RAV4 camping: a versatile vehicle for the great car camping

Tired of carrying your tent and your other camping essentials and accessories for camping? Worry not as there is an alternative for that, and it’s a recent form of camping and that is car camping. Basically, for car camping, you pack up all your gears and essentials into your car, drive the car to your camping destination, and camp in your whilst enjoying nature. While this might sound a bit unusual, car camping isn’t a frightening experience, but instead a marvelous adventure that you definitely need to experience.

If you’re looking for an RV that can do more than just drive around, the Toyota RAV4 is a great option. While it’s not perfect for camping, the RAV4 can easily be converted into a functional camper. Here are five tips to help make your camping experience successful with the RAV4. You can use a Rav4 for camping With its spacious interior and all-wheel drive, the RAV4 is able to handle any terrain you might encounter while camping. Plus, with its comfortable ride and versatile features, the RAV4 is perfect for anyone looking to explore the great outdoors. So, let us get started on its details and see how good this SUV is for car camping.

We suggest you read and learn more about Prius camping for car camping .

What is RAv4 camping?

Rav4 camping isn’t just for the outdoorsy type. With its ample cargo space and comfortable accommodations, the Rav4 makes an ideal vehicle for weekend getaways or long-term camping trips. So what is Rav4 camping? Essentially, it’s using a Rav4 as your home away from home while out in nature. Whether you’re taking advantage of the vehicle’s versatile storage capacity or enjoying the impressive outdoors features, Rav4 camping is a great way to explore new territory and make new friends.

What are the benefits of using a Prius for camping?

Cheaper compared to other Toyota SUVs:

When you will start browsing the car market, you will notice that all kinds of cars whether they are big, small, long, wide, etcetera, and you’ll see that every single car price is blasting above the roof. However, compared to others cars, you will find that Toyota RAV4’s price is comparatively cheaper and this might just fit within your budget.

You might not be in the mood to buy a Toyota RAV4 for its price, therefore in that case, you can just easily rent one for a few days and take that for your camping trip. This is only applicable if you own another small car or don’t have any cars at the moment and don’t plan on spending a huge amount of money on a car. But if I were you, I would immediately head down to the Toyota car showroom and book myself an exquisite-looking Toyota RAV4.

Spacing inside the car:

A well-known fact is that SUVs are all about being gigantic and providing plenty of space on the inside. However, what circles out RAV4s is that they provide much more space compared to all the other SUVs. You won’t even have any second thoughts about spacing issues since you will be able to fit all your essentials, accessories, and gears on the back without any setbacks. You can easily fit your camping tent, hiking boots, inflatable mattress, sleeping bag, chairs, picnic box, food and water, and the list goes on. Even after putting them all in your car, you will still have ample space to pack up several humans and fit them there.

Seating system:

Like most cars, Toyota RAV4s interior seating area is very spacious. It comes with 2 seats up front, a long seat in the middle to fit around 3 people, and 2 foldable seats in the back just in case you have more people. You can fit around 6-7 inside a Toyota RAV4 before starting to squeeze people in there. However, one problem that you might face while sitting in a Toyota RAV4 is that they don’t have enough legroom space for your legs.

I mean, as they do, but it’s not enough. The same issue arises with armrests as there isn’t much space to keep your arms resting due to the car structure’s narrow design. Then again, these problems won’t since you will be car camping alone in it and the RAV4 can definitely can handle one single person. If you want, then you can take someone else with you, but that might make the car slightly crowded limiting your movement space but 3 people in one car for camping is certainly not.

Let’s check out a quick comparison of Rav4 vs 4Runner here :

Rav4 vs 4Runner:

