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Does anyone camp in their CRV?

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camp crv
189K views 71 replies 47 participants last post by  mrtn 
#1 ·
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
 
#2 · (Edited)
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.
 
#3 ·
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
 
#4 ·
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.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#8 ·
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.



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
 
#9 ·
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. :)
 
#11 ·
I've just had my CR-V for about 10 days now, I realized coming home from work that I could single-fold the larger seat on the right (fold the back down forward, but don't rotate forward into the front seats off the rear latches) and have a bed platform that would be level with the top of the seat back so that you have storage under the bed platform, but my height requires me to fold the passenger seat forward. Also, there's the option to make it only as wide as the right rear seat so that I have a "dressing area" all the way down to the floor, behind the left rear seat. I have yet to figure out how I'm going to multisection the platform so that I can fold it back up and return the seats back to their normal positions after breaking camp.

There is the option to build a platform that extends out the rear cargo threshold and is supported by legs that are on the ground and support the rear end of the bed platform, and the whole thing is somehow protected by no-see-um mesh. A third option is to get a deal on a Yakima rack from work (I work for REI) and mount a roof top tent (RTT) on it. The idea is staying off the ground and making it quick and easy to break camp.

Or, how about a hard-shell extension that is pulled out through the rear opening and has clamps that clamp down around the opening on the body without interfering with or cutting the rubber gasket for the rear door? It would be a shell sticking out the rear opening, but would be sealed to keep bugs out, and it would have a door to get in and out and have small window screen vents to help with ventilation.

What has been built for the CR-V as far as completely-contained camping is concerned?

Stephanie
 
#12 ·
What has been built for the CR-V as far as completely-contained camping is concerned?

Stephanie
Not a whole lot. Unfortunately, manufacturers of car accessories and camping gear have seemingly taken the approach that Honda made 2 different small SUVs to fit 2 different demographics. The Element for the adventurous, camping type and the CRV for city going moms and dads.
When I bought my CRV, I figured they are comparable off-road and the CRV gets slightly better mpg and sits a tad higher. Universal products, like the adjustable SUV tent should fit, but I haven't been able to find many CRV specific camping products.
Regardless, necessity breeds invention, so I have been able to improvise and design/make/build what I needed most of the time, to I learned to do without
 
#14 ·
i've camped once inside my CRV. we just folded the rear seats forward as you would for cargo, and slept back there. it was surprising roomy enough, but then i am only 5'-7", and my friend isn't much taller than me. to make room in the cargo area, we had to shift all our gear into the front seats.

normally my tent of choice is a Hennessy Hammock.

my first CRV was a 1st gen 1998 EX. i was wow'ed by the fact that all the seating could flatten and join together to make a massive bed. but i was annoyed that in that configuration it was at a slant. i never got to sleep in it cause it was totaled not long after i got it (long story, wasn't my fault).

my next and current CRV is still a 1st gen, but a year younger and only an LX. i was disappointed to learn i lost the option. i figured i would try it parked on a hill someday. oh well, no biggie, i have my Hennessy now anyway. as long as i can find two sturdy trees between 12 and 20 feet apart, i have a campsite.
 
#16 ·
Vehicle Car Van Minivan Trunk


Vehicle Car Minivan Van


I have gone a bit overboard with the concept of camping in the CR-V, having removed the rear seats entirely, but I know that there are different variations on the sleeping platform that allow you to keep your rear seats if you construct a platform that folds to a compact size to fit entirely in the cargo area when not in use. Overall, sleeping in it in this fashion makes for a really pleasant night!
 
#20 ·
View attachment 9881

View attachment 9889

I have gone a bit overboard with the concept of camping in the CR-V, having removed the rear seats entirely, but I know that there are different variations on the sleeping platform that allow you to keep your rear seats if you construct a platform that folds to a compact size to fit entirely in the cargo area when not in use. Overall, sleeping in it in this fashion makes for a really pleasant night!
Looks like a tight fit, but cozy!
 
#19 ·
If you've done any camping, you'd buy a real tent from REI, Cabelas, or the like. Even a cheapo tent from WallyWorld is a better choice than the Honda tent. You'll also need sleeping bags, down is most versatile, and mattress pads. Insulated inflatable are the most comfortable. I pack all this stuff (and more) on a motorcycle so I buy the products that pack down to the smallest dimensions. They tend to cost more. Packing them in the car, you have no such restriction.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I loved my hard top folding camper I used to pull with my 2000 CRV. Better than any tent out there.

Best part is you could just rent one if your not sure you'd enjoy it, or have to room to keep it. Of course you would need a trailer hitch though!
 
#22 · (Edited)
As you might notice by my moniker "Camping Fool" I do a tremendous amount of camping and I intend to do a lot of camping with my new CRV.
Being a prior Element owner we toyed with the idea of sleeping in it.
OK for a night but we do 3 to 5 day camping gigs all over the California.
After two nights sleeping inside the vehicle it got to be smelling a bit funky inside! :eek:

Plus there's no where to store camping gear inside while you're sleeping in it and all the gear you leave outside becomes fair game to bears, racoons, skunks, and all sorts of other forest critters - so we opted for a large tent.

We haul a schit load of gear when we go camping.
The CRV doesn't have the cavernous interior space that the Element had so we'll be carrying gear on the roof and probably be towing a tiny utility trailer behind the V to get the job done and not have to leave any of our awesome camping gear behind.
 
#23 ·
I haven't done any camping yet, but definitely plan to. I have a cargo hitch carrier if I need more room. I may eventually get a roof rack too.
 
#25 ·
That swiss box is pretty cool!
 
#26 ·
That swiss box is very cool. They just didn't show the part where a bear takes it all because the CR-V is so versatile...

Snout Bear
 
#27 · (Edited)
#30 ·
Have I camped in my Compact Recreational Vehicle? But of course.

My longest trip (so far) was a 5000 mile, month long drive from the mountains of North Carolina through Virginia, up to New York and Maine to Acadia NP, across the Canadian border, into New Brunswick for a lobster festival, Nova Scotia, PEI to see Anne of Green Gables, back to NS to see a lavender farm and some elk and reindeer, ferry to Newfoundland, another ferry to Quebec and Labrador and then back. (I did a bunch more stuff.)

The '01 has seats that convert to beds, and a table that can be used for whatever. I was comfortable with homemade window shades and more so when I parked on a slight uphill slope. I got a motel occasionally for internet and warm showers.

Oh... Adventurous single woman traveling alone.
 
#31 ·
I'll also add that I had plenty of room to carry a tent, 2 chairs, air mattress, sleeping bag, suitcase of clothes, suitcase of snorkel gear, wetsuit and cold weather wear, kitchen box, cooler, and all sorts of smaller assorted items. (stove, first aid kit, box of maps and books...)
 
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