skyl4rk
Well-known member
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- Nov 30, 2014
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Took a nice short vacation to escape winter in MI. Drove down to Damascus, VA in a Grand Caravan.
Visited indian mound sites and took a day hike on the Appalachian Trail. Got to drive across the amazing mountains of eastern Kentucky. Night time temps were in the low 30s, and one night in the 50s. No problem with a 20F down sleeping bag and backpacking pads, plus a few extra blankets. Saw 79F as a high, woah, turn on the air conditioning. Night time ventilation for the van was with front windows cracked open with rain guards, no condensation problems and plenty of fresh air. Chilly too!
This was mainly a driving trip, I did not have time to stop in any one place for long. I would have liked to hang out in Damascus for a week or two, and spend more time hiking and backpacking the AT. I was in a national forest just east of Damascus and did the boondocking thing for one night, not sure if it was legal. There were others doing the same thing in the area.
I tried to spend an hour or so each day organizing my stuff and learning what I needed and what I did not need. The more stuff you have, the more difficult it is to keep everything in order and find the stuff you need. I did not cook on this trip, just ate restaurant food and no-cook foods. Next time I will stop somewhere and camp for a longer period of time and learn to do the cooking, clean up and other household stuff. Also I need to learn to relax and hang out. Because I was moving fast, I never stopped to relax, although the hiking was relaxing. Need more time off from work to do that, or just camp closer to home with less drive time.
The van worked great, with curtains hanging from the coat hooks near the side doors. The Stow-and-Go seats were folded into the floor on one side in the back, making a sleeping area on the floor. Reflectix cut to size to fit the side windows in back, then jammed into place. I had a piece of Reflectix that I could jam into the back window, which was removable for driving. A fleece sleeping bag hung from the coat hooks side to side completed the blackout sleeping area. It was easy to remove but secure enough that I could change clothes and clean up behind it. I used backpacking sleeping pads which worked OK. A thick piece of foam would have been more comfortable but I slept well. The first night, not so well, the second better, and the third and fourth nights like a baby. I got over being afraid of every sound.
Cleanup was with baby wipes, and with washcloths and a spray bottle with the mixture of water, witch hazel, baby shampoo and baby oil, which worked very well (see the Prius camper blog and article on this site). If you wipedown multiple times a day, this system leaves you very fresh and clean, and would work for longer periods of time without the need for a shower. The Caravan has just enough space to do this inside the blackout area but one needs to be flexible and learn to pull one's pants on without standing up straight. (Note to self, practice situps and yoga before next trip). I need to find a better way to deal with crazy hair issues (for example, a short haircut) and I need to figure out how to brush my teeth more often. I was too shy to do it out in the open or at some restrooms. I did not have a folding table, so I did not have a place to put my wash basin (or cooking stuff), which made it a little difficult to take care of daily hygiene stuff where you splash water around like shaving and tooth brushing, which you can't do in your sleeping area. Add folding table and folding chair to list for next time.
The Caravan works well in cool weather but I'm not sure the setup would work in warm weather. There were no bugs on this trip, but there would have been if it was warmer. The van would probably need a roof vent, or the front windows would need to be opened up wide with screens. But then rain would be a problem.
The Caravan is barely large enough for one vandwelling person. More space and a high top would be better, but then the vehicle would probably use twice as much fuel.
Visited indian mound sites and took a day hike on the Appalachian Trail. Got to drive across the amazing mountains of eastern Kentucky. Night time temps were in the low 30s, and one night in the 50s. No problem with a 20F down sleeping bag and backpacking pads, plus a few extra blankets. Saw 79F as a high, woah, turn on the air conditioning. Night time ventilation for the van was with front windows cracked open with rain guards, no condensation problems and plenty of fresh air. Chilly too!
This was mainly a driving trip, I did not have time to stop in any one place for long. I would have liked to hang out in Damascus for a week or two, and spend more time hiking and backpacking the AT. I was in a national forest just east of Damascus and did the boondocking thing for one night, not sure if it was legal. There were others doing the same thing in the area.
I tried to spend an hour or so each day organizing my stuff and learning what I needed and what I did not need. The more stuff you have, the more difficult it is to keep everything in order and find the stuff you need. I did not cook on this trip, just ate restaurant food and no-cook foods. Next time I will stop somewhere and camp for a longer period of time and learn to do the cooking, clean up and other household stuff. Also I need to learn to relax and hang out. Because I was moving fast, I never stopped to relax, although the hiking was relaxing. Need more time off from work to do that, or just camp closer to home with less drive time.
The van worked great, with curtains hanging from the coat hooks near the side doors. The Stow-and-Go seats were folded into the floor on one side in the back, making a sleeping area on the floor. Reflectix cut to size to fit the side windows in back, then jammed into place. I had a piece of Reflectix that I could jam into the back window, which was removable for driving. A fleece sleeping bag hung from the coat hooks side to side completed the blackout sleeping area. It was easy to remove but secure enough that I could change clothes and clean up behind it. I used backpacking sleeping pads which worked OK. A thick piece of foam would have been more comfortable but I slept well. The first night, not so well, the second better, and the third and fourth nights like a baby. I got over being afraid of every sound.
Cleanup was with baby wipes, and with washcloths and a spray bottle with the mixture of water, witch hazel, baby shampoo and baby oil, which worked very well (see the Prius camper blog and article on this site). If you wipedown multiple times a day, this system leaves you very fresh and clean, and would work for longer periods of time without the need for a shower. The Caravan has just enough space to do this inside the blackout area but one needs to be flexible and learn to pull one's pants on without standing up straight. (Note to self, practice situps and yoga before next trip). I need to find a better way to deal with crazy hair issues (for example, a short haircut) and I need to figure out how to brush my teeth more often. I was too shy to do it out in the open or at some restrooms. I did not have a folding table, so I did not have a place to put my wash basin (or cooking stuff), which made it a little difficult to take care of daily hygiene stuff where you splash water around like shaving and tooth brushing, which you can't do in your sleeping area. Add folding table and folding chair to list for next time.
The Caravan works well in cool weather but I'm not sure the setup would work in warm weather. There were no bugs on this trip, but there would have been if it was warmer. The van would probably need a roof vent, or the front windows would need to be opened up wide with screens. But then rain would be a problem.
The Caravan is barely large enough for one vandwelling person. More space and a high top would be better, but then the vehicle would probably use twice as much fuel.
