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Will post some pictures of the loaded up CR-V in a little bit

 

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Stay off the interstate.

Hah! Is that advice or part of a premonition?

Yeah, I am hoping to minimize the time on the interstate. With roof rack and AT/S tires, the CR-V doesn't like to cruise much above 60-65mph now anyway (not without noticeably lower gas mileage at least...). I have the time, plan to take the scenic route as often as possible. The east cost will largely be the exception to this, my time will be at its most scheduled for this stretch when it comes to seeing family and friends.

 

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Bought a tire-mounted bike rack from a friend, perfect for a gen1 CR-V

The bedding was removed for the photos. The mattress roll and other sleeping stuff is likely going to remain piled up in back for a few weeks, won't really do any camping until Florida or so.

Relocated my lobstah to the roof rack as the bicycle bumped it from its former spot on the spare tire. The water jugs and gas can are empty for now, likely won't really need them until I am further west in different national parks. Once the water jugs are filled they will actually sit inside the vehicle when driving, probably on the passenger seat or passenger foot well. Don't want too much weight that high up, prefer to avoid the chances of a rollover.

The underside is definitely packed fairly tight! The bucket might be relocated to the roof rack later on if need be.

 

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My wardrobe. Shirts, socks, etc. are all in different bags on the ceiling. The wooden slats help keep the cargo bungees from sagging too much.

I chose to keep the cooler inside the vehicle rather than the rack, wanted to minimize raising the center of gravity too much. Had to remove the center table between the front seats to make a better fit.

 

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You'll be fine. I did several west coast trips in the early 70's, long before the interstates were completed in the western states. I loved those old two lane roads, especially the old US routes. Even now, I do my best to stay off the highways in New England, especially when I'm on the motorcycle, but plenty of times in the car too.

Yeah, looking forward to when I largely skip the highways! Currently in Manchester, NH and think I will take the backways to get to Providence, RI, have the time and definitely prefer cruising along at 55mph and actually having scenery to look at. Some stretches are just gonna be tough to avoid the super slab though, I have a friend in Long Island to see and family in New Jersey. Be a lot happier once I get to about Virginia, can start taking more back roads!

 

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If your not gonna be sleeping in the back for now, throw most of the stuff inside off the roof for better mpg.

That isn't a terrible idea! Once I hit Rhode Island I will be hanging out for a few days, think I will move at least the foot locker inside the CR-V. Want to maintain decent rearward visibility, that should be low enough to not entirely block my view...

 

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Please run it through a car wash once out of crap weather.

Hah! Have been looking forward to that! I chiseled some extra ice out of the wheel well with a pocket knife this morning, the Honda is truly pretty haggard looking at the moment, can't lie. Be happy to see the road grime and salt wash away.

 

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Best of luck in your travels. Never seen a CR-V put to such good use like that. Very cool. Well thought out and packed.

Thanks for saying so! I have done what I could with my fairly limited funds and skills, been a fun project up to this point so should be interesting to see how everything works over a longer trip.
I think some first gen CR-Vs might be reaching a condition/mileage and thus price that will justify some less typical uses. It is hard to find a more well-rounded vehicle as far as possible uses and they hold up really well.

 

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You're probably well on your way by now, but I'd recommend you reverse the orientation of your bike on the rack to get the wheel out of the exhaust stream. Don't ask how I know this will help.
Good luck and I look forward to the pics and updates.

This is a fair point, just took a look at it a few minutes ago and made some adjustments. The bicycle tire looked fine so far, would like to keep it that way. I shifted the bike further back on the rack and straightened the front wheel. The wheel was turned before in order for the rear hatch glass to clear the handlebars but that isn't necessary now that the entire bike has been shifted. I tried to flip the bike 180 degrees and re-mount it but the issue then is that the bike is less centered on the CR-V, the back wheel sticks out more than a foot off the side of the vehicle, made me nervous it might get clipped.

 

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Hah! I have heard people refer to car camping on neighborhood streets as "stealth camping", but no clue what to call camping secretly in an off season campground. That is pretty funny! How long were you guys there?

I had been thinking about maybe using a tarp to cover everything on top, probably could get it pretty taut if I use some bungees or "stitch" the tarp closed with rope. Any boost to gas mileage would be appreciated, worth a try! And an extra layer of defense against the elements can't hurt. I have two tarps with me, a cheapo tarp that is still in the packaging and the heavy duty tarp from the PVC canopy side project. The heavy duty tarp might be good choice, it is roughly 6' x 8' if I remember correctly, pretty perfect size to wrap the roof rack without having too much extra. Plus the grommets are 18" apart, probably could take the slack out of it pretty well.

Staying in New Hampshire currently and then onwards to my native Rhode Island, hangout for a few days, will have some free time to tinker with the set up. I already wanted to grab a few things that I locked away in the roof rack anyway, as good a time as any to try and refine the formula.

 

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Since you're on a tight budget and I'm sure you don't want to have to invest in a new bike front tire, I'd recommend you either bungee the bike in at the bottom, towards the spare or take the front wheel off all together to get it out of the exhaust stream. If it was me, I'd take it off and hang it on the rack prior to putting the bike on the rack. It's captured that way and isn't taking up any needed space. It may be OK now while the air is cold, but when the temps go up (and they will) the exhaust is going to cook that tire/tube to the point it won't be safe to use.
As to tarping the stuff up top, remember, if it isn't done tightly it'll become a big sail and slow you down even further than if it weren't there. To do it properly I think you'd have to put the tarp up on the car before loading the rack so there isn't an open leading edge to catch the wind. I say this based on years of observing over the road truckers and looking at how they tarp loads. The best jobs don't 'flap' in the breeze.

That is a good point about the air temperature and the bike tire. After the NH to RI drive yesterday I checked the bike tire and found it to be as cold as everything else but it did cross my mind that once I leave the northeast and hit warmer weather the exhaust may have a much larger impact. Glad to hear someone else say it. Considering I just bought this set of tires for the trip (the old set are in a tub on the roof, much more street oriented) and would hate to see one of them needlessly wrecked, won't take much effort to tweak the setup. I like the idea of hanging the front tire on the arms of the rack, no real inconvenience and errs on the side of caution.

The tarp will be a project for another (warmer) day. I want to spend some time on the roof weeding out any extra weight and very carefully coming up with a good setup for covering the load. If not done well the tarp is just going to create even more drag and completely defeat the purpose, so want to not feel rushed by the cold. I might ship a few things onward to Oregon, eliminate extra weight. Once I start seeing the warmer weather I will put some time in up there, refine the setup.

 

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Forgot to share this sooner, my starting mileage (roughly).

 

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Weather in the northeast holding travel back a day. New York can wait, happy to keep hanging in Providence, Rhode Island. Please forgive the heavy photo processing if not your taste, having fun messing with the new cell phone!

 

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Love it that you got such a great vehicle for $ 700.00. Even with that many miles,it sounds like you figured out it would be exactly what you would need. These older cars can do very well especially when they are loved and well maintained. Enjoy your accomplishment!

You certainly know how to utilize space in a CRV. Let us hear how you are doing on your trip. I bet your CRV will do well and this is a great bonding experience. Let us know when you hit the 500,000 miles mark. We will all send you a grand toast!

Thanks! I am grateful that the previous owners were willing to let it go at that price, the trip wouldn't have been likely without this. It has taken an added $2000 to catch it up on maintenance (timing belt, a lot of suspension work, etc.) over the last 1.5 years but that still puts the overall investment inline with typical Craigslist pricing.

And at this age and mileage it just seemed like I could look past future resale value and make whatever I wanted out of it. Not that I have any plans to sell the 'V in the future, I think it will continue to be tinkered with and be my opportunity to become a better shade tree mechanic. Once I hit Portland, OR I can get by with bicycle and public transit well enough to take some pressure off of the ole' Honda! Think I might try to replace the backseats and adapt the sleeping platform to fully fold up into the rear hatch area...

 

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I just finished washing our CR-V. I've been down with the flu the last two weeks and needed some sunshine.
It's a balmy 71* today, plenty of sunshine, just a slight breeze and it's only 11:17AM.
Head west young man, head west, that snow picture makes me cold just looking at it.

Hah! That sounds pretty awesome right now!

Yeah, I am looking forward to spending time in warmer locations, my friends in New England are going to be pretty jealous once I post my first beach photo. Heck, even winters in Oregon are going to be a nice change of pace compared to central Maine...

 

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Cutting across Connecticut
I grew up in Rhode Island but barely have spent any time in Connecticut. The 'Cut has largely been just a state that I had to drive through whenever traveling further south. Following the coast on Rt. 95 is far from a fun time and with the recent winter storm any time spent on the highway was extra unbearable, the wind made it hard to do even 55mph at times. So the day before I left RI I charted an interesting looking route that brought me across Connecticut on some of the out of the way routes. Well worth the extra time, be happy when I can leave the northeast and be able to plan more routes like this.

Found a great stretch of road that goes around the Barkhamsted Reservoir, right along the CT/MA border.

Spent a lot of time in 3rd gear in this area, whether going uphill or downhill.

I think this is in the Bronx? The winds had died down by the time I passed through here, made the highway miles much more bearable.

 

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Some good photos there. Keep it up.

Thanks for saying so!

 

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Cool scenery, figuratively and literally.

Yeah, really nice to pass through quieter stretches of Connecticut right after a snow storm. Getting my share of winter New England in while I can.

 

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This is really fun...almost feel like I'm in the copilot seat...great pictures...show some when you are bedded down for the night...thanks Rick

Thanks! I feel like a big part of the inspiration for my trip came from reading other people's car travel logs, figured it would be cool to share in a similar way.

I will snap some photos of the camping setup probably in a week or so, haven't camped in the Honda yet! I am planning on spending a longer period of time in Florida, do some camping where the temperatures are always above freezing.