Thread: Sleeping in your hunting vehicle

Regularly sleep in the mighty bighorn. Heappsss of space.

Originally Posted by Ducksnchips

I sleep in my 2009 Nissan Pathfinder. I'm 182cm and can lie down without touching the ends - just. The seats fold completely flat down into the floor. I think the Pathfinders turned to rubbish after around 2010.

Try taking the rear seat base out.only two bolts each... Gives another 150-200mm at front. I regularly take one out on the driver's side n just leave it out.gives more room for dogs but still got passenger side rear seat.

Toyota and Nissan both do 4wd vans. I have a 2wd van that I have slept in at road ends. Have a double self inflating mattress we use for camping, just chuck it in the back, sorted. Tail gate lifts up nice and high and acts as canopy of sorts while you sort dinner or breakfast. Get a tradies one without windows and a false floor even better. Hide shit under the floor, and even more room for 2 if need be.

Originally Posted by Mathias

Toyota Surf, if you can find one not bastardised or Prado as mentioned. Lay the back seat down flat & you can sleep diagonally in these.

I would've slept over a hundred nights in my old Surf. I'm 5'11" and only just fit diagonally.
Even did a few nights with the gf, not much spare room but had certain advantages...

I am 178 and can sleep in my 2022x jimny with front seats folded foward

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

I sleep in the back of a flat deck Ute quite often

Tent fly over the top and I’m sorted

Yes I tried that with the fly over the raised tailgate on the wellside canopy however still got savaged by mosquitos especially parking by the rivers.

However it is an easy and cheap option.

I am of similar stature to 9staggo ( probably on tippy toes ) but there are advantages to being a short cunt, Use to love my old Sube Outback - seats lay fulla flat in plenty of room plus they go anywhere

If going station wagon, ya def need a something whos seats down

Someone mentioned a "RAM" mine has a short deck but has rear fold up seats n a fold down tray that is bang on for a therarest laying sideways ( couldn't do that in the Wildtrak )

I realise you said you’re not really looking at a rooftop tent but is there a reason why? I borrowed my sons one this Easter and had an awesome time down south for a week . I put it on hardlid of ute and super easy to set up / take down . Did have a wild night at Lake Tennyson in the wind though . I thought it was bloody good .

Originally Posted by trapperjohn

Any stationwagon, SUV, or extra/cab will do it but at 170cm you will find that you could fit diagallony across a wellside canopy double cab at a pinch.

Yes I did sleep diagonally across the wellside on my double cab Hilux a few times when the rain was bucketing down and I couldn't sleep with the tail gate down. Still to tight for any kind of quality sleep and flipping over on to my back wasn't an option. Really needed the rear to be at least 100 mm longer. Still was better than getting soaked.

[QUOTE=300Shortmag;1595754]I realise you said you’re not really looking at a rooftop tent but is there a reason why? I borrowed my sons one this Easter and had an awesome time down south for a week . I put it on hardlid of ute and super easy to set up / take down . Did have a wild night at Lake Tennyson in the wind though . I thought it was bloody good .

Hi there,

A few reasons why I'm not looking at a rooftop tent however I do think they are an awesome product in the right circumstances.

Extra cost. Roof top tents especially the better well made ones are reasonably expensive and as I'm retired I don't have the discretionary income anymore like my working days.

Increased centre of gravity although in your sons setup not so much of an issue.

More likely to get caught up and damaged on the tight narrow tracks I sometimes venture down.

Security. Unfortunately in the central North Island areas that I frequent there's an increased lowlife element and being able to have everything locked inside and hidden behind tinted windows and under a blanket just makes life easier.

Simplicity of a sleeping bag and mattress in a vehicle.

Toyota Surf.
I regularly sleep in mine with the rear seats flat when hunting or fishing. I made a tray for one side that gear + 10L water goes under and I can cook or sort food on the top of.

Thanks for the relies so far in this thread.

A dodge ram is probably an overkill for what I need, but if I ever end up owning a boat well...

Really would like something a bit smaller vehicle wise than my old Hilux, simply for the narrower and tighter tracks that I sometimes would like to access. She was a long beast especially with the bull bar upfront. Doing a 10 point turn was a bit hard on the paintwork and panels on occasion.

Vans would be a good option but there higher centre of gravity, larger turning circle and lack of ground clearance along with length could be a issue possibly but still food for thought.

Maybe one of the smaller Suzukis could be an option but they look to be gutless as f... with their tiny motors.

All vehicles mentioned are certainly valid options and certainly some more through investigation will be needed with some of your suggestions.

I was going to suggest with the double cab a set of awning clips fitted up inside under the opening for the canopy, and modify an old truck tarp or curtainside type PVC material (not the heavy as hell one) to fit to the canopy opening and be watertight. Then a fold out timber frame to make a bed and be able to fold up inside the tray when you are driving - it will allow you to use what you have until you decide on a replacement ride.

I'm thinking of doing this on the ranger double cab if I get it squared away from it's canbus system glitches and reverting it back into private instead of in the business. It has a ute drawer from Camco in it currently so I'm looking at that as the basis for something to be able to flip over onto the tailgate to sleep on. The canopy I have is a Fleetline with water channels on all the openings, which means it doesn't leak open or closed... A rooftop tent would be unnecessary if that could be made to work and without one it looks like a standard vehicle as you've noted...

Originally Posted by No.3

I was going to suggest with the double cab a set of awning clips fitted up inside under the opening for the canopy, and modify an old truck tarp or curtainside type PVC material (not the heavy as hell one) to fit to the canopy opening and be watertight. Then a fold out timber frame to make a bed and be able to fold up inside the tray when you are driving - it will allow you to use what you have until you decide on a replacement ride.

I'm thinking of doing this on the ranger double cab if I get it squared away from it's canbus system glitches and reverting it back into private instead of in the business. It has a ute drawer from Camco in it currently so I'm looking at that as the basis for something to be able to flip over onto the tailgate to sleep on. The canopy I have is a Fleetline with water channels on all the openings, which means it doesn't leak open or closed... A rooftop tent would be unnecessary if that could be made to work and without one it looks like a standard vehicle as you've noted...

Thanks for the reply No 3, however I should of made it a bit clearer in my opening post that I no longer own the Hilux.

I sold it about 3 years ago and am only now looking at getting back into another off road capable vehicle.

Your reply does have merit though and a setup like you've described would definitely be a good option if a ute type vehicle is the option I go for.

Cheers.

Short-deck (double-cab) ute with tailgate down & canopy door up, tarp stretched over rear opening and pinned down. Works fine, sheds rain, but hard to bug-proof.

Actually I'm about your size @9STAGS and I'm usually happy enough curled up on the back seat.