Most incongruous car camping rig...

Most incongruous car camping rig...

Author
Discussion

TVRBRZ

Original Poster:

269 posts

97 months

Yesterday (15:21)
quotequote all
So I'm guessing this will be a bit niche and will no doubt attract some derision, but I'm intending to go winter camping in my Evora.

I've three "rigs" with varying degrees of madness:

1. Tentipi hot tent with wood burning stove. The tent fits on the rear +2 seats and the stove fits in the boot with the camp beds and heavy/hard items. All soft stuff like sleeping bags goes on the +2 seats.

2. 4 Season mountain tent & 4 season mountaineering sleeping bag, mat etc. Fits easily. As above, this would be for campsite camping somewhere open all year.

3. Bivvy bag and 4 season sleeping bag for "stealth" Wild Camping beside the car.

So before I go off and do this, does anyone have any photos or experience doing something similar? Proper 4x4 Land Rover rigs with roof tents doesn't count. Anything 2wd, low slung and impractical is what I'm after. I did do this 30 yrs ago with a TVR but unfortunately do not have photos.

Anyone car camping with a Caterham wins!

alangla

5,220 posts

189 months

Yesterday (15:28)
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I don’t have a photo, but I’ve seen roof tents fitted to Aygo/107/C1s…

RedWhiteMonkey

7,303 posts

190 months

Yesterday (15:36)
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Spotted this on a campsite near Hamburg in August:


TVRBRZ

Original Poster:

269 posts

97 months

Yesterday (15:41)
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Yes! Home made roof tent on a Trabant! Love it!

Although I'm hoping to see faster machinery too. Perhaps perfection is the more fast/expensive/daft the car and the more basic/uncomfortable the camping rig....

A Ferrari and a bivvy bag....?

Edited by TVRBRZ on Tuesday 3rd December 15:44

RedWhiteMonkey

7,303 posts

190 months

Yesterday (15:42)
quotequote all
TVRBRZ said:
Yes! Home made roof tent on a Trabant! Love it!
Not actually homemade, these were a thing you could buy back in the GDR days.

There was a thunderstorm during the night, I don't imagine Trabant guy's stay was too pleasant.

Bill

54,339 posts

263 months

Yesterday (16:00)
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Two of us used to go away camping with climbing kit in my MK1 MR2. These days with lightweight kit you can be pretty comfy in any circumstances.

RGG

421 posts

25 months

Yesterday (17:13)
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Anything is possible.

Le Mans classic - 2023

I removed the door cards and found a tardis of space. A full 150mm deep x 600mm long x 200mm high. The doors are 300mm high fro sill to window glass.

Superdrug mens toiletry bags, 12 of them with almost everything compressed and labelled into them.

Flight underseat size bags fit under lower legs.

2 X Oex Backpacking tents.

Epic trip - would I do it again - probably but not for a while

rotate

TVRBRZ

Original Poster:

269 posts

97 months

Yesterday (17:22)
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Epic! I'm not sure anyone is going to top that!

Antony Moxey

8,871 posts

227 months

Yesterday (17:28)
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Well it’s not a Caterham but it’s close enough. This was a SW Tiger owners’ club weekend away in Cornwall, but we used to do this all the time at the various kit shows around the south of the UK


PRO5T

4,969 posts

33 months

Yesterday (17:57)
quotequote all
Yep, took the then girlfriend away for a weekend camping at Kipford in the mk3 MR2 Spyder. Had to travel up there with the roof up to utilise the parcel shelf but once there all the cubby holes held everything and we could bomb about roof down.

Clean knickers and toiletries in the glove box!

ChocolateFrog

28,820 posts

181 months

Yesterday (18:13)
quotequote all
I think I'd do a double take if I saw a woodburning stove being pulled out of an Evora at the campsite.

thumbup


TVRBRZ

Original Poster:

269 posts

97 months

Yesterday (18:42)
quotequote all
ChocolateFrog said:
I think I'd do a double take if I saw a woodburning stove being pulled out of an Evora at the campsite.

thumbup
A wood burner is only just older technology than the Toyota V6....

The Evora boot is so long and slim that the stove itself only takes up 3rd of the length. I've got extra lengths of flue and a bulky spark arrestor so those will eat up another 3rd of the boot. I suspect the +2 seats will need to carry almost everything else. Probably won't take the stainless steel kitchen sink and dutch oven that usually goes with the Tentipi rig...

