Getting out of the house for a weekend of hunting is the best way in the world to get some fresh air, shake off the worries at the job, and put a little extra meat in the freezer to boot. Some deer hunters have even been known to refer to deer season as “grocery shopping.” Venison chili is hard to beat, you know.
When you’re out there though, you need somewhere to hang your hat at night that is mobile and doesn’t take a lot of time to set up. For Father’s Day, your birthday, or Christmas, a truck tent might be something you can hint to your family that you’d really like to have. They’re affordable too!
Affordable Tents
Truck tents are affordable tents that you don’t have to take down if you’re moving from one hunting spot to another. As long as you’re not driving at highway speeds, your tent will stay firmly attached and in place, ready to use as soon as you get to your new location. Take a look at the top models that are available, some for less than $100.
They give you the freedom to take advantage of the advice from expert hunters about how to maximize your hunting experience. They will all tell you to diversify your hunting sites. If you stake the whole season on one site and it doesn’t pan out, what good is that? A truck tent gives you the freedom to pull up stakes at a moment’s notice and move somewhere else.
What Is A Truck Tent?
In its simplest terms, a truck tent is a tent that you set up in the bed of your pickup truck. They are designed and made specifically for that purpose. They have straps for connecting to the bed of your truck. They utilize the tailgate as the entryway or “porch” of your tent. They have plenty of zip-up mesh windows as well as a zip door, often with a rain cover so you don’t get soaked when you stick your head out to look around. Some even have a full rainfly over the whole tent for the ultimate in dry, cozy comfort in bad weather.
Like most tents these days, they have an arched roof to give you a tunnel-like tent in the bed of your truck. Available accessories include air mattresses sized for truck beds. They have hanging pockets for storing knickknacks, as well as places to hang a lantern. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about where you’ll keep your gun, backpack, and other supplies because you can stash everything in the cab of the truck. This leaves you with plenty of space in the back for you – or you and your spouse.
Scouting Around
Truck tents also make it easy to scout the area before hunting season begins. Since you don’t have to continually put the tent up and take it down again (unless you’re on the freeway) you’re free to take your time and do a thorough scouting job without having to worry about, “Gee, do I have enough time left before sunset to set up camp?”
By definition, scouting is an unstructured exercise. You go over there and look around for signs of game. If you realize it’s a bad spot you might give up and try somewhere else in less than an hour or so. If it looks promising though, you might spend some extra time looking around, perhaps setting up some markers for you to come back to once the season begins.
Regardless of how you do it, there is no way to know where, or when, you’ll decide it’s time to catch 40 winks. With a truck tent set up in the bed of your truck, you have the convenience of being able to put off that decision until the very last minute.
Convenience Is The Name of the Game
Truck tents are all about convenience. They can be comfortable with the right air mattress and heater, but the “get up and go” convenience of them is definitely where it’s at. They’re made from the same material and to the same standards as normal tents but they’re in the back of your truck instead of on the ground.
By the way, because they’re in the back of your truck, you don’t have to worry about uninvited guests trying to slither into your sleeping bag at night or being washed away in an unexpected downpour. For the serious hunter, truck tents give you the best bang for the buck.
