Essentials for Full Time Truck Camping

Your list will look different. This list changes as I discover new solutions.

The links take you to a place to buy the item. It doesn’t cost you more, I get a few cents from the transaction. Not for ARE, but all the rest.

1. Topper:  An A.R.E. DCU 30″-36″ aluminum topper with liner and windows. Liner is essential to eliminate condensation and hail noise. After 4 years I still love it. You need to “build your own” on the A.R.E. website. 
2. Rack on top of the cab:  This is the place for the gas cans, the shovel, a window scraper and garbage on the way to town. It is a Thule 859XT Canyon Basket. Works great.
3. Bedding: An old carpet remnant on plywood. I love sleeping on a hard surface. Two sleeping bags.  1 cheapie sleeping bag  and a fancy down one I bought in 1968. In winter the down bag goes inside the cheap one. Toasty. 
4. Water 2 Scepter Water Cans (5-Gallon)with a drinking water hose, shut off valves and a hose bandit. 
5. Cooking: 20 pound propane tank and a Coleman Powerpack Propane Stove.  This needs a new, longer hose/connection than the one that comes with the setup. Needed a windbreak, also. Compact Stainless Steel Dish Set is the way to go. Easy to clean, very hard to damage, and are very light.
6. Tarp: A white  12′ x 20′ Dry Top Heavy Duty White Full Size 10-mil Poly Tarp item 312201.   Two painters’ extension poles,  some paracord and heavy-duty bungee cords.  Gave up on the big tarp. Got a nice nylon small tarp.
7. Safety items : A fire extinguisher, a heavy-duty 16′ 6 gauge booster cable ( and instructions on how to jump someone else’s car. I can never remember the sequence ), a 2 in x 20 ft Recovery Tow Strap 10,000 LB Breaking Strength,  a weather alert radio, whistle, a Cobra Electronics CPP 12000- JumPack XL – Jump Starter/Power Pack  (a wonderful item to charge phone, camera, Kindle and  to jump start vehicles. Worth every penny.)(This finally failed to keep a good charge after 4 years. Time to find a replacement.),  a 900 lumen LED flashlight for protection , and a  Goal Zero Yeti 400 Portable Power Station, 400Wh Battery Powered Generator. When I bought this a few years ago it came with a solar panel and a great lamp.
8. Best light  Best to cook with, best to read in bed with, best for walk to bathroom with, best darn thing for camping. Really.
9. Construction of bed and shelves. 
10. I have milk crates, clothes, books, and a folding table. The milk crates are good for books, but terrible for food as mice/chipmunks/bugs invade.