Or I go minimalist with the bivvy bag:



Edited by TVRBRZ on Tuesday 3rd December 18:45

ChocolateFrog

28,820 posts

181 months

Yesterday (18:48)
quotequote all
TVRBRZ said:
ChocolateFrog said:
I think I'd do a double take if I saw a woodburning stove being pulled out of an Evora at the campsite.

thumbup
A wood burner is only just older technology than the Toyota V6....

The Evora boot is so long and slim that the stove itself only takes up 3rd of the length. I've got extra lengths of flue and a bulky spark arrestor so those will eat up another 3rd of the boot. I suspect the +2 seats will need to carry almost everything else. Probably won't take the stainless steel kitchen sink and dutch oven that usually goes with the Tentipi rig...
hehe

I used to work for the guy who first brought Tentipi stuff into the UK.

Quality kit, I used to borrow various models for the weekend. Would always get questions.

RGG

421 posts

25 months

Yesterday (18:53)
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TVRBRZ said:

A wood burner is only just older technology than the Toyota V6....

The Evora boot is so long and slim that the stove itself only takes up 3rd of the length. I've got extra lengths of flue and a bulky spark arrestor so those will eat up another 3rd of the boot. I suspect the +2 seats will need to carry almost everything else. Probably won't take the stainless steel kitchen sink and dutch oven that usually goes with the Tentipi rig...


What's a boot? smile

Gtom

1,657 posts

140 months

Yesterday (18:55)
quotequote all
Me and a mate did a road trip round Europe in a 900cc cinquecento. With the seats wound right down it was just about possible to sleep in the car.

I’m 5’11 and my mate is 6’2.

I don’t think the car would have hit 50mph if we had got one of them new trendy roof tents that a lot see to have now.

loskie

5,705 posts

128 months

Yesterday (18:59)
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OP. Why? Are you punishing yourself?

TVRBRZ

Original Poster:

269 posts

97 months

Yesterday (19:20)
quotequote all
ChocolateFrog said:
hehe

I used to work for the guy who first brought Tentipi stuff into the UK.

Quality kit, I used to borrow various models for the weekend. Would always get questions.
Respect. It's expensive stuff but it copes with West Coast Scotland all year round. My only grumble is headroom and at some point I'll upgrade to a Nortent Gamme polycotton dome. I bet the bloke you worked for now imports Nortent smile


wildoliver

9,007 posts

224 months

Yesterday (19:22)
quotequote all
RedWhiteMonkey said:
TVRBRZ said:
Yes! Home made roof tent on a Trabant! Love it!
Not actually homemade, these were a thing you could buy back in the GDR days.

There was a thunderstorm during the night, I don't imagine Trabant guy's stay was too pleasant.
He's a Trabant owner, as a masochist he was probably in heaven.

Dog Star

16,499 posts

176 months

Yesterday (19:26)
quotequote all
PRO5T said:
Yep, took the then girlfriend away for a weekend camping at Kipford in the mk3 MR2 Spyder. Had to travel up there with the roof up to utilise the parcel shelf but once there all the cubby holes held everything and we could bomb about roof down.

Clean knickers and toiletries in the glove box!
I used to go camping in my MR2 Roadster with Mrs DS quite often - all the way to Spain. We had a luggage rack that went in the back over the engine. We had loads of space and we are both 6’3”.

Also done the same round Spain in my SL500 - that actually would be easy if you kept the roof up, but required precise tesellation of the boot contents when repacking to have it down.

PRO5T

4,969 posts

33 months

Yesterday (22:01)
quotequote all
Dog Star said:
PRO5T said:
Yep, took the then girlfriend away for a weekend camping at Kipford in the mk3 MR2 Spyder. Had to travel up there with the roof up to utilise the parcel shelf but once there all the cubby holes held everything and we could bomb about roof down.

Clean knickers and toiletries in the glove box!
I used to go camping in my MR2 Roadster with Mrs DS quite often - all the way to Spain. We had a luggage rack that went in the back over the engine. We had loads of space and we are both 6’3”.

Also done the same round Spain in my SL500 - that actually would be easy if you kept the roof up, but required precise tesellation of the boot contents when repacking to have it down.
An MR2 Spyder to Spain, what a great road trip that would be. IIRC we had to have the hood up as my particular tent needed the space on the parcel shelf to sit across. But then, obviously once it was up we could bomb about with the roof down.

I never like those luggage racks on the MR2 (no offence) but I did investigate strap on bags such as you could get for other roadsters but I always figured heat ventilation would be a problem on the MR2.

In the end we traded up to something new and I regretted it for years to come. Great cars and great memories of daft things done in youth!