Setting up camp at the Bluewater Lake State Park in New Mexico. On this fall trip there was only one other camper in this vast park and he was on the far opposite end of the campground.
In this post I'll cover some of the miscellaneous considerations of car camping such as privacy after dark and while sleeping.
My Jeep has a windshield, six side windows and rear hatch. I simply don't want anyone to be able to see me reading or watching a movie after dark. Nor, is the idea of someone peeking into the car while I'm snoozing a happy thought. And, at 72-years old I sometimes need to pee during the night and wouldn't want to put that spectacle on view when I turn on a light to do so!
A product called Reflectix, or its generic brand at Home Depot, is the choice of many.
Reflectix is basically bubble wrap sandwiched between shiny, reflective vinyl. It not only confers privacy but supposedly adds an insulating factor. Maybe in cold conditions it might keep the inside of a vehicle one or two degrees warmer, if that.
Reflectix is fairly sturdy and stands up well to repeated use.
I made brown paper templates for the six side windows of the Jeep. The fold marks are because I store the templates in a file folder in case I ever need to make another set of window covers for my Jeep.
Using a roll of brown paper, the Jeep's window frames became templates by cutting off pieces of paper larger than the window, pressing the paper over the window, and pushing it up against the window frame. Then I traced the resulting crease using a felt pen.
Scissors were used cut out the pattern and refine it slightly to fit snugly into the frame covering the glass completely. After cutting the pattern to its desired dimensions, I taped it to the Reflectix with painter's tape and cut the Reflectix to its proper contours for each window, I used clear packing tape to cover all the cut edges of the Reflectix. The tape also added a bit more stiffness allowing me to tuck the edges more easily into the window frames. I labeled each window cover so I'd know at a glance with window it fit.
I only needed three patterns because, although each of three windows on each side are different, they match their opposite side windows perfectly. Simply by flipping the three pattern over I have patterns for all six side windows of the Jeep.
Due to the hinges and electric cord on the rear hatch window,and its curved shape, I didn't make a template for that one or the windshield. For the windshield I purchased a windshield cover from Weathertech that protects the dashboard from sun damage and helps insulate the inside of the car from heat. Reflectix likely works better for this purpose than insulating a vehicle from the cold.
Another advantage to using Reflectix on the windows at night is that its reflectivity maximizes whatever lighting source you may be using after dark. It bounces the light around much as a mirror would without being blinding or annoying.
To store my Reflectix while traveling, it's slipped behind the passenger seat, between the seat and the head of my bed. It can also be stored under the bed, as well, to keep it flat.
Over time I realized that I really only need Reflectix on the two driver's and passenger windows.
On the set of windows at and behind the rear passenger doors - if the weather is warm - I purchased and use a set of mesh window socks that allow air in and keep bugs out.
I had hoped that these socks would fit the driver's and passenger doors - the seller on Amazon indicated they would - however they are two small, so I now use them on the rear passenger doors, whose frames are smaller. And they just barely fit at maximum stretch.
One of the side window socks. The sock fits over the door frame allowing the window to roll up or down between its two sides. They are very stretchy and at full stretch, when tabbed into place they barely cover the window frames properly.
The window sock fits over the top of the door allowing the window to be rolled up or down inside the sock. I haven't centered the seam or tab properly so as to illustrate what the tab/s look like. If the sock is properly centered the tabs don't show from either inside or outside when the door is closed.
In the photo above you can see that there's a gap at the bottom of the window which might allow insects in if the window was rolled completely down. When the socks are correctly centered and tabbed to the insides of the door frame they cannot be seen when the door is closed, and the sock completely covers the window.
Having the socks on the rear passenger frames allows a cross breeze over my bed. They also provide privacy during the day, however, at night if a light is on in the car, I can be seen lying on my bed.
For privacy at night I install my factory-fit (to my vehicle model) Weathertech windshield cover. Reflectix is installed inside the frames of the driver and passenger windows obscuring the inside of the cab from view.
Privacy "curtains" are Velcro-ed over the rear side and hatch windows. I use small Velcro tabs to attach the curtains. I can also attach a pair of curtains over the window socks. The curtains simply hang inside over the socks.
I've attached tabs on either side of the four rear side windows and back hatch window.
The square Velcro tabs were purchased at Joanne's Fabrics in their "notions" section. To stick the two-part, self-adhesive tabs to the vinyl areas on each side of the windows I cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol to remove any grime or oil in order to maximize adhesion.
Instead of purchasing and altering house curtains to provide privacy, I simply attached the Velcro's matching tabs to 39-gallon Hefty yard and garden bags at two points along one side of the bags so they'd meet the Velcro adhered to either side of the windows.
While the Velcro tabs adhered securely to the window frames, they didn't attach quite as well to the Hefty bags, so I stapled the tabs to the bags.
While not a fancy answer to privacy at night, my Hefty bag curtains are lightweight, don't require curtain rod or ring attachments, fold flat when not in use, and have a far slimmer storage profile than cloth curtains.
When my Hefty bag curtains aren't in use they fold up and fit into a Ziploc baggy. The baggy is stored behind the spare tire. The window socks, in their bag, are also stored there, as well. A label adhered to each Hefty bag lets me know which window and Velcro tab arrangement each bag fits. When in place the bags overlap so no light comes in between them And their long enough, hung horizontally, that no light comes under them, either.
The Hefty bags act as blackout curtains without the weight and bulk of fabric. And, if I hear a strange sound outside at night I can lift the curtain to take a peek.
During the day, my Hefty curtains can be rolled up and secured above the window with a strip of Velcro or tied with string. If I were to use my Reflectix on the rear side windows it would be more troublesome to partially bend it to look outside. And more troublesome still, is that on a few occasions when I've bent a corner up to look out, the entire piece fell out of the window. Furthermore, I try not to bend my Reflectix so that it lasts longer
Light at night to read, move about, and find stuff is essential. It doesn't need to be very bright. If you read a printed book, you'll want more light. I read my Kindle Fire and unlike some of the earlier versions of Kindle, the Fire screen is lit just like a computer screen. Therefore, I need only "mood" or ambient light at night.
My choice of lighting is a Luci Light. It's solar charged by sitting on my dash while I'm driving or in a sunny spot during the day. It has a low and high feature and a "candle" mode that flickers pleasantly. I fashioned a hook from rebar wire and it hangs from a bungee cord strung across the roof of the Jeep. The circular spot on the solar tab at the top adjusts the lighting functions. The light may be inflated by blowing into the nipple at its base.
The Luci Light on its high setting is sufficient to guide my way around camp after dark, if needed, although generally I use a flashlight. The Luci Light operates for several nights on a single charge.
In my next post, the last of this series, I'll extoll further upon the virtues and reasons why I use my Jeep as my "RV", and share some things I've learned about car camping.
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