Sleeping in the car

BBR said:
I've found it more comfortable to sit in front passenger seat, push it back and recline it. Slept like a log, until someone bashed on the window and shouted, I nearly had a heart attack.
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This is how I did it before I got too old and stiff in the joints to do it.
 
an1uk said:
My first car (a Skoda Favorit) you could remove the headrests from the front seats, push them all the way forwards and recline them all the way back and the top of the seat joined up with the rear seats.

I wonder if there's any more modern cars you can do the same with....?
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Sounds like the Honda CRV 2007-2012 model.
 
Asha said:
Expect to be woken up with a blazing torchlight in your face when the police approach your vehicle in the middle of the night to check it out.......it is a long time since I slept out overnight in a car, the last time being about 20 years ago in the Yorkshire Dales when I was abruptly awakened by the plod and asked 101 questions as to who, why what etc......I suspect in recent times those questions could be somewhat more numerous and more in depth!!
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Same happened to me, about 40 years ago in a forest near Stroud, trouble was I had only bought the van the day before which made it very awkward.
 
tonybassplayer said:
Last time I did this was over 30 years ago in the car park at Sun City in Boputhatswana after a Queen concert followed by 4 hours of roulette and yes, lost the lot :-(

The "Hotel Sierra", I remember it well. A 1.6L in Blue :)

The only other time was in the motorway services on the way home from the legendary late seventies gig when Led Zeppelin played Knebworth. I was shattered and my dads old Maxi was perfect for kipping in.

Footnote: No googling it - Who was the opening act that day ?
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Can't remember but i only hope it wasn't Chas and Dave I remember (unfortunately) they were there.... And Fairport Convention.... Remind me....
Those were the days... I climbed out of my bedroom window (as my father had forbidden me to go) to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend to go to the 1970 IOW festival slept in her boyfriends mini van all weekend. Come to think of it i didn't ache all over after that.
 
Yes it was Chas and Dave that opened the bill that day.

Only other band I remember was Todd Rundgrens Utopia

I was shattered and ready for home when Zeppelin came on but my friend was a fanatic. It was a very long day lol
 
I've had a few nights in my Passat. It's OK when you are exhausted. One night was at 2km in the pyreneese at -2 C.

Large SUV or Transporter are much better and would allow throwing in a mattress bare minimum. It is much better than camping in skimpy tent with all the wild animals and thieving hippies.
 
It's not just the temperature, it's the length of the night in winter. If you can arrange to arrive about 10 pm after a long journey with the heater on full blast the car will be warmer and the night will be shorter.

After about thirty years of sleeping in the back seat of a Morris Traveller, and since that several camper vans I've very rarely been woken up by the police. More likely is that you will discover that you are in a National Trust car park and some jobsworth has taken it upon himself to move you on. Seriously, the NT are the worst.

One evening I realised I was in a dogging carpark. I was on the point of moving on when what I believe was a vigilante gang came round about 10 pm, pulled up alongside my van, walked over and banged on the side of the van. I was terrified!

But you can't beat waking up on the spot on a gorgeous morning. Enjoy!

Don't forget to wear a warm hat.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
I've had a few nights in my Passat. It's OK when you are exhausted. One night was at 2km in the pyreneese at -2 C.

Large SUV or Transporter are much better and would allow throwing in a mattress bare minimum. It is much better than camping in skimpy tent with all the wild animals and thieving hippies.
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yes, I got attacked by a fox in the middle of the night in my tent. Good job I keep an anti jihadist/rapist/hillbilly/theiving scum bag hammer on me. Sleeping in the car wins over that grim experience every time.
 
SFTPhotography said:
yes, I got attacked by a fox in the middle of the night in my tent. Good job I keep an anti jihadist/rapist/hillbilly/theiving scum bag hammer on me. Sleeping in the car wins over that grim experience every time.
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It probably mistook you for a pound of sausages, Steve.......;)
 
an1uk said:
My first car (a Skoda Favorit) you could remove the headrests from the front seats, push them all the way forwards and recline them all the way back and the top of the seat joined up with the rear seats.

I wonder if there's any more modern cars you can do the same with....?
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My Rav4 (2004 model) does this. One of the things I look for in a car is being able to fully recline the driver's seat by pulling a lever rather than having to wind a wheel-thingy for ages.
 
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Do it all the time, have a Mazda 5 - with the rear seats down you can get about 6x4 ft flat area at the back.

I also own two Season 3 sleeping bags which I turn into a double sleeping bag. Works a treat.

I would say I sleep better in populated areas. You car seems to go unnoticed when surrounded by other cars.
 
One of the reasons i have a Citroen Berlingo van. Sleeping bag in the back for long nights awaiting sunrise or just having a sleep after a long day before driving home- cant beat it but it can be very cold at night as i never put any insulation in it when i panelled and carpeted it out.
 
Use your camping stove / kettle to heat water for a hot water bottle. Will certainly help the temps in the sleeping bag. Do it all the time whilst fishing.
Amazing how much better you feel when its -4 out.
 
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Great posts here . I'm like the Passat guy . Would also recommend a flask or two with hot water in it . Oh and some toilet roll
 
I have a Ford Cmax that I camp in with my 2 boys (aged 10&8) on occassion! we did a 3 day trip to Coniston last year! I take 2 of the rear seats out before we go, when we park up put the other back seat on front passenger and shove the front seats forward. I then have a 3 section MDF base I made which provides a completely flat base roll out some self inflating air mats and done! Word of advices I always sleep with windows rolled down and I have a tarp that I chuck over the car and peg down, just means no rain comes in and also we don't wake up with loads of condensation!
 
I'm not sure about other cars but I used to have a Honda CRV 3rd Gen and it had a nice feature where you could:

recline the rear seats back as far as possible

then move the rear seats all the way back

then move the front seat all the way forward

remove the front headrest

then recline the front seat and it would recline all the way back into the rear footwell area

You could then sit in the back seat and stretch out over the reclined front seat making a pretty good sleeping area.
 
I used to sleep in the van regularly for work. If I got a distance job on a Friday to somewhere that I fancied staying for the
weekend.

Still do it occasionally for early starts for photography, surfing or snowboarding.

The Police don't really bother. In most cases they just want to check you aren't drunk or dead! It's easier with the van I tend to park up where lorries are parked overnight either laybys or industrial estates. If anyone asks I felt too tired to drive and thought it was safer to have a sleep.

Thankfully my dog goes with me so he
barks his head off the second anyone comes near! There's nothing worse than getting woken up to someone hammering the window and shining a torch in your face!!
 
Ferj said:
Word of advices I always sleep with windows rolled down and I have a tarp that I chuck over the car and peg down, just means no rain comes in and also we don't wake up with loads of condensation!
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We upgraded our car sleeping arrangements to something a bit bigger and surprisingly, one of the best mods we've done is to add the wind deflectors over the front windows, this lets us keep the front windows open an inch or 2 overnight without rain getting in. That might mean you wouldn't have to worry about the tarp?

IMG_1459.jpg
 
Well I've decided my next car is going to be the Kia Sportage. Hired one while in Ireland and it's big enough to lie down in.
 
MrDrizz said:
Well I've decided my next car is going to be the Kia Sportage. Hired one while in Ireland and it's big enough to lie down in.
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I remember seeing a video about the Sportage which has always stuck in my mind, it was to do with the roof strength being apparently very poor and the pillars crush easily under its own weight should it roll. The VW they tested could take several times its own weight I think.

May have been an older Sportage model but perhaps worth looking into?
 
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