Napier Sportz III Truck Tent Review
Ever try putting your tent in the bed of your Pick-Up Truck? It does not work that well. Now you can get a tent designed specifically for Pick-Up Truck Beds.
The Napier Sportz III truck tents are sized to fit the make and model of any Pick-Up Truck.
Setting Up the Sportz III Tent
The setup of the tent is very easy. The Tent Poles and Tent Sleeves are color coded to show which pole goes in which sleeve. I found it was best to lay the tent in the bed of the truck then put up the poles. After I had the first set of pole (gray ones), I then tightened the straps on the side of the bed.
Color Coded Poles and Sleeves
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Here you can see the blue poles that go in the blue sleeves. This saves you a lot of headaches, trying to figure out which poles go where.
Easy Set-Up
My five year old daughter put the poles together on the ground and then handed them up to me in the truck. The poles have an elastic rope in them, so you just have to extend the poles and they almost put themselves together.
Tent Set-Up
It took us about 15 minutes to set up the tent on our first try. It was a clear and warm night so we left the rain fly off. The entrance of the tent has a 6 foot by 6 foot awing. We found it worked well to offer shade from the sun, but it really needs to be staked down tight once the wind picks up.
Storage Pocket
The inside of the tent features two side storage pockets and one gear loft. You can see all the storage options available.
Window and Vents
There are two large windows on the side of the tent and two small vents. These can all be closed with a zipper, and have a fine mesh to keep the smallest bugs out.
Sleeping Arrangements
The best feature of the Sportz III tent is the built in floor. Your able to keep clean if you have dirty truck bed. The instructions say you can sleep 2, but we slept two adults and two small kids in the tent. My wife and I slept lengthwise and the kids slept side to side. We had plenty of room.
Tall Ceilings
The tent is five and half feet tall. There's plenty of room to move around, and feels airy while you're laying down.
Tent Pole
I ended up sticking the tent poles in the stake holes on the rim of the bed. This helped keep the tent from moving around while my kids had pillow fights inside the tent.
Strap Protectors
Not only do these help protect your truck, they also keep the straps from vibrating if the wind picks up.
Rain Fly
The rain fly snaps into the tent pole holders. It's simple to put on the tent and take it off.
Once you pitch the tent on the back of your truck, you can't drive around. If you're staying in the same spot for a few days it's no big deal, but if you're planning on moving around you need to take the tent down. We ended up just undoing the poles from the pockets and taking the straps off the sides. We then left all our gear in the tent, and traveled. Once we set up camp again, we didn't have to roll out all the gear again. We just had to stand the tent back up.
Visit the Sportz Truck Tent Website
