Camping in Vibe

[Fred_viber]

Hi Everyone,I just came back from a Week-end in camping. My Vibe is just fabulos for that. It have more space then I expected.I will have picture for you in a couple of days.

[Fred_viber]

No, I don't sleep in it... The AC outlet is very practical for the pump of my pneumatic bed.Tip: If you do not have a carpet in the cargo space, and in the back of the rear seat, place a wool blanket. The plastic is very easy to hurt with your camping gear(cooler, etc..)

[LadyHwk750]

Thanks for the tip! I wondered how well the plastic would hold up to cargo. We like to camp also so will have to see what we can get to protect the bed.

[Ryan]

I made myself a carpet that has a rubber back and it protects the trunk really well. The colour matches the interior carpet perfectly. It's about the same material as the little piece of carpet that is in the cd-holder near the cup holders. I could make one for anybody who wants one. It would be like 20$ plus shipping... or you could make one yourself. It was very easy. It only took me an evening. Now that I have one already tailored, it would be very easy to produce more. Ryan

[neptunevibeawd]

Could you post pictures of the mat so we can see it?

[Fred_viber]

Yeah.. you could post picture of it.. I could be interested !!Monday, i will post some picture of my "scratch".

[ironchef]

Wifey & I went out over the fourth, plenty of room for gear, very comfy for a four hour drive. I will probably get a mat made for the rear with slots in it so I can still access the rails. We didn't sleep in it, the bed is really too short for that with two people. The outlet wasn't really an issue as most of my camping toys are 12v already.What really impressed me was the car's ability to hang on to some pretty awful dirt roads. Washboard & loose gravel/dirt didn't seem to matter at all. We were on some pretty twisty unpaved stuff for about 12 miles going into the campground which didn't faxe it a bit. I only had one moment when we were bushwhacking along a riverbed and the gravel was too soft for the tires, fortunately I felt it early and was able to back out.Larry

[biggdogg173]

Question about the mat that you made from the thin carpet like stuff. Where did you find the stuff at, like a hardware store or something?

[Ryan]

Yes, I bought the carpet from a local hardware store. I lucked out and found a grey carpet that matches the carpet in the car. There aren't many optins out there if you want a rubber backing. Some fake grass carpets could also do but then they are ugly. Other types of carpet don't have a rubber back and that would only end up having a sand paper effect. The hardest part was taloring the carpet to fit all the curves and all. I'll try to borrow a digital camera so I can take some pictures. I'm gonig to work on a new design that will allow me to carpet the seats when I fold them down flat. I'll keep you guys posted.Ryan

[Steve]

The astroturf would match the Envy color!!! LOL

[lulusvibe03]

I went to Walmart got 4x6 rubber backed rug (black and gray of course to match the interior) for $14 to protect the cargo area. Keeps my lab and great dane from slipping around when we are all cruising.

[ironchef]

That's a lot of dog back there......Larry

[Jack]

I remember that a friend of mine used to have this big station wagon and when we went camping, I used my tent and he went sleeping to his wagon. About one hour later I heard him open my tent and getting inside. It turned out that when sleeping in his car with all the windows closed, he started to suffocate very quickly, as it became very hot inside. So he opend the windows--and soon found himself attacked by mosquitos! That's why I think it's a good idea to prepare a special mesh (for example, a cheese cloths will do) and attach it over the window, using either tape or small magnets (be careful not to scratch the surface). In fact, I'm just looking for such magnets, as I go fishing a lot and sometimes it doesn't make any sense to set up a tent.As to the carpeting--I think it's a great idea, it will be my next project!

[Frosty]

Maybe this is what we really need in a vehicle move up to the AZTEC In all seriousness maybe a tent option would be a good rig for us Vibers.
[Modified by kshields, 1:32 PM 7/23/2002]

[ironchef]

There would have to be some sort of extension for the cargo bed for a tent to work. There are drawbacks to sleeping in the car, the first and worst being that you have to take everything out of the vehicle so that you can fit in. This leaves all your gear out for the racoons and larger animals to rummage through. You've never lived until you've had to coax a skunk out of your food locker...I used to drive a Dodge Caravan with the seat that folded down into a bed in the back, a great idea but you still had to take everthing out of the back to use it. It was easier and faster after a little practice to pull out a tent and set it up. What I grew up with as a kid that I'd like to see again is a full size tent with a large hood on one side that fit over the back of a station wagon. you have access to everything from inside the tent in bad weather.Larry

[NovaResource]

Many people think that Aztek Tent Option is a new thing but in reality, it was a option on the 1973-up Nova hatchback (and other 1973-up GM X-body hatchbacks). Here's a pic of it on the back of a 1974 GTO:Here it is in a 1974 Nova sales ad:

[Frosty]

Nova-man, that is too cool Thanks for the flashback.

[LadyHwk750]

Where did you find those pics? They are great! I have a couple friends who are into GTOs and will get a kick out of them. Thanks!

[NovaResource]

The Nova pic is from my webpage: http://www.novaresource.comThe GTO pic is from the Ultimate GTO Picture Page: http://ultimategto.comThey have thousands of GTO pictures. It's really a great site.

[Fred_viber]

Here, some Pics of my first Vacation/Camping with my Vibe ! http://pages.globetrotter.net/fbellevi/vibecamp1.jpg http://pages.globetrotter.net/fbellevi/NanVIbe.jpg http://pages.globetrotter.net/fbellevi/vibecamp2.jpg

[LadyHwk750]

Thanks for the info on the pics NovaResource. Interesting sites. Went camping for the first time with my Vibe GT. Here is a picture with our tent in the background. We camped in a KOA in Farmington, NY for two nights.http://home.ix.netcom.com/~jandersn/_im ... amp1.JPGIt worked out great! Besides our tent, sleeping bags, air mattresses, cooler, chairs, table, lantern, 2 briefcases, cameras, and clothes - we also had room for a computer/monitor/printer (graduation present for my daughter), a 50 piece kitchen starter set (housewarming gift), and two boxes of stuff that my daughter left behind when she moved out (clothes mainly). I thought the tires would go flat on the bottom with that load, but she handled it well. Was glad of the extra weight when we drove through a severe thunderstorm on the way there. Anyway, we can't wait until the next camping trip which should be the vintage races at Watkins Glen, NY, in September.

[lordyogi]

i havent had the chance to go campin in my Vibe yet, but i have used all 53 cubic feet of cargo space that the vibe offers. You see i moved back to michigan from college in florida. and now i have to pack everything up to go back down to fla, so i can tell you you can fit more stuff than imaginable into the back of that thing. one weekend down at school, i had 24 tiki torches, 4 gallons of torch fuel, a 5k watt generator, Three large coolers filled with food and beer and ice, and one other person besides me, people remarked at how much crap you could fit in that thing. (its the perfect college car) fun, sporty, and room for friends and their $#!+.yogi

[Sputnik]

An camping/partying idea I heard for the Vibe was using the space under the floor (where the spare tire is kept) and filling the space to the right of the tire with ice to keep drinks cold. Then when the ice melts you just take the whole spare tire cover out and dump it.

[Frosty]

The quote:An camping/partying idea I heard for the Vibe was using the space under the floor (where the spare tire is kept) and filling the space to the right of the tire with ice to keep drinks cold. Then when the ice melts you just take the whole spare tire cover out and dump it. The Limos I drive part time have a drain tube in their ice buckets. That would be slicker yet. Then your Vibe would take a leak as you drive along.

[Sputnik]

LOL Now that would be cool!

[Chazb]

You have been hitting the spare tire too long!