent with a small fan. Wife and kids not so much. Put in a 10spd maxxair fan that can either push air in or out, coupled with large side windows with screens and you will be far more comfortable than a tent. In regards to nights under 40.....and don't think you can escape those in the summer time. We were in the Colorado mountains for the 4th of July with sleet and a fire ban. Small kids can be hard to keep in sleeping bags and it's miserable once they get shoes/clothes wet from playing outside. A hard sided shell is going to be far more insulated and there are many off-grid heater options.
aluminum, composites, fiberglass and plywood all have very similar strength to weight ratios. Plywood has a bad name because of poor building practices in the RV industry. It must be sealed correctly like a house and then it can last longer than the truck. Plywood is the cheapest of all the options and the easiest to manufacture.
If I could have afforded a high quality fifth wheel, a reliable truck to pull it, and a place at the house to store it I'd have one as well.
I have a nose over design as well that would work for the Slate, and the slide is optional. I was just trying to brainstorm some ways to make the 5ft bed work, while staying lightweight and aerodynamic. Attached a pic of nose over on a ford maverick.
My design is full parametric so I could get pretty close to the slate bed cap if that's what you want. I just know from experience the extra headroom is important for camping.
Horses for courses, I suppose.
There is no such thing as high quality campers and my truck is 2016 it has been reliable so far wouldn’t trade it for new now if they offered even to trade me even
I like the kit for the tent that allows you to put in the woodburning stove. I'm not sure I would do the buddy heater inside the tent, but they did have a diesel heater in the pictures. I wonder if the quality is similar to a rooftop tent. We got a couple years of use with a rooftop tent on a trailer but the zipper on the door eventually went out. I haven't tried the Fixnzip slider yet, and not sure I'd go to the trouble of taking it to a specialized gear shop.Horses for courses, I suppose.
The hub tent has twice the square footage, of area I think. You can use cots for sleeping and a Buddy heater for warmth. The tent is well-ventilated, and the rainfly is optional.
As with all outdoor activities (e.g. boating, backpacking, you name it..) the way to make it easier is through practice. With some repetition and refinement it gets easier.
Of course the ideal solution is to have both a camper and a hub tent.
I see plenty of slide-in truck campers that are driven with the tailgate down and extending out. I think people remove the tailgate so they can access the spare tire underneath
Slate already has the license plate on the bumper, so really it'd just be rerouting the backup camera to lower down and I wouldn't see a problem going tailgate down or removed entirely. Truck IS supposed to be DIY friendly after all, this is definitely a great test case for that.
I really like thats one that I could get inside hahaWell it looks like the camper concept is taking off. Here is a rendition I spotted on the web.
Here's my 2 cents on this camper concept. There are lots of pop up roof options on the market and strong demand for being able to stand in the camper when arriving at camp. Aerodynamics are super important on the Slate so the low profile of a pop up roof is very appealing. I already saw where GFC is working on a version for the Slate which fits the bill. If what is pictured above is made of fiberglass, composites, or aluminum, I think the cost is going to get very close to the cost of a Slate (if not more). The niche I'm going after is the full hard sided while sleeping. While this probably won't allow standing up inside the camper, my design moves stand up tasks under the hatch door of the slide out in a fabric annex room space. See my website for a rendition of the annex room option.Well it looks like the camper concept is taking off. Here is a rendition I spotted on the web.
