Hello, everyone! Thank you to the people who set up this forum and all the contributors to it.
I'm planning on a minimal conversion of a used Toyota Sienna AWD Limited into a mobile tent. I haven't bought the vehicle yet, but I've been reading fora to learn as much as I can about this way of traveling. I looked at a lot of campers and trailers (man, that Revel is sweet, and Thor is going to sell a lot of those Compass/Gemini) but decided that route was going to put too big a hit on the retirement savings. I intend to do the very least I can to outfit the interior of the Sienna and will rely on technology to provide the comfort I need. I will, for instance lower the 40 seat in the rear to provide leg room and slide the passenger middle seat forward. I'm only 5.5 feet, so I don't need much length, and I sleep on my back pretty much the whole night. So a couple feet of memory foam width at the bottom and hips and three feet at the shoulders should be plenty. I have no back pain to speak of, and usually I go right to sleep after a day of fishing. If that sleeping plan proves impractical, I'll adapt. The comfort technologies I'm thinking of include a moonroof ceiling fan panel for condensation and evening cooling, solar window shields, skeeter nets, perhaps a portable A/C, heater, and Dometic fridge at some point. I don't cook, usually consuming a granola bar at daybreak, making a couple sandwiches for lunch, and going out for dinner later on. I made such a trip west for 4-6 weeks in 2018 and 2019 in an Accord to chase trout, but I had a large tent for those trips. After reading stories of big cat attacks in CO, my wife thought I needed a hard top, but sleeping in the car was never an option. I like tent camping a great deal and have done a lot of it, but cats don't scare me. Like bison, bears, and moose, cats deserve our wariness. I'm looking forward to hearing rain pound on the van top pretty much the same way it does on a tent. There's no better sleep than that. I'm going to raise the Sienna body, probably with that 3.5 inch kit that seems to be popular and some off-road rubber. Travel plans include summers and falls in the western fishing hotspots and their not-so-well-known tribs and backcountry brethren. If there are trout in them, I'll find them. Spring and some falls will be spent on the salmon/steelhead streams of the eastern Great Lakes, and there will be outings to NY, PA, VA, NC, and MD. Maybe one summer will be given to our northern neighbor and another to Alaska. Winters I'll be tying flies, mending equipment, upgrading the van, etc. I'd live in the West if I could, but my wife won't hear of it so we're left with this. It could be a lot worse! So I look forward to reading your posts and contributing when I can.
I'm planning on a minimal conversion of a used Toyota Sienna AWD Limited into a mobile tent. I haven't bought the vehicle yet, but I've been reading fora to learn as much as I can about this way of traveling. I looked at a lot of campers and trailers (man, that Revel is sweet, and Thor is going to sell a lot of those Compass/Gemini) but decided that route was going to put too big a hit on the retirement savings. I intend to do the very least I can to outfit the interior of the Sienna and will rely on technology to provide the comfort I need. I will, for instance lower the 40 seat in the rear to provide leg room and slide the passenger middle seat forward. I'm only 5.5 feet, so I don't need much length, and I sleep on my back pretty much the whole night. So a couple feet of memory foam width at the bottom and hips and three feet at the shoulders should be plenty. I have no back pain to speak of, and usually I go right to sleep after a day of fishing. If that sleeping plan proves impractical, I'll adapt. The comfort technologies I'm thinking of include a moonroof ceiling fan panel for condensation and evening cooling, solar window shields, skeeter nets, perhaps a portable A/C, heater, and Dometic fridge at some point. I don't cook, usually consuming a granola bar at daybreak, making a couple sandwiches for lunch, and going out for dinner later on. I made such a trip west for 4-6 weeks in 2018 and 2019 in an Accord to chase trout, but I had a large tent for those trips. After reading stories of big cat attacks in CO, my wife thought I needed a hard top, but sleeping in the car was never an option. I like tent camping a great deal and have done a lot of it, but cats don't scare me. Like bison, bears, and moose, cats deserve our wariness. I'm looking forward to hearing rain pound on the van top pretty much the same way it does on a tent. There's no better sleep than that. I'm going to raise the Sienna body, probably with that 3.5 inch kit that seems to be popular and some off-road rubber. Travel plans include summers and falls in the western fishing hotspots and their not-so-well-known tribs and backcountry brethren. If there are trout in them, I'll find them. Spring and some falls will be spent on the salmon/steelhead streams of the eastern Great Lakes, and there will be outings to NY, PA, VA, NC, and MD. Maybe one summer will be given to our northern neighbor and another to Alaska. Winters I'll be tying flies, mending equipment, upgrading the van, etc. I'd live in the West if I could, but my wife won't hear of it so we're left with this. It could be a lot worse! So I look forward to reading your posts and contributing when I can.
