Camping in an SUV

[XelaM]

Ok, I know this sounds a bit weird, but we don't own a caravan as we don't really go camping, but I would love to try camping for a long/short weekend and I have seen online that people do manage to camp in their SUVs. We have a Toyota RAV4 and could definitely fit some kind of a mattress inside the boot/back seats. But is do any caravan sites in the UK allow camping in a car/SUV? Would it be totally embarrassing and would we be asked to leave? Has anyone done this and could recommend anywhere to ho where we wouldn't be looked like as total weirdos? 👀 It's only me, my 13-year-old and our dog.

Apologies for all the typos!

I don’t know, but hope someone can provide the information.

We have a Range Rover, and I do quite like the idea of putting a proper double mattress in the back and using it to sleep in rather than a tent.

I was thinking of doing it for a festival.

I don’t think a campsite could ban you for sleeping in your car - a camper van is just a roomy car after all. And there are plenty of people who retreat to their cars in cases of tent failure!

…and I’ve seen people sleeping in, or on top of Land Rovers.

We've done that. My sister once forgot her tent so slept on a matter in the back of our SUV and I see Land Rover owners sleeping in theirs all the time at camp sites

My brother sleeps in his kangoo, including on caravan club sites, seems to be accepted. You need ventilation though or it gets full of condensation and uncomfortable. He has a drive up awning thing so the car sort of opens into the awning tent bit, also handy for keeping stuff in but pretty expensive I think.

Thank you so much! I didn't know it was an acceptable thing to do at camp sites. Can anyone recommend a good camp site for total camping beginners who have no clue. We're in London, but willing to go anywhere within the UK.

Strictly speak a campsite license doesn't allow sleeping in cars. Those of us who own microcampers based on Citeron Berlingo's etc are used to having to prove that it has everything needed to be counted as a campervan not a car. From memory this is a bed, seating, cooking method, lighting.

But give the site a phone beforehand and see what they say.

DH often sleeps in the back of the SUV, I think he parks up rather than a camp site though, he bought a folding mattress from Amazon for this and made some window blinds for all the windows, he also has a cheap toilet from Go Outdoors and some bags just in case😂

I wish I could remember which one my friend and I used, but somewhere around Tonbridge / Tunbridge Wells we found a site with fire pits, a shop, and a bar that we used to “test” our motorbike camping setup.

In the end we never actually did the “proper” trip, as heading down after work in the city on a Friday and having a fire, cooking sausages, but getting home late morning on a Saturday was more fun.

For a campsite you would be best making enquiries with sites as to what they would permit, as mentioned above sleeping in cars is often disallowed.
Though you may or may not manage to get away with it

One of my specifications on car shopping for my current one was the option to be able to fold down seats to sleep in with a mattress, roll mat etc and ended up with an SMax - but haven’t needed to.
My intentions would be when in a field at an event/festival and I would be in a bit of a ‘compound area’ rather than general camping areas

You would want some form of window shades, either the internal stick on ones (which will have gaps, or there are car door shades that slip on over the door)

If you aren’t tall then horizontal sleeping is a possibility across on the back seat or with some inflatable car seat mattress designs
Ive attempted to sleep cross ways once with a few of us due to space, it was an uncomfortable mess

If you are sleeping in a car, then breathing preferably needs a window partially open
Check your cars manual for the alarm settings. Mine has a setting that when turning off the engine I get a message to set the standard alarm or to disable the motion sensor - disabling the sensor allows me to lock the car and not set the alarm off

I have a basic back door tent, which allows the hatchback to be open and a ‘half tent’ over the back, this could be a compromise …. I personally wouldn’t sleep in it, but use it as a temporary shelter. Then take it down

We have a Toyota Alphard (a Japanese import), ait comes with tinted windows at the rear, curtains and the middle and back seats (it seats 7) lay flat to make a double bed. With a mattress topper it is comfortable enough and battery operated fairy lights give me enough light to read by. We then have a drive away awning which we use for cooking, toilet and wardrobe. This gives us the best of both worlds - a normal vehicle for day to day but warmer, comfier camping that using airbeds.