	Toyota RAV4	Toyota 4Runner
Budget	While browsing at Toyota RAV4’s price, you will notice that their starting price is around $26,000 which is for the basic model. If you are looking for something classy and luxurious, then you can go for the mid-range ones which cost somewhere between $27,000 all the way to $33,000. If you still aren’t satisfied, then you can go for the Limited Off-Road models which will cost you a whopping $35,000 plus.	Toyota RAV4 can be quite expensive when compared to Toyota Prius as they are below $30,000 and the lowest can be around $26,000. Even though that’s a low price, it is still more expensive than a Toyota Prius. The limited edition hybrids cost around $37,000, which is a very high price in the market.
Size	A RAV4’s approximate length is around 15 feet long which is the same as a RAV4. It has a total height of 5.5 feet from the ground and a total width of 73 inches. It is smaller according to every aspect when compared to a Toyota 4Runner.	A Toyota 4Runner is also approximately 15 feet long. However, it has the upper hand as its height is 5.95 feet tall which leads it to be higher than a RAV4, therefore, serving as a suitable option for tall people without any difficulties. It has a width of 79 inches also making it wider when compared to a RAV4.
Mass	A Toyota RAV4’s mass is 3,490 pounds which can be rounded up to a grand total of 3,500 pounds. That is the car’s mass only without passengers and baggage on it. It’s light-weight when compared to a Toyota 4Runner hence will be able to go faster since there won’t be any extra weight holding it down.	A Toyota 4Runner’s mass is somewhat slightly more as its curb weight is 4,400 pounds making it heavier than a Toyota RAV4 which means that it will require more speed to move around which isn’t a good option while driving on a rough road or going uphill.
Seating capacity	The latest models of RAV4 provide deluxe seating for 5 passengers as it introduces two rows of voluminous seating. It has a passenger volume of 98.9 cubic feet.	A Toyota 4Runner offers seating for 5 people as a default option and if you want then you can also choose the 7 people seating option which will allow the third row of seats in the back
Engine and its replacement cost	Every single type of Toyota RAV4 comes with a 2.5-liter engine 4-cylinder engine and it’s a reasonable option since it’s extremely powerful while being stunningly flexible. However, if your engine gets damaged then you will need to spend somewhat between $3,000 and $6,000 to get a perfect engine and this isn’t even the brand new ones. A brand new engine will probably cost you twice more.	A Toyota 4Runner comes with a 4.0-liter V-6 engine. When your engine gets damaged, then you will definitely need to operate it if you plan on using the same car instead of buying a new one. Fixing the damaged V6 engine will cost you somewhat between $5,000-$7,000 making it costlier than fixing/replacing a RAV4 engine
Fuel Capacity	Toyota RAV4 comes with a definite 14.5-gallon fuel tank allowing it to store and provide more fuel. The reason behind this is that RAV4s aren’t that eco-friendly	Due to its humongous model size, Toyota 4Runners are capable of storing almost twice the amount of fuel when compared to a RAV4. They can store up to 23 gallons at maximum capacity. They are also eco-friendly.
Fuel Consumption	Since RAV4s aren’t that eco-friendly, they will end up using up to 6.2 liters of fuel per 100 km, in other words, they can easily travel as much as 16.1 km with just 1-liter fuel.	Since it has a bigger tank that can hold more fuel than a RAV4, it also uses a lot of fuel when compared to a RAV4. A Toyota 4Runner can accelerate up to 100km by using only 13.8 liters, which is a lot more when compared to a RAV4. With just 1 liter of fuel, it can travel around 12.2 to 14.1km.

Now that we have discussed the car’s unique features and differences, let us move on to the main reason why we are here and that is how to set up camp in Toyota RAV4. Without further ado, let us head down to the details.

Setting Up Your Campsite: How do you set up your RAV4 for car camping?

Step #1: Sleeping process:

First of all, let us start on the basics of preparing for sleeping since we all know that if we don’t get a proper goodnight’s sleep, the next whole day and night will be grouchy and mainly exhausted. So, to prevent those we need to first gather the sleeping materials needed for car camping on the back of a RAV4.

The first item that you need for sleeping is a mattress, but any mattress won’t do the work. You need to first fold the seats so that you have ample space for putting up a mattress, and then measure the length and width of space in your car where you will be putting up your mattress. Once you get the exact measurements, go to the store and get the mattress of your choice, but get it a few centimeters small. Now, you might be asking why get a slightly smaller mattress because you might not fit in it?

Well, the answer is that if you get one exactly according to the measurements, then it will be hard to put it in and out of the RAV4 since there won’t be any extra space to move it, but a slightly smaller one will let you move it in and out easily without any troubles. You can get the solid mattress if you want, but getting an inflatable mattress will save you quite some space which can be used to take other essentials.

