Hi, i'm planning to go to California this summer with my girlfriend.
We'd like to sleep in the car instead of a tent.
May you give me some tips, if you did it.
Regards
Flo
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Hi, i'm planning to go to California this summer with my girlfriend.
We'd like to sleep in the car instead of a tent.
May you give me some tips, if you did it.
Regards
Flo
You won't have any problems finding places to do this. We used to have a Suburban when my kids were babies and we would just all pile in the back (cargo area) and sleep in campgrounds.
I'm not clear what type of tips you're looking for. The only thing off the top of my head would be privacy/cutting the light issues. If there are a lot of windows in the area you want to sleep, you might want to rig up curtains or some other type of window covering to have more privacy from prying eyes and to cut the light from early morning sunrises. I would think the easiest way to do this would be to simply put self-sticking velcro strips above the windows, then put the matching strips on some fabric, and then simply putting them up every night. Although I wouldn't be surprised if someone here has a more creative solution.
So...what kinds of things are you concerned about so we can give you better tips?
That's exactly the kind of tips i'm looking for. Many thanks. Regards
Flo
And what about the bed, matress install?
I plan to rent a Trailblazer or a S.U.V like that.
The Trailblazer is GM's small/medium sized SUV, right?
You can certainly have two people sleep in the back comfortably, with the rear seats folded down flat. You could go and get a small air mattress with a pump to plug into your cigarette lighter and you'd be set.
The one potential problem is that if you are sleeping in the cargo area, what are you going to do with your cargo? If you've only got a couple pieces of luggage, you can throw them in the front seat while you are sleeping without a problem, but if you plan on taking more things, you should at least think about where you'll be putting things while you sleep.
Good Luck!
The Trailblazer is almost the same size of my Range Rover, it will work for 2 people and small amount of luggage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
Can i find self-sticking velcro strips and cheap fabrics easily in USA?
Regards
Flo
A couple of comments..
Padding! If you're not doing it a lot, a thin closed cell foam pad from a camping supply store will do OK, if the car has a flat back area. The less flat it is, the more padding you'll need. I found in my Toyota Sequoia that I can get approximately 6' by 4' of clear space to sleep in, which almost perfectly matches a nice firm futon matress.
As some one else mentioned..
Where do you put your stuff? I've found that its quicker and easier to pull out a tent and sleeping bags and pads and pitch a tent in a campground than empty out the back of the vehicle, then repack it in the morning. But yes, I've slept in the back of SUV too..
Ventiliation. Most cars get really stuffy when the windows are sealed up at night. And particularly if its a cool night you'll get condensation over all the windows and etc... You'll want to sleep with the windows cracked at least...
Privacy: Windows all around? Enough said...
We are only 2 with 2 X-travel bags + 2 backpacks. All that stuff goes on front seats.
The choice of sleeping into the car is because we'll fly from France, so we can't bring tent...
Regards
Flo
Hmm.. I've got a 4 person tent that fits pretty small. If you want to reconsider once you're in the US, an OK tent (not super light weight nor super heavy duty) will run you around $50. Big5 Sporting Goods is a big chain on the west coast, and you can check out prices for other things you might need as well).
Sticky velcro is available at just about any major hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's, ACE Hardware, and OSH are all big chain stores in California). Just be careful if its a rental car.. sometimes the car company will object if you modify the interior and don't clean it back up.
But if you keep it to 2 backpacks and 2 travel bags everything will fit in the front seats. My one concern is the layout of the back of vehicle -- I had a friend who's car had about 1 cm him hinges that went acrorss the middle of back when the seats were pushed forwards. Make sure you have sleeping pads of good quality. Backpacking pads should work pretty well, and a cheap airmattress would probably work too.
You can find various types of these at viturally any craft store in the US, or your local Walmart (although, I prefer the craftstores). Jo Ann's Fabrics and Crafts carry a wide arrangement of cloth, including fairly inexpensive cotton fabrics that can be hemmed quite easy (even by someone not great at sewing). You can also find lots of types of self-sticking velcro, including Industrial Strength. I would personally use the stronger ones, I keep having velcro fall off because the glue melts!Quote:
Originally Posted by 996TURBO
-Brad
You could pick up a cheap tent at Walmart or Target for 2 people if you prefer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 996TURBO
While I'm not a big Wal-Mart fan, you can't beat their prices. You could easily purchase a tent, sleeping bags, inexpensive foam sleeping pads, and pillows for around $100 total.
Unless you're doing camping in severe weather conditions, you don't need to pay much for a tent. My current tent was bought from Sears for about $25. I've been using it for 6-7 years for 3-season camping. It works just as good as the $300 REI tent we bought in the 1980s that went after about 6-7 years of use and appears to be sturdier. Go figure.
I didn't think about the fact you would be using a rental. You probably won't be able to put up the velcro and fashion curtains then. Unless you want people peeking in on you and to be awoken at the crack of dawn by the sunrise, I would go with the tent. I can set up camp by myself in about 7-8 minutes. As a team, it should really be a snap. Takedown takes a bit longer. Maybe 12-15 minutes. I'm not sure if it's just because I move slower in the morning until I've indulged in lots of caffeine or because it takes longer to told that tent to fit back in the bag than it does to take it out. :-)
Rental vehicle is not really a problem with velcro, i think i can stick them on glasses and clean it after easily.
