BruceTS has a tent for the back of his 3rd gen. I think Goodtimes (Lance) has the same one.

 

For clarification, and I will update my page with this at some point, but there is obviously a safe way to use them. I only run mine a few minutes before I get in for the night and a few minutes before I get up in the mornings, and when I do, I have a couple windows down a bit. I don't have a need to run it all night since my bag is plenty warm. So, when I die, it isn't going to be because of this heater. I've used it quite a bit when winter camping, and it really does the trick being able to warm the truck, or tent, 10 to 20 degrees in fairly short order.

 

no pics... but i just got a 3 person dome tent at target for $23

 

Marc, et al:

I used the "arse end" SUV tent. Lance allowed me to borrow it over the 4th of July weekend.


Pros: well, it looks cool . It sets up really fast, once you get the hang of where to hook on the bungee cords. It "feels bigger", but the floor space does not increase because of the tent. It allows for good ventilation.

Cons: it does not keep heat in well. It would be a better summer tent than a winter tent. It is not quite a 100% nice fit, especially on the end/sides. I've seen a pic of Bruce's tent where he keeps the sides taut with extra bungees

In my opinion, the tent is not that great, but it could be made better if you made a platform that attached to your hitch and extended into your bed. That way, you could take advantage of the extra extension space that the tent creates

Of note, I tried putting this tent on my friend's 2nd gen 4runner. because of the fold down tailgate, it was able to take advantage of the tent's outward extension. however, because it didnt have a lift gate, the tent's top just flopped down, making the tent unusable

Bob

 

Finally found the flip-pac website:

http://www.flippac.com/flippac.htm

Troy

 

http://images.traderonline.com/img/3...78377745_1.jpg

 

The one thing I've always wanted while car camping with my 3rd gen is a tailgate.

If a platform could be added with hinges (?) that would flip out allowing you to still keep the liftgate...

It would be nice to cook, do dishes, etc on this platform
(Sturdy enough that you could sit on)

Basically you'd get the best of both worlds - liftgate (ease and rain protection) and tailgate (cooking, sitting on etc).

 

 

Very interesting indeed. My favourite would still be Viking Vince's flip-pac camper. It just seemed so spacious and efficient.

Troy

 

this is a rather simpel mod, so long as the weather is nice! i picked up some fibreglass screen and a roll of magnet w/adhesive on one side. i roughly trimmed the screen to fit over the rear door window by 2-3" and held it in place with the strip magnet. this gives you flow through ventilation which you control by how much you leave the windows open. if you use vent shades, you could probably leave the windows open to get some air movement during rain. the screen would have to be cut larger in the top section to cover the vent shade. i cut the strip magnet close to size of the screen panel to act as an external frame, the strip magents hold reasonably well to keep the screen in place. i did not use the adhesive on the strip magnet to attach it to the screen as i re-roll the strip magnet and screen for storage. this was a quick and dirty mod to get air while sleeping in the back. i am going to probably cut the strip magnet and attach it to the screen in a manner that allows for easy folding for storage.

lee

 

Now is your first hand experience with exactly this propane heater? If so, that's interesting, because these things don't produce any carbon monoxide above 12% oxygen, and you'd have to be pretty high in elevation to see that.

They use platnium fibers to catalyze the reaction therefore it only produces water and carbon dioxide. Yes ventilation is required for those, but you CAN sleep with them on.

 

 

Here's an interesting link about a fellow who has traveled across North America in his Toyota truck. His website inspired me to look into camping mods for my own truck.

http://www.delsjourney.com/close-ups...yota_truck.htm

Troy

 

Yep -- first hand experience, same model. Camp 4 in Yosemite. Nearly died. Do whatever you like, bro.

Ed

 

your best bet for staying warm while camping in the back of your rig, get a dog. the nice thing about a dog, you can tell it anything and it wont argue! just look at you with adoration for taking it to the great outdoors!

lee

 

Cool, thanks for the info. I still don't trust mine, so I usually just let it heat up the inside of my canopy and then turn it off when I go to bed.

 

I think there were also some mitigating factors -- length of time running it in the tent was 10+ hours. It ran for about 4 hours before we went to sleep, we changed the propane cartridge for a fresh one, and then crashed. Some time during the night the propane tank emptied. I didn't wake up, but my buddy said it died with a puff of smoke when it went out. This may have been the icing on the proverbial cake.

Other considerations -- my buddy seems to have gotten more ill than me. I was elevated about 8-10" off the ground because of the cushy sleeping platform I had built. He was flat on the ground on top of a Thermarest. Our tent was HUGE -- big enough and drafty enough that we completely ignored any chance of CO2 build up. I think the 6" layer of snow that fell during the storm that kept us tent-bound contributed to the lack of ventilation. Our tent looked more like an igloo in the morning.

Ed

 

camping before kids:





camping after kids:

 

I could modify it for me a little more to be before wife and after wife...

 

That's so true. I've talked to a few people who have tented for years with the kids and then when the kids grew up, it was motels/hotels exclusively. I've got a 6 year old, so I figure we're good for tent camping for at least another 5 to 8 years.

Troy