Inconvenient Car Camping or Survival?

[CamoDeafie]

Backpack type unroll quick inflate mattresses? Sure, but spendy.

I have a couple, one an old as dirt Original Therm-a-Rest orange pad and the other a much newer Coleman thingy thats in storage. Used to have a green USGI one but that one leaked like crazy, and I had another a dark blue/brown Therm-a-Rest but my son pushed it into the baseboard heater and it melted a corner so it got tossed. The Therm-a-Rest pads have inside insulation so that's nice. Bought them from thrift stores

Simple foam pad(s)? There ya go! Could likely roll out in the van floor in normalcy, depending on van size. To save on the bulk rolled/folded up size...

Foam pads have been my go-to for a lot of things, I have two USGI foam rolls.


Edit. For a while I had one of the kids foam crib mattresses in there but it's now the extra padding for a double-height crash pad/bed for my son who likes crashing into it. We are planning to upgrade him to a proper twin bed after we get a Cubby Bed for the daughter, or something similar that she can use as a "fort"/safe space for herself.

 

[The Heretic]

I do a lot of automotive based travel and prepare my rig accordingly, but I'm seeing more and more videos of people getting together with friends to "test" their gear. They go do a "inconvenient camp" using only what they normally have in there rig. Sounds like a solid plan to figure out what's missing, what is extra, and what changes need to be made.

I'm thinking this needs to happen. Do any of you do this on a regular bases?

Nate

I am slowly working on my "overlanding" pickup. The idea is that it would also serve as a "get out of dodge" SHTF vehicle if I ever have to bug out again. Once the pickup is done, I will start on my flatbed truck.

I am currently looking at a slide out "cargo bed" that may or may not fit into the pickup bed (same dimensions as a first gen Tacoma). The plan is to buy some long tote bins with covers, and put tools/recovery supplies/etc. into those, and put those onto the cargo slide, then put a bed platform over the top of that arrangement. Then a bed/cot on top of that.

I would insulate the pickup bed floor and sides and canopy, but keep it all to a minimum and simple.

The pickup is an XCab and the jump seats have small cargo spaces under them for tools. I have started putting tools in there. I will probably put some kind of cargo container in that space (roughly 4'x1'x1') and maybe a 10 gallon water container on the floor, behind the front seats.

Looking for a larger fuel tank to replace the stock one (20 gallons) - I think there are some/one out there that is ~35 gallons. And another to go where the spare tire would go (not large enough for the tires I want to run) - maybe another 20 gallons or more. Ideally 50+ gallons of diesel.

Looking for a winch bumper similar to the ARB style, and a rear bumper with hitch (for recovery) and a swing away tire/Jerry can carrier.

 

[aflineman]

I am on the road a lot, and also camp out of one vehicle or another a couple of times a year. Each time I learn and enjoy. I figure I can survive for awhile on what I have in each vehicle. Best thing I have learned over the years is to keep the fuel tank full. Top off before you go, and pay very close attention to the last open fuel spot on your route. Some places you think are open, sometimes close earlier than you think. Or they have decided to only be open seasonal. Sometimes these changes are without notice.

 

[The Heretic]

I am on the road a lot, and also camp out of one vehicle or another a couple of times a year. Each time I learn and enjoy. I figure I can survive for awhile on what I have in each vehicle. Best thing I have learned over the years is to keep the fuel tank full. Top off before you go, and pay very close attention to the last open fuel spot on your route. Some places you think are open, sometimes close earlier than you think. Or they have decided to only be open seasonal. Sometimes these changes are without notice.

Fuel range/capacity is very important. I don't plan to have to travel long distances to "bug out", but one never knows and I absolutely hate having to worry about running out of fuel. Stuff happens, refueling stations may close, have long waiting lines, implement rationing or simply run out of fuel with no replenishment in sight.

Sometimes long detours are necessary, and traffic jams can result in long waits with the engine running to stay warm (or to move a few feet while a stuck in traffic). Detours on back-country roads and/trails can easily double your fuel consumption and halve your range - my pickup gets 22 MPG (without the tall canopy) in "mixed" (city, mountain, highway) driving, but I plan on that being halved if I need to drive mountainous FSRs or trails.

Also, for now, that tall canopy is aerodynamically terrible - I have not had the opportunity to measure it well, but I noticed on my trip back from MT that I had to refuel a lot more often than I thought it would be necessary; probably about 14-15 MPG. I plan to try to mitigate that with a fairing/deflector, but I don't think that will help more than 2-3 MPG.

And running a diesel dry is detrimental to the high pressure fuel system which has very close tolerances (millions of an inch) and relies on the lubricity of the fuel to function.

Then there is my plan to use a diesel heater to stay warm while camping - they don't use much fuel, but having to choose between keeping warm and having enough fuel to get to safety is not a choice I want to make.

Mechanical reliability & durability is extremely important - especially when traveling thru areas where there is usually nobody to help you if things break.

 

[Camelfilter]

Fuel range/capacity is very important. I don't plan to have to travel long distances to "bug out", but one never knows and I absolutely hate having to worry about running out of fuel. Stuff happens, refueling stations may close, have long waiting lines, implement rationing or simply run out of fuel with no replenishment in sight.

Sometimes long detours are necessary, and traffic jams can result in long waits with the engine running to stay warm (or to move a few feet while a stuck in traffic). Detours on back-country roads and/trails can easily double your fuel consumption and halve your range - my pickup gets 22 MPG (without the tall canopy) in "mixed" (city, mountain, highway) driving, but I plan on that being halved if I need to drive mountainous FSRs or trails...

Nice reminder for all!

Some folks may not realize the potential for vastly reduced fuel consumption. More so if having to drive 4 wheel for a time, worse yet 4 lo...

A survival situation may require 4 & 4 lo. So might be a good idea now in normalcy for inexperienced folks to safely see for themselves how their rigs do consumption wise.

 

[osprey]

I have put together hunt/fish adventure set up where I can go at the drop of a hat and camp. It is relatively spartan but warm and comfortable. It consists of a diesel ford pickup and a Project M FWC. Inside I have a kitchen box with all the necessary items, a 48qt 12v fridge/freezer and a 52 qt Orca cooler. The entire camper weighs 465# and with a normal loadout may add another 400 #'s or so. The over cab portion is very roomy to sleep comfortably and a diesel heater staves off the cold. I have a 140ah LiP04 batt and a 250W solar panel on the roof to keep everything powered up. The setup is compact and light enough to get into places a normal camper should not go. It also has a 700-800 mile range with the large diesel tank.I have camped out in this rig 10 or 12 nights in the 3 months I have had it, going on several camping, clamming and fishing adventures. Probably not everyones cup of tea but it works very well for me!

 

[The Heretic]

I have put together hunt/fish adventure set up where I can go at the drop of a hat and camp. It is relatively spartan but warm and comfortable. It consists of a diesel ford pickup and a Project M FWC. Inside I have a kitchen box with all the necessary items, a 48qt 12v fridge/freezer and a 52 qt Orca cooler. The entire camper weighs 465# and with a normal loadout may add another 400 #'s or so. The over cab portion is very roomy to sleep comfortably and a diesel heater staves off the cold. I have a 140ah LiP04 batt and a 250W solar panel on the roof to keep everything powered up. The setup is compact and light enough to get into places a normal camper should not go. It also has a 700-800 mile range with the large diesel tank.I have camped out in this rig 10 or 12 nights in the 3 months I have had it, going on several camping, clamming and fishing adventures. Probably not everyones cup of tea but it works very well for me!

View attachment 2082901

This is what I have now:


I would rather have a Hiatus or Oru Designs fold down camper shell, but they are not within my current budget.