Ever since I bought an SUV, one of my goals has been to turn the back area into a livable space. I love driving and seeing new places, and being able to pack up and leave on a moments notice sounds like the best thing in the world to me. There are plenty of plans out there on how to turn your car into a car camper. This one from travderose on instructables.com is one of the best I’ve seen though. It provides you with everything you need while camping, without turning your vehicle into an RV.
He started by measuring the space in the back of his Jeep Patriot that he would have to work with.
A simple piece of plywood was cut into the shape and dimensions he had measured.
Your plywood needs to be secured to the floor but also easily removable. So you’ll have to drill 3 or 4 holes in your floor and place a bolt in each one. Secure the bolt with two nuts facing up.
Then drill holes that are holes that are slightly bigger than the nuts on the underside of the piece of plywood. Obviously they should line up with the holes in your floor.
You will need to secure your refrigerator and drawers. Simply screw in small blocks of wood in front and behind both of them.
The shelving unit that will hold a sink and a stove is the next thing to be built. It’s pretty simple build.
The top space will be a shelving unit.
This drawer is the main component of this unit. It will serve as a sink, a stove and counter space.
The drawer has a top to it that the builder cut a hole into. This will hold a bowl that will serve as a sink.
In a cutout on the bottom there is a place to put your portable stove when you are not using it.
The space next to the bowl is used to put the portable stove on.
The end of the drawer even extends to offer more usable counter space. This is a nice space-saving feature.
Simple window latches were added to the storage unit, as well as to the back of the base piece of plywood. These keep it secure while driving, and also prevent it from flipping if you have quite a bit of weight on the front of it.
Vinyl was used to cover the counter tops.
Attachment points will need to be added for bungee cords to hold your water jugs on top.
Also be sure to add hooks to hang dish rags and utensils from.
Just like that you’re ready to enjoy car camping anywhere, even in a parking lot!
We recommend settings such as this however.
Check Out This Video Overviewing The Project:
I have a Jeep Commander myself, which is a slightly bigger version of the Patriot. I might take this weekend and map out what I would want to do in my Jeep to make it similar to this. The amenities may not be what you would get from an RV, but I will take this type of camping over an RV any day of the week.