A small car as a substitute for a TTT

[artfd]

I've been following this forum for some years now, kicking in and also getting good ideas.
Up until very recently I had been doing all my camping / road trips in an F150 with a DIY wooden shell on the back, with wiring & conveniences inspired by the TTT idea. Last summer I really got it tricked out with a backup camera, racks to quickly rig & unrig awnings, but then went on no camping trips at all due to the gas prices.
I am currently rigging a 2012 Hyundai Elantra as a mini-me version of TTT. Long story about how I came to do that, will post it if anyone is interested.
What I have done:

Given up the idea of more than one passenger, which very rarely happens to me anyway

Removed and put into long term storage the rear seat and headrests

Fashioned a 1/2" plywood shelf to create a flat surface from front floor edge of the trunk to the back of the front seats - 6 feet 8 inches of space, almost 4 feet wide. I paid extra to get a full-size spare tire, which is completely concealed under the trunk floor.

Added a dedicated always-hot 12VDC line direct from the battery to the rear space for whatever I need, currently a 400W inverter, 2M ham radio and quad 12VDC outlets.

Salvaged a memory foam topper to create a 6' long 2' wide 3" thick base mattress beneath a 3" thick latex mattress -- feels pretty comfortable

Bought an extra large reflectix-type sun shade for the back window in addition to a regular one for the front

The rear window shelf is large & can temporarily hold many items while I sleep.

Fashioning some flexible mosquito screens for the side windows for ventilation

Still figuring out how to best screen the windows for privacy. The mattress makes it a much quieter vehicle. I carry a small tent for times when it enhances the trip. As it is, I'm good to go for test runs. I figure I will learn other considerations as I use the thing.
It would be possible to sleep 2 side by side, but the Elantra's interior is constricted a bit between the trunk and passenger space. Nearly all luggage would have to be put in the front seats in order to sleep in back. I have space for luggage & a small ice chest.
The mattress installed is 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. The perspective looking through the open trunk or rear doors makes it look smaller than it is.

[kirkman]

Cool! We need

[Richard A.]

RE: power ... especially the 400 watt inverter

Use it sparingly .. a 400 watt inverter at full draw is about 40 AMPS of 12v current. Your battery won't last long at that draw. Be prepared to start your engine to re-charge every so often (all depends on how much you have plugged into the inverter and how long you run it)

I use a digital battery voltage meter in my teardrop to monitor the voltage when I am not plugged into 'shore power'. 10.5 volts is the absolute MINIMUM I would run a battery down before re-charging ... and the higher the voltage (the shallower you discharge your battery) before you re-charge .. the LONGER your battery will last.

RE: storage space

You might consider getting a solid outside roof mounted box. Don't remember if you have a luggage rack to mount the box on. If not then you'll need to buy that as well .. OR .. mount that box on a VERY small trailer and tow it! They make small trailers that are something like 4 ft square that are perfect for such things.

[artfd]

I once took my sister on a cross country trip in my F150 with its shell - it had only one bunk space in back. The cab was extended & she used that back seat to sleep on, said it was quite comfortable with just a self-inflating camp mattress & a sleeping bag. Fortunately she is smaller than I & this worked out well.
Most nights on that trip I slept in the shell. For one night I pitched the tent & slept outside at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Most all our stuff was stored in plastic Rubbermaid tubs. At the campground I put them on top of the shell for maximum inside space. They were very easy to put up there & very easy to toss back into the shell or the cab when moving. I didn't care if it rained or not, the insides of the tubs kept dry. Sis slept in the shell - it had a lot of space when the plastic tubs were stored outside.
The Elantra can take 2 18-gal Rubbermaid Roughneck storage boxes behind the front seat. I may use 2 10-gal Roughnecks nesting right on top of these. Will put these boxes either in the front seat or on top of the car depending on where I am staying, should be quite a bit of space left in the back if I do that.
There is a fair amount of space under the plywood floor & behind the front seats that I haven't figured out what to do with yet. I will store stuff I use rarely there & may build a hatch or two in the plywood floor for ease of access, or just hinge the front lip of the plywood floor.
I don't think I've ever used the full capacity of the 400W inverter. I used to use a 200W inverter & had it burn out between Oklahoma City & Albuquerque, while it was powering my laptop & GPS capability. For several hours I did without my GPS until I bought another inverter. I imagine the 400W inverter should be much less likely to fail, that's the main reason I use one with that capacity. Since then I've also bought a 12VDC power supply for my laptop, which means the inverter gets much less use.
I just bought a TomTom 1435 GPS & think it will work far better for me for routine navigation than my laptop did.
I have run my F150's battery down at campgrounds twice (both places had electricity but the 12 V lines were "easier" to use). I now have a 400 Amp jump starter box with its own 12VDC socket and light. This is the same type of unit the rangers at the campgrounds use to start campers who have run down their batteries. Item is similar to this, http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/produ ... navAction= -- but has the 400 Amp rating. This will also power my laptop using its 12VDC adapter for many hours.
I intend to travel with an ice chest, but have found nothing commercially available that fits my space -- nothing is tall enough to take advantage of the space I do have. I have a 40 year old aluminum skinned Herter's "Hudson Bay" model ice chest (see here: http://images.craigslist.org/5W05U25F33 ... 5618b6.jpg) which is extremely tough and well insulated and doubles as a bench to sit on. It is very boxy with sharp corners - meaning no wasted space inside. It really puts everything available for sale today to shame. It's just a little too long to fit my space along with all my other stuff. I may just build one using foam panels protected by a skin of aluminum flashing. I won't be able to sit on it, but otherwise it should serve very much as well as the Herter's did.
My cooking capability will be fairly minimal, a hot plate, a one burner propane stove, a skillet & pot to boil water in, plus a few utensils. Not yet sure how to organize that.
I had to remove all of it to complete my wiring project, so will get some pics of the main pieces going into the Elantra in a day or so.

