Just wondering if anyone ever used their s.u.v instead of a motel. My suv is pretty bad on gas so long road trips were out of the question till now. I was thinking about getting a sleeping bag and some gear and sleeping in the back. Has anyone ever tried this crazy idea?
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anyone ever do any back of the suv camping
- Thread starter Dr sharp
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Just did the sleeping bag thing in my XTerra on my trip to Texas last month. Brought my Rack-n-Lok (now Yakima) bike rack back and it's in the carrier waiting for me to load the MTB for a campin'/mountain-bikin'/face-plantin' trip to Death Valley this weekend. Plenty of room for gear in the "X" and that first aide kit sure comes in handy. 
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I slept in the back of a number of cars when I was a lot younger, with a girlfriend as well. The downside can be the cold at four in the morning and the lack of a bathroom. Leave a window open a little to let moisture out from breathing, (not in bear country though).
Hi dr. sharp-
How long do you intend for these trips to be? Which season of the year? What are your food plans? I'm guessing that if you're considering these in place of hotels, you're not straying too far from civilization.
Depending on your vehicle, you could always rent a spot at a campground so that you'll have access to hot showers and electricity.
If you have a regular SUV and not something with a cargo bed, you could remove the rear seat to provide a bit more room for an inflatable mattress. Your bags and other stuff would need to be moved to the footwells and front seats whenever you're getting ready to hit the sack.
~ Blue Jays ~
How long do you intend for these trips to be? Which season of the year? What are your food plans? I'm guessing that if you're considering these in place of hotels, you're not straying too far from civilization.
Depending on your vehicle, you could always rent a spot at a campground so that you'll have access to hot showers and electricity.
If you have a regular SUV and not something with a cargo bed, you could remove the rear seat to provide a bit more room for an inflatable mattress. Your bags and other stuff would need to be moved to the footwells and front seats whenever you're getting ready to hit the sack.
~ Blue Jays ~
tyr_shadowblade
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2006
- Messages
- 12,687
It's a lot more secure than a flimsy tent, and you've got a heater and a stereo at your disposal.
When traveling I sometimes just sleep in the back of the car or truck. Not as often as I used to though; I prefer a motel now to get a good night's sleep before hitting the road again, especially when motorcycling.
Actually, I used to live out of my car. Work would put us up in motels during the week and on weekends I'd camp out. Everything I owned fit in the trunk of the car, there was nearby Forest Service lands for camping, and it didn't make sense to rent an apartment that would only be used on weekends.
Not a crazy idea at all. Go for it!
The biggest problem I imagine, many areas of the country don't have public lands where you could park. Sure, sleeping for a couple hours in a rest area can get you through until the next day, but getting a full night's sleep would be nearly impossible with the noise and lights.
-Bob
Actually, I used to live out of my car. Work would put us up in motels during the week and on weekends I'd camp out. Everything I owned fit in the trunk of the car, there was nearby Forest Service lands for camping, and it didn't make sense to rent an apartment that would only be used on weekends.
Not a crazy idea at all. Go for it!
The biggest problem I imagine, many areas of the country don't have public lands where you could park. Sure, sleeping for a couple hours in a rest area can get you through until the next day, but getting a full night's sleep would be nearly impossible with the noise and lights.
-Bob
The summer of 2003 my wife karen and I took our then new Honda Element on a round the country trip. We're at the age where setting up a tent every night in a new spot and sleeping on the ground is not appealing to us. The Elements seats come out ina minute, so they got put in the basement when we left, and it gave us a big square empty space in the bacK for our air matresses and gear. A Yakima roof pod was mounted on the roof rack of the Honda for extra clothes and gear.
We stayed at KOA campgrounds while on the road, and campgrounds in Badlands, Custer Nat'l Park, Yellowstone, Arches, Bryce, and Mesa Verde. For a change we had a cabin at Bright Angle lodge at Grand Canyon. We had a blast traveling light, and cooking dinner on the camp stove. It was a low budjet trip to fit in our social security retirement, so we shopped at grocery stores and had a cooler for food and only ate out if it was an exeptional place.
By using the SUV as a moble base camp, we managed to take a western tour of the U.S. to all the major parks we could not have very easily afforded to go to in one long three week trip from Maryland. By staying at KOA's we had hot showers every night, secure camp ground, and laundry machines available. Same at the major parks. Out of three weeks on the road, we used motels maybe four nights total.
Helpful hints-
1. Take out the rear seats before you leave home. Lots more room.
2. Use nylon large mesh bags so you can see whats in them, to suspend cargo off floor to keep sleeping space clear.
3. Don't buy stuff at the convienence stores in parks. Resuply at local Sams, Safeways, or other local town grocery stores. It's tons cheaper.
4.On long distances it REALLY makes a difference how you drive. In one stretch on our second day out from maryland we jacked the speed up to get to South Dakota by night and our fuel milage went down almost 15% . depending on the shape of your SUV's front end and head wind, speed makes a big difference.
5. Switch drivers every 4 hours to keep fatique down. This way you can cover 800 to 1000 miles in a day if you have a long jump to make. Passenger can grab a nap durring the day.
6. Make an early 6am start, and get alot of miles done by afternoon. Have camp set up by 5 or 6 that evening. Allow "decompress time" to relax before turning in for the night.
7. This one is optional. Buy a Honda Element. Tons of room, (at least for this 5' 9" male and one 5' 2" female, and one 30 pound Welsh Corgi,) 25mpg on the road, comfy seats with a great view of the road.
We stayed at KOA campgrounds while on the road, and campgrounds in Badlands, Custer Nat'l Park, Yellowstone, Arches, Bryce, and Mesa Verde. For a change we had a cabin at Bright Angle lodge at Grand Canyon. We had a blast traveling light, and cooking dinner on the camp stove. It was a low budjet trip to fit in our social security retirement, so we shopped at grocery stores and had a cooler for food and only ate out if it was an exeptional place.
By using the SUV as a moble base camp, we managed to take a western tour of the U.S. to all the major parks we could not have very easily afforded to go to in one long three week trip from Maryland. By staying at KOA's we had hot showers every night, secure camp ground, and laundry machines available. Same at the major parks. Out of three weeks on the road, we used motels maybe four nights total.
Helpful hints-
1. Take out the rear seats before you leave home. Lots more room.
2. Use nylon large mesh bags so you can see whats in them, to suspend cargo off floor to keep sleeping space clear.
3. Don't buy stuff at the convienence stores in parks. Resuply at local Sams, Safeways, or other local town grocery stores. It's tons cheaper.
4.On long distances it REALLY makes a difference how you drive. In one stretch on our second day out from maryland we jacked the speed up to get to South Dakota by night and our fuel milage went down almost 15% . depending on the shape of your SUV's front end and head wind, speed makes a big difference.
5. Switch drivers every 4 hours to keep fatique down. This way you can cover 800 to 1000 miles in a day if you have a long jump to make. Passenger can grab a nap durring the day.
6. Make an early 6am start, and get alot of miles done by afternoon. Have camp set up by 5 or 6 that evening. Allow "decompress time" to relax before turning in for the night.
7. This one is optional. Buy a Honda Element. Tons of room, (at least for this 5' 9" male and one 5' 2" female, and one 30 pound Welsh Corgi,) 25mpg on the road, comfy seats with a great view of the road.