Car Camping - an alternative to tents

[Laowei Tony]

I had a Vauxhall Combo when I lived in the UK. It was great! It had back seats, but no windows. I built a storage area in the back with about 16" clearance underneath and could fold the back seats down put a memory foam mattress in the back and sleep perfectly. Curtains in the front allowed privacy and a nice lie in when needed. Plus the added advantage of being able to park virtually anywhere without drawing attention and spending the night. I even had a cam net cover I'd conceal it with if we were in the country 'roughing it'.

Sort of wish I had brought it with me to China... maybe I'll convert one of my buses into a camper...

[bomberbaz]

Plus the added advantage of being able to park virtually anywhere without drawing attention and spending the night. I even had a cam net cover I'd conceal it with if we were in the country 'roughing it'.

Is this a euthamism

[ollypenrice]

I found the American attitude to low impact camping a little odd. You could turn up in an 8 litre motor home with onboard shower but I couldn't turn up on my bicycle and use a solar shower bag because, you see, I'd cause erosion...

We have a small caravan but, well, there's 'small' and there's 'small...'

[Neil_F]

What about a small trailer tent? Cheaper than a caravan surely? I have had some great holidays in a trailer tent over the years.

[sgazer]

We used to have a Mitsubishi Delica in the UK, before we had kids, we removed the rear seats, built some MDF cupboards in the back and used it to sleep in (on a mattress on the floor) for a 2 week trip around Europe, great fun. Biggest problem I can see with a car itself is the seats don't lay particularly flat, so not so comfortable if you like to turn on your side and you have to leave a window open, otherwise they mist up badly with no airflow. A lot of heat is lost through the windows at night (radiated into space), so some form of window cover is good.

[Jeffro]

A Mazda bongo can be got quite cheap, and can be a nice home for the weekend. Can be kitted out with flat pack cupboard, sinks , cookers etc. the choice is yours. Or if you got 25k to spare, then I nice split screen vw camper would do the job nicely

[Stargazer_00]

Sleeping bags being what they are these days you could sleep in a car inside minus 40 conditions and be warm. You just use the car as a wind shield really, the insulation comes from the bag. Sleeping in a car with decent camping (arctic) sleeping bag and thermal socks no problem!

[EQ5]

You'd surely have to remove all the fuses to stop the lights coming on in the dark and upsetting the neighbours.

Carole

Why would any ´neighbours´ be upset about very low power lights coming in inside thecar?

[EQ5]

You'd surely have to remove all the fuses to stop the lights coming on in the dark and upsetting the neighbours.

Carole

Why would any ´neighbours´ be upset about very low power lights coming in inside thecar?

[carastro]

Why would any ´neighbours´ be upset about very low power lights coming in inside thecar?

At Star parties you cannot have any white light showing at all otherwise you'll be upsetting astronomer's night vision, and believe me they go mad if any-one breaks the rules. All lights have to be covered in red film, or fuses removed in cars. I tend to unload and then not open the car doors again at night.

Am considering hiring a van for the autumn Star party instead of using a tent (I have a heater and hook up). It's not the living in a tent that bothers me it's the getting the stuff out of the loft, the packing and pitching and unpitching and re-packing and everything having to go back in the loft scenario that wears me out. I sometimes use a small pop up tent for overnighters, but find them too small for a long weekend.

Carole

[E621Keith]

Why would any ´neighbours´ be upset about very low power lights coming in inside thecar?

Those 'low power' light is VERY high power once you dark adapted. You smart phone's LCD screen is bright enough to upset people across the field, compare to that a car's interior lights is like a light house.

[TonySpektr]

My Brother has a Fiat Doblo which he's outfitted with a single bed frame for when he goes Diving. That seems to work well for him.

We've got a combi camp trailer tent which is fantastic. £700 off ebay - fitted fridge, cooker 240V - you can erect the main unit in literally 5 mins. Light to tow.

Only downside? not good in high winds.

