One thing to consider with a hammock or tent cot. If you're camping out in weather with cool nights (ideal IMO) you will have cool air under you - sleeping bags have less insulation on the bottom as well so that wont always help either.

I tried a hammock once. And only once <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

90% tent and 10% open (bag on ground only). Try www.bassproshops.com for p/u and suv tents. Some are pretty slick. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

This is what I use on my 4Runner: http://www.tentsontrucks.com/explorer.html

Between that and an air mattress, I get a very comfortable nights rest. The last time I had it set-up was down in San Diego a few weeks ago. That night it got quite windy and the tent held up quite well.

I myself sleep in the back of my truck w/camper shell. Since I am over 6'2" I don't fit w/the gate up, so I made some custom shelters for the back. For trails like the Rubicon where I pack light, I took a small two man 2 pole tent, cut out the back enough that it will slide over the shell and bed of the truck, I had the cut edge sewn with elastic in it to fit snug and keep the bugs out, it only cost me $20 total. For most back country trips I have a stand up shelter that attaches to the canopy and tailgate(the shelter is a modified 54"x54" shower from Cabella's). This modified shelter was a little more at $130, but it makes winter/snow camping in the Sierra's a picnic. I also have a 10'x10' E-Z shelter w/sides for winter camping as well. My buddies and their wives have switched to tent camping, to have more room, and most of their rigs are too modified sleep in(37's makes a rig it hard to crawl in and out of ). They use air mattresses to get up off of the cold ground/snow.

One buddy of mine used to put his 3 man tent in the bed of his truck for snow camping, or when the ground was real wet. I know they make one specifically for that, however the average 3 man tent is only about $60 vs. $150-199 for the truck bed tent, and it is easier to pull out when wanting to wheeling.

One company used to make a free standing tent with a vestibule that attached to SUV's and trucks w/shells, but I am not sure if they are still available.

Here is a trailer site seen one set up at an outdoorsnman expo back in January. Seems kind of cool, if you didn't hit a lot of tight rocky trails with it, and if you could put on at least 31" tires.
http://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/

Phil,
Bear concerns camping in the Rockies, too. I've started packing a 45-70 Marlin rifle, and my two dogs always go along when I'm not camping with a group of four wheelers.

Dandeman,
It's possible that the bugs in the SE are not as well trained as the bugs in the rest of the country! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> With all the bug-vectored fatal diseases lurching in the wildlands, such as the West Nile virus, I'd recommend screening your top port!

years ago I found a netting at the surplus store that would fit the inside of my first 4runner,,,,I thought I would mount it to the cage I was thinking of building,but never got around to building it,,,I did get the net thow,,,I like the idea of having more than fabric for walls..I was also thinking of adding an espar heater to keep warm going up towards canada in fall winter etc. some day...

Well this has sparked my intrest on something now. I have seen mesh bikini tops for jeeps before but im thinking you get the same softtop hardware and make your own mesh top for wheeling and at night. You can zip out what you want on your top and put that in its place. And for those of you with trucks some simple PVC or something with a base at each end of the truck bed could create the same effect. But it poses the problem of bad weather. And for the people with four runners magnets on the mesh to your body. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> so simple its almost childish <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Truck. I've posted a couple of pics of this before in the past, but here they are again anyway.