I want to do some car camping.
I have a sleeping bag and a 1/2 inch thick foam mat.
The interior is about 43 inches by 63 inches.
Thanks, Andy
4 half inch foam mats would be a start .. duh. John T.
If you cut off your legs at the knees, that should suffice.
Did you forget to take your meds today?
Remove all the rocks and stones and pebbles from where you plan to put the sleeping bag. I have enough built-in foam, even when I wasn't fat, so I didn't use the foam mat much but I did use a plastic sheet to keep the moisture in the ground from coming into the bag.
Everyone else used a tent but on warm nights when it was not raining, I didnt' see the point. If rain comes unexpectedly, you can move to the car.
Pee before lying down, even if you dont' think you have to. Wear a watch or have some other way to tell time.
If the only place you can sleep is in or by the road, park your car so that it is between you and the possible 'traffic'. You don't want someone driving over you in the middle of the night. (One time in France, two days earlier I saw many signs for campgrounds, but after one night in a hotel, on the way back using a different route I saw no such signs, so I drove into a farmer's field. I think I lay down and then got up 4 times to move the car until I was satisfied it would block the farmer's path and he wouldn't show up before dawn and drive right over me before he saw me. It was not harvest time and afaict, he would have no need to go into this large field, but what do I know? It was summer. I left by 7 or 8 and didn't see the farmer.
Two nights were of especial interest. 1) I don't like camping with the other people because they get up early, make a lot of noise while making breakfast, and they wake me up. I don't want, generally can't manage to eat breakfast, so I want to sleep late. So I sleep away from the rest of them. One time in West Virginia the camping area was like a golf green, a little higher than the surrounding, but instead of being surrounded by fairway, it was surrounded by tall brush. But 20' from the green I found a narrow dirt path and I lay down there with bag and no tent, with my arms an inch or so from the brush. About an hour later I hear screeching above my head, for about 10 minutes, and then for several minutes to my side and then 20 minutes after that, below my feet. And then the animial went back where he's been and there was more screeching.
I still fell asleep but in the middle of the night I heard it again for several minutes and I was sort of scared. I tried to think of all the animals that might screech like that and if I should be afraid, and I couldn't decide what the animal was but they were all taller than I am when lying down, and I was definitely scared. I thought of moving where everyone else was, but it would have been a little cold outside the bag and in the morning they would wake me up early. Also I thought standing up would call attention to myself to whoever was screeching. While debating what to do, I fell asleep again.
In the morning the park ranger was certain it was a bobcat and I was sleeping in the trail he used to go back and forth.
2) Another time it was August and we were in southern New Jersey at a state campground, though many places are as hot and humid as it was there. Again I was with my outdoors club, and again I didnt' want to wake up early, so I found a section of the campground, on a corner of the island we were on, where there was no one else. Certainly no tent that night, and too hot to sleep inside the sleeping bag too, but it was still hot and humid and what I do at home on nights like that is sleep naked with no top sheet or blanket, but outdoors one feels so vulnerable, even if there were no bobcat sounds. I thought I should be able to overcome that feeling and indeed I did. I slept all night totally naked, totally uncovered, on my belly fwiw. I didn't lie down until others had gone to sleep, and I'm pretty sure no one saw me, not from my group or any of the other campers, or there would have been sarcastic comments in the morning.
This sounded weird and cruel until I reread the post. I generally ignore numbers, and I took car camping to mean you get there by car and not a Winnebago.
I'm 76 and I spent a year of the past 7 on vacation, arranging for only my rental car in which to stay about 4 months of that year. At first I would park facing uphill and recline the seat back as far as a European car seat would go so that I was almost lying down. I stuffed rolled up clothes in the space between the seat bottom and the seat back to try to make it flat. But I learned I could even park where it was level and recline the seat back much less, and I can sleep well sitting up. I wake up feeling fine, not sore in the slightest. I still have to layer a pair of pants, a shirt, and find something else and roll them all up into a pretty big roll and put them behind my neck/head to keep myself comfortable there.
