Napier Truck Tent Review: Sportz Over Backroadz for a Parked Camp

Buy a Napier if you want to sleep off the ground in your truck bed a few weekends a year without paying canvas-tent money. Napier sells two current lines that owners mix up all the time: the Backroadz, the cheaper one, and the Sportz, which adds an awning over the door and a panel that opens toward the cab. Both are polyester dome tents with a bathtub floor, pitched in an empty bed with the tailgate down, and both keep owners dry through storms that would have flooded a ground tent. Our pick is the Sportz. The Backroadz is the one to buy if you're testing the idea.

Know the trade before you order. The floor means the bed has to be empty, and Napier says never to drive with the tent attached, so camp is wherever the truck sits until you strike it. The shock-corded fiberglass poles are the weak point, early breaks are common, and the warranty runs 1 year. Owners who camp often tend to graduate to a topper, a Softopper or a rooftop tent. If your trips stay put for a night or three, a Napier is the cheapest way into bed camping we'd recommend.

The short version

What works:

• Dry nights: a full rainfly with taped seams and a bathtub floor keep out rain, the water that runs across a bed floor, mud and most bugs.
• Price: far less than a canvas bed tent, a topper or a rooftop tent, and the Backroadz is the cheapest way in.
• Room to sit up: 5 ft 7 in at the center on the Sportz and 5 ft on the Backroadz, per Napier, with the door over the lowered tailgate.
• Easy to store: Napier lists the packed bag at 28 x 10 x 9 in for the Backroadz and 30 x 10 x 9.5 in for the Sportz, so it lives on a shelf between trips.

What to watch:

• Poles: the fiberglass poles break more than anything else on these tents, often in the first few uses. Follow Napier's pole order exactly.
• Empty bed, parked truck: the floor needs a clear bed every night, and Napier says never to drive with the tent attached.
• Airflow: with the rainfly on, the windows are covered and the tent gets stuffy or wet with condensation.
• Paint: the straps can rub paint in wind. Pad them.
• Three seasons: Napier rates both lines for spring, summer and fall and says not to install below 32°F.

Backroadz or Sportz: what the extra money buys

Owners treat the two names as one tent, and the shorthand is that the Sportz is a Backroadz with an awning. Part numbers add to the mix-up: one owner bought a tent as a Sportz whose part number, 13044, Napier now lists under the Backroadz. Napier's spec sheets for the current 19 Series Backroadz and 57 Series Sportz show more than an awning:

We'd pay for the Sportz. The awning covers the doorway and shades the tailgate on a hot afternoon, and owners who have one recommend it for any trip with rain in the forecast. Napier says the rear cab panel lets you reach the truck's interior for storage or power, so a pump hose or extension cord can come through an opening rear window. The height matters more than the number suggests. Put a 6 in folding mattress on the floor and the Sportz leaves about 5 ft 1 in at the peak, while the Backroadz leaves about 4 ft 6 in: the difference between sitting up straight to change and hunching. The costs are about 7 to 11 lb more in the bag, by Napier's weight ranges, and more poles to break; one owner has had the awning pole replaced twice under warranty.

The Backroadz makes sense when the budget is tight, when you want the lightest, quickest tent to pitch, or when you're not sure bed camping is for you. It's the same basic shelter: same floor, same rainfly with taped seams, same strap system. Napier also still sells the older Backroadz 13 Series, in two full-size sizes and only while quantities last. Napier lists the same specs as the 19 Series, except that the 13 Series has a storm flap on the door only, not the windows. On Amazon, the only full-size regular Backroadz we could match to Napier's range is the 13 Series 13022; Napier's own store also lists a 19 Series model for that bed, the 19022.

Which trucks and beds it fits

Napier sizes both lines by bed range and asks you to measure the bed with the tailgate closed. We matched each Amazon listing's range and part number to Napier's own range and to the bed lengths in our catalog. The fitment table under the score panel has every bed we confirmed.

