Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Truck Modification

Wondering if there's value in this type of thread.

We all know what we like to keep in the truck - flashlight, cables, rope etc. What have you done to modify the truck tho for hunting? Maybe list type of truck, hunting and then the modification? Much like Wheel of Fortune, let's get R,S,T,L,N,E out of the way and say yes - lift, locker, winch and tires are to be understood.

Deer/Bear/general shooting - works across all trucks.

* Truck with a cap on where the side windows swing up, usually vertically
* cut a piece of plywood to fit from rail to rail - maybe 3 feet wide. Then put a small edge round the outside so nothing can roll off
* lay down either rubber or carpet on it if you want
* install up front towards the cab
* store guns/clothes bags/light gear on it


It's not super secure obviously but it is handy. Going to sporting clay shoots - lay the guns and ammo there. It's out of the cab, up front of the bed and easy access once at the grounds. Same for running up to the cabin - duffle bags of clothes etc. It's better than crawling up in the bed all the time and usually I have oil/dirt/crud on the floor of the bed - so keeps things nice.


(transparency - I'm starting to truck shop again and my hunting is also evolving towards more birds and the like. I'm looking for ideas to steal in that regard but will take all into consideration of "great mods with a hunting purpose")

I had a Dodge Dakota set up like that....

Most truck boxes are set up for the option to build a deck into the box, They have slots for 2X4 to run east/west in the with of the box.

I ran mine with a topper with flip open doors on the side... The deck that I built was just 3 feet or so with a 2X2 on the edge to keep stuff from falling off of it into the floor of the truck box... I had one of those plastic dog kennels on the deck set in a east/west position so I could just reach in and open and let the dog loose out the back of the truck... He loved riding in there... my shell vest and dead birds would lay just inside the door and the cased shotgun would ride along the side of the dog kennel... Tire chains and tow straps and all the truck stuff was stuffed under the deck...

It was a cool set up and kept the truck can clean and free of dog hair and snotty windows...

Now that I am older, I could care less about dog hair and snotty windows... So, now, I have an old Toyota Tundra the dog rides shotgun in and hair all over his side of the truck.... don't matter... nobody else is gonna ride over there...

I've not had a dog in a decade (work meant 10-14 hour days and I'll not do that to a dog) but now I work from home and a dog may be in the future. Someday. I like the sound of your set up.

I have a winch with a mile of cable on the drum in the back of my avalanche for bear retrieval…

I’m going to scrap the toolbox on my next truck and try a Decked system

Those look cool and I see a lot of upland hunters with them.

Just got back from a month in BC, Yukon and Alaska with the camper in the bed of the truck. In prep I took out the back seat and made a plywood platform where the seat was. 2x6 on edge for legs. Tool kit, battery jump charger, small shovel and other items stored under it. Cooler and other items rode great on top and much easier getting stuff in and out. Use back seat rarely for people so it is staying that way.

You win sir!

i did this in the back of my truck.



Also, have my old Con-Fer rack on top.

That rack mounted to the cap? Hold decent weight?

I'm thinking I'd like an air compressor mounted someplace - QD on it just to use for tires and the like. No clue how to do that cleanly just yet.

It will hold 500 lbs, but I use it for light stuff, that I don't worry about getting wet.

There are some nice set ups for jeeps. I will see if I can find the sites when I'm on my computer.

I just spent two weeks sleeping in the back of my truck with a camper shell. The best addition by far was a bed rug. That combined with a thermarest neo-air and I slept as well as I would have at home. It is hard to overstate how nice a bed rug is. It makes a soft, flat deck that is warm and easy on your knees. Gear doesn’t slide around and it keeps dust from coming up through the bed holes for drainage (and gooseneck holes).

Build pipe bumpers, weld tgem up good, plumb them as air tanks.

Teal, just buy a scuba tank with a Schrader tire inflator. My bubble blowing days are over, but that 80 cu in. bottle with that valve has blown up lots of kiddie pools, air mattresses and tires. Not that I wouldn't mind if it was an aluminum 50 cu in. instead of that over weight 80.

