Talk:Car camping

Shouldn't this be a blank article? (WT-en) Goodralph 01:13, 8 Jul 2004 (EDT)

We drove to Arizona and back and stayed in our car several nights very comfortably with sleeping bags, pillows and ADVENTURESCREEN insect screens that were custom made for our Honda Pilot. So I think car camping is open for discussion. 76.229.235.100 23:29, 27 March 2010 (EDT)

Worldwide coverage

This seems very U.S. specific, and hard to see it becoming a worldwide reference, as the rules vary. Any objections to moving this to Car Camping in the United States (or something similar)? --Inas (talk) 22:10, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

It's funny you should say that, as an American I can't really understand what most of this article is about. I've made a few updates, but the general phrases and use of language is out of my norm. When Americans discuss car camping, they mean pulling up to a campsite to pitch a tent, not actually camping in a car. I was thinking about breaking out a section on Travel Trailers (referred to here as caravans), but I'm honestly not sure where to start with this. --Lumpytrout (talk) 12:24, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

I took away a note of one section being USA and Canada specific. The same kinds of vehicles are probably available anywhere, although perhaps not common. Categories of camp sites, what you can expect of them etcetera is of course very country or region specific, but those sections were not marked. I think there is much general things to be said, just avoiding the coupling of specific services to specific categories of sites.

One way to go forward would be to indeed move this to Car Camping in the United States, while moving anything general back under this name and adding missing parts. Camping by a vehicle or in the vehicle probably raises much the same issues, except for camping on parking lots and similar places, where you cannot have your tent. The discussion on the differences suites the Get around or Sleep section as the article now is written, but I think a major overhaul could be worthwhile.

--LPfi (talk) 17:37, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

From a UK perspective

This is from memory, and may be out of date.

In the UK you can't camp backwoods or roadside, you have to use an appropriate 'caravan site'. These were/are typically large independent commercial concerns, or sites who pay a nominal fee to be in a directory of either the Caravan Club, or alternately "The Camping and Caravanning Club" which despite the similar name are/were two separate organisations.

UK Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) at least at typical touring level tend to be smaller than a US RV. In the mid 1990's I can recall seeing a LOT of them being based on slightly older light commercial vehicle/van chasis. In my recollection (Volkswagen Type 2's and Type 3's were often used as a basis). Not sure what's current though.

Facilities at UK sites varied, some were just a field, literally. Most slightly better sites had facilities like toilets, some had showers and a few high end ones had clubhouses, and convenience stores. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 17:01, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

Static trailers

Trailer accommodation

@Darrelljon: How do you put a car before those? More seriously: Do you use those when "car camping"? The obvious follow-up question is how this is car camping. OK, you get in by car – but you could as well rent an ordinary cottage at the campsite.

What is the difference between this kind of "trailers" and ordinary campsite cottages? A serious question, as I have never been car camping, and in Finland there are often cottages at the campsites, while I don't know about there ever being static trailers for rent.

Then, to go farther, what is car camping? If you don't have a motorhome, caravan or some pop-up hack, what is the difference to other kinds of camping, just that you get in by car? Should we define the scope of our articles clearer to minimise overlap?

–LPfi (talk) 09:21, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

All good questions. Static homes enjoy some popularity as holiday destinations (as self-contained units on 'campsites') particularly in the UK (see [1]) and their difference from vehicles or towed vehicle trailers is they are 'static'. I'm not sure how they arrive in place in the first instance. Wikivoyage ought to include some coverage of 'static homes' or 'static trailers'. Car camping may not be an ideal page to include them on, I thought car camping was the closest relevant page, but feel free to move them or suggest a better more appropriate page. Darrelljon (talk) 15:17, 3 March 2022 (UTC)

Cabin in Finland

I suppose they can be brought on lorries. In Finland it is common to have real homes built from big parts (halves or so) manufactured indoors in plants and brought by lorries. Some of the "static trailers" also look like they could be brought by lighter vehicles.

But what intrigues me is how the "static trailers" differ from cottages. The one in this image looks like a typical cabin at a Finnish campsite (and the background agrees). Is there any difference between this cabin and the "trailer" above, other than the latter's lighter structure (Finns are found of log buildings, and so are tourists to here, I assume).

–LPfi (talk) 15:39, 3 March 2022 (UTC)

According to [2] 'Many Mobile Homes are constructed on steel chassis with wheels. This allows the buildings to be moved on and off truck trailers and around site. However, Mobile Homes don’t have to have wheels. So long as the structure remains unconnected to the groundwork’s, i.e. it’s built on steel girders or timber beams and remains divisible and transportable' Darrelljon (talk) 09:47, 4 March 2022 (UTC)

Yes. Here I heard that if you move a building every few years, you don't need a building permit. But I think that is irrelevant for a traveller. If the buildings look more or less the same from outside and inside and, especially, have the same functions, whether they are permanent or not doesn't affect anything. So the question remains: how do these mobile homes or static trailers differ from small cabins from the traveller's point of view? –LPfi (talk) 11:26, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

In respect of Scotland...

Probably a minor point, but Traffic Signs in Scotland gained a new symbol, for a 'Service point for motorhomes',

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2022/111/regulation/7/made

I am wondering if this is to mark emptying/disposal points for 'waste-water retention' tanks.

ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 11:35, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

Classes

The article goes into some detail on "Class A", B & C motorhomes. Is this classification generally used or is it part of some country's legal/licensing scheme? Either way, it seems to me it needs clarification. Pashley (talk) 22:54, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

Conversions

Pinzgauer

I think it is moderately common to convert various vehicles into campers, perhaps most often school buses; a famous example is w:Furthur (bus). Should the article mention this?

Going overland to India some decades back I saw several converted Pinzgauers, surplus from various European armies & with off-road capability. There were also converted double-decker buses, apparently from London. Somewhat to my surprise, at least one of those had reached Katmandu. Pashley (talk) 23:10, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

There are companies like Earth Roamer Earth Cruiser and Global Expedition Vehicles offering expensive custom-built conversions. Pashley (talk) 23:56, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

Solar power?

Solar-powered cars have been built, see w:Solar car, but as far as I know they are still wildly impractical for general use.

The constraints are very different for a camper, though; there is both more surface to put solar cells on & more room for batteries. It looks to me like solar power is almost certainly practical for a caravan that will be towed. I cannot tell if it would work for an RV that needs to move under its own power; my guess would be yes, but the cost would be high & the design problem difficult. Pashley (talk) 23:46, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

If you camp at sunny destinations, 1 kW/m² of solar power is realistic in midday. With 5 m² and panel efficiency of 20 %, you get 1 kW, which is 10 A at 100 V, a few hours a day (a European Schuko plug could take 3.5 kW). Indeed not supercharging, and you lose some power in the charging process. For 100 km you need some 20 kWh for a normal car, much more for a RV or towing vehicle. So charging a week you could perhaps drive 50 km, assuming you have other panels and batteries for your in-camp needs. On the other hand, solar power can power your appliances (for a mean consumption of some 100 W) and keep the vehicle's batteries charged without the need to run the engine every now and then. –LPfi (talk) 14:26, 2 March 2023 (UTC)