MOBY introduces an article written by a writer who actually enjoys staying in the car and camping car from the web magazine DRIMO, which distributes information on camping, staying in the car, van life, outdoor & car trips, including camping car information. To do. *The contents of the following article are quotes and references from DRIMO
hello. I’m bemnty from Perth, Western Australia.
In my family, we want to enjoy camping without spending as much money as possible, so we use the car we use for work as a camping car.
I don’t have any plans for long car trips of several months yet, and parking spaces are limited. is blessed with
However, when that happens, the problem is the work of replacing the tools that are loaded for work and the camping equipment on the weekends.
Since there is a roof tent, there is no need to load a bulky tent every time, and the bedding can be stored in the roof tent, but it is very troublesome to take in and out small items every time.
So, I made some ingenuity to save the trouble of changing luggage. This time, I would like to introduce those ideas to everyone.
About our car and canopy
My car is a Hilux pickup truck.
I don’t need it for work, but it doesn’t get in the way when it’s folded, so I have a roof tent on top of the canopy installed on the loading platform.
The side awning is also permanently installed. I don’t use it for work either, but it’s useful not only for camping but also for sun protection when going to the beach.
By the way, the canopy can open and close a total of 3 doors on both sides and the rear. It has an automatic lock like a car door lock, so it is safe in terms of security.
Canopy for work and camping
As I mentioned at the beginning, the canopy is usually full of tools used for work, so changing the luggage when making it camping is a very daunting task.
So I decided to install a drawer storage with DIY. You can now smoothly switch from work specifications to camping specifications.
Here is the work specification drawer.
Since we used a ready-made product for the car, it locks firmly when closed, and the drawer will not pop out while driving.
Usually, tools are tightly packed like this.
Next, it is a drawer at the time of camping specification.
When I go camping, I replace the work tools in the drawer with what I need for camping.
I put only what I need according to the camping period, but when the camping period is short, I don’t take out all the tools or replace only one drawer with camping equipment. Cope with change.
Food and tableware that can be stored without being refrigerated are mainly stored inside. There is no height, but there is depth, so it is convenient to see the stored items.
The top of the drawer has a slider on only one side, so it can be opened and closed even if the refrigerator is placed in the car. It also has a strap hole, so you can securely fix the car refrigerator with a strap.
A DIY wooden frame is also installed for easier storage
I also added a DIY wooden frame for easy storage. Here are the job specifications.
By placing this, it became easier to organize the inside of the canopy. The top surface is flat and the same height as the side drawers, so large tools can be placed.
The upper surface of the wooden frame can be removed, making it easy to put in and take out tools. You can also change the storage method depending on the application.
When camping, the top of one of the wooden frames is removed to store the cooler box. It fits snugly so it doesn’t move while you’re driving.
By the way, I didn’t bother to DIY according to the size of the cooler box. When I made it for storing tools, the cooler just happened to fit perfectly.
Also, the gray box on the left side of the photo is the above-mentioned in-vehicle refrigerator.
In the case of work specifications, one side of the wooden frame is divided into two sections like this.
When camping, I have a 20L spare gasoline tank and water tank. It fits perfectly in the wooden frame, so you don’t have to worry about the tank falling over while driving.
Attach hooks and cylindrical building material containers to further increase storage capacity
A hook is attached to the upper frame of the canopy to store tools and SUP paddles.
On the upper side of the canopy, we installed a cylindrical building material container with a length of about 3m for storing long and thin building materials.
I made this using a drainage pipe (of course it is a new one).
When camping, it is possible to store long and narrow items such as fishing rods. You can also store several types of fishing rods and loops for catching spiny lobster underwater.
Front bull bar carrier is convenient for loading fishing rods etc.
A front bull bar carrier fixed to a bull bar (kangaroo bar) is used for loading long lumber and other building materials on the job.
At the time of camping specification, you can load surfboards and SUP. In my home, it is indispensable as a surfboard carrier.
Items that can be used for both work and camping
In order to minimize the number of replacements, we have made the above-mentioned efforts, and in our house, we are also devising tools so that we can use them for work and camping.
For example, the light that I love for camping.
This is from a tool manufacturer, but rechargeable batteries can be used with the same series of tools, such as drills. You will have less luggage, and you can rest assured that you will have spare batteries for other tools in the same series.
The blower that is always loaded in the car and used for cleaning, etc., will instantly make the fire bigger if you use it when starting a bonfire.
Surprisingly, there are times when I use it for camping, so it’s not bad to leave it on.
You can enjoy camping more easily by changing the minimum amount of luggage.
I introduced my family’s car, which can be used for both work and camping. How was it?
My family loves the outdoors, so when we go fishing or surfing, we leave the tools in the car. However, when it comes to camping for more than one night, it is essential to change the luggage, so we devised ways such as DIY drawers.
For a short period of time, you only need to replace one of the two drawers, so you can enjoy camping more casually.
In addition, by keeping in mind to “use things that can be used in a creative way”, we can reduce the trouble of replacing them.
This time, I made it by hand to keep the cost as low as possible, but I think that more ideas will come to me as I use it more, so I plan to evolve it into a playful, multi-specification car.
I would be happy if my ideas were helpful to the readers, even if just a little.
Writer: bemnty
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