Rig V1 | GMC Sierra 1500
Mike and I moved to Colorado in 2018, eager to explore all that this incredible state and region of the country had to offer. It didn’t take long for Mike to get the bright idea to transform one of our daily drivers, a 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 truck, into a camping rig with a simple drawer system and sleeping platform. I honestly didn’t even realize this was a thing that people did–convert their vehicles into backcountry adventure rigs–but I soon got on board.
Before having the pleasure of meeting me, Mike had spent three months traveling around the U.S. in this very truck, sleeping in the bed underneath a soft folding Tonneau cover on a simple sleeping pad. Though it was a tad coffin-like, his simple set up was incredibly stealthy, allowing him to sleep anywhere along his route around the country. This setup worked for his purposes at the time, but we knew we would want a bit more space and functionality for our new camping rig.
The first step was purchasing and installing a hard truck topper from A&A toppers in Denver. Then Mike went straight to work on the design for a bed-length, two drawer system, on top of which we would sleep. Before long, we brought the design to life in our garage and installed the drawer system and ExPed sleeping pad in the bed of our truck, all contained underneath our new topper.
We made a few other additions to the rig along with the sleeping area and drawer system.
We mounted a durable rifle case to the roof of the truck to store recovery gear without adding a lot of additional height.
We attached a Rhino Rack 270° batwing awning to give us more outdoor living space protected from sun and rain. (Note: on a few occasions, the awning provided some much appreciated shade, but other than that we didn’t use it frequently and found that the hinges broke easily in the wind.)
We purchased a Goal Zero Yeti 500x power station for charging devices.
Camping gear we carried included: JetBoil, Coleman two burner stove, portable water jug, hammocks, hiking gear, camp chairs, etc.
After the build was complete, we didn’t waste any time to put our new rig to the test. The inaugural week-long trip took us from Denver down to Ouray and Montrose Colorado, with a stop along the way at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Sidenote–if you haven’t visited the Black Canyon, we highly recommend it. According to the National Park Service and confirmed by our experience: this national park exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. It’s wicked cool and photos don’t do it justice.
Our first trip was a huge success–we loved being able to get to remote, dispersed campsites, and the convenience of being able to pull up to camp and not having to set anything else up, like a tent, was a huge benefit. We couldn’t fully sit up when we were inside, but laying in the bed with the windows open offered incredible 180° views. We were hooked and wanted to get out in the rig as much as possible. We traveled and camped all around Colorado on weekends and work holidays, even in the winter when we would set up camp nearby ski resorts to get a jump on the crowds.
All in all, we absolutely loved this rig. It was super simple and helped us get out a lot more in our new home state and beyond. In case this sort of build is something you’re considering, we’ll leave you with our major pros and cons of our first rig. Also, always feel free to reach out to us on Instagram if you have specific questions about the build!
Pros:
Simple and inexpensive
Stealthy
Lack of setup at camp
Can sleep two adults
Off-road capability and high ground clearance
Ample amount of storage for weekend trips
Hard topper offers protection from the elements
Cons:
Limited space, unable to sit up in bed
Not well-suited for comfortable long term travel
Not much room for pets
Given simple design, lack of amenities such as heating, running water, etc. (note: our build didn’t include these things, but a truck bed buildout could be outfitted with additional amenities)
