Bet you didn't know you owned an RV, eh? (1 Viewer)

[IdahoDoug]

A couple weeks ago my wife and I got the itch to explore some areas of British Columbia we've been wanting to visit. We decided sleeping in the Cruiser and stopping wherever and whenever we wanted would be the ticket. But its Fall and bear activity is at its peak and we were a bit nervous to sleep up in the roof tent, plus the stealth aspect of a parked SUV allows more choices than a deployed roof tent. In addition, the forecast called for rain here and there.

So I spent about an hour converting the back 2/3 of the 80 into a sleeping pod. I pulled the jump seats, pulled the 2nd row (8 bolts), placed a spare battery against the back of the center console, and laid out two 3" air mattresses. Then a few blankets atop the mattresses and a queen size featherbed made a pretty cozy sleep situation. The spare battery powered an inverter to charge cameras, iPhones, and a fan and provided security as backup to start the truck in the backcountry. Use something in the 2nd row footwells to build up to the level of the floor (I used some foam I had laying around, but have used a duffel bag while on previous trips).

Then since the forecast in Revelstoke, BC was 36 at night, I hung my Mr. Buddy heater (Big Buddy) from the 3rd row grab strap. I clamped a fan to the opposite grab strap so we could also have cooling circulation, or white noise if we slept at night with any area noise (BC has lots of trains..). With our heads at the front, a pair of reading lights hung from the headrests completed the sweet setup.

So at night we tossed our duffel bags into the front seat, hung the window thermal panels (plastic foil bubble wrap with suction cups I made a few years ago), changed and voila' - waterproof and safe quarters over 7 feet long with a steel roof and sliding windows. One night it pounded down rain while we were inside with the heater gently hissing away and reading with the sliders cracked a bit to hear the rain. Very romantic for two - the kids were at friends.

If you've never traveled this way, it is REALLY the way to relax. If you see a cool dirt road heading down by a river, hit the brakes and go explore. Cool fruit stand with an old FJ40 out front? Turn around and check it out. Someone at the coffee shop says you've got to try dinner at the cafe that night? Hang around at the farmer's market, take a dip in the local hot springs, have dinner and sleep down by the creek. No schedule, no worries.

We had a blast, and will do it again soon. The best part is it took about an hour to unpack and put the seats back in when we got home. Stressless, economical and adventure travel at its best. The best part is - you've got one in your driveway, too!

DougM

 

[Fraglerock]

Sounded like a good trip, any pics of the setup?

 

[Kernal]

Sounds rustic and an economical way to travel. What did you use for showers and toilets?

 

[western flyer]

Excellent. I travelled through BC and the Yukon much the same way years back. You are right about those trains...

 

[wxm]

Sounded like a good trip, any pics of the setup?

yeah, let's see some pictures

 

[Tigli]

Sounds to me like your missing at least one aspect of the Westfalia!
Idaho Doug I recognize your name from the samba. I just sold mine and purchased my first cruiser. Great to see another spud here.
Tigli

 

[BruceFZJ80]

Awesome, I always wanted an RV. Didn't realize I had one. Now I just have to sell the wife on the idea

 

[bobthebuilder]

That sounds fun. In my area some moron would call the police on you for "suspicious activity". Guess I need to drive farther away

 

[greentruck]

I agree. An 80 makes an excellent RV. I put considerable effort into ours, but Doug's point that it really doesn't take much to use it effectively to sleep two is a good one. We generally deploy in "softshell" mode" but can also "harden up" in bear country if needed by setting the fridge outside as a "decoy" and closing the tailgate.

We have two different levels of awnings, the "quickie" and the "living room/kitchen."

 

[bobthebuilder]

That is an excellent setup Greentruck!

 

[greentruck]

Thanks, Bob. We like getting away from it all, but I'm no longer much on roughing it. The last pic in the wild was taken at High Rock Bay at the very end of the Keewenaw in Michagan's UP. Lots of eagles there.

 

[mickeyt]

Nice drawer set up as well. Did you make it yourself?

 

[greentruck]

Yep, I'm pretty handy with wood, perhaps making up for what a klutz I am with metal. Here's the build thread.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/412084-camper-conversion-drawer-system.html

It's probably a bit overbuilt, but it's held up well. The deck height is actually the toughest decision you make on these. Keep it low for more overhead space and you lose storage space. Raise it to gain storage space, but only if you're short enough to deal with the lack of headroom. Mine is on the low side (I think I have it at 9.5" but it's in the other thread) however there's still lots of storage space. We probably wouldn't go anywhere for more than two nights without taking the trailer, so not hurting on room to take things along.

If you don't plan on using a trailer, then there's the options of raising the deck height of your drawers or getting a rack. A rack doesn't fit in our garage, plus I'm getting too old to be climbing just to make camp.

 

[landcrshr]

Bet I didn't know???

Heck, that's the reason I bought it!

 

[greentruck]

Awesome pic and exactly why the idea of the 80 as 4x4 backcountry RV is so attractive.

