For Behind the Shot Part 1, we are featuring photos and stories from Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Baja, Grand Teton National Park, and many more! Click here to participate in the 2026 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar Contest and be considered for a Behind the Shot feature.
Kelly O’Malley
Port Lavaca, Texas
2024 F350 and 2021 F550
2024 Cirrus 920 and 2020 Eagle Cap 1200
Camera Used – iPhone 15
Beach camping on Magnolia Beach! Magnolia Beach is a shell beach that allows free camping for 14 days at a time.
We’re a family (parents and adult daughter) that travel together in our truck campers for months at a time. I (Kelly, in the Cirrus) work full time, and Dan and Monique (in the Eagle Cap) are retired.
Pat Rosario
Powell Butte, Oregon
2024 Ford F550
2024 Rugged Mountain Denali 3S
Camera Used – iPhone 12 Pro
This was the first night our truck camper was “out in the wild” as it should. We had just picked it up from the truck bed manufacturer (SherpTek) and spent the night at Powell Butte, OR, before going home. The camper was welcomed by Mother Nature with open arms and a magnificent Cascades sunset!
Darren Springer
Barlow Pass Sno-Park, Mt Hood, Oregon
2023 Ford F-350
Overland Explorer Vehicles HBE 6.75
Camera Used – Samsung S23
My photo was taken during a ski trip to the volcanoes around Oregon and Northern California. The evening this photo was taken was the beginning of a snowstorm on Mt. Hood. Camping is allowed at Sno-parks in Oregon with a permit. We had the place to ourselves as the snow started to pile up. It was magical. I needed chains and four wheel drive to get out the next morning.
Kris Cassidy
Venice, Florida
2016 Ford F350
2017 Wolf Creek 840
Camera Used – Fuji XT-30
We were on our annual Florida trip and ended up at a quiet spot near Venice. It turned out to be quite a bird sanctuary with several large bird species frequenting the area by the canal right in front of our rig. We were also able to take a beautiful Kayak trip right from our site on the Myakka river which this canal is a tributary for.
Joyce Miller
Kofa Wilderness, Arizona
2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD
2019 Palomino SS-1240
Camera Used – Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra
This was a long-awaited adventure to the Kofa Wilderness. I’ve lived in southwest Arizona for two years and had yet to explore the Kofa Wilderness. I set out to find a remote, quiet campsite, and that I did, along with the most gorgeous sunset imaginable.
Just myself, a 58 year old woman and her two dogs, tucked away in the Kofa mountains. Not another soul for miles. Stars forever that night as well.
Andrew Merrill
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
2004 Chevrolet 2500HD
2024 Palomino SS-1604
Camera Used – Phone
This was from my 5200 mile journey across the US; Theodore Roosevelt National Park to Yellowstone National Park then Grand Teton National Park.
Gordon Jones
San Pedrito Beach, Baja, Mexico
2007 Chevy Kodiak 4500
1997 Bigfoot 2500 10.6
Camera Used – Google Pixel 6 Pro
During a six month road trip, trying to experience many epic beach camping spots in the Baja peninsula, we were pleased to experience this incredible sunset over the Pacific Ocean just south of Todos Santos.
Alex Lujan
Mount Bachelor, Bend, Oregon
1996 Ford F250
2001 Six Pac 150
Camera Used – iPhone 14
Every weekend I camp at my bachelor Oregon. Sometimes the weather gets interesting. The lighting was actually from a nearby camper and I liked the lighting it gave off.
Joe Fasbinder
Mount Rose, Nevada
1993 Chevy Silverado 3500
1976 Eldorado
Camera Used – Pixel 8 phone
Kismet: I found a deal on the dually but wanted to find just the right vintage camper to go with it. A little water damage didn’t bother me a bit. A sale at a storage yard led to this. Sadly, this rig blew an engine 100 miles from nowhere and I don’t know where it is today.
Randy Grill
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California
2017 Ford F450
2024 Arctic Fox 1150
Camera Used – Samsung phone
The photo was taken on our maiden voyage. We picked up the camper in Oregon and decided to utilize our time away from home exploring the redwoods and coast. Being out in the state park with all our belongings is exactly why we love the idea of a truck camper.
Fred Judson
San Felipe, Baja Norte, Mexico
2004 Ford F250
2007 Eagle Cap 950
Camera Used – iPhone 13
We drove into Baja and camped on the seawall at Club de Pesca RV Park. Having the ocean within 10 feet at high tide below the seawall made it nice to listen to while dozing off.
Elliott BucksReed
Mt Baker, Washington
2005 Dodge Ram 1500
1999 Pastime
Camera Used – iPhone 11
This was up at Mt Baker around 2am. We arrived at the parking lot around 1am, covered in a blanket of snow, After driving from Anacortes and taking a ferry from San Juan Island where we live.
I try to go snowboarding almost every weekend with my son. Having the truck camper makes it much more possible. If we do a day trip, it’s six hours from the time we wake up, to the time we get on the mountain, so the camper eliminates that. We head up the night before, and wake up to fresh powder if we’re lucky. On this trip we got super lucky!
Kami Golembeski
Black Hills Rockhound Area, Arizona
2011 Ford F350
2019 Northstar Igloo U
Camera Used – iPhone 12
Rosie the Big Brown Truck loves good views, free camping, and sunsets! This spot checked all the boxes. And, the area is loaded with fire agates. It was fun to spend a few days exploring the area and searching for agates in the desert, like looking for seashells on the beach.
Jeremy Howell
Gila Forest, New Mexico
2023 Ford F350
2024 Arctic Fox 865
Camera Used – iPhone
This photo is from taking my Arctic Fox 865 on its maiden voyage in the Gila Wilderness National Monument.
Mark Motsko
Northern Nevada
2016 Chevrolet 3500
2016 Bigfoot 1500
Camera Used – iPhone 13
After five weeks of exploring Baja and the southwest, we needed to return home to Oregon. A series of winter storms affected our homeward journey and we needed to thread the trip between systems. This photo was taken north of Austin, Nevada.
Craig Beaudin
Saline Valley, California
2003 Toyota Tundra
2015 Northstar 700SS
Camera Used – Phone
Headed into Saline Valley for an annual trip to a favorite hot spring. I have traveled this road many times over the years and am always amazed at the vastness of this area that stretches many miles in all directions. Besides the road, there are no other signs of civilization.
I took the photo after coming through Whippoorwill Canyon so I could take in the view and let the pups run around for a minute. After that, it was all downhill (not really) as the road went from 7400′ down to 1400′ on the valley floor.
David Clock
Near Mammoth Lakes, California
2021 RAM 3500
2022 Arctic Fox 865
Camera Used – Sony A7R5
I spent most of last year (and again this year) on weekends traveling up and down eastern California scouting and photographing locations I need for a book I am writing; all black and white images throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains. I came to an area I have been to many times, both camping and passing by, always looking for the right light and conditions.
On a late morning in early January while heading down to Alabama Hills for another photography and camping trip, I stopped again here and the conditions were really good for a shot I have wanted to get. I feel the drive is a really important part of my adventures in truck camping, so I am always looking for a good angle to captivate the viewer, to show what my camping adventures are like, without shooting through the front window. I think this image puts the viewer right there!
Click here to see all of the photos entered so far in the 2026 TCM Calendar Contest. Enter your truck camper photos today!
