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Monday, August 20, 2018

Back to Tent Camping



The ambulance/camper van is no longer in service. That doesn't mean we don't still enjoy camping. So what vehicle do we have left? It' a Nissan Versa Note, a small economy hatchback.

Before putting the van up for sale, I stripped out all the camping gear. Some of that has been repurposed for car camping. We set up the car for camping and tested it on the coast of Maine.

The Nissan has some really nice Thule racks. I built a wooden rack that sits on top of the load bars. The 105 watt solar panel is screwed to that wood rack. It's quick and easy to mount on and take off the car. It charges a type 27 Interstate deep discharge battery that's kept on the floor in the backseat. From that I have DC power to run my small compressor fridge, phones, fan, and C-pap. There's also a 400 watt inverter to power normal electrical devices like my laptop. This set up can stay right on the car, or easily moved to a sunnier spot if needed.

We also have a large tent, sleeping bags, self-inflating sleep pad, air mattress, folding chairs and all our cooking and cleaning gear. The dog came along with us, with all her stuff. We brought a 3.5 gallon water jug, swim toys, binoculars, books, clothes, and other odds and ends. Believe it or not, the car didn't even look overloaded. We were quite comfortable with that set up, even successfully weathered thunderstorms.

While our set up is pretty minimalistic, it provides plenty of comfort. I am amused by the fact that our car is smaller than most vehicles towed behind motorhomes. So what do we do if there is a long stretch of bad weather? We could always check into a nice hotel with the money we've saved by not having a huge motorhome.

-Sixbears

14 comments:

  1. You have to be one of the most flexible, innovative feller I've ever heard of! - LOL

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  2. I heard an old race car saying - 'run what you brung'. Sure applies here.

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    1. Yeah, that's about right. This is the year of using what I already have, but in new ways.

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  3. It's called Yankee ingenuity and you are a prime example.

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    1. It's what you do when you can't just throw money at a problem. :)

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  4. Dang, your complete list of stuff probably cost less than it would take to fill up my hundred gallon fuel tank with diesel for my motorhome. Maybe that is why it has sat in my driveway for over a year. . .

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    1. Probably. I'm lucky my lovely wife likes tents. Also helps that the car gets 39 mpg. We can travel on the cheap.

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  5. Sounds like a great way to cross country camp on the thrifty side. Do you generally plan where the next night's stay is, or do you just play it by ear ? Some people really like to be spontaneous.

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    1. Both ways. It has gotten harder to find a site at the last minute as the campgrounds fill up pretty quick in the winter. These days you pretty much need a reservation to get during the weekend. One way around that is to get to a place in the middle of the week and stay through the weekend.

      I like to have a reservation when doing a long drive so there will be a place waiting for me when I get there.

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  6. No reserve auction on ebay for a 1986 pearson 31-2 with a deep keel in math VT.

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  7. 1984 S2 9.2c also no reserve with walkthrough aft cabin in NY. Today on ebay too.

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    1. Yeah . . . there are some deals out there, but I'm holding onto what I have for now. Thanks for the heads up though.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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