Is a Jeep Patriot realistic?

[froghat]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, to make a long story short.... I feel like I'm having a midlife crisis at 36 years old. Hate my job, lost touch with my 3 close friends, single and lost interest in pretty much all my hobbies and interests in the last couple years. I'm miserable! [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I see people on youtube who buy cargo vans or RV's and explore the country finding temp work to make it work. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's so tempting to just go for it, but buying a new 20k van makes no sense to me since I have a [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]brand new Patriot[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]. I sold my condo, so I have a chunk of money saved up, but I don't wanna use any of that for this "journey". [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, the two issues would be:[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1) Can I find consistent temp work to make it doable. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2) As a 6'3 guy can I sleep comfortably if I fold the back seats down? I would spend most of the day outside, but can I get any sleep?[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Has anyone tried this before? Any thoughts, advice, or suggestions would be great![/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dave[/font]

 

[VanDwellerMod]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Dave!  Since this is your first post, I moved it to the Newcomer's Corner so you could get a proper welcome.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started.  

To help answer your first question, tells us a little about your skills and aptitude.

For the second question, we have several car dwellers here that will share their experience, I'm sure.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[OutdoorFT]

Ive never seen a jeep patriot specifically...but people have used much smaller. I dont know inside dimensions but you might have to sleep diagonal to be comfortable/not hit rear door with feet.

Its not impossible if thats what youre asking.

 

[froghat]

Welcome to the CRVL forums!  To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started.   We look forward to hearing more from you.

Sounds good

 

[Suanne]

I suspect you could stretch out and sleep in your Jeep. The only question is, would you have to remove seats and build a platform for your bed.

If I were you, I do some test runs. First, see if you can lay the seats down flat enough to make a comfortable bed for yourself. This is what I was able to do in my Prius. If so, then go on a camping trip to see if it truly works for you, both the space and your mattress.

If that won't work, break out the measuring tape to figure out where you might put the size of bed you need in your Jeep. Check out blogs and YouTube to see if anyone else in the world has done it.

The best to you as you prepare to enter this wonderful lifestyle.

Suanne

 

[Ballenxj]

Like Suanne said, do a trial run to see if you can sleep in it. I suspect not.
Second, what is the tow capacity of your Patriot? This will have a huge impact on getting an enclosed trailer, and how big.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I had a 2012 Jeep Patriot for a few years and the passenger seat back folded both ways......if a passenger wanted to recline his seat to lay back like every car he could, and if no one was sitting there and you needed to carry some long cargo, it folded flat towards the front.  Then with the rear seats down you had one semi level long flat place to carry stuff.......so I imagine a piece of plywood over this would make a pretty good sleeping spot.  I know I could carry 8' long 2x4's in mine so you should have plenty of length.  

I really liked the Patriot, I got that place pretty deep off road several times and never got it stuck.  I did get it stuck in deep snow one time but was able to shovel it out.

 

[froghat]

Thanks guys, that folding passenger seat might make it possible. I just looked at my user guide book and it does fold. We'll see. A trial run sounds like a good idea

 

[froghat]

Every road, well my passenger seat doesn't fold forward. My manual must be a general jeep patriot because I have a Jeep Patriot Sport and online it says that feature isn't in it. If I push the seat as far forward as possible I could fit, but there's a big space between the back of the passenger seat and the folded down back seats. Any idea what I could put in that hole to create an even surface to lay my feet on? Or is the only option to removed the back seats? How difficult is that?

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

May also want to measure the dimensions of that space between the back of the passenger seat and the folded back seats to see if it could/would accommodate a "storage" item/cooler/refrigerator/etc. so the space is "filled"; which could help you get on the road in multiple directions ....

 

[froghat]

Thirsty, good idea

 

[froghat]

Whats the best air mattress for a car? What do most people use?

 

[akrvbob]

Go to home depot and buy a 3/4 inch "handy Panel, which is a 2 foot x 2 foot or 4 foot x4 foot section of plywood and have them cut it the right size to fill in the gap between the back seat and front seat. Then get a 2x2 board and cut it to the right height to fill that space. Drive some 2 1/2 inch screws down through the top of the plywood and into the end of the 2x2 legs. That will fill in the gap and leave you easy access to storage under it. If you want to get fancy you could put a shelf in the middle.

 

[akrvbob]

Get a Thermarest self-inflating backpackers pad. The thicker the better.

 

[Marie]

I love my 2009 Jeep Patriot, and I've camped in it quite a bit. The hole between the front and back seat is really hard to deal with! The headrest on the back seat makes a big bump when folded down, and the 'hole' is actually two holes on either side of the headrest.  Hard to describe, but hard to fix, too! I made it work, but it wasn't easy! Also - hard to get from back to front seat without actually getting out of the car. I made cardboard cut-outs for the windows, silver sunshade for the windshield.  Not the most comfortable camper in the world, but it works!

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Bummer yours doesn't have the front fold down seat option. I think my Jeep Patriot was the latitude and not the sport. So that must have been one of the added options.
You could probably find a passenger seat in the junk yard that folds forward or ebay. Not sure if it's worth the extra money to you to swap them for the added sleep space. Or you could remove it and add space that way. Might also allow you to move from drivers seat to sleep space with out having to get out if the passenger seat is removed.

My brother did a cross country trip in a civic and we removed the passenger seat and built a sleeping platform down the passenger side of the vehicle. He's 6'3 and it worked out pretty good for him.

If none of that is an option, I'd do as bob suggested and build a small platform to even out the floor space with the rear seat when it's folded down. I use a thermarest when backpacking and get a great nights sleep on it. I also have a Cabela's cot pad for when I'm car camping and find it to be extremely comfortable and durable.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/2432...VxSSBCh1NIwxbEAYYAyABEgJrd_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Chitza]

I travel in my Jeep Liberty with a foam mattress in the back, but I'm 5'1". My BF is 5'8" and he has no problem. Before we sleep, we move the front seats all the way forward and tilt them forward.

I bought foam from an online upholstery company. 4" thick. I think it's 48" wide(?) and I cut two lengths to run side by side.

I use a 10x12 tarp over the top of the Jeep with the corners and edges staked out with tent stakes and paracord. It covers all the windows for privacy but allows airflow through the windows since the tarp isn't flat against the sides.

I have window screens that slip over the windows like socks and a couple of fan options, a 12v fan(tornado! At a truck stop) and a USB fan($5 at Walmart).

My kitchen fits in a plastic tub and I raise the back of the tarp over the back entrance using tarp poles. Set up a small folding table and I can cook.

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

If people can do it in a Prius you can do it in a Patriot. You mentioned you have watched youtube videos as some of your inspiration.  You might watch some car camping videos to get some ideas how to deal with the smaller spaces than a van.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I have window screens that slip over the windows like socks

   Love the window screen idea,  so simple

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

[quote pid='323679' dateline='1503245070']
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1) Can I find consistent temp work to make it doable. [/font]


[/quote]

I'm sure the outcome would be dependent on your skills. If you are talented from running equipment in a factory to doing clerical work, you can probably find work anywhere you go. You might go talk to a few agencies and see what kind of positions they have and where. They make their money off finding you work so they are motivated to place you.