In past decades my road trips involved throwing some things in the car and going. Some of the things included a 2x6 foot piece of plywood, a deep cycle battery that occasionally got topped up with jumper cables and a small plastic ammo box with inverter, 12 volt and USB outlets hooked up to a set of jumper cables to clamp on the deep cycle battery. Depending on the car, a seat might be removed.
Recently I've had time on my hands. I've made a few small trips with this car so I combined that information with what I'd learned and dreamt about in the past and made some progress on the Sportage RV.
When I push the drivers seat fully forward and tilt the back forward, there is a great deal of space in and around the rear seat. That's the living room. It is also the smaller of the 2 back seats so I removed the other one and made a box which is fastened down with 2 of the same bolts. The box provides part of the bed, storage, kitchen, counter, desk and whatever else I think up for it.
Between the box and the front seat is the cooler. The top is level with the box and the back of the car and forms the final part of the bed. The cooler has 1 inch foam on most of the outside and inside and a smaller cooler inside. I think there is enough room inside to dump a bag of ice around the outside of the small cooler. It's still to be tested.
The front seat folds down on itself. For now I want to be able to easily change the car back and forth so I will leave it there. At a quick glance, the rear box just looks like the seat is folded down and I'll leave it. The box on top of the front seat is about 2 feet square and 8 inches deep. I've got some plastic bins in it for now to store things I might need from the front or back. I put 1x2 around the top of the lid so things like map books and other things that might be up there won't slide off. Both boxes have hooks with spring clips the keep things inside in case of an accident and the front one is fastened in place with a ratchet strap.
The curtain rod between the front and back is assembled from carbon and elastic tent poles and a few hooks. It can be easily installed or removed. The rest of the window covers are made from yoga mats from a thrift store. The rear one is cut to the same size and shape as the window and has plastic wire clips riveted around it. The clips just slip on around the window and then I shut it. The side window covers are also cut from yoga mats and have suction cups on them. I'm concerned about keeping the light out and will probably keep working on these. Suggestions are needed. Almost 4 years ago I got hit in the head with a car and my life now works best if I can get 12 hours sleep every day. This is a serious concern for me camping in the summer.
I also installed the electrical system into the car. I'm happy with the relay and wiring under the hood as well as the other end with the inverter, outlets and fuses. I want to be able to put the battery in and remove it between trips so It ha plug connecting to the charging source and another plug leading to the destination. This was mostly done with parts and pieces that I already had. It works and the fuses are low enough to prevent problems but I'm already making an order list that will result in fewer and better connections in larger gauge wire.
Recently I've had time on my hands. I've made a few small trips with this car so I combined that information with what I'd learned and dreamt about in the past and made some progress on the Sportage RV.
When I push the drivers seat fully forward and tilt the back forward, there is a great deal of space in and around the rear seat. That's the living room. It is also the smaller of the 2 back seats so I removed the other one and made a box which is fastened down with 2 of the same bolts. The box provides part of the bed, storage, kitchen, counter, desk and whatever else I think up for it.
Between the box and the front seat is the cooler. The top is level with the box and the back of the car and forms the final part of the bed. The cooler has 1 inch foam on most of the outside and inside and a smaller cooler inside. I think there is enough room inside to dump a bag of ice around the outside of the small cooler. It's still to be tested.
The front seat folds down on itself. For now I want to be able to easily change the car back and forth so I will leave it there. At a quick glance, the rear box just looks like the seat is folded down and I'll leave it. The box on top of the front seat is about 2 feet square and 8 inches deep. I've got some plastic bins in it for now to store things I might need from the front or back. I put 1x2 around the top of the lid so things like map books and other things that might be up there won't slide off. Both boxes have hooks with spring clips the keep things inside in case of an accident and the front one is fastened in place with a ratchet strap.
The curtain rod between the front and back is assembled from carbon and elastic tent poles and a few hooks. It can be easily installed or removed. The rest of the window covers are made from yoga mats from a thrift store. The rear one is cut to the same size and shape as the window and has plastic wire clips riveted around it. The clips just slip on around the window and then I shut it. The side window covers are also cut from yoga mats and have suction cups on them. I'm concerned about keeping the light out and will probably keep working on these. Suggestions are needed. Almost 4 years ago I got hit in the head with a car and my life now works best if I can get 12 hours sleep every day. This is a serious concern for me camping in the summer.
I also installed the electrical system into the car. I'm happy with the relay and wiring under the hood as well as the other end with the inverter, outlets and fuses. I want to be able to put the battery in and remove it between trips so It ha plug connecting to the charging source and another plug leading to the destination. This was mostly done with parts and pieces that I already had. It works and the fuses are low enough to prevent problems but I'm already making an order list that will result in fewer and better connections in larger gauge wire.