The Silverado and Sierra 1500 (T1XX) is the awkward one. Our catalog lists its beds at 5 ft 10 in, 6 ft 7 in (79.4 in) and 8 ft 2 in (98.2 in), and each falls just outside a Napier range, so we haven't confirmed any of them; measure yours and ask Napier before ordering. The 2024 and later Ranger is a judgment call too: catalogs list its bed at anywhere from 4 ft 10 in to about 5 ft 1 in, right at the 5 ft minimum of Napier's compact short size. On Amazon, the compact regular Sportz listing contradicts itself, calling the tent a Compact Short Bed model and a fit for 6 ft to 6 ft 3 in beds in one title, while Napier lists that tent for 6 ft to 6 ft 2 in. On a 6 ft Tacoma bed we'd buy the Backroadz 19044, or confirm the Sportz with Napier first.

The Maverick's 4 ft 6 in bed is shorter than Napier's smallest size. Napier's answer is the Ford Maverick Truck Tent, a separate design that Napier says is made exclusively for the Maverick and sold through Ford dealers. It has no floor, so the under-bed storage, bed lights and power outlet stay usable. We haven't reviewed it. Some Maverick owners run a compact short Backroadz or Sportz instead, call it a little big but workable, and like having a floor; that's their fit, not one Napier lists.

The floor decides what can stay on the truck. Napier says the tents go over a roll-up tonneau cover if the rolled cover sits less than 6 in high, and over a bed toolbox if you pad the toolbox corners, though you lose that space. Bedside railings under 3 in tall are fine; roll bars and sports bars have to come off, and a cap or camper shell rules a bed tent out. A soft roll-up cover rolls up against the cab and the tent fits behind it, as long as the roll stays under that 6 in; pad any cover hardware at the tailgate end so it can't cut the fabric. Napier's FAQ addresses only roll-up covers. The floor means a folded cover can't sit inside the tent, but a hard folding cover folded up at the cab can stay on: one owner pitched a Napier with a BAKFlip MX4 left open, and the tent sat a little farther toward the tailgate.

Napier's pages don't mention RamBox beds or the GM MultiPro and Ram multifunction tailgates. Three straps slide between the bed and the tailgate and buckle underneath, so try a split or multifunction gate in the driveway before a trip.

Weather, bugs and airflow

A Napier keeps you dry in the weather a three-season tent should face. Monsoons and rain that lasts all night, with a dry tent in the morning, are the usual story, and the bathtub floor keeps out the rain that runs across a bed floor, the mud and most bugs, which a floorless tent can't promise. Napier rates both lines for spring, summer and fall, and its instructions say not to install the tent below 32°F or when the truck is wet, because it may cause damage.

When water does get in, it has a location. The rainfly doesn't come all the way down at the front, and one Sportz owner saw real seepage there in the first heavy rain; a can of waterproofing spray fixed it for good. Another had a single seam the factory never taped. Napier's own maintenance advice is a water-repellent spray after a few years and seam sealer for extra protection, and its warranty excludes seam leakage through needle holes. We'd do both before the first trip, not after the first wet night.

Airflow is the weak spot. The fly fits snugly over the windows, so the tent gets stuffy on a warm night and wet with condensation on a cold one. The fixes are simple: unbuckle part of the fly and fold it back until rain looks likely, prop it away from the windows, or run a battery fan. The Sportz has ceiling vents and a third window, one more reason we'd pay for it.

Don't fix the cold with the truck or a heater. Napier's instructions say never to run the vehicle engine while the tent is attached and not to use a gas heater in the tent, warning that carbon monoxide is dangerous, and to keep the tent ventilated at all times. Insulate from below instead: the bed pulls heat out of you all night, and a bare air mattress does little about it. A foam pad, an insulated mat or a truck-bed mattress does far more than another blanket.

Build quality and living with it

The fabric and floor hold up; the poles don't always. Tents with four seasons, five years and more than six years of use are still in service and in good shape. Broken poles are the failure that comes up most, often within the first two or three uses, at a fitting or under too much tension. Napier's instructions explain most of them: leave the pole clips off until every pole is seated in its pocket, and run the tailgate pole outside the tailgate wires, or the tension can break a pole. Fiberglass also splinters when it cracks.