Curious - how many tires on a full tank?

I have done only one really flat one at a time or topped off several low ones and the gauge never moves. I suppose a guy could figure it out mathematically. 80 cubic feet of air at 3,000 psi is a lot of air. Just breathing it diving, I’d get at least a couple of hours on a tank. Inexpensive to refill it at the scuba shops as well. A kiddie pool took longer to fill than any tire I’ve filled and a big pool would probably drop the gauge down less than 500 psi. I suppose that a tank isn’t as light or convenient as one of those little cigarette plug tire inflators, but pretty portable and way faster I’m sure. That tank has saved us a bunch of times just to inflate a low tire with a nail in in with enough air to get it to the tire shop.

Thanks.

Interesting this is an under seat ARB compressor mount for Tacos. There's a video on youtube, 30 mins for install but the voice is annoying.

I thought the same thing and started doing research. Plenty of threads out there on mounting locations and QD points.
Since I won't be airing down/up often, and I may need to use it on another vehicle where I can't get my pickup close enough, I ultimately decided to just keep it behind the seat or in the bed.

Look into how guys who have onboard compressors for air bags mount them.

Usually underneath up high. Run a line to rear license plate QD to connect tire hose.

I got to looking at my scuba tank and neglected to mention the need for a regulator in my earlier post. Since I already had that stuff on my tank, that inflater was just a few more dollars and a non-issue for me, but those regulators don’t come cheap. A regulator meters the 3,000 psi down to something usable and consistent as the tank pressure goes down.

The only issue I have with the scuba tank is room. The compressors are fairly compact and can be mounted in lots of places out of the way.

Just some thoughts for consideration.

Normal stage 1 like ScubaPro, Mares or Apeks or something else?

Now days a guy could get a Bed Deck and a topper and be done.

I'm thinking about setting one up for fishing tourneys. Drawers in the truck bed, sleep on top.

I'm coming to that conclusion more and more and the costs vary quite a bit. It's crazy. The "Decked" system seems to be pretty popular and ~1500 for a Tacoma, not horrible. Built, ready to go etc vs "making something out of 11 trips to Fleet Farm and 20 hours of design and 1400 in wood".

Caps - sky's the limit on that price these days. All I really want/need would be opening side windows and back of course.

I spend upwords of 30 nights a summer in my truck bed every year. I've stayed pretty basic with just a insulated/carpeted topper and a thermarest air mattress. I upgraded a couple years ago and bought a rubber bed mat and that makes a huge difference.
I thought about building a deck for more storage/flat surface, but decided against it because of the loss of vertical space. its hard enough to get dressed in the mornings in there.
My next truck will have a hi rise topper on it just for that reason.

Teal, a ScubaPro, Mares..., I wish. Nope a dinosaur Dacor Olympic. Which isn't a bad way to go if a guy only wants to blow up tires and kiddie pools because those don't care if you use an ancient, hard breathing regulator. That Dacor isn't quite as old as the double hose rig that Mike Nelson used on Sea Hunt, but close. If a guy could pick up a used regulator at a garage sale price, a lot smaller tank than that 80 would be all a guy needs for tires.

Thanks - wanted to make sure I was thinking the right reg. See them on craig's from time to time. Small dive community up by me in the Green Bay/Door County area. Most of the stuff for sale - used 2x in the Carrib on some vacation and then it collects dust so you can score a deal once in a while but I've not looked in a decade.

My 99 F250 Super Duty has slots molded in the side of the bed and wheel wells that fit fit a 2x6 perfectly. I cut three of them to fit and used 3/4 plywood as decking. I picked up a used topper for $200 and installed it. Originally I used a queen mattress and it fit perfect. My ex and I explored all over in Alaska on a 2 week vacation. There is plenty of room under the bunk to store a small camp kitchen and assorted tools.