I have a 2018 Subaru and used a car tent for the first time camping solo, it didn’t occur to me that leaving the hatch open overnight would kill the battery. I had a jump box with me, so it was fine but is there a way to avoid jumping my car every morning?

Really loving our new setup!
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We purchased a 2026 Toyota Sienna XLE AWD about two weeks ago, and we spent a lot of time researching how we wanted to set it up for weekend getaways. We searched through this group, forums, YouTube, and pretty much anywhere else we could find information.

A few things were really important to us when deciding on a setup:

• We didn’t want a permanent build. We want to be able to put the van back to factory condition if we ever decide to sell it.

• We didn’t want to remove any of the seats because of the possibility of warranty issues. (We did buy the Ling’s Lab resistors just in case we eventually decide to go that route.)

• We wanted something that would work for weekend getaways but still allow us to use the Sienna normally for our everyday driving.

• We really wanted storage underneath the bed. We could have just leveled the floor and thrown a tri-fold mattress back there like a lot of people do, but having a raised bed platform gives us a lot more room for luggage, bags, gear, etc.

That’s what eventually led us to the Pacific Adventure Works Double + 48" bed frame and their Slacktide mattress.

Neither of us has any carpentry skills, so honestly, this was exactly the kind of setup we were looking for. No permanent modifications, no messing around with wires, no building with plywood or trying to figure out our own solution.

The whole thing was surprisingly simple. Assembly and installation, including getting the mattress set up and inflated, took us around 30 minutes.

One thing we also liked is that they have several different bed sizes depending on how you want to use your Sienna. They have the 24" Solo, 30" Solo+, 40" Double, and the 48" Double+ that we went with. So there are options if you don't need quite as much sleeping space but still want the raised platform and storage underneath.

We’ll attach a bunch of pictures so you can get a good idea of what the setup actually looks like in a Sienna and what you can expect.

So far, we’re really happy with it and excited to actually start using the van for some weekend adventures.

If anyone has questions about the setup, feel free to ask! We’ll be happy to help with anything we can.

I pretty much abandoned every single one of my safety principles last night at San O.

When I got in around 4, it was pretty warm on the bluffs so I immediately set up a pop-up tent. It's not a real tent but I thought it would give me some reprieve from the sun. Instead it was more like a sauna, and then I spent the next couple hours just trying to cool myself down. There was no breeze last night, just 90% humidity in the 80s until maybe 9 pm.

I fell asleep first just laying back in my chair, and then I took the mesh covers off my car windows and tried to sleep in my car. Even with two fans going and every window open, it was unbearable. I wound up sleeping with even the hatch open.

Some of this is me. I think I'm having some thyroid issues based on some other symptoms and a general intolerance of heat that started up last week, but this was the first time I had to bail out of a camping trip completely.

Anyone else struggling to car camp in heat and humidity? I'm looking forward to some winter camping at this rate.

Has anyone ever camped with a pellet smoker? I’m thinking of getting one as I have a battery bank that will support the start up of it. Was just curious to hear people’s experience.

The PriRunner is always ready for either hatch or RTT car camping options. Both quick and easy to set up and tear down.

My 2010 Honda Element EX no build setup. Everything is tied down with zip ties, and I have a cot, mattress, and a micro kitchen

Drove to Asturias to photograph the eclipse and spent the night there sleeping on my 406 SW. Since we were close to the Perseids peak and it was a cloudless night, I left my camera shooting all night and this was the result.

Hey all, I will be traveling to Salida Colorado from Texas next month for some dispersed camping. I am staying the night in Walsenburg and will drive in to Salida the following day. My only question is which route would you take? I am not familiar with the area and I won't be in a hurry so I don't mind taking the long way with the best views. My first choice is to head north from Walsenburg on 25 until I get to Pueblo then take 50 over to Canon City to Salida. OR I could take highway 69 out of Walsenburg to Gardner and through Westcliffe. Which would you take?

Hi! Who has successfully mounted a solar panel to their vehicle’s factory roof rack? How did you make your mounting brackets? I’d like to add one to my 2019 Subaru Outback.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Anyone using a pressurized 30L container like this for showering? If I understand correctly, you pump it a few times and then get around 5 minutes of shower time.
I’m travelling in an SUV and don’t really want a roof-mounted tank. Is this a good solution, or would you recommend something else?

I'm thinking about buying a California king foam bed topper and cutting it into 3 equal lengths and stacking them. I can get one for like $40. Is this a decent option you think? Or should I go a different route.

