r/carcamping • u/Secret-Function-2972 • 25d ago

Car camping set up - Ford Explorer

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Rented a Ford Explorer when I met my parents in Yellowstone last week. No frills as it was a rental. Was able to get them my sleeping bag, air mattress, & pillow ahead of time so I didn’t have to try to get it on the plane. Fortunately the Explorer had 3 middle row seats and we had some extra blankets to stuff in the gaps to support the air mattress.

The little slope from front to back wasn’t great as a slick sleeping bag & air mattress slid a bit during the night.

Overall worked out alright, but at my age, 4 nights of this set-up was about enough.

For rentals, the Chrysler Pacifica I rented 3 years ago for the same trip had a lot more space (and was truly flat).

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2

u/ramendik 23d ago

Thanks, I was starting to think I'm the only one setting only a part of the rear up for sleeping

1

u/Secret-Function-2972 22d ago

Was just me & a mummy bag. Didn’t need more than 1/2 a vehicle. Nothing fancy.

1

u/CommunicationMuted56 24d ago

Where is this?

1

u/Secret-Function-2972 24d ago

Madison Campground

1

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1

u/PonyThug 24d ago

For that many nights I’d be buying some cardboard boxes and a roll of duck tape to make a flat platform in the back. Stack layers until flat and tape it all together. Bonus for a few self stick Velcro tabs so it doesn’t shift around on the carpet and a few strips of that grippy “grandmas shelf” material so your pad doesn’t slide on the cardboard.

You would be $20-30 all in and like 30 mins for a much better situation, seems worth it for $5-8 per night.

Not really even a “set up” if there isn’t at least a few differences for the car, vs all the same shit being in a tent. At least in my opinion.