There are many enigmas and mysteries around the world, such as, how did the Egyptians build the pyramid? What exists inside a black hole? Is time travel possible? However, there is another mystery that runs around in our heads unanswered, and it’s a pretty important question. The question is, “can you sleep in your car while camping?” You might read several books on car camping and still might not know the answer, but fear not, as we have come to your rescue. Today, we will help you in solving one of the greatest mysteries in the world. So, let us not waste any more time and get right to it.
To know more about car camping, you can read our comprehensive writing on HOW TO CAMP IN YOUR CAR-A COMPLETE GUIDE 2022.
Steps of can you sleep in your car while camping
We are accustomed to sleeping in lovely beds at our home, but sleeping in the car has never been easy for all. Especially in car camping, it’s really too hard for anyone to have a good sleep in the car. After driving all day long here and there, then park the car at a certain spot for passing the night.
Probably it sounds really nice when we are far from car camping but in reality, it’s really tough because after driving all the way in single hand we get exhausted so much. Our body needs some proper rest. But the question is, how do we get proper rest?
Proper rest depends on proper sleep, without it, you cannot continue your enjoyable car camping journey. Realizing the fact, we have brought some solutions here step by step on can you sleep in your car while camping?
Step 1# Space issues:
Some might say it’s possible, while others might say that it’s not possible to sleep in your car while camping. However, in my opinion, we would say yes it’s possible to sleep in your car, but that depends on the number of people in your camping group and the number of cars available. We would say that only one person should be able to sleep in one car no matter how big the car is since you will need some car spaces for storing your food, gear, and other essentials.
Secondly, if two people try to sleep in one car, it will get very clustered and will make both the people trying to sleep very uncomfortably, which will definitely lead to a no-sleep night. If two people even try to sleep in one car, then there won’t be almost barely any space to keep your food, gear, and your other essentials.
Step 2# Difference between a car and an RV:
RVs are definitely bigger than cars, which means they have a lot more interior space including your own personal bed, lavatory, kitchen, seating arrangements, and many more perks. So why not just get an RV for camping instead of a car?
Well, not everyone can rent an RV just like that. RVs come at a great price that not many can afford due to budget issues and due to their humongous build, they can take up quite some space and will consume more gas since you need to keep it turned on to use the other features in an RV, whereas you can just keep the windows down in a car, and you will have access to fresh free natural air from the outside without needing to spend many efforts on comfortability.
Step 3# Know your parking and permits:
Once you start to feel sleepy, there is no doubt that you will fall asleep within the next couple of minutes and that can be dangerous if you are on the wheel. Therefore, you must make sure to call it a day or night depending on when you are falling asleep or about to fall asleep to prevent any kind of accident in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes, after you get in an accident in the forest, you might not be able to reach the emergency line due to no signal in your area.
Now about the permits, you need to carefully plan and check where you will be parking your car before sleeping, as not every place is permissible for parking overnight. If you park somewhere you are not supposed to, you might get a huge fine the next morning, or even worse, they can tow your car away while you are sleeping in your car unconsciously.
In some countries, they will put some kind of lock on your tire called the wheel clamp. Basically, it will prevent you from moving your car front and back, and you will be stuck in the same position forever. Therefore, always check and do some proper research on the place where you will be parking and hit the sack.
Step 4# Taking everything out of your car:
Now, the subheading might sound a bit ridiculous, because why would you be taking out all your belongings from the car, but bear with me as I describe the whole idea. For this idea to work, you will be needing a tent for the trip. So basically, when you are about to go to sleep at night, you need to take out all kinds of foods, gear, and other items that aren’t required for sleeping, and you can store them in a tent that you will be setting up just right beside your car.
By following this method, you can have more space to sleep and move around inside your car. However, the only downfall to this method is that your food might be taken by nearby animals, or they might even take your personal belongings from the tent out of curiosity while you are sleeping like a log and have no idea what’s going on outside.
Step 5# Get a pleasant comfy sleeping bed set:
Unless you are very sleepy, you won’t find your car seats comfortable enough to sleep on. If your car seats are made of leather, then they will keep on making squeaky noises every time you roll to your left or right side, and you won’t get a perfect sleep. Now, how can we solve this situation?
Well, for starters, you need to invest in some deep comfortable bed mattress you know will fit in your car because what’s the point in getting the most comfortable mattress in the world if it isn’t going to fit in your car or even too small for you to fit in it. Therefore, get a mattress that will fit in your car without causing any sort of problems and you just completed step 1 out of 3.
Now, step 2 would be pillows because what’s the point of getting the world’s comfiest mattress if you don’t have pillows to sleep on? However, any pillow isn’t applicable in this case, as there are multiple variations of pillows on the market. To acquire the perfect ones, you need to get a pillow that’s slightly or mostly hard. Now, why the hard pillows?
It is because hard pillows will provide your head with a proper headrest whereas a soft of flat pillow will easily turn hot after you place your head on it and in turn, will turn your head hot which might lead to headaches and migraines. Unless a doctor recommends you to use a soft pillow, I would say it’s better to use a hard pillow than a soft pillow.
Since we are already on the subject of mattresses and pillows, there is still one ingredient missing from the perfect combination. Moreover, it is step 3 which is blankets! Now, how can you enjoy a good night’s sleep without a blanket? You can’t. You’ll either shiver or feel like something is missing, which will keep you awake all night. This proves that a blanket is almost as important as a mattress and pillows. Now, how are you going to acquire the quintessential blanket?
For starters, you’re going to need to look for a woolen one that isn’t too thick because too thick blankets will make you sweat a lot, and you might even catch a fever due to too much heat. Therefore, you need to avoid too thick blankets.
In our opinion, we would choose a cashmere blanket since they provide the perfect level of warmth, and they are the most comfortable blanket on the market. If you can’t find woolen or cashmere, then you can settle for the 3rd comfy blanket and that would be fleece, as they are known for their warmth and softness of the cloth type. They are also very lightweight and comfortable.
FAQ’s:
Q1: How to remove a wheel clamp?
Ans: To remove one, you will need to go to the car department that put the clamp, pay them the fine that they put on your car, and then they will open it up using some sort of special tools.
Q2: Can I use soft pillows instead of hard pillows?
Ans: Of course, you can since it totally depends on your choice but in my opinion, a mid-hard pillow is better than a soft pillow.
Q3: When it comes to RVs and cars, which is cheaper to rent?
Ans: The answer would be cars since they are much smaller when compared to RVs and RVs are basically your house on wheels since it has beds, kitchen, lavatory, storage room, and whatever else you name it.
Conclusion :
Considering all the facts, if you still have doubts about whether you can sleep in your car or not, the answer is yes, you can sleep in your car, but you need to make sure you have a permit on where you will be parking your car for sleeping or need to make sure the place is legal for car camping. Sleeping in your car is almost the same as sleeping in an RV, just the smaller space is the only difference.
If you don’t sleep and camp in your car once in your life, then you are missing out on one of the biggest experiences in your life. So, get your camping and sleeping essentials, a startup that car, and head directly to your camping spot without any worries. Happy Camping!
