Panic is setting in !

[akrvbob]

You might want to try the solution I've settled on with my four door Jeep - I removed the back seats, installed pieces to extend the rear floor flat all the way forward over the back seat foot wells, cut an Ikea memory foam mattress to fit the space and have a rear "deck" that acts as primary storage.  

I'd really, really love to see pictures of that!! Bob

 

[Driver]

I'd really, really love to see pictures of that!! Bob

Hi Bob!

Once I'm done moving (the next couple of weeks) I'll get the setup back in the Jeep and take some detailed interior photos.  For now these are the ones I dug up that kind of show it in use.  One is our dinner setup in the trees when we met outside Flagstaff right before the latest RTR, one shows my daughter sleeping in the back (stealth in a public parking lot in Lee Vining above Mono Lake) and one shows how I've used the roof rack to haul firewood while keeping the gear inside.  I'm hoping to install solar panels down in the rack structure so as to still be able to load wood / snowboards across the top when desired.  The main idea with the rear storage deck is that your feet go under it while sleeping and when driving you can quickly place camp chairs or other "outside" stuff there from the back.  I'm going to replace that Yeti which rides on the right side of the deck with an Engel or ARB fridge but I need to get a tilting slide worked out first so I can still get into it without having to remove it entirely.  The inspiration for this setup was the layout you see in most teardrop trailers - sleeping area in front with storage/kitchen accessed from the rear.  For one person it could easily be tuned for full time living with plenty of space while retaining the ability of the Jeep to take you to almost any boondocking location.  Of course the trade off is no real interior space to hangout beyond the bed or a front seat.  The key to it being comfortable is using backpacking equipment where possible so it is lightweight and compact with the bonus that you are ready to backpack at a moments notice

Cheers!

Chris

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

They all say, just go into senior housing. Ugh !

DON'T DO IT!!!!

My mom is 81 and travels for months at a time and workamps at National Parks most of the year.  She does own a very small townhouse that she basically keeps as a home base for her next travel adventure.  At 73 she had to give up the kayak and after she came home AGAIN with a broken bone and a patch job from a 3rd world nation she is no longer allowed to travel to third world nations alone, she must have a travel companion.  Canada is NOT third world nation and she was there this spring to see the ice flows and the last of the spring snows in New Foundland.

She has slowly transformed her 2000 Honda Element that she bought new into a fabulous traveling vehicle. She started with plastic bins and make shift beds and has since added a pop-top tent with a full sized bed to the roof and has doubled her living space!  

Having been brought up traveling (about 36 states by 18) and seeing her out and about makes me yearn for the open road.  Working in corporate America is literally killing me and I'm hoping to be out come spring of 2017.

 

[Suanne]

Wow Z! Your mom is my hero!

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

Wow Z!  Your mom is my hero!

Yeah, me too in a lot of ways.  

I think that she is struggling with me wanting to ditch my "good job" and hit the bricks but it's how she raised me!  I'm done raising my kid.  I'm a smart guy and should be able to find somehow to support myself on the road.  

Her brother was also a wanderer and they traveled for many years together.  Watching his progression of home made pickup truck campers etc has helped me a lot in planning.  It is also his sage advice that being able to stand in your vehicle is very important if you can manage.  That and price are currently my two big requirements for a vehicle.

 

[Kentucky Dave]

Here are some 27" wide, 3" high mattresses that might work.  Some fold, some roll up.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=garden&field-keywords=27"+futon+mattress

 

[DrJean]

It took me 2 years to find someone to attach a hitch to my Solara...it's a front wheel drive and no one wanted the liablity. I will have a hitch on my van though, once I ditch the car. Really work out the weights and balances before you go flying down that road, unless you have a rear wheel drive car?

 

[Mobilesport]

"Moondancer5 wrote
"I have seen on videos what happens when you do not have what you need.
What happens?

 

[DrJean]

Yeah, what happen
I haven't seen any videos that are real doom and gloom. You compromise or do without until you figure it out...or you ask for help when you connect up with a group... I think there are solutions to every problem. It's our preconceived notions and expectations that often get in our way of being happy with what we have. I'll shoot for contentment regardless of what I have or don't have.

Regarding the sleeping arrangement... did you see the video of Bob's or enigmatic site maybe of the member who sleeps down one side of the car, with the passenger seat as flat as it could go? Good sleep is highly valuable. Being able to get good sleep doesn't matter how you get it once you do.

Have you made a balance sheet on your concerns? One side put your negative fears/concerns on the other side put the positives/solutions to things.

 

[Sameer]

Very good advice, Dr. Jean.....!
Not being a person who has fears or waste their time on what might happen I often say to myself..."From this moment forward"

 

[mdoverl]

MoonDancer: I've been sleeping in my car for a week and a half, don't worry, once you get all the small things figured out, the panic will go away, and things will be great. I wish you luck.