Who Needs a Hotel?!?!

[snicklas]

One thing to try for the curtains, they make curtain rods with magnets instead of the screws and hooks to use on metal house doors.......

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/st...KG-8gwScO0ZnFXawKRw3sasKmkQ65DQ7joaAt0G8P8HAQ

 

[jayro88]

Getting closer. Pulled one of the middle row captains chairs. Really opened it up inside and leaves seating for the 3 of us. I also finished cutting out the curtains. I tacked them up with some tape just to get an idea of how they work. I will be a better test tomorrow when the sun's out, but it definitely feels more private.

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[jayro88]

So after it got dark I went out to see how the blackout curtains work. I turned on both dome lights and a LED camping light that I have. I left the front passenger window uncovered for comparison. I also took half of one of the back door curtains off to show the contrast. As you can see, the curtains were not letting any light through

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I had also left the windows open so that it would cool off inside and I could test the heater. It was 45* out and probably 50-55* inside the van. I shut the windows and kicked the heater on high. In the amount of time it took me to mount the CO and Smoke alarm, probably 10-15 minutes, it got to the point where it was hot enough that it was uncomfortable. Not sure what the exact temp was, but I definitely felt like I was cooking.

 

[Knuckledragger]

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In the 2 or 3 times per year I go camping/hunting in the middle of no-f***ing-where, this is a great alternative to squatting. Thanks!

 

[KZF250]

^^I can't take credit...saw pics on the web.^^

 

[DOE-SST]

My extra top is a 2ft high fixed raised roof.

I'm not sure how the walls are constructed on your year van, but my 93 has an inner and outer wall with huge dead air spaces. Uninsulated, the van got quite cold in winter even after being heat soaked during a long drive with both heaters on full. I used 40+ cans of spray foam and chopped up sheet foam to insulated the walls and thick sponge foam in the door panels so I could later convert the doors for extra storage. It now takes very little heat to maintain 72 degrees in the sleeping area, which is separated from the driver's areas by a thick insulated curtain. I also have a sheet of thin aluminum painted black that covers the dash and acts as a passive solar heat collector.

If your curtains don't conform to the curvature of the side walls, light will leak out and make stealth camping problematic. Also, even one adult sleeping overnight in the cold will create enough condensation on the windshield, just from breathing, to tip off a cop. A simple plastic sheet to separate sleeping and driving areas works fine.

 

[jayro88]

So we got back last night from our weekend of urban van camping. Prior to adding the curtains, I had slept in the van a few times on trips and at the track. While it was nice to have the room, it still really felt like you were sleeping in a vehicle. With the curtains it was a different story. At the end of the weekend my middle boy put it best when he said "It was kinda weird driving around a parking lot looking for a place to sleep, but once we got setup with the curtains down the weirdness went away. It felt like I was hanging out in my room at home listening to music and watching movies".

As far as hanging the curtains, I didn't find any magnets locally that were strong enough for cheap. I went to the hardware store to try and figure out the best way to use velcro, but then I saw these adhesive hooks. I purchased them and a pack of safety pins at the Dollar store.

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I put the hooks at the corners of the windows with an extra 1 or 2 at the top of the big windows.

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Then I used the safety pins to hook the curtains to the window.

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Overall it worked pretty well. The hooks can be removed without and damage when I switch to snaps and the cost was $15 total. I will say that with the curtains hanging, they did let some light in around the edges, but it was very minimal and gave a lot of privacy. Adding more hooks would have held it tighter over the windows, but overall it served its purpose.

 

[jayro88]

Looking back on how to improve the setup, there are a few things.
1. Better/More organized way to store our gear. While we weren't sleeping would stack both mattresses on one bed and use the other one to put our luggage/supplies.

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While this wasn't too bad (actually better than it looks in the pic), next time I think I will spend some time looking for better storage solutions. Maybe just some stack able totes for all the loose items. When it was time to sleep we would move the bags to the front seats to clear the bed area.
2. Some kind of an exhaust fan system would be nice. For air flow and also for any cooking. Most of the cooking I did like this with the barn doors open.

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However, the weather didn't cooperate one evening and I ended up using the stove in the van. I did keep the barn doors open and use my camp fan to blow any smoke/fumes etc out the door.

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Overall it was pretty relaxing once we setup for the night. Spent the first night at a Wal-Mart and the second in the parking lot of the hotel the rest of the team stayed at. Got to hang out with some snacks and watch movies. I asked my boys how they liked it and they both said we should do it more often.

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[F350camper]

I love seeing unconventional solutions like this. Really cool setup!

 

[mbolton1990]

So awesome!!

That looks like a great setup you got going on. We bought a whole bunch of small magnets from eBay for dirt cheap that are real strong.. Wish I had the link,darn.