41 new of 46 responses total.
Of course, a lot of people do buy a car because they like the image it projects. In one extreme example I just read about, a guy who owned a '91 Volvo 240 along with a couple other cars chose to park the 240 at a nearby Wal Mart, because he didn't like the way it looked in his driveway.
The 1987 Dodge was not bought by Jim, it was given to him by a friend, as was the 1986 car (Toyota?) that is waiting to replace it when the exhaust system can no longer be patched. Jim fixed plumbing and chimneys for both donors. But he is somewhat selective about what he lets people give him.
First I heard of walmart parking lots cancelling out the "carma" of Volvos. But I suppose it makes sense.
There are certainly people for whom image influences their car choices. I know that rcurl isnt such a person and yet, I think you can still tell a lot about a person based on what kind of car they choose to drive. It isnt always right of course but I bet it is a lot of the time. Anyhow, it is just interesting. The whole marketing of cars thing.
(In fact, the image of the car to me does influence my car choice, but not its image to others.)
Fair enough.
SUVs scream "soccer mom" to me. So do minivans.
To me, SUV's scream "free lodging", particularly when you consider the often high cost of staying in hotels and ryokan in certain areas of Japan. It's true I don't need my Toyota "Surf" (called 4-runner in the US) to go off-roading, but it has proven quite handy for hauling our bikes and doubling as a mobile hotel when we road trip. Heh. We even put a (cheap) form of tatami in the back. Very comfortable.
We carry our camping gear on our bikes when we road trip. It leads to some unexpected invitations for free campsites in yards, often including breakfast. Anyone ever offer SUVs free parking overnight so they can sleep there? On our last two bike trips totalling 3 weeks, we had planned out most of it to stay with friends, but also stayed with a carpenter when we got stuck in a heavy storm and waited it out at a lumberyard, stayed with the owner of a museum in Dundee when it got dark and we asked about a park, stayed with a total stranger who yelled at us from his porch to ask if he had a place to camp, with a neighbor of his; next trip we camped in two orchards and with the mother of someone training two young steers to pull something down the middle of the road. The SUV would most likely have scared them away. You can also put bikes on trains, probably a lot cheaper than you can put cars on trains.
Re #13: I have to admit that I'd never thought of them that way.
The "cheap lodging" thing is one reason why my next car will probably be a station wagon. I figure I can put the seat down and put a futon in the back and then save myself a bunch of money on hotel rooms if I drive to California or something.
Station wagons and vans are both even better than SUVs for that. Most SUVs I've seen were surprisingly small inside.
I used to have a little Nissan pickup with a cap, and I'd camp in the back of it on occasion. It even had screens on the cap windows.
I car-camped in my station wagons for many years. I built a platform in the back with panels that lifted up to access storage underneath. I used just a foam pad and sleeping bag. Also had curtains on the windows.....
I like the idea of a panel that would allow storage underneath. Hmmm. Well, when I eventually get a station wagon, I will have to look into that.
In case it helps - I welded up a 1/2" angle-iron framework that fitted the full back and used 1/2" plywood panels that could be lifted out. You just don't want to sit up suddenly from sleep.
Hmmm. Well I wont be welding up any framework ;)
You could probably make something similar out of wood, if the extra weight isn't a problem. My wagon already has a lockable storage compartment under the load floor, but I doubt anyone makes them like that anymore. If you won't have any passengers, you can gain more storage space by taking out the passenger seat and leaving it at home. This is an old VW dune buggy trick. On most cars with bucket seats, taking one out only requires removing a few bolts. (On VWs it was even easier -- they just slid off the tracks.)
We slept in a Jeep once. How do you ventilate and keep out mosquitoes.
You *could* cover the windows with mosquito netting, although I didn't. This was a while ago, mostly out west, where there were few mosquitos and repellent took care of them.
I have seen screens that can be put in car windows. Or rather I have seen grates that are designed to allow a person to leave a dog in the car with the windows down. It would be pretty easy to put some screening on those things.
You could glue that magnetic strip stuff you can buy at craft stores to some screening cut to the right shape.
It seems easier to tent. Jim once made a car tent to fit over the back of a hatchback car.
It depends on where you plan on sleeping. If you'll be staying at campgrounds, a tent is fine. If you're going to be sleeping in truck stops and highway rest areas, you can't pitch a tent and you need the extra security of a hard-sided vehicle.
I can't sleep in a truck stop or highway rest area, they are much too noisy. How secure is a hard-sided vehicle with the windows open for ventilation?
Depends on how far they're open, naturally.
You need very little ventilation at night. If it's freezing out, the windows might ice up a little from your breath, but no harm in that. (I crossed the country once in February in my wagon-bed. I stayed mostly in State parks (not many people were camping in February!). The cat got used to it and would go out the window to do what cats do and then would return and climb into my sleeping bag with me.)
Try sleeping in a closed car in August and you might think you need more ventilation. Even a screened tent gets pretty hot and moist inside. A screened tent in a snowstorm was more comfortable once the wind picked up and dried things out a bit. People exhale moisture. It condenses on cold surfaces and then drips on the sleeping bag and if it is down, the bag no longer insulates.