We have an Xtrail and DH's mattress is a Millard one from Amazon, it's 190 cm long and about 75 cm wide and just fits with the passenger seat shoved right forward, he got a fold up one and a bag as it is easier to store in the house when not in use. Two singles are probably better than a double as less cumbersome. A roll mat might not be thick enough because of seat joins where they fold down, depends on car

DH is looking to change his car this year so following thread as he is looking for something a bit bigger than the Xtrail, we also need it as we tow a caravan.

Sites don't like people sleeping in unconverted vehicles. And tbh if you're using sites why not take a tent?

It looks like there are some roof-top tents available for the RAV4, these are very popular with the 4x4 crowd. Some of the fold-out tents that I've seen emerge from the roof box of a Landrover have been seriously impressive.

Isn't a car more comfortable to sleep in than a tent (we wouldn't be buying a big tent as we don't yet know if we'd ever use it again). We're just trying to dabble into camping without buying loads of gear and then never using it again. Is there an alternative to using camp sites? I thought wild camping was only allowed in Scotland? I could be completely wrong and don't entirely know the meaning of "wild camping" 😀

Wild Camping only applies to tents, but the term is misused to apply to motorhomes and campervans when what we do with those is better described as off-grid free parking. What you're thinking of doing would be termed Stealth Camping - and if you search with that term there are a lot of blogs, YT channels, etc. dedicated to it.

Unless you can get a decent mattress in the car and it offers a good length to stretch out, then a tent will be more comfortable than a car. Setting yourself up with a tent doesn't have to be expensive, Aldi regularly offer decent tents. And if you know someone that camps regularly, they almost certainly have accumulated a couple of 'spare' tents over the years (I think we have three tents in the loft that haven't been used since we got the motorhome).

I think a proper double mattress in a car is going to be far more comfortable than a tent.

Maybe. If you've got a big enough flat area to put it on - i.e. an old Volvo estate or a van. It's rare for even an SUV to have a large enough fold-flat area for a double mattress. And your still going to be rejected by a lot of sites. If I was staying on sites I'd rather sleep in a sleeping bag on a SIM in a tent than in the car. Condensation is worse in a car, and there's no difference in terms of warmth/insulation between the two.

If I was avoiding sites and Stealth Camping I'd go with a SIM and a sleeping bag in the car, with insulated, lightproof panels for the windows (radiator reflector roll, cut to shape and fitted with rubber suckers).

There is a company that does proper beds for the back of a Range Rover, so you lie fully flat, and the space there is more than long enough and wide enough.

As I mentioned above, I fancy doing this if I go to a festival, especially if there’s a risk of it turning into a quagmire or being baking hot.

Is there an alternative to using camp sites

Yes. A static caravan.

Interesting discussion.
My SMAX has a flat load area of about 2m front to back with the seats down and I have considered whether sleeping in it would be a good idea.
We do have camping kit though so I'd envisage popping up at least a small tent anyway. But maybe handy if wet/late at night/early morning start scenarios.

The OP doesn't want to spend money (and doesn't have a Range Rover). The Range Rover bed is a custom-shaped inflatable mattress. And still leaves the problem of, if you're sleeping on the loadbed where's the luggage gone? (your clothes, food, camping stove, kettle, etc.).

Here's the RAV4 option - lunolife.com/products/luno-air-mattress-for-rav4

Well yes, but as is the nature of these things the conversation has moved on from only answering the OP’s specific question.

The one I saw wasn’t inflatable, and folds so you can store your other things in the boot when driving and in the passenger and drivers seats when sleeping.

You really don’t need much though for a couple of nights at a festival.

We used to have an Austin Maxi back in the 1980’s that we did several road trips with. All the seats folded down to make a double bed, No extra mattress needed. I made an awning that fitted over the open tailgate to make room for displaced luggage and give some covered space for cooking and standing room for getting changed. It was very easy and cheap to make.

We have an SUV now that has a totally flat floor when the seats are folded down but it’s hard, so would need a mattress. I’m thinking of making another tailgate awning for it.