An All American Past Time

When it comes to those early Summer months, a few things dawn across the modern American mind--baseball season getting into the swing, partially, but mostly, camping and getting outdoors. After a long drawn out winter and the raining season of Spring, Summer finally arrives, and with her we look for all the ways we possibly can spend more of our waking hours out of doors and basking in the glory that is America.

Whether it’s grilling out or casting a fishing line, building a fire or hitting the road to go camping, we love the outdoors. And this page contains just some of the great accessories we’ve found for camping and just fun outdoor activities in general.

Let’s run through some of our Summer must have Camping Gear items to get the party started this season:

Rightline Gear Truck Bed Tents

A Truck Bed Tent Above the Rest

While the summer means fancy beach vacations for some, many of us instead hit the open road for the seclusion of the woods to go camping. And whether you’re in the high plains or camping out on a mesa, up in the mountains or down near the river valleys, you’re gonna need a tent.

Now back in the day, you didn’t have much of an option. You’d need a tent with some poles, and if you were unlucky a bunch of stakes and some rope too. And the first thing you’d have to do when setting up camp is figure out where to put that damn tent. This would become the most important task of the whole trip, after all. Selecting the wrong location could mean that you wake up in a wet puddle after it rains overnight or you end up with a bunch of rocks and sticks under you that you missed during setup and you just can’t get to sleep cause you’re so uncomfortable.

And while the Boy Scout in me loves this notion of selecting the perfect location for your tent, these years with all the crazy weather and rain, it sometimes becomes pretty hard to even find a dry patch of earth to pitch a tent upon.

But suddenly hope arrives in the form of a brand new invention to solve a new problem: the Truck Bed Tent! Whether you’re looking at a Napier or a Rightline Gear Tent, these babies are true game changers. Suddenly you have a tent that is setup in the back of your truck bed instead of on the ground. And while it might not seem like much of a dramatic change, believe me, it truly is.

Not only do you no longer have to spend the first thirty minutes picking that perfect spot to pitch the tent cause you know you’re setting it up in the back of your truck bed, but also you don’t have to worry about rain water seeping in during the night. The sides and corners of your tent, after all, is your truck bed itself!

On top of all that, you’ll also have warmer nights cause you’re sleeping above the ground and cooler days because you’ll get better airflow with the rain fly off. You’re further away from ground dwelling bugs when you’re sleeping. And these tents tent to be way easier to setup as well.

A particularly great bonus is that for most truck bed tents, you don’t need any rope and stakes in the ground to keep the thing up. Maybe it’s just me, but you ever bite the dust with a beer in one hand at the middle of the night while you’re going to take a piss? Cause I sure have.

No more of that nonsense either!

And tents like the Rightline Gear Truck bed tent aren’t just a game changer for camping. You can keep these babies in your truck bed under a tonneau cover or store them in your backseat. And at a moments notice, you can have a place to sleep riding along with you wherever you go.

If you suddenly need to grab a nap, no big deal. Just pull over and pitch your tent. In fact, the only thing that might make this even better is if you had some kind of snazzy air mattress to sleep on too. Oh wait, you could get one of those too:

AirBedz

The Original Truck Bed Air Mattress

Whether it’s planned or spur of the moment we’ve all had a time where sleeping in the bed of the truck becomes the plan for the night. Now I’ve seen a truck or two in my day and even slept in some on occasion, and you can call it a bed all you want, but that doesn’t make it ideal for some quality shut eye...or any shut eye for that matter. That was the case before AirBedz, the original truck bed air mattress, but it certainly isn’t the case anymore. 

AirBedz are not like your standard air mattress that you make your family from out of town sleep on. What makes them unique is how they fit perfectly in the bed of just about any truck. That perfect fit comes from cutouts on either side of the mattress that fit around and, more importantly, over the wheel wells of your truck. Now that isn’t to say they can’t function as your everyday air mattress. Though they are specifically designed to fit in the bed of your truck their usefulness extends far beyond it. Maybe you’re out camping and would rather sleep in a tent on the ground than in your truck (which would be silly considering how well the AirBedz pair with the Rightline Gear Truck Tent, but hey, to each their own) all you have to do is add the Inflatable Wheel Well Inserts and you’re good to go. Same goes for when Uncle Jimmy is overstaying his welcome. AirBedz can hold about 2,500 pounds, so he’ll be so comfortable he might never leave. On second thought maybe you shouldn’t bring out the AirBedz for Uncle Jimmy.

And when it comes to AirBedz, you have several great options to choose from:

AirBedz Lite

Whether you plan on camping out or simply hanging out the AirBedz Lite is ideal for trips and outdoor events. It comes with a portable air pump that plugs into your cigarette lighter or auxiliary power port and airs the mattress up in no time. With 12 inches of cushion, this baby will give you a great night's rest wherever you park your truck. And the Lite is made from heavy gauge PVC, so you know it is built to last too. Packed into a shoulder strapped bag, you can take her with you wherever you may roam.