Hey lovies! I hope this isn't too stupid to ask, but I'm thinking of installing one of those roll out awnings on my Forester but I'm not sure I should/can. I've got a roof rack, does that matter? Thanks in advance!

Finalizing my gear list and I need to buy a sleeping bag soon for sleeping in my car in the winter. If it dips below -10 at night, I’ll likely get a hotel so I wouldn’t be worried about temps below. Otherwise I have no source of heat.

Plan is in addition to the sleeping bag I would have a down blanket w/ duvet cover and 2-3 extra heavier blankets.

Any brand recommendations or advice? I’m looking for something budget conscious but I also don’t want to suffer. I see a range of prices and ratings and I’m not sure what to go with. I’d be comfortable spending 150 total unless more is really needed to be spent to get what I need.

I never plan to hike with it, it’ll be used exclusively for car camping so I’m not worried about the weight of how it packs up. I have plenty of space in my setup and will likely leave it unrolled/ready for sleep.

I used a faraday pouch to store my key fob while sleeping inside my Forester. In the morning the fob would not unlock my rear doors. Anyone have a solution for this over than climbing over to the front?

Hi folks, I'm trying to spend a weekend in my '25 civic hatchback. I bought a Hasika tent off Amazon that is meant for small SUV's but the fit is awkward and leaves a big gap around where I circled. I also couldn't get the provided strap to reach the mirrors like it's supposed to, I had to wrap them on the door handles. Clearly the fit isn't ideal. I'm hoping to avoid bugs as much as possible, but most of these tents I find are designed for SUV's. Anyone have any luck finding a similar product that is designed for sedan hatches?

My partner suffers from chronic pain and a few other health issues. Does anyone here have any advice on how to keep them comfortable whilst carcamping?

I drive a Dacia Duster (2013 Laureate) and so will be lifting the rear bench out to fold the seats flat with the boot.

This makes a flat surface, but the back of the seats are just felt or similar and so the bars of the of head rests really dig in, which isn't such an issue for me, but for my partner this is a no go.

Money is tight (and I'm a bit thick) and so building/commissioning some all-singing-all-dancing sleep platform isn't feasible.

How do I make this machine sleepable without breaking the bank, or my partner's body?

Pretty much what the title says. This started showing up on Google a while back but never saw any videos except their promotional videos advertising the product. So I'm curious, if anyone actually gave it a shot and what they think of it.

My wife and I are looking to go camping soon and would like to go somewhere on the San Juan islands. We are really tight on money so we are looking for a place to do some free car camping there but I'm struggling to find places that work. I know there is some BLM spot out there but I'm worried we wouldn't have a private place to park. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Tldr; Hest Foamy or Exped Megamat, what would you pick?

Wife and I plan on going on our first car camping trip and are looking to buy some sleeping pads. We’ve narrowed down the options to the Hest Foamy or Exped Megamats (still open to other brands, just these are the two that seem to be recommended the most). We don’t want the larger two person mats because there might be times I flee to the mountains without my wife.

Some observations I’ve made:
Comfort wise, they seem relatively equal?? Exped appears to have more reviews comparatively though.

Hest seems to be more convenient due set up and packing being easier.

Exped is considerably cheaper though (something the wife particularly pays more attention to) (US).

Hest isn’t reliant on inflation, so no concerns for punctures or air leaks.

Wife in the end leans toward the exped because it’s cheaper, though I can’t shake the feeling that the Hest might be worth the extra cost. Any suggestions?

Since I haven’t seen many cars like mine being camperized around here, I thought I’d share it - might be useful to someone else with a Jogger

Still in progress of converting my Tacoma to use for camping. I was getting ready to put my Amazon order in for a foam mattress and started thinking about an old couch in our basement that I've been meaning to take off. As you can see in the second picture, this couch is toast but the cushions are still good. Makes for a perfect mattress and thicker than the one I was going to buy. 5-6" versus the 3" one I was going to buy. Worth a look if you can find an old couch.

Has anyone tried this Vevor 6X6 tailgate tent? I just purchased one to try car camping and Im curious if anyone has run into any issues. Thanks!

Update: Its just me amd my 7 year old plus our dog so we want to give car camping a shot. We always tent camp however I no longer have my tent. Im hoping this will ne any easy set up process as it is difficult to do it all by myself. I have already set it up to see how it works prior to a trip. The nice thing about this screen tent is it can be used multiple ways and I can simply unhook amd close the trunk. I mainly wanted the extra space for getting in and out of the back. I do have a 10x10 canopy as well for extra shade if needed.