either that or rent an RV.
This is really off-topic but is there a creative way you could beg/borrow/steal a vehicle just for your camping trips?
One of my regular customers is a family obsessed with fuel economy and easy to maintain vehicles. He drives an aging Metro and she drives an Escort Wagon. But the Escort is no longer viable for hauling the family with growing teens, canoe, tent, and associated camping gear. But the neighborās F250 is. So in exchange for doing yearly tune-up and maintenance on the truck, the family gets to borrow it for a couple of weeks a year for camping trips.
This is really off-topic but is there a creative way you could beg/borrow/steal a vehicle just for your camping trips?
Thatās about the only way you can get one (at least around here). In the past I tried renting oneā¦NO WAY NO HOW. There are a couple places that have pickups that are MORE then powerful enough to tow a trailerā¦but youāre NOT allowed to tow anything with them. U-Haul MIGHT rent you oneā¦but the rental car companies shy away from renting a tow vehicle.
I once went cross country in my 1975 Civic with a pup tent stuffed in the back.
6 weeks and 6300 miles. Car never let me down.
Some nights I pulled in a rest stop, put the seat all the way down and slept in the car.
I too have done my fair share of sleeping in my Civic, usually on a long trip by myself, sometimes parked at a rest area next to the security officerās car and sometimes at a truck stop. However, the only time Iāve gone tent camping as an adult was on a motorcycle.
My paternal grandmother, who as a girl could completely disassemble and reassemble Model T and Model A Fords, converted a full-sized van into her own custom RV. She built wood cabinets with beds on top of them, one of which folded into a couch, and a makeshift sink for washing dishes. The sink and a large cooler blocked the sliding door, so everyone had to climb in and out through the front doors.
I think a nice tent and air mattress to folding cot is about the only option. Maybe even a top carrier if you have to. I think the car will have a hard enough time pulling itself over the mountains let alone anything else. And I sure wouldnāt let anyone use any of my vehicles to pull anything around the mountains.
Hi allā¦thanks for the ideas. Back in '99-'01 I had a van with a bed in the back and put in book shelves, a small cabinet, had a porta-potty, camp stove and small heaterā¦even took some plants with me and had pictures on the walls. It was totally my home. I traveled and lived in it for nearly two yearsā¦one of those years was spent in Alaska (but I had to get a room there for the winter). I was never happierā¦it was a phenomenal experience.
While Iād LOVE to do something like that again, several things have changed. Before, I was only renting a room in a friendās house - so wasnāt leaving a home behind. Now I have a house and cats. Though not young when I did the previous trip, Iām considerably older now but, the big restraint is $$$$$. I donāt have a lot. If I sell my Honda and buy a van, then Iām stuck with a vehicle much larger than I want when I return. If I could find an older, small truck, I would keep that as my āregularā vehicle when I return. But I donāt know if I could afford a slide-in camper for the truck.
Iām determined to make this tripā¦I just donāt know how. I do appreciate your ideas and will continue to āthink on itā in the coming months.
One option would be to see if there are state parks with cabins to rent where youāre going. Texas state parks have some. Cheaper than a hotel, better than a tent.
State parks can be great places to camp in a tent as well, especially on a tight budget. I should warn you though to not make reservations unless youāre going on a holiday weekend. At many state parks, you canāt change or cancel your reservation.
I just completed a 6897 mile trip to 13 National Parks from the Arch in SL to the sequoias in CA as well as the Crazy Horse memorial in SD. The Crazy Horse Memorial is a private park, not part of the National Park service. BTW, if you are over 62, get a Senior Pass, it costs $10 and it gets you and a friend into all the National Parks free.
Anyway, did the trip in my 2002 Saturn with 257k miles on it at the start of the trip (over 80k on the tires). Because of the heat wave, my son and I stayed in motels for most of the trip, we had planned on camping in the car. Two years ago I made a similar trip alone in the Saturn, but it was in late spring and I did sleep in the car all the way at WalMart parking lots or in National Park service campgrounds. I just canāt sleep in 100 degree weather anymore without AC.
I donāt take my cats with me though (10 at last count, all rescue cats, I get them fixed and rabies shots and turn them back outside and feed them daily). My wife stayed home and took care of them, she does not like to travel anymore.
If you choose to go in the Civic, stop in a Walmart and pick up the big Rand McNally atlas. It has pages that list all the Walmart locations across the US and for those that are within 2 miles of an interstate, they list the exit number. Many RVāers stay in those parking lots, a little RV park forms up every night. Walmart is OK with this and with their cameras and people working all night, they are more secure than a rest area. Those Walmarts are open all night so you have access to rest rooms and you can buy food items as needed for the trip. I spent less than $1000 on that earlier trip that was almost 5000 miles in 14 days.
@keith Wow, that was quite a trip. I havenāt been out that way for quite a while and was thinking it might be fun again. Last time though I didnāt fare too well in the high altitudes.
I'm determined to make this trip....I just don't know how.
Why not just throw a tent in the trunk?
Iāll go a little off-topic here
Iām glad to hear that you rescued those cats
As for myself, I donāt exactly have a rescue cat. My cat was born at work (cat colony) and I took her home when she was 4 weeks old, because she may not have survived. It was more expensive than getting a cat from a shelter. When you get a shelter cat, the shelter subsidizes some of the costs.
I got no such break.
@keith, I went by Crazy Horse a couple weeks ago on a 5300 mile road trip.
We got there too early and it was fogged in, a day behind schedule so we couldnāt hang around.
The only thing Iād like to add to @Keithās advice is that when you camp in a Walmart parking lot, you should make sure the manager is okay with it and make sure the local ordinances donāt forbid it. When a local ordinance forbids camping in a Walmart parking lot, there will be signs that read, āno overnight parking.ā Sometimes people camp there overnight anyway, but I donāt recommend it.
@kieth
Amazing and well thought out. This is one great example where a smart phone would be a great investment too IMHO. Keeping in touch with loved ones ( and others ) is a must.
Whitey, It is Walmartās corporate policy to allow RVāers to park in their lots overnight, so I would not worry about any local manager. That is why they sell a special version of the Rand McNally atlas. Canāt speak to local ordinances, but never saw any of those signs.
dagosa, any old cell phone works, I prefer the dumb kind myself.
BTW, while at the Crazy Horse Memorial, I spotted this in the parking lot. Its a 63 split window with FI. Almost wet my pants.
Yeah, I know about Walmartās policy, but itās still polite to ask for permission and this is a good way to make sure the local ordinances donāt forbid it. The RVing guides Iāve read say you should ask for permission just to be sure.
I only stayed at the ones indicated in the atlas with the off ramp information. It might be hard to find the manager at 11pm.
db4690, I didnāt get any shelter breaks either, the cats were simply dumped out here. It used to be dogs, I had a lot of rescue/abandoned dogs for awhile, but the county has an excellent program for dog rescue now, but nothing for cats. I have paid out of pocket for shots and neuter/spay for at least 20 cats so far.