Bed Sleeping With Tonneau

JAshworth03 · November 20, 2019

Random question.

Has anyone slept in the bed of their Silverado? I have a BakFlip MX4 hard tonneau and with the new bed on the Silverados being so deep and wide, I pondered the thought of sleeping in the bed under a tonneau for an upcoming overnight. I'm talking under the tonneau (with it cracked slightly and then tailgate up.

I have the short bed, so I would have to sleep diagonal. Anyone have a sleeping pad they would recommend? I'd want to get off the bed floor because its not comfortable and it will keep me warmer. Am I crazy here?

sk · November 20, 2019

I do it often (I have the 6.5 "standard" bed). I have a tonneau and a BedRug and it's great. You can just buy the BedMat (just the bottom portion) and drop it in when you want to sleep in the bed or haul something that you don't want to move around:

https://bedrug.com/bedrug-classic-bed-mat

JAshworth03 · November 20, 2019

15 minutes ago, sk said:

I do it often (I have the 6.5 "standard" bed). I have a tonneau and a BedRug and it's great. You can just buy the BedMat (just the bottom portion) and drop it in when you want to sleep in the bed or haul something that you don't want to move around:

https://bedrug.com/bedrug-classic-bed-mat

I hadn't considered a bed mat before. Didn't think it would be comfy enough. Do you find it gives a good amount of cushion?

I have one of each of these on order to try out and see...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PJNCYSD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OEEG7Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll keep you posted!

Edited November 20, 2019 by JAshworth03

sk · November 20, 2019

The BedRug is completely different than a bed mat. It has thick, closed-cell foam underneath it that is a mirror image of the bed floor so it fits into the "peaks and valleys" of the floor then gives you a flat surface on the top. That top surface is then covered with a polypropylene "carpet" that is very soft. I put carpet in quotes because it's not really what most people think of -- unlike house carpet this stuff doesn't stain or hold water. The entire mat is VERY comfortable to sleep or kneel on and the carpeted top keeps things from sliding when you put them in the bed.

wizard4878 · November 20, 2019

They actually make a bed tint for the new silverado/sierra, it's a little pricey but it's suppose to be easy on/off. There are also many bed accessories available for camping purposes. Not sure if this is helpful or if you even want to go that far...

Chevyguy85 · November 21, 2019

While I haven't slept in the bed of my truck my buddy has because he forgot his tent and I wasn't about to let him cram in my "2" person tent with me. At that time I didn't have a bed cover and I also had some of those HDX 27 gallon totes that weighed too much to do anything more than slide them around in the bed (less room). If you really want to sleep in style get a cheap inflatable mattress. I think I have a queen size or maybe it's a double. With a truckbox/tool box on my long bed dually the length probably comes out to around the same as a standard bed. We set up a tarp for the cover and he slept fine. This was outside of Gainsville Florida so no extreme cold just hot and muggy. Actually he might have slept back there for 2 nights, I have a horrible memory. We did leave the tailgate down for some airflow which was further hindered by the storage HDX crates. This was in a 2009 so less vertical height space compared to the new 2019 half tons probably.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Chevyguy85

Imcrazy · November 21, 2019

I dunno man, seems like it might be more comfy in the cab... Hotel rooms are cheap too...

Leevon · November 21, 2019

I did it last March for two days of a float trip, temps in the 40's and HEAVY rain. I used an air mattress. Negatives were the tailgate had to be released with the fob from inside (not a big deal) and tons of condensation. The worst part though was the cover had a ton of water on it and I made the mistake of pushing it up while still in "bed". Since I didn't put the seal on the front cross rail of the cover all that water came in and soaked my bedding. Also, not a lot of room under there. All in all not bad though it was cozy warm. Next year I am getting a soft topper for the same trip with a cot.

Smoothbassman · November 21, 2019

I have a bedrug in the back of mine and have slept in there twice already with lows in the 40s. I used a klimit inflatable pad underneath my sleeping bag and was super comfy. Since there was no weather I kept the last panel of my Backflip propped open to get some airflow. It would have gotten really muggy under there if it was fully closed.

Slept great, but looking to grab a removable soft topper or tent for future bed camping trips. Just to have more space to move around.

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

Thomcat · November 21, 2019

Do you mean a bed for sleeping???

NeverCold · November 21, 2019

I wouldn't want to do it under my tonneau. Other trucks with a camper shell no problem, but I'd feel like I was in a coffin under the tonneau cover.

Nick The Great · November 21, 2019

10 minutes ago, NeverCold said:

I wouldn't want to do it under my tonneau. Other trucks with a camper shell no problem, but I'd feel like I was in a coffin under the tonneau cover.

Yeah. I'm not especially claustrophobic, but a big dude, and this sounds terrifying.

Sjordan · November 21, 2019

1 hour ago, NeverCold said:

I wouldn't want to do it under my tonneau. Other trucks with a camper shell no problem, but I'd feel like I was in a coffin under the tonneau cover.

Getting in my bed with the Tonneau closed to look for any light after install was enough for me.

bartonjude · November 21, 2019

Geez, what did you do?

JAshworth03 · November 21, 2019

1 hour ago, bartonjude said:

Geez, what did you do?

Haha absolutely nothing! Wife hasn't kicked me out of the house yet! Just trying to explore options for overnights, etc. Hell even for a 2 hour nap on a long drive, im curious to see if it would suffice!