BTW, did you lose your tailgate or is it just a strange camera angle? Maybe the bedding being up off the floor shielding view of the tailgate?

 

[lispeej]

When I go hunting by myself, I always prefer sleeping in the back of the cruiser versus a tent. You're always away from the extremities and bugs. It makes it for a good and quiet nights rest. I usually just use a small futon mattress.

 

[landcrshr]

Awesome pic and exactly why the idea of the 80 as 4x4 backcountry RV is so attractive.

BTW, did you lose your tailgate or is it just a strange camera angle? Maybe the bedding being up off the floor shielding view of the tailgate?

Thanks, I like this pic too. Too bad this area was just consumed by the Rim Fire.

The tailgate is there, it's just obscured by 5" of foam matress + bedding.

 

[Funner]

Yep, I'm pretty handy with wood, perhaps making up for what a klutz I am with metal. Here's the build thread.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/412084-camper-conversion-drawer-system.html

It's probably a bit overbuilt, but it's held up well. The deck height is actually the toughest decision you make on these. Keep it low for more overhead space and you lose storage space. Raise it to gain storage space, but only if you're short enough to deal with the lack of headroom. Mine is on the low side (I think I have it at 9.5" but it's in the other thread) however there's still lots of storage space. We probably wouldn't go anywhere for more than two nights without taking the trailer, so not hurting on room to take things along.

If you don't plan on using a trailer, then there's the options of raising the deck height of your drawers or getting a rack. A rack doesn't fit in our garage, plus I'm getting too old to be climbing just to make camp.

Your fridge drawer is exactly what I plan to do. I haven't resolved a good way to keep the drawer from sliding open and closed while driving. Is the tolerance of the drawer to the tailgate all that holds the drawer in place or do you have some kind of locking pin in place that I can't see?

 

[IdahoDoug]

Tigli,

Nice - welcome to the Cruiser world! It's the world where you do some maintenance on the vehicle and then it starts and drives for another 20,000 miles with no issues - heh. I miss the space for sure but have another Vanagon on the way. This time a simple 2wd.

Nice pic, Lndcrshr - that's pretty much the view we enjoyed and drives home the point. Add window covers, and hang a sweet propane heater from that rear grab handle and that's what we had. As for selling the wives - it is honestly plenty roomy back there, and if you spend some of the money you save on hotel bills ($$$) on great meals and some light shopping, everybody wins.

But the big thing is honestly HOW you are traveling and it's completely different from hotel travel or camping where you must arrive in daylight to set up (and then tear down and repack in the morning...). With hotels, you've got to stay on a schedule to get to your next place to stay which dramatically colors the days events and alters your behavior. Sipping coffee at a shop and reading an article, one of you will get restless because the next hotel is 135 miles on and its 2 in the afternoon - and suddenly the moment's gone, ya know? You're a slave to a schedule even on "vacation". It's only after you've travelled this way sleeping in the rig once that you realize the huge difference. It's the spontaneity of the wandering trip that makes you feel truly relaxed. You think only of what you feel like doing for the next hour and suddenly everything around you has interest and is pause-worthy. No amount of reading about it will prepare you for the reality - just go do it.

DougM

 

[greentruck]

Your fridge drawer is exactly what I plan to do. I haven't resolved a good way to keep the drawer from sliding open and closed while driving. Is the tolerance of the drawer to the tailgate all that holds the drawer in place or do you have some kind of locking pin in place that I can't see?

Funner,
The drawer slides have locks built-in. You can see a small yellow tab that's pushed down. Also makes 'em easy to use at odd angles. Some people use a locking slide on just one side to save a little money. I figured using two locking slides cuts the rattle potential and it has been remarkably rattle free.

Doug,
Good reflection on the charm of RVing in the 80. The first night we had our rig out we had driven up to the base of the Keewenaw in the MI UP to a place called L'Anse. I'd scoped out a likely camp site at the end a small pennisula that juts into the lake, as most are just submerged ridgelines. So we're doing fine navigating in the dark, get to the parking lot, which is the trail head to the end of the trail, which is rocks based on pics I'd seen. So we're like, "Let's see if we can camp there." So we take the two-track. It's way dark. I can hear the lake as we cut through the brush, there's a slight break over...

Yikes! Nothing but waves!:whoops: I'm thinking Edmund Fitzgerald and slam on the brakes.

Well, it wasn't quite as bad as it seemed, plenty of rock to just turn the rig around -- had the 101 CDN behind us -- but those waves were like doing it on the bow of a ship running through then. Freaky and I thanked my cautious old stars of always being slow and easy on any new trail in the dark.

We thought it a bit exposed, even in the 80, if the wind should come up further. The 101 is rated as amphibious, but not even a snorkel on the 80.

So we retreated to the parking lot, which began to receive all kinds of local traffic pretty early, folks hiking, fishing, whatever. It was fun, then we moved onto more remote camping on the Keewenaw, where the only company in the morning were the eagles we watched through the windows of the 80. Here's a pic of Pt. Abbaye and High Rock Bay.