Welcome to the forum!
What kind of car and did you do any major mods to it for sleeping in it?
Thanks, slow2day.
The only mod was to install two reclining seats from a much larger SAAB. The driver's seat folded forward to make room for my heater/cooker, and the passenger seat went back to the limit of its travel. The bed thus formed was not flat, but dipping in the middle. I packed the dip with several rolled-up towels, making the bed level, and then covered the whole bed with a soft, thick blanket. There was just enough room for me to lie down fully outstretched, two or three inches of space at each end. Blissful!
The Morris Minor (pic of mine attached, with a spare) remains a much-loved British classic, and it was rare that a day passed without my getting a friendly wave and a horn toot. It's probably the most-unsuspicious car in the world! I did a fair bit of wild camping in Cornwall and the high grounds of the north of England, always careful to remove every sign that I'd been there. If I'd pitched my small tent, I'd even lift the grass before leaving, so it didn't lay flat and look awful. Doing that is especially important in hot weather - otherwise the sun would burn a brown rectangle into the landscape.
One of my best tales:
I left the UK for good in this car on Christmas Eve of 1993. Landing in the Netherlands, I tootled along to Amsterdam to find a place to sleep. A few days later, the temperature started falling, eventually bottoming at around 12C. That's quite unusual in the Netherlands. Away from the city, a small company gave me unconditional permisssion to park in their car park. I spent some time clearing it up for them, in appreciation - moss, bits of trash, etc. They were so pleased. I started preparing for the worst, going on a hunting trek for cardboard with which to cover the insides of the windows. Used anything I could find to insulate the interior, even socks and tee shirts. Early in the evening of the first 'minus 12C night', I started making soup in my largest pan - potatoes, beans, veg, and so on. It was a thick mix, with the minimum of water. I turned off the heat before I went to bed, put the lid on the pan and slid into my sleeping bag around midnight.
Central heating!
I woke up around seven, and slid out of the sleeping bag. I sat on my bed, as yet unclothed. It was really cozy in there. My food had worked for me even before I'd eaten any! The pan was still warm. I wound down my window, and relished the refreshing hit of freezing air for half a minute.
Happy days!
And, occasionally, daze
.
Take care!
