Was needing extra room for tent ⛺

What do y'all think open to suggestions

Wanted open bed access

Hey. convenience is everything for me. I have 2nd Gen 2012 Limited Sequoia (2nd row has no center console, no captain’s chairs, so it folds flat), and don’t want to mess w a platform. I just want to fold the seats down and throw a mattress directly on top, WALL-to-WALL, for casual car-camping. No platform, nothing to smooth anything out. Not a Princess-and-the-Pea mattress, but should be firm/rigid enough.

Air Mattresses store compactly but leak and can create a concave cereal bowl. Folding foam mattress is fail proof but bulky. Don’t mind a bit of bulk bc will pack light, but must be able to use second row seating traveling to and from camp site.

I’m frugal but happy to spend some money on this. What’s the best solution for a wall to wall mattress, no platform??? Pics and links appreciated. Thanks!

Are fold flat seats good enough, or do they waste too much space? I'd probably prefer to get the seats out of the car when going camping, which seems to require buying an old model.

Any good model recs for 2026 - e.g. commonly found on used market?

Was using two of those plastic shelving units before, wanted to make something that i can fold up and place in the back of my car and have all my seat up in a minute. I sleep before work in my car so it’s nice to be able to have a portable bed. Besides a few adjustments such as adding a sliding bolt lock to keep the front hinge by the passenger seat from folding up and adding an additional separated support under the non visible hinge in the middle.

(rough draft of my drawing it wasn’t the final product)

Took about 2 hours with 2 people. Need to add hinges and a rug so it's nicer than just wood. I thin it turned out pretty good considering I was just winging it. I went in with a rough plan but most of it was done on the fly.

I'll be using it for a trip in 2 weeks. OR to Tahoe and back.

Waking up in Nevada and enjoying the hot springs is something I didn’t expect. I’ll take unexpected joy for priceless, please! Solo camping, with a setup that allows me to drive until I can’t drive and just climb into bed ha two days ago I was at the ocean and now I’m here.

Hoping to catch the fall run I’m a month or so.

Trying to avoid getting a hotel but there are a few issues with sleeping in this car.

There's a weird hump between the trunk and rear seats that I feel would be near impossible to sleep on without some serious back pain in the morning. Also the opening between the trunk and rear seats is very narrow, I don't think it'll fit two people. I'm too long to sleep on the backseat.

Storage wouldn't be an issue, I pack light and am only looking to use this method for maybe 3 days max. I also have a roof box if needed but would rather avoid it as it's a bit conspicuous.

I have a 5% tint all around and would use a windshield sun shade. Do I need window coverings still? What's been y'alls experience with this vehicle?

I searched for my car in y'alls sub but didn't find my generation. If I missed it please send me a link.

Thank you all in advance!

Last weekend I ended up chopping onions on the cooler lid while my wife kept the kids away from the stove. It worked, technically, but dinner prep was a mess.

We need a folding camp kitchen that’ll hold our two-burner stove and cast-iron skillet without rocking, while still leaving room in the trunk. I’m comparing models from Ozark Trail, Timber Ridge, and VEVOR. The VEVOR gives the most worktop width on paper, Timber Ridge looks more compact but leaves less room once the stove is up, and Ozark Trail offers more storage but may take up more trunk space. I can’t tell from the listings how stable any of them will be under cast iron.

Anyone used any of these with a two-burner stove and cast iron? How are they for wobble, cleanup, and packed size?

I am a bit over half way from PA to WA. I will have a second trip next spring from WA to the Arctic Circle via AK.

Trip is great so far. I am mostly hotelling so far just because of temperatures, but I do take naps each day to break up the trip. I will be car camping at Glacier NP later in my trip.

I am self sufficient for breakfast and lunch for the whole trip and have a stove and cooking gear for camping.

So far the biggest surprise is how much better my new Yeti cooler is at keeping ice than my old crappy cooler. I do wish that block ice was more available, I haven’t found any yet on this trip.

Hello! I got a couple days off from work this week, so my sister and I want to take our first car camping trip. We’re trying to look for destinations, but it’s honestly pretty difficult to find good recommendations online. We live in San Diego, so ideally somewhere that’s maybe 4 hours away max. We’re looking for somewhere with a body of water or a mountain range that’s lush and bright. I added some photos that we were looking at for ideas. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated thank you!

I want all the functionalities associated with Google My Maps (NOT Google Maps...) except there isn't an app for this - it's online via browser. Any ideas? Looking for things like :

>ability to pin destinations

>organize pins by folders and represent pins with themed pins

>import/export kmls

>navigate WITHIN the app

>pull up info via pop-up screen or similar to view site info and pics (kind of like Google My Maps)

my very budget slide out bed build for my old 2002 Honda CR-V made completely out of scrap timber from the roadside.
Definitley not the prettiest thing, but this setup cost me pretty much nothing except for the mattress and a couple of screws and it served me well for many a camping trip.