Napier's warranty runs 1 year from purchase and covers poles that break in normal use, with shipping covered inside North America for the first 90 days and a flat fee after that. You'll need the receipt plus the model number and production code from the label on the tent bag, so keep both. Napier also sells individual replacement poles by tent model, so a broken pole after the first year isn't the end of the tent. Claims usually go well: one owner got a full set of new poles after a break on the second use. Not always, though: another owner's door pole snapped on the second trip, several emails to Napier went unanswered, and Amazon refunded the tent instead.

• An empty bed: the floor needs a clear, clean bed every night, and unloading and reloading it is the everyday chore. Boards or a platform under the tent can rip the floor. Napier says the tent can go over a toolbox if you pad the toolbox corners.
• A parked truck: Napier says never drive with the tent attached. Strike it before every drive; the truck doesn't move with the tent on.
• Your paint: three side straps per side hook to the body and three more run between the bed and the tailgate, and they rub in wind. Napier sells padded strap protectors for the side straps; lay a cloth under the tailgate straps too.
• Getting in: the door is over the lowered tailgate. Bring a step stool if your tailgate has no step, and a scrap of carpet on the tailgate saves your knees.
• Setup time: Napier estimates about 15 minutes the first time and 10 after. Owners report closer to 30 minutes the first time and 10 to 20 once they have the routine.
• Storage: Napier's instructions say to clean and dry the tent before it goes back in the bag, and to store it somewhere cool and dry.

How it compares

The Kodiak Canvas Truck Tent is the step up, and the opposite design. It's cotton duck canvas over a steel tube frame with no floor, so it drapes over a loaded bed, a platform or drawers, and it carries a limited lifetime warranty. It also costs far more than either Napier, you should plan on different clamps for many bed rails, and it shares the basic catch of every bed tent: the truck stays parked. Here's how they line up on the makers' pages:

Pick the Kodiak if you base-camp often enough to want a tent built to last that goes over a sleeping platform. Pick a Napier if you want a floor, a lighter bag and a much smaller bill. The Rightline was the cheapest floorless option, but Rightline Gear's own site now sends you to Klymit's store, which doesn't list the truck tent, and the Amazon listings come from third-party sellers. We'd only buy one from a seller you trust and wouldn't count on warranty support.

If striking camp every time you drive is the dealbreaker, a camper shell, a Softopper or a rooftop tent solves it for a lot more money, and that's where many Napier owners end up once they camp often. Napier's own FAQ is clear that its truck tents don't work with a cap installed.

Setting it up

Napier's instructions for both lines follow the same order, and following it is how you keep the poles in one piece.

• Pick the spot: a smooth, level site clear of rocks, branches, power lines and low limbs. Park, turn the engine off and set the parking brake, as Napier says.
• Build it on the ground: Napier says assembly is easier with the tent set up on the ground first and lifted into the bed, doing the strap steps last.
• Poles in order: unfold each pole and slide it into its color-coded sleeve in Napier's order without forcing it. Don't attach the pole clips until every pole is seated, and run the tailgate pole outside the tailgate wires.
• Straps: hook the three side straps per side loosely to the truck body, slide the three tailgate straps between the bed and the tailgate and buckle them to the front straps underneath, then snug the side straps without overtightening them.
• Rainfly: drape it and clip it to the tent, two clips per side and two at the tailgate. On the Sportz, the end with the zippered access panel goes toward the cab, and the awning poles go in last.

Pitch it once in the driveway in daylight before your first trip. Slip the strap protectors on before the side straps go to the truck.

Which Napier to buy, and who should skip both

Buy the Sportz if one fits your bed and you'll camp more than a couple of times. The awning, cab panel, vents and extra height earn the difference the first rainy weekend. For a full-size short bed that's the 57890, which covers the F-150, Ram 1500 and Tundra short beds in our fitment table; Tacoma, Colorado and Canyon short beds take the 57066. Buy the Backroadz to try bed camping for less, to carry the lightest bag, or for a 6 ft Tacoma bed, where it's the Napier we could confirm. Add the strap protectors either way.

Skip both if your camp moves every day, if the bed has to stay loaded, or if you drive a T1XX Silverado or Sierra and can't confirm a size with Napier. A floorless Kodiak suits a loaded bed and a long stay. A topper or a rooftop tent suits a trip that keeps moving.