[onesmallstep]

Nice to see the car vs tent debate is still going strong

The majority of cars have a selector switch on the interior light panel that switches or toggles the light between permanently off, perm on or on when doors open. I switch mine to perm off for the duration of the star party. Also, my car is pre-alarm so I don't have to worry about the alarm flash when locking/ unlocking the car. If this is the case then remove the fuses or cover the lights with black bin bags, old duvets covers or anything else that prevents light pollution at star parties.

Keep your suggestions and experiences coming!

[laser_jock99]

We used to have a Mitsubishi Delica in the UK, before we had kids, we removed the rear seats, built some MDF cupboards in the back and used it to sleep in (on a mattress on the floor) for a 2 week trip around Europe, great fun. Biggest problem I can see with a car itself is the seats don't lay particularly flat, so not so comfortable if you like to turn on your side and you have to leave a window open, otherwise they mist up badly with no airflow. A lot of heat is lost through the windows at night (radiated into space), so some form of window cover is good.

I used to sleep in my Hilux pickup a lot during my climbing trips. I have to say it was a lot colder than a tent, I think because the metalwork cools down so quickly and then starts to suck heat out of you!

[Rockrae78]

I'm still trying to talk OH into buying one of these! Would be perfect for star parties!

http://www.danburymotorcaravans.com/models/model.aspx?modelID=23

[asset189]

A Mazda bongo can be got quite cheap, and can be a nice home for the weekend. Can be kitted out with flat pack cupboard, sinks , cookers etc. the choice is yours. Or if you got 25k to spare, then I nice split screen vw camper would do the job nicely

heres the fella. too old to be lying in tents !

[stevepeverall]

Just seen this thread. Here's another alternative to throw into the mix. Buy a cheap workmans van then spend about 2K converting it into a camper (takes about 200 hours). I run mine as my only vehicle - freedom on wheels!

[bomberbaz]

Just seen this thread. Here's another alternative to throw into the mix. Buy a cheap workmans van then spend about 2K converting it into a camper (takes about 200 hours). I run mine as my only vehicle - freedom on wheels!

I wouldn't get away with that. My Mrs would think there was an ulterior motive to having a bed in the back of a vehicle, hahaha

[ollypenrice]

I've done a conversion from standard Transit to motorhome. It was a lot of work but next time (there won't be a next time ) I could do it far more easily. The internet would have been a help but this was in the early nineties before the web revolution reached me. Still, for astronomers the advantages would be huge. I would just pass on two bits of advice.

1) Insulation everywhere.

2) Choose a donor van with a simple, flat sided interior space and work in the flattest panels possible.

Olly

[jackrussell0232]

Great thread this. Been considering a campervan/caravan/motorhome for a while now, but obviously have been referring to it as a mobile observatory (definitely not old enough to consider buying a caravan!)

A small one would do me, but the wife wants a bit of space, somewhere to sleep and some home comforts. I'm seriously wondering if a few k here would be better value than new mount or a baby Q.

Shame I'm not in Olly's shoes, where people come to my place on holiday to stargaze.

[ollypenrice]

Great thread this. Been considering a campervan/caravan/motorhome for a while now, but obviously have been referring to it as a mobile observatory (definitely not old enough to consider buying a caravan!)

A small one would do me, but the wife wants a bit of space, somewhere to sleep and some home comforts. I'm seriously wondering if a few k here would be better value than new mount or a baby Q.

Shame I'm not in Olly's shoes, where people come to my place on holiday to stargaze.

I used to be mobile though, mostly from a camper van, which is quite a good way to do it. While cruising for sites I spoke a a nice guy called Pete near Carsington Water. He was setting up a campsite and agreed to let me use it while it was closed for the winter seasons. I just agreed to drop a couple of quid in his letterbox every time I used it. What you really have to watch with campers, though, is not getting stuck on soft ground. They are ten times as bad as cars for this and it can seriously limit your options, especially for freecamping. The Certified Locations listed by the Camping and Caravanning Club (I think) would often make great sites for astronomy but we learned with our 17 foot motorhome that they were not often viable for us in the winter. This was a big, big disappointment with regard to having a motorhome.

Olly

[Davey-T]

I'm still trying to talk OH into buying one of these! Would be perfect for star parties!

http://www.danburymo...aspx?modelID=23

£54000.0 you could get a half decent scope for that

Dave