Yeah. I just want something so that I can sleep in rest areas. When I go on road trips, I like to drive until I am tired, pull over to sleep for a while and then get up and start driving again. Sleeping in rest areas is cheap and also would save me the hassle of trying to find a hotel that allows dogs.
Re #33:that's why leaving a couple of windows open a crack is useful. But even August nights are usually cool. Condensation is not a problem in a car, if the roof liner doesn't have places from which moisture can drip. (However there was one night in Death Valley when it was too hot to sleep in the car, so I slept outside. This turned out to be interesting as the desert floor was crawling with insects, although none of the biting variety.)
Most states don't want you to sleep in rest areas -- probably for various reasons like pressure from the motel industry, concern about drug dealers, the homeless, and other "undesirables", etc. Basically, this means you can't stay the night, and you can't set up a tent or otherwise make yourself at home. I don't know of any state that forbids getting a "nap" - the simplest solution I've found is to park away from the busy part, put the front seat all the way down, and use a blanket, pillow, etc., to make myself a bit more comfortable. It should in theory be possible to sleep 1 hour and drive 2 hours indefinitely, albeit not much fun. People on motorcycles have a few more options, mostly due to the motorcycle being smaller and easier to hide, but also because of the clothing and such. For instance, anything that's good at 70 mph is generally also going to keep you warm while you sleep under the far back picnic table, and most bugs can't bite through it either. The motorcycle itself can be rolled off the pavement and out of sight. The opposite extreme seems to be motorhomes. There's a whole culture of people who've retired, sold their house, bought a motorhome, and live in it year around, up north in the summer, down south in the winter.
Bicycles are even easier to hide and they get a lot more sympathy, except if you are too close to a big city. If you are in a car, people will tell you to go to the nearest state park, only 30 minutes away by car but three hours by bike. There are less bugs on a picnic table than under it usually. One time we tied our tent to the legs of picnic tables when it was pouring rain and we were under a picnic shelter with a cement floor that would not easily take even steel stakes. Unfortunately the local men's club that built the place extended the floor out beyond the roof. And did not slope it outwards. Now we have acquired something that does not need staking.
Re resp:36: This varies a lot from state to state. I'm not sure where you can find out whether it's legal if it's not posted. It's not always safe, either -- the scum of the earth travels the Interstates. A station wagon, at least, has the benefit of not looking blatently like a camping vehicle.
The local law enforcement people are almost certain to be up on the state rules, and are more likely to be friendly if you ask up front. Ohio and Pennsylvania have lots of rules which they post very visibly - but of course that varies by state as well. The local tourism people are another possible resource - although they're likely to be friendly, they may not be as up on local rules, and they may be unduly influenced by local motel interests. They'll probably know about state parks and such however.
We got permission from the local police once to sleep in a city park in a small town in IL, and they even stopped by to check we were okay and that the local kids were not bothering us. In small towns in the west city parks invite people to camp in them and even supply free electricity. Anything to bring in a few tourists. One time we were offered free showers at the fire station, and the local eating establishment offered to leave their bathroom door unlocked all night. That is the town where we discovered in teh morning that what looked like a downtown park was a John Deere sales lot.
I have slept in rest areas a lot. Even when they say "no overnight parking" I will pull in and park overnight while I sleep in the car. I always figure that if I get caught, the only thing the cops are likely to do is ask me move on. I have never been asked to move on. I just put the seat all the way back and get some shut eye. It sucks though because it isnt very comfortable. A station wagon would be very comfortable with a futon in it or something and maybe some curtains for the windows for privacy.
Some time ago on a caving trip into upstate New York we looked for a place to camp late on Saturday and chose what seemed like a small-town park. We woke up Sunday morning on a church front yard.
People who do "stealth camping" in vans have remarked that church lots are often good places to sleep. If you can figure out where the parsonage is, ask permission first. Wal-Marts also allow overnight parking except in areas where it's prohibited by law, but you'll need a mask or good curtains to get any sleep under those parking lot lights. Places to stay away from include schools, police stations, and upscale residential areas.
Unused fair grounds are good for camping. One time we tented in a horse stall with a roof, in the rain. Made it a lot easier to put up the tent.
A rest area nestled between 2 trucks is very nice. I drive a rusty 1987 Toyota Tercel. God only knows what that says about me. My sister has joked that I could leave it running in downtown Cleveland with a 20 on the dash and all I'd get would be a note saying "no thanks." I'm thinking of starting a car club. The Rusty Japanese Car Society. It has to qualify by having at least 100,000 miles on it. 30% of the car must be rusty. It must be Japanese. I'm thinking of including VW bugs since I saw a '56 bug with tons of rust on it, but it started right up. Mine starts in 40 below weather. It also can go from Zanesville to Toledo on one tank. Of course I was on fumes when I got here. I'm inspired by Queen Elizabeth. She drives a 71 something. She intends to drive it until it dies. The Queen is a truck mechanic. She did it during WWII. That car is really gonna run forever.
Our Toyota is 1986. Jim worked on the rust.
You have several choices: