Sleeping in a surf?!

[thom5r]

Hi there,
As I am yet to get a surf could anyone tell me if they have ever slept in their surf? When the back seats are put forward, is there step between the seats and the boot floor?

I go surfing a lot and tend to camp so sleeping in the car would be pretty handy in rainy conditions.

Also, anyone used those padded straps to carry surfboards on the roof? What roof racks fit onto the Hilux Surf?

[Apache]

Yes, slept in the Surf lots of times. With the seats down, the 'floor' is flat. I'm 5'10" and I'm comfortable in there.

Roof rack. Nothing easily available. You can fit Thule or similar bars easily though, which should do fine for boards.

[Sancho]

Someone had one of these for carrying canoes and swore on their life that it was actually good. Should suit surf boards well.

http://www.handirackuk.com/

[thom5r]

That's good. I could even chuck my air-mattress in the back! Although might need a tent for storage!

[gwh200]

Apache is usually comprehensively "refreshed" when he camps. He'd sleep in the glovebox and say it was comfy.
but as all above, put the seats down blow up your bed and it's very comfy. Yoshie and bushwhacker have a tent that fits across the back to give you some living space.

[thom5r]

Ah, that handirack looks like a more sophisticated, more expensive version of what my friend has. Just ratchet straps and padding. That's good they work well. Do you have a wind deflector on your sunroof? Would that get in the way?

[hiroler]

on the last wales trip i slept in the back of the car for 2nights with a 12st St bernard plenty of space! however the smell was another matter!!

[Apache]

however the smell was another matter!!

I know, god how sorry I felt for that poor dog...

[fonecrusher1]

Im tallish at 6ft2 & a bit fat at 20 stone & i have no problem sleeping in the back of my surf. Did it last summer a few times when i couldn't be arsed putting up the tent.
Its fine for the odd night, anymore & it would bet annoying.

Im getting this tent as soon as i have the money saved. Takes seconds to set-up unlike the piece of crud i got from argos which is like a Krypton factor challenge to assemble.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7h5RhRV9_8

Cool innit?

This is the ultimate quick set up tent but very very expensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AiHBoc6Jyg

[Apache]

I have a 3 man Quechua. It was ace in the Pyrenees after a hard days driving. Literally 2 mins to put up, so I could be sitting back with a beer while everyone else was fighting with their conventional tents. First couple of goes putting it down was interesting, but after that I could get it back in the bag in a minute or so. DEFINITELY worth the money!

[hiroler]

this is the tent we have its huge plenty big enough no good if your only planning on 1 night as it takes about 20 mins to set up!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Sunn...item3a5649ceda

[thom5r]

I can't click any of those links with me being at work :

I have a single skin pop-up tent that lets in water and is ###### cold and small. First and last time I slept in there it rained and when we woke up there was ice on the inside. Was lovely just untying it and letting it put itself up!

I'll be tempted to put up curtains and put in a little reading lamp!

[Baz94]

Apache is usually comprehensively "refreshed" when he camps. He'd sleep in the glovebox and say it was comfy.
but as all above, put the seats down blow up your bed and it's very comfy. Yoshie and bushwhacker have a tent that fits across the back to give you some living space.

Hey Yoshie or Bushwacker, Do you have any pics with this set up, have you modified a tent or is there a certain make that fits well? I've been contemplating on doing this as I've a couple of camping w/ends this year

[adpsimpson]

I've never bought into the 'pop-up' type tents. The main problem is that, in a heavy wind, they'll just as easy pop down again. And as soon as you have to put in guys, you lose the ease of putting it up... A few times we've watched people throw up their instant-up tents with mild envy, only to wake up warm and dry in the morning unaware how wet it had been till we see the puddles others are clambering out of!

We have a small 2 man (here) tent which takes the two of us about 2 mins to put up (plenty of practice!). It'll go up in any weather, keep out any weather, and we've used it on a peat bog, on a (very wet) river bank, on the side/top of a boulder, on a glacier, etc... Cost about £140 but well worth it.

We also have a 5 man uber-tent for flat fields in the summer (great when conditions allow, but weighs in at about 20kg so not exactly portable...), we've spent nights in the back of the surf, which is colder and more faff than either of the above, but possible in some places, like a ferry car park, where putting up a tent isn't possible, or when you weren't expecting to spend the night.

We recently acquired a lovely roof tent, which is the best of all the above - massive, quick, totally portable so long as you can get the Surf there... but quite expensive.

So in short, you can sleep in the back of a Surf, but it's often not the best option. It won't be as warm as a good tent, you'll have to move everything around, it probably takes longer than putting up most tents, etc.

[fonecrusher1]

this is the tent we have its huge plenty big enough no good if your only planning on 1 night as it takes about 20 mins to set up!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Sunn...item3a5649ceda

A fine tent im sure hiroler but wouldn't suit me as you mentioned i usually stay one or two nights & go home or head off somewhere else.



The Argos tent i bought really is junk, the first time i set it up i had the help of my brother & a mate & it still took us a good 35 mins. None of us are thick or anything (the bro is an engineer) its just a heap of sh!te.
The second time i was on my own, took the best part of an hour & by the time i'd finished i was a cranky,sweaty git. Oh & water somehow made it into the sleeping compartment as it had drizzled a bit that night. Not nice.
The 3rd time i gave up & slept in the surf.