At first I moved everything off the passenger seat and slept there, but one night I was too tired to do that and I slept in the driver's seat. That worked fine so I just sleep there now.
Sometimes I park overlooking the Mediterranean. Or by an airport where I can watch the planes take off and land. With 120 nights sleeping in the car I probably remember 30 good places to park. Plus some in the USA too.
At first I would wake up at dawn and have the whole day to do things, but I learned to sleep as late as 9, even with the sun filling the car.
In theory, I'm supposed to go outside and lie down, but I like the car radio, and in February and March I needed the car's heater. In fact I had to restart the car and turn on the heater 2 or 3 times during the night.
Interesting - it made me curious about my Kia Rondo - - no seat removal required - with front seat full forward & upright there's 6 ft. 5/6 in. from tailgate to the back of the front passenger seat. The rear seat doesn't fold fully flat but close enough to simply work-around that problem, rather than removing the seat. I'd be looking at a 2-piece < or more > knock-down construction for my car - to allow for easy set-up and knock-down and allow the bed to be stored in the back for driving - leaving all the car's seating available, and easily stored at home when not in use. I like the futon mattress like the guy in the video has - - to heck with half inch foam ! OP AK's car looks ~ as big as my Rondo ? so this gives him some options to think about. John T.
Nobody thought of inflatable mattress?
TOBTOS Self Inflating Camping Sleeping Pad with Pillow, Thick 6 Inch Ultralight Sleeping Pad with Built-in Pump, Lightweight Sleeping Mat for Camping, Backpacking, Hiking, Tent (Grey)
Lots of options for " mattress " when it's car camping. .. size and weight aren't really a factor. Comfort and convenience are the thing. John T.
I've got a couple of ThermRest inflatables. Somehow they always defalte over the course of a night even though there are no apparent leaks. For spmething like that I would go with 2" memory foam. It van easily be cut to size with a hacksaw blade although you'll see electric carving knives mentioned.
If he's only 5 feet tall or 5'2" he should fit just fine with his lrgs attached. Then again, a detachable head would work pretty good for a 6 footer - - -
I slept in the back of my shortbed 1957 dodge (6'5") several times and also curled up in the back of my '76 Ramcharger.(with the back seat installed) Also in the back of my '67 Peugeot 204 Estate and my '53 Coronet Sierra (2 door wagon) with the rear seat down.
The secret is a "flat surface" - preferably also somewhat soft - but as long as nothing is sticking into you it IS possible to get a decent sleep. A minimum of 2 half inch sleeping mats makes a HUGE difference though - - - the more the merrier!!!!
I agree, or a single two inch thick foam sheet. I roll mine up and secure it with a bungee cord. Half-inch thick won't cut it for long.
Air can sneak through the plastic plug at the air intake valve. I think it will help if you "grease" the inside wall of the plastic intake valve with a few drops of Elmer's White Glue it will stop air leak from there. Those child-safe white glue cannot bond to that kind of plastic. It will come off the plastic like translucent rice paper when it is dry.
1-800-HILTON
Any fishing involved?
Maybe this "Bike Tube Sealant" can help.
Many months ago I mentioned I pumped a whole bottle of Slime tire sealant into one of my car's tires with a slow leak. It worked. The air stayed inside the tire. However, the tire started vibrating whenever I went over 100 km/hr. I guess the Slime pooled into one spot inside the tire and the resultant imbalance caused vibration when the tire is rotating at high speed.
Two months ago in October, I bought 4 new snow tires and paid my neighbourhood garage to install it. When they popped open the tire with the whole bottle of Slime in it, the Slime spilled all over their tire beading machine and made a mess.
Next time if I have a slow leak in my tire, I will still use Slime, but I will inject only 50 ml at a time. I think 50 to 100 ml will evenly coat the interior of the tire and won't pool up in one spot to cause imbalance of the tire when running at high speed.
LOL! .
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