[artfd]

Photos of my work have been posted on Photobucket.

Go http://s1092.photobucket.com/albums/i40 ... ing%20mod/

[Richard A.]

Looks comfy.

I drive a Dodge Caravan .. and if I remove the second row seat I'm pretty sure there is enough room for me to sleep. My thought (IF I were going to do this) would to just put a standard army style cot (with an inflatable camp matress on top).

[artfd]

Between 1996 and 2002 I owned a Chrysler Town & Country minivan. I removed all the rear seats & used it as a camper for those years. It needed no modifications once the seats were out, since its floor was basically flat.
Years before that I used an Army cot in a tent, but quit the cot when I got foam mattresses that were far more comfortable and far less trouble to maintain.

[campmaster-k]

I like it

[Mukilteo]

I did the same thing with a $300.00 Hyundai Excel back when I was paying child support. No pictures, couldn't afford a camera.
I worked my way up to this.

Now I have my van.

[starleen2]

anyway you look at it - it's still cheaper than staying at a motel!

[artfd]

I'm actually working my way DOWN. My first "camper" was a 1975 Datsun long bed pickup with a custom shell on the back with a cot I could sleep on. Moved up in 1983 to a slide-on truck camper on a diesel F250. It could sleep 4 comfortably. Had a Chrysler Town & Country I camped out of between 1996 and 2002 when I wasn't using the big camper. From 2002-2010 I used a F150 with a DIY shell - tall enough in back I could sit erect on the cot, had 110VAC wiring, a Thetford, microwave, genny, and bike inside, among other things. Really had that down to a science. In 2006 went on a 6000 mile 6-week roadtrip to OK, NM, CO, WY, MT, ND, MN, WI and MI, my longest camping trip ever, a great deal of fun.
Didn't go anywhere in 2011 with $4 a gal gas and 12-16 mpg.
I had to rent an Elantra this winter when both my trucks needed repairs at the same time. I got 29 mpg driving around town, discovered I could lay down in the back, and that the seating for me as the driver was very good. I decided I would buy a 2012 version & customize it for minimalistic camping.
I am recycling most items I am using in it and have bought very little new. The only permanent change so far in the Elantra is drilling a hole in the rear passenger floorboard to run a 12VDC always-on power line.
I just bought a Curt Mfg. Co trailer hitch for the Elantra, will have to grind a couple of the frame holes a little different shape to accommodate this, and create some kind of trailer wiring. This is more for use around the house, but I wonder if taking a small trailer camping would improve the utility of the whole system - making the car's interior less likely to be packed to the gills.
This project is still in the design stage, and expect I will refine this depending on how it works out in practice. Still figuring out how to use all the Elantra's space to best advantage.


Today I am cutting a plywood shelf to fit a few inches above the right passenger seat. It will be supported by 4 wooden legs of various sizes.

I don't want anything resting on this seat to trigger the air bag sensor -- my dealership recommended against my doing anything to mess with the front passenger air bag system, up to the point of recommending against seat covers. My ancient Herter's aluminum cooler will fit on this shelf, but put no weight on the seat, and there will be a fair amount of space underneath and ahead of it.

[JohnnyG]

I've had similar thoughts. My tiny 96 civic hatchback I used to drive would allow two of us to sleep in it... only mod was to remove the rear seat and leave that at home... still had room for our backpacks at our heads. On another trip, three of us went backpacking to Wyoming and used my 03 Honda van with a simple bunk bed built to fit. Two slept on the floor and one slept on the bunk. Believe it or not but this car had between six and seven feet for us to lay in. Got anywhere from 30 to 46 mpg too.

[artfd]

I'm used to traveling 'heavy' with all manner of gear from computer scanners to hiking boots (my hiking boots are so large I almost need a special trailer just to haul them). I wonder how you got 3 people into a Honda. Have any pics of your rig fully occupied?

[artfd]

Created a wooden shelf over the front passenger seat to hold cooler - shelf is not in contact with seat & does not affect air bag system. Shelf is a mock-up made of whatever parts were around. Will likely be revised extensively if I ever get around to it.





If cooler were any higher, I wouldn't be able to see the right rearview mirror. Still figuring out where to put my ham radio mobile 2M transceiver. It would fit under the shelf but I can't see it there.

[pappaw]

You should look at the Honda Element, it's made for camping, and there's a tent that attaches to the back.