If you want to save up some money then, in that case, you can get a sleeping bag instead of a mattress which is actually small and collapsible saving a lot of space and a lot cheaper compared to a mattress. However the only downfall to using a sleeping bag is that it isn’t as comfortable as a mattress but it will work if you use it for one or two nights if you plan on staying for more than 2 days, then I would suggest getting a mattress.

However, if you aren’t a fan of either sleeping bags or mattresses, then you can just use your RAV4 car seats. How? Well, there’s no need to perform various steps because all you need to do is just take the middle seating row and just fold it down flat providing more space and you can have ample space to lie down once all the seats are folded back in your RAV4.

Just because you have a mattress or a sleeping bag doesn’t mean you are completely set. You must also get the other 2 sleeping essentials, which are pillows and blankets. You can’t just lie flat on your back and expect a goodnight’s sleep. Pillows are necessary for your headrest, and blankets will protect you from the cold and keep you warm and comfortable.

Step #2: Ventilation:

When sleeping in an enclosed space, you need to have some sort of opening whether big or small to make sure that the air can easily get exchanged. If you sleep in your RAV4 with all the doors and windows closed, there’s a high chance of you suffocating to death. When we exhale, we take out Carbon dioxide gas from our body and release it into the air. So, if all the doors and windows are closed completely, there won’t be fresh and old air exchange leading to the closed area filling up with CO2 gas which is harmful when inhaled.

Step #3: Blocking off yellow sun rays:

Curtains are basically set up in our house to prevent the hot sun rays from invading our houses and making it hot. Sun rays are not only capable of making the area hot where it lands but if it hits a specific surface for a long time, it can also cause discoloration of that surface. Therefore, in other words, Sun rays are harmful and must be avoided at all costs but how do we do that while car camping?

The first method is a simple one as it only requires a piece of long cloth, preferably dark color to provide more shade. At first, you need to lower your window a bit like 3-5cms and then take the cloth. Now with the cloth in your hand, put a bit of the cloth through the open part of the window and then slowly roll up the window while making sure that a bit of the cloth is on the opposite side of the window. Once the window is rolled up, you will notice that the cloth outside is stuck and the cloth inside is hanging whilst covering the window providing you some lovely shade and comfort.

For the second method, it is almost similar to the first method and the only difference is that you need hanging clips this time. You will have to hang the cloth in a vertical direction and make sure the cloth is long and wide to cover the whole or at least 90% of the window glass and then raise it up high till the handlebars. After the cloth is up there, take the clips and attach the cloth to the handlebar with the help of the clips. There you have it folks, your own DIY curtain.

The final method, I like to call it the lazy method. Why? It is because it requires no effort at all. If you go to any car accessories shop, you will notice that they have a form of a circular disk that has a suction cap to it, and it’s called glass shades. You can just purchase those and easily just stick them onto your RAV4 windows for some dark cover.

Step #4: Experiencing scorching heat or freezing cold weather:

When we are out in the wild, we have no control over the weather unlike in our home where we can make the room cold within 5 mins by pressing one button or make the room hot by opening the window. However, in the case of the wild, we have no option but to try and adapt to the outside weather.

When you start to feel hot, you can try using a portable mini AC to cool down your surroundings. If you want to go budget-friendly, then you can use hand fans to cool yourself down. You can also keep your car doors and windows open for proper ventilation and let the air pass through. One thing you can do beforehand while car camping during the summer season is that you can wear and pack light and half sleeves clothes through which air can easily pass through. This will prevent your body from heating up and keeping your body cool for quite some time.

When you start to feel cold, you can try closing all the doors and windows as this will prevent any cold wind from entering the car and freezing up the place. You might think why not use a small portable heater to keep your car’s interior warm? This is a huge mistake as using a heater in a small space will be likely to start a fire and while the heater is being used, it releases Carbon Monoxide gas which is very harmful to the human respiratory system. You can also pack and wear thick woolen clothes to keep yourself warm as much as possible.

Now you might be thinking, why not use the car’s AC or heater? It is because you need to keep your RAV4 on for these features and while it’s on, you might fall asleep and start dreaming. While you are dreaming, your RAV4 will be on for a long period of time, leading to fuel wastage and damage to the internal parts since your RAV4 isn’t moving and just sitting in one place. While AC isn’t that dangerous, a heater can potentially start a fire inside your RAV4 and kill you.

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