Does anyone camp in their CRV?

[Netcelt]

We can lay all of the seats flat in the CRV. I am wondering if anyone has actually spent the night inside the CRV with the seats used as a bed. Is it comfortable? Is it better than a tent? We love to camp but have been using a tent and all the stuff you need to bring along with it. If I could camp in the CRV it would help reduce the amount of stuff I needed to bring.

Netcelt

[irwinje]

Though I haven't slept in my CR-V yet, there is a decent amount of room back there. At the risk of sounding dumb, are you sure you have a CR-V and not an Element? As far as I know, the CR-V seats don't lay flat, but rather fold up to the front row of seats where the seats on the Element actually do lay flat. Unless the gen 3 seats are different and I didn't know about it.
Oh, and car camping still requires a lot of gear. And you need a place to put it when you are in the car sleeping. So you almost have to bring a tent anyway.

[Netcelt]

No it's a CRV. The front seats lay back until flat and the rear seats do the same so that the whole cabin is flat. It looks like it would be comfortable. I understand what you are saying about the amount of stuff to bring. However if I could sleep inside the CRV I could eliminate the tent, cots or mats and groundsheet. The only things left outside would be our food/drinks cooler and kitchen box with all of the pots/pans and other camping stuff. These could be carried in the rear and then put on the picnic table once we get to the campsite. Judging from the amount of room available there would still be cargo space free inside too.

Netcelt

[noahrexion]

Very much a late post but to answer your question, yes. In a G1 CR-V only the EX model - which I have - can do this.

My wife and I camp/sleep in our V often and it truly is more comfy than a tent. That is not to say that it should always take over for it, but its much better when you need to stay warm/off the ground/dry...etc

The only issue with doing this is you should bring an extra hard pillow or two to stuff in between the drivers seats as thats the only "non padded" area when the seats are all flat. So long as you do that its really easy to roll around and be quite comfy in there; plenty of space.

[2RedV's]

Wouldn't the moisture (from breathing, etc.) create a rather warm and not so pleasant place for sleep? I would think I would be happier in a tent?

[noahrexion]

Originally Posted by 2RedV's

Wouldn't the moisture (from breathing, etc.) create a rather warm and not so pleasant place for sleep? I would think I would be happier in a tent?

Warm, yes that is part of the point.
Moist, sure... the windows sure fog up.
Unpleasant, not at all.

With good weather and some good gear I just assume use a tent. Inclimant weather and the CR-V makes a good shelter. Window cracked can solve most of it.

[Swiftone]

I've had my '97 double as a tent on 3 occasions now without any problems. The last time I was out tenting in the back of the V, I left the hatch open, and rigged up a crude bug screen that was duct-taped to strategic parts of the body. I'm sure this could be done much less shrewdly however.

The one problem I have with tenting in my V is that I am 6' 2" and I kinda have to sleep on an angle to fit my whole self in. I usually bring a large "Body" pillow and squish it up against the driver and passenger seat. When the bottom of the back seats fold up against the front seats, they are about 6" higher than the folded down part of the rest of the back seats. It can give a good crick in the neck otherwise!

Another fantastic part about the '97 V (not sure about later models) for camping is the utility plugin in the back trunk of the cabin. I have a small 75w inverter that powers an alarm clock and a one-cup coffee maker. I have left the ignition on ACC for a 9 hour night with these and other implements and never found that it has drained the battery more than starting capacity.

[jpod]

I camped a few times in the 04 CRV but did not sleep in it. It hauled more than enough stuff for two people for several days.

I want to do some camping with the 08 but haven't decided yet what particular role it will play, other than fairly luxurious transportation, in my camping kit.

But I've checked out a few options. The front and back seats can be positioned and reclined until they are horizontal but the resulting "sleeping" surface is far from flat. Maybe the right kind of mattress or padding would make it comfortable.

Another option is an SUV tent. They attach to the back of the vehicle so the interior space of the car is accessible from the tent. Lots of online sporting goods stores sell them. Tentsontrucks.com has quite a few of the Sportz Suv tents and Sports Authority sells the Texsport line. Tentsontrucks also sells magnetic screens so the car can be ventilated and bug-free.

[url="http://tentsontrucks.com/SUV-Minivan.htm"]

There are also several makes of roof top tents for SUVs.

I'm undecided about some of this because I'm also thinking about camping trailers and CRV towing specs. There are a few trailers that definitely comply with Honda USA's very conservative tow rating and there are a few that exceed it, but are also well below the European limits. For the time being however I'm keeping my own counsel on towing limits.

JPO

[Joshr1]

I've camped in my CR-V once, I found the floor too stiff for my liking, but a nice comforter under you should fix that.