Ok i must admit, sleeping into the car is an excuse for renting a S.U.V.
Thanks to all for you advices.
Regards
Flo
You might have a bit of a problem with the velcro. The adhesives can be tricky, and aren't always easy to clean off. It might be cheaper all around to rent a smaller, fuel efficient car and a inexpensive set of camping gear. The gas alone will hurt (about $3 a gallon in most places in the US.)
I would recommend not renting the SUV if you really don't need it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 996TURBO
I have used solvents on it and still had to use a razor blade to get the excess off. Even after it loses its stickiness, it tends to leave a residue that is really hard to get off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arizona Brad
It's more like $3.25 here right now. $3.50 if you need premium. Yikes! The $100 spent on inexpensive camping gear at a Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Sears, etc. would be saved many times over in gas on a long roadtrip. Unless my math is really off (always a possibility), if one rented a car getting 10 more miles per gallon than an SUV gets, in only about 300 miles of driving, you've paid for the camping gear. Anything over that would be a bonus.Quote:
It might be cheaper all around to rent a smaller, fuel efficient car and a inexpensive set of camping gear. The gas alone will hurt (about $3 a gallon in most places in the US.)
I would recommend not renting the SUV if you really don't need it.
this may sound dumb, but from my experiences sleeping in my yukon, it gets real stuffy real quick, but w/ windows down in the summer you'll have a bug issue. quick and easy solution..
buy a cheap roll of Screen Door material at homedepot when you goto pick up the velcro, then buy 20-25 or so small but powerful magnets (about quarter - halfdollar sized), and a pair of cheap scissors. cut the screen in sections big enough to cover the entire opening of the window, place the screen over the window opening, use 4-8 magnets on top of the screen to hold the corners and centers in place, you now have bugscreens for all 4 windows for less than 10$, this way the windows can be all the way down and no bugs get in, at least minimal bugs get in. and every morning you can remove the screens and magnets in less than a minute or two, and resuse it the next night, and not leave anything permanent on the vehicle for rental company to fuss at
Good solution.Quote:
Originally Posted by NickF829
Mark
Hi NickF829, many thanks for this tip. May you give me how you proceed for shade and curtains...Quote:
Originally Posted by NickF829
Best Regards
Flo
no problem. but i've never really had a need for curtains or anything. usually i goto sleep late and wake up early. im sure you could bring along 2 sheets, put the corner of 1 sheet in the very front of the front door jam, and the corner of the same sheet in the very rear of the "Hatch" jam, and close them both, pinning them in place and that will be enough to at least block some light and peepers from looking in at night, then just do the same on both sides of the vehicle... the front window you can use a simple sunshade, the rear window you could drape a towel or another sheet in front of and close in the hatch-jam as well... just an idea, never really tried it. usually i have nothing to hide, and i find i like to know whats happening outside in case anyone is trying to mess with stuff i might have out of the vehicle
For the front and back windshields, I usually use a sunblocking shade they sell in every Wal-Mart. In my experience, the best way to make curtains for the side windows is to put wrapping paper in thesaid windows, use a pencil to draw the shapes of the windows to make a pattern. I put X's on the spots where I want to put something to make the curtains stick. I used to put velcros but like Judy pointed, they tend to leave sticky spots even if you clean them very well. I now use suction cups. You can buy dark material and suction cups anywhere and go to a tailor with your patterns if you're as mediocre as me with a sewing machine!;o)
Of course, this implies that you actually have access to the car/truck prior to your departure because every make has a different window shape. If this seems to complicated for you, you can still buy baby sun blocking shades to put in your windows but it won't be as efficient.
Plus, if you travel during the summer and want to leave the windows open, it probably won't work. The velcro could still work if you design larger curatins and put the velcro on the material a few inches higher than your window but then you've got to find a way to remove the velcro sticky stains. You also can buy a camping fan that works with batteries for about 20$ to avoid suffocating.
Happy designing!:o)
Gen
A bit late i know for a report ;)
Planning next year roadtrip so i thought about the bulletin board.
2006 roadtrip was great in the West.
No problem at all to sleep in the Traiblazer except those ***ing rear headrest that were not detachable.
Anyway, very good solution for cold nights and heavy rain at Yosemite and for wind, sleeping on the beach at Lake Powell.
Tip of the velcro worked brillant except at the end.
We use emergency blanket to make curtains and that helped to maintain cool during days, especially when we had a flat tire on a 4WD trail of Death Valley (that's why we wanted a 4WD)
Can't wait to come again.
Does anyone know if we (european) can buy a car and insure it for 1 month or 2 ? and then sell it.
A good old Diesel Suburban would be perfect ;)
Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!
It's certainly might be possible for a foreign national to buy a car in the U.S., if you're willing to spend a good portion of your vacation dealing with bureaucrats, establishing some address for the title and registration, establishing insurance, etc., etc., etc. But you'd probably be better off renting for periods less than a couple of months. For more information you can read through this discussion
AZBuck