Thread: Sleeping in your hunting vehicle

Originally Posted by 9STAGS

Yes that was pretty much the exact setup I had towards the end of my ownership of my Hilux whenever it rained/showered however the mosquitos were really bad in quite a few hunting/camping spots, to the point they drove me crazy and sleep quality was severely diminished. The fly didn't keep the little buggers out even though I had it pretty well sealed.

Possible solution to this- one of the guys I fished with a lot when I liveddown south, he used to sleep in the back of his truck with the tailgate down and used a mattress that had a mosquito net canopy stitched onto it, and attachments in the truck canopy that he clipped the mosquito net to- it kinda ended up looking like this (https://www.fruugonorge.com/2024-mos...31?language=en) except the netting was stitched round the edges of the mattress, so fully protected, and he had about four attachment points above. Basically like a mattress with a built in tent inner. In bad weather he just added a tarp over the opening to protect the tailgate end.

How much is yr budget ??

I couldn't find a picture of my Hilux setup but this is another sleeping platform I built in a Suzuki 4x4 I used to own.
With the front seats pushed all the way forward the end pieces would fold out and form a bed that was roughly 2m long from memory.
Worked really well for weekend missions away. I'm lazy and can't be bothered setting up tents. With this it was just park on the flat and done.

U tube, outback subaru camping, heaps of ideas

Mitsi Delica

2015 Mitsubishi Outlander and I'm 6'1" but can get a 4" Mattress in the back no problem.

It's been like a second home for duck shooting down the swamp so usually take it and a Ezy-up, deck chair and Chilly and you're set.
Also is great for lying animals in the back of after a hunting trip if the 70L Icey-tec is already full. Wrapped in a Tarpaulin in the back with Ice bags in the gut cavity - no problem for long drives home.

CD.

It is obvious.
Again I am left the responsibility of reminding the world of the 4wd Hiace van.

Save your thanks, buy a Hiace.

I knew this guy who had an Isuzu bighorn. It was the most greatest truck ever built. You were silly if you wanted to spend more for a land cruiser or patrol... Couldn't bear a bighorn he reckoned.
Then several years later he got a Prado. Greatest truck ever he reckoned. Bighorns were absolute garbage and you're an idiot if you ever buy one. Prados are the best. You're stupid if you spend more to get a land cruiser when a Prado is better.
Few years later he gets a land cruiser.... You know where this is going.
Point is, he's been on forums for the last decade at least dishing out advice on what people should get, and the best truck ever is always the one that he has.
There's a lot of people like this on forums, so go out and try a few out. See what works for you.

Originally Posted by Hayden C

I’ve considered this also but reckon you’ll run out of headroom, and it will be a pain not being able to sit upright when needed.

An idea I’m exploring to get around this is making up a cheap cover that fits the back of the canopy when the rear lid is raised and tail gate down. Add a zipped door on one side for access and it will be a poor man’s camper.

Yep i agree. Ive toyed with the same idea, with a cover over the open tail gate from the canopy.

It would be a great win if you could. For me i want to arrive at the carpark the night before, not worry about the overnight forecast and head out in the morning. I dont want to dry/air out a tent then next day or two at home following a hunt, let alone packing in up in the wee hours.



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PVC material and in the back of the ute - if it's done right, the rear door on the canopy becomes the frame with the top of the tailgate and the two sides fill the hole. I can lay down in the rear of a ranger like this sweet as.

If it gets wet fold up into the back of the ute and no problem...

Some good options and ideas so far in this thread.

I'm not sure what my budget is at the moment. If its just going to be a hunting/fishing camping vehicle then it will be less than if the vehicle also becomes my daily driver as well.
I have to sell some gear to fund it, so I have time to look around and do some intel gathering and due diligence, hence the posting up of this thread to get the information ball rolling.
I'm inherently lazy, so the least complicated and less moving parts, extra gear needed or setup the better.
If back seats can't be folded down dead flat to provide a long enough sleeping surface then i have no interest, but it's hard to know without physically checking each vehicle option.
By asking all you good buggers with real world knowledge and related experience, then it makes my task of narrowing down my options that much easier, so cheers for the replies so far.

Ive got a bighorn, with the rear seat behind the driver, pulled out and the foot well filled in with a storage box, it works ok too sleep in, I’ve slept in multiple vehicles, over the year’s, chev pickup here in canada, couple suvs, Subaru outback etc, by far the best is a van, if for no other reason is you can sit up fully, are if a high model stand up, much easier to get dresses, cook, flipen everything is easier, on your feet over your knees.

Toyota troop carrier

Seems like this could be handy...
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/5019044044

That looks like a good idea @trapperjohn