Building a climbing truck

I'm working on putting together a living space in the back of my truck so I can climb wherever, whenever. I've got a cap over the bed of my truck, and a solar kit for power, I need ideas on how to design a bed and storage spaces to maximize the space I have to work with. Pictures, renderings, ideas, and comments are all welcome

desktodirtbag.com/pickup-tr…

Here are a few shots of what I put together for my Chevy Silverado

Keith that's a sweet setup and I'm stealing the idea for the drawers under the bed, and thanks for the link Bryan, should help with the process and plans!

I would also recommend trying to build it light, after awhilel your shocks will really begin to sag if you build the kit with too much weight in it. Most people have a tendency to over build, cut out some weight saving holes where you can and think about ways to minimize the overall amount of material in the bed.

Simple 3 piece design, middle comes out easy and each column is measured to fit different size totes, in hindsight though, drawers are the way to go!


Simple idea for a canopy. I use two trekking does extended now to keep the back end up in the air, and two bungee cords into the wheel wells to secure it. With the tailgate open gives a great place to sit when it rains, and if it is raining at night lets you keep the back open and not have a ton of condensation inside the cap.

These are great as well (Light) to line the ceiling of the cap with, if you have a full solar kit this is a nice way to supplement for low cost lighting, Iwas skeptical at my first but mine has last 3 years no problem, still as bright as it was when I bought it and charges quickly.

This stuff is great for a mattress as well amazon.com/Lucid®-Linenspa-Ventilated-Mattress-Warranty/dp/B007HQ0O9C/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1430860623&sr=1-2&keywords=memory+foam+mattress+topper I got mine at a mattress shop, it is two pieces of extra cutting they had they sold me cheap.

Thank you for the ideas Eric. I had planned to go light with aluminum or PVC, but now I like the holes in wood frame idea. The canopy and mattress look good too

I'm guessing everyone with a truck, they sleep in, have 6 foot beds?

Mine is 6'6", so pretty much

Yes, I never understood the whole short bed idea on a full size truck...

Shortbeds wouldn't really accommodate the dirtbag life. Ant more suggestions would be great, I plan on starting the build soon and will post pictures for updates as I go

Keep it light and simple is good advice.
A carpet lined topper is highly recommended as it will insulate, reduce noise and you won't have condensation dripping on you. Also consider where your water jug will go, you probably don't want it on your bed. I had a flap on the tail gate side of the platform that slid back allowing it to sit below the mattress and separate from other stuff.

garrettem wrote: Also consider where your water jug will go, you probably don't want it on your bed. I had a flap on the tail gate side of the platform that slid back allowing it to sit below the mattress and separate from other stuff.

Any pictures of that? I plan on having a separate area for it, just don't know how yet

New gen Tacomas have a little shelf in the plastic in the side of the bed. I just cut a piece of 3/4" ply to slide in exactly and sit on top of this. Throw a foam mattress on top and you're good to go. No additional supports necessary. Doesnt sag at all with me on it at 150. Gives you about 11 inches of space under the plywood to put drawers under or you can get gift wrap totes To slide under. Keep it simple. You can also just use a cot..

I'm outfitting a 2014 Silverado, wish mine was that easy

Is there enough reason to use treated lumber composed to non treated?

Check out YouTube. There's a channel named "desk to dirtbag" that has a cool setup.

I wouldnt worry using treated wood. A coat of two of clear poly on any surfaces you're worried about getting wet should do the trick just fine...

Has anybody felt it necessary to use poly? Or has normal bare wood done the trick?

Why does every climber on Earth think he needs solar? Because he saw it on some car at the crag? Here is a tip for you: 99% of dirtbag mobiles do not need solar. The thing you are installing solar on happens to be a gas powered generator which can create more electricity in two minutes than a solar panel can in an hour. There are very few scenarios in which installing solar would cost less long term then not installing solar. In nearly every conceivable scenario applicable to climbing, solar will not save money, not even close.

Just because a car can do it quicker doesn't mean it's the best way. Solar is cleaner for the environment, plus I dont have to worry about my truck battery running down. To each his own I suppose

Luc Ried wrote:Solar is cleaner for the environment,

In this case it's very possible that it is not cleaner for the environment. The problem is mounting a panel on your roof creates drag which burns more fuel at speed. When considering how little HP (and thus, fuel) the alternator uses while charging the second battery, which occurs while driving anyway, it's very hard to say which uses more fuel. It's entirely possible that mounting a solar panel on your roof in fact would cause your vehicle to use more fuel long term depending on how much you drive

Then when you consider the environmental impact caused by manufacturing the solar panel, transporting it to you, making the cables for it, the plastic for the charge controller, and on and on, the whole "environmental friendly" thing quickly becomes extremely moot in this scenario unless you are absolutely not going to drive the vehicle at all except between destinations. Last, if the environment is high on your list of concerns, a solar install on your car is extremely low on the list of things you can do to help the environment (like, not even on the list really).

As far as beating down your main battery, you dont use your main battery—ever. You need a second battery regardless if doing solar or just charging off the alternator.