AirBedz Pro3

This model caters more to the outdoor enthusiast. It is constructed of a heavy-duty fabric that increases durability to meet even the most rugged outdoor needs. Available in a green and tan finish, the Pro3 is a step up from the Lite in that it comes with a built-in air pump that has an attached 19 foot cord to get power from your truck’s cigarette lighter or auxiliary power port. The pump can both inflate and deflate in about 3 minutes. And it can support upwards of a thousand pounds of weight with ease, more if tested, as they did in their SEMA video a few years back. Seriously, though, go check the YouTubes if you don’t believe me.

Original Truck Bed Air Mattress

This is where it all started. With sizes available for short and long bed trucks you’re sure to find something for your truck. The Original Truck Bed Air Mattress by AirBedz is the most durable and heavy duty. Pittman, owner and founder of Pittman outdoors and the creator of AirBedz, even drove a full sized pickup over one of these babies and it still held the air in. These mattresses are no joke, and again, their quality far exceeds those knockoffs you’ve seen at the big box stores. When it comes to sleeping in your truck bed, this is the Cadillac. It comes with a built in air pump that uses a rechargeable battery and can inflate or deflate the mattress in under 3 minutes. Able to handle over 2500 pounds, you’ll sleep comfortably on this baby no matter your size. And it takes up the entire truck bed, transforming your truck into a mobile sleeping unit. Just don’t forget your Rightline Gear Truck Bed Tent.

Backseat Mattress

Sleeping on the AirBedz Backseat Mattress in the bed of your truck won't be that comfortable but it works great in the backseat of just about any vehicle with sizes for midsize or full sized vehicles. A great alternative for those of us who don’t have a truck, but let’s face it--just get a truck already.

Installation

Installing AirBedz couldn’t be easier. With the built in air pump the bed inflates in just a matter of minutes, 2.5 to 3.5 depending on the model if you want to get specific. Long before I heard of AirBedz I owned a queen sized inflatable mattress, and I have to admit to being a little skeptical when I first heard this. For the other skeptics out there how about I stop telling and start showing? Check out this our video on the YouTubes of Derek timing himself setting up the AirBedz. It’s ok, I’ll wait for you to get back.

Impressive, wasn’t it? I’m pretty sure if that was my old air mattress we’d still be waiting for it to inflate all the way. It’s also worth noting that it is just as quick and easy to deflate it as well.

Pump and Power 

Each bed comes with an air pump. Depending on which model you prefer it will either have a built in air pump, like the one Derek showed you, or a portable external air pump. The portable pump and some variations on the internal pump can be powered by simply plugging it into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter plug. The other variation of the internal pump actually includes a rechargeable battery. Under regular use the battery should only need to be charged every three to four months.

What Really Mattresses

With AirBedz you can actually look forward to spending the night in your truck. It’s easier than ever, so go ahead take that weekend road trip or go camping instead. No matter where you and your truck end up you can rest easy on your AirBedz.

Check out our selection of AirBedz to find the perfect fit for your truck and hit the road today with your truck bed tent and air mattress!

The Fab Fours Jeep Fire Pit

A Fire Pit to Rule Them All

While this isn’t necessarily something you have to take with you when camping, you certainly could. And wherever you’re using it, this Fab Fours Jeep Fire Pit is sure to look sweet and keep that fire going all through the night--or until you put it out, that is.

A fire pit shaped like a Jeep Wrangler--just what all you Jeep enthusiasts always wanted. Finally we have a fire pit that is almost as bad ass as your vehicle is.

And we love those guys over at Fab Fours so much, we just had to include this sweet fire pit in our camping lineup. Get these puppies while they last, cause believe you me--they are goin’ fast!

Fire Safety

The Element E50 Fire Extinguisher

Finally, it wouldn’t be camping without a sweet mobile fire extinguisher in case your buddy, Glenn lights himself on fire again this year. So we decided to include this innovative, easy to pack with you fire extinguisher coming out of Italy.

First developed as a space ready fire extinguisher for the European Space Program, this Italian invention is sweeping across the world, putting out fires quicker and more easily than ever.

This non-pressurized fire extinguisher never needs recharged and lasts up to 5 times longer than traditional fire extinguishers. By using both physical and chemical reactions, the E50 stops the fire right where it starts, and the best part is afterwards there’s no residue or foam to clean up.

Don’t buy the hype? Go see some of their videos on YouTube because these babies put out fires like none other by robbing the flames of Oxygen. Then the heavy gas that is formed smoothers the remaining flames. This truly is a revolution in fighting fires. Protect yourself and your family by bringing one of these with you on your next camping expedition. Heck, get one for your vehicle and your home kitchen while you’re at it. Nothing worse than grease fires, and this bad boy tackles them like they are nothing.

Summer Fun

We hope all these products will help you have a fun and safe summer! Hit us up on the socials and share some of your great summer excursions. Whether you’re rocking a Rightline Gear Tent and/or AirBedz or roasting hot dogs over a Fab Fours Jeep Fire Pit, we hope you have another great season embracing the great outdoors of America and beyond.