Do you love camping, but don't love the puzzling, laborious process of setting up, breaking down, and repacking your tent? If so, maybe it's time to give car camping a fair shake. No need to pack a tent in your car when your car is the tent!
If you previously thought that you needed a camper van or a similarly-sized vehicle to go car camping comfortably, guess again. This adventuring couple's homemade car camping setup fits discreetly in the trunk of their Subaru hatchback - and the best part is, it cost less than $200 to make!
Cheap car camping build 👇🏼 You do NOT have to have an expensive RV, Van, Truck shell, ect. in order to have a comfy car camping set up. Before we got the van we used to rent a car and sleep in the trunk for cheap and easy traveling. As soon as we got our subaru we knew we wanted to do a simple build so we would have an easy, gas friendly, and STEALTHY option for car camping! Sentry did this build in one day with minimal tools and materials and it is SUCH an easy way to make car camping feel a little more ~luxurious~ Build materials: -plywood -drawer slides -piano hinge -screws -drawer pull Tips for traveling out of your car ⬇️ -blow up mattress I like to use our double sleeping pad that we take backpacking. It takes up minimal space in the car- but is also quite comfy to sleep on. We have the Klymit double V pad but have been eyeing the @EXPED ultra 3R duo or the @Big Agnes rapide sl double pad -sheets & pillows Adding a fitted sheet and full sized pillows just makes everything feel a little more homey!! -tiny car fan An absolute MUST HAVE for car camping. I just added one to my setup and it has made camping in warmer weather soooo much more tolerable!! We made sure to get one with a clip so we could clip it onto our sunroof. -blankets vs sleeping bag I always opt for blankets in the car. You can have as many or as little as you want and they are soooo much better than the restriction of a sleeping bag. -lights I use a little blow up hanging light for the ease and convenience BUT you can always add some string lights for a little more ambiance. -black out shades A NECESSITY for stealth camping!!! I just ordered the cheapest shades off of amazon and they work perfectly fine. -sun roof Utilize the sun roof for ventilation!!! I prefer opening the sunroof over cracking the windows since you get a much larger area of ventilation without tipping people off that there’s someone in there. -keys Put your keys in the EXACT same spot every night in case you need to access them in an emergency situation!! . . . #carcamping #carcamp #roadtrip #carcampingadventures #campgear
During the day, you'd never know that Isabel and Sentry (aka @operation.adventure ) had such an elaborate car camping setup in their backseat! Watching Isabel's surprisingly quick "campsite setup" process was mesmerizing. The unassuming plywood box in their backseat transformed into an elevated camping platform with cubbies for storage and a convenient supply drawer that doubled as a camping table - and all Isabel had to do to set it up was slide her car seats forward and extend the platform out!
This car camping build has everything: simplicity, versatility, plenty of extra storage compartments, and convenient compact storage when not in use. Space is in short supply when you're car camping (especially if you're not in a recreational vehicle like a camper van ), and this build makes extremely efficient use of limited space. It's not as cramped as you'd expect though - according to Isabel's comments on the Instagram version of this video, it has over 6 feet of bed clearance when extended, enough to accommodate Sentry, who's 6'2".
According to the caption, Sentry was able to create this camping platform in one day with minimal tools and materials - and as Isabel said, it cost them less than $200 total. It doesn't appear that Sentry and Isabel have shared any blueprints or instructions for recreating their build, which bummed me out. However, they did at least provide the materials list for their camping platform: plywood, drawer slides, a piano hinge for the top portion, screws, and a drawer pull. When not in use, the bottom portion slides into the middle section like a large drawer, with the hinged top portion folded over. It doesn't look too difficult to reverse engineer... but even so, here's hoping they drop a "how-to" guide sooner than later!
Finishing the Car Camping Bed
Sentry's inexpensive DIY build made up the foundation of their car camping setup, but the couple finished it off with their own camping gear . The second most important piece of gear besides the camping build was their sleeping pad. With an elevated platform in their backseat, they needed something that would cushion them without taking up too much height when inflated like a standard air mattress would.
Isabel added a few sleeping pad recommendations in her caption. The one they're using here is the Klymit Double V Sleeping Pad , which costs $149.99 on the official Klymit site and measures 74x47x3 inches when fully inflated. The pad has a unique "deep weld" pattern and side rails to inhibit air movement, provide improved thermal comfort, and keep the sleeper lofted without flattening out.
Isabel also mentioned that she's been eyeing two other sleeping pads: the Exped Ultra 3R Duo , and the Big Agnes Rapide SL Double Pad . Both of these have similar dimensions to the Klymit pad, but with a tapered design instead of the rectangle shape. They're also both significantly more expensive (in the $250-$299 range), so the Klymit is probably the best value option if you're trying not to go over budget.
Once you've got the platform and the sleeping pad figured out, your car camping setup is yours to customize. Isabel and Sentry's cheap, compact camping build proves that you don't need a recreational vehicle to enjoy camping on the open road - you've just gotta know how to make smart use of your car's space!
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