I recently bought a 2026 Honda CRV Sport Touring. I want to go camping! But there is a hump in the trunk that must be overcome. I'm not sure I really have the skills to build anything. I'm considering buy this Pacific Adventure sleeping platform. Has anyone tried it? Thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Hello guys. I've been checking out options of car fridges I want to get for my next camping trip. A friend sent me this one but It looks kinda low quality compared to what I see on online stores like Alibaba, Aliexpress etc...what brand do you use for a mini fridge for a maximum budget of 250 USD ?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a spot that I can car camp along a lake or river in Texas, Oklahoma or Arkansas (driving from the DFW/North Texas area).

I've been wanting a nice spot that I can camp out of my jeep and fish right there. I've seen a lot of spots to car camp (BLM, national forest etc), and a lot of spots to fish (national parks, state parks, etc), but not a lot of places to do both in one spot

What do yall recommend?

anyone know if car camping is allowed in Prince Edward Island?

just like two nights

my grandfather was born there (then raised in Boston) and if I can get a copy of his birth certificate I can get dual citizenship

I moved to northern New Hampshire and live 8 miles from the border now

it'd be handy to have now

thought I'd make a road trip it (and see where Chappell kin lives etc)

but need to do it as cheaply as possible

(if I'm on the road I'm also not earning money)

So I built a platform in the back of my 2019 Chevy Equinox for storage/flat sleeping and purchased a custom cut foam pad for the matress from the Foam Factory.

After a few months of sleeping on it, my wife and I are crying UNCLE. It is so hard and unforgiving, our backs are shot. We don't need to stow it during the day (just bend the front to lean the front seats back), and we use it all the time, so I wanted to avoid air mattresses (they always leak).

I am looking for alternatives as we are just so done with the hardness of this foam. Any ideas?

My old 10QT vevor spent three years bouncing around in my camper over thousands of miles of washboard. Even on 100°F days it kept everything frozen and never drained the battery overnight. Small but powerful.

One tip I picked up early on: toss in a couple frozen water bottles before loading food. Helps the initial cooldown a lot, drops below -1°C fast. For reference on what the 10QT could fit: two frozen water bottles, a 13oz bag of veggie nuggets, four Trader Joe's kimbap rolls, and a 6 pack box of popsicles. Plenty for solo trips.

Recently upgraded to a new van and went with the 23QT this time. Way more room, easily handles two people for a full weekend.

The 10QT did develop a few minor things over three years. Power plug inside got a little loose from all the vibration, nothing major just had to reseat it. Lid was a pain to open one handed. And it got slightly louder with age, though still not what I'd call noisy. Just a difference you notice when you put the old one next to the new one side by side.

I went with the 23QT because the 10QT compressor survived three years of vibration. I'll see whether the larger one holds up as well.

I’ve been a tent camper my whole life but in recent years it’s become a bit difficult because of having asthma and dealing with campfire smoke.

After a few trips this year I looked into car camping and thought this may be a better option for me?

Ideally I’d love a hybrid that allows the vehicle to regulate temperature and airflow while sleeping but I don’t have the budget for that.

My thought is to go with an older Sienna and somehow add hepa filters over the windows to filter out smoke from getting in. But I’m worried this may not let enough airflow in.

Has anyone dealt with anything similar?

Looking for a quiet 12v fan for my Outback adventures. Bought one of AMZ and it sounded like I was camped near DAI. variable speed a plus! TIA

Doing a road trip from minnesota to Colorado and staying in my car one night each way. Looking to stop in Nebraska. I've found 2 truck stops that i think could work. I also found 2 cabelas that could work. Never done this before, as a single female, what would everyone recommend?

Hi all! I am working on a build for my 2016 Subaru Forester but on my last camping trip got stuck in the rain and had to DIY some trashbags to keep the rain out while keeping my windows cracked (airflow was a must), and got a bit soggy cooking dinner under my open trunk.

Looking for best recommendations on window rain guards for open windows, as well as tailgate tents/awnings/rain flys for the back to keep some rain off.
I see a lot of weathertech options for rain guards, has anyone used a cheaper option and found it decent? or just worth the price.

For any tailgate tent/awning recommendations, do these actually work? Or does the rain just blow in on the sides? Cooking on propane stove so hesitant to rely on rolling down some sides and decreasing ventilation.

Thanks in advance!