Camping w/ the Tercel 4wd this weekend:

Lollypop · Post by **Lollypop** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:32 pm

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!!!

I cant see the pics....now I know how a blind man must feel when in a strip joint with friends

All audio and no visual

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:48 pm

Lollypop wrote:DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!!!

I cant see the pics....now I know how a blind man must feel when in a strip joint with friends

All audio and no visual

Try again in a couple days. The pics aren't working for me right now either; I think the site I hosted them off is down right now. They'll probably be back up again soon though.

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:43 pm

Congrats on the excursion! We have an '86 4WD and lately I've been thinking about VW westy's for camping, but after hearing that you sleep in the back of your wagon I'm thinking "why can't we do that"? Both of us are smallish at 5'5" and have sat in the back with the seats down having coffee in the wagon while the rains pours outside at one of our local beaches.
If the back seat bottom was removed, would that allow the seat backs to drop even lower and create a nice level sleeping area?
These cars rock! Even though they're slow, they're faster than a VW van...!

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:11 pm

Itd create a lower-than-level area.
Put in a 4AC, or do some head work on your 3A!

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:16 pm

864wd wrote:Congrats on the excursion! We have an '86 4WD and lately I've been thinking about VW westy's for camping, but after hearing that you sleep in the back of your wagon I'm thinking "why can't we do that"? Both of us are smallish at 5'5" and have sat in the back with the seats down having coffee in the wagon while the rains pours outside at one of our local beaches.
If the back seat bottom was removed, would that allow the seat backs to drop even lower and create a nice level sleeping area?
These cars rock! Even though they're slow, they're faster than a VW van...!

Thanks! Yeah, those VW westfalias are nice, but they are pretty dang pricey on the Island and lower mainland (Vancouver). And your tercel can go further (and you can beat on it without feeling so bad). Yup, you could remove the seat bottoms, but you'd probably have to put some of your baggage down in that area, or the seat backs would slump down too far. I found my car to be pretty level by the time I got it all setup with the seat bottoms still in the car.

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:12 pm

Right, I just went and yanked the seat bottom out and ya, it'd have to be built up a bit, but I like it better than with the seat bottom in. It's just too angled to be comfortable, I think.
we'll have to try it both ways to be sure, sure a lot of room when the front seats are slid all the way forward and the seat backs tilted forward as well.
I tried our inflatable mattress, but it's too large so a camping foamy might be a better fit.
Ya, VW's are expensive, pigs on gas, and slower than the wagon especially on our BC roads where at some point you will always have to go up!

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:28 pm

Take out the speaker mounts? Just 4 bolts on each side....
Don't put much weight on those seat-backs with nothing under them, lest you break the hinges from too much stress.
Ozone mod.... Indexed plugs..... SeaFoam treatment.... (eerie noises)

waynehoc · Post by **waynehoc** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:32 pm

Don't know about your '86 4WD, but in my '87 2WD the back seats bottom part is hinged at the front and pulls up from the back, ending up straight up and tight against the back of the front seats. Then when the two back seat upright parts are let down it ends up as a perfectly flat area - good for a mattress?

Back in the '70's (in my previous lifetime - first marriage) we had a '59 Chevy wagon for a couple of years - went on a few long trips, and always folded the back seats flat and put a mattress in there. The two kids stayed back there the whole trip, and my wife would go back and lay down for a nap at times while I did all the driving. This was back in the days when seat belts were not yet mandatory. Ah, the good ol' days...

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:15 pm

waynehoc wrote:Don't know about your '86 4WD, but in my '87 2WD the back seats bottom part is hinged at the front and pulls up from the back, ending up straight up and tight against the back of the front seats. Then when the two back seat upright parts are let down it ends up as a perfectly flat area - good for a mattress?

Back in the '70's (in my previous lifetime - first marriage) we had a '59 Chevy wagon for a couple of years - went on a few long trips, and always folded the back seats flat and put a mattress in there. The two kids stayed back there the whole trip, and my wife would go back and lay down for a nap at times while I did all the driving. This was back in the days when seat belts were not yet mandatory. Ah, the good ol' days...

Ya, I wish the seat bottom in the back worked the same in our wagon, but it just unclips at the front, no hinges.
So how can I post pics of our wagon?

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:33 am

Its the same as anyones 4wd wagon. No hinges. Wish there were though.
http://www.photobucket.com

dcn · Post by **dcn** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:45 pm

GTSSportCoupe;
Just a quick question about configuring the Terc for camping. I am planning to go to a mountain biking meet my brother's helping to organize this weekend, and I was just downstairs seeing what the seats could do.

My front seats don't fold all the way forward, are they supposed to? They go to about 60 degrees forward only. Wayy too steep to sleep on, is this normal?

The best thing I found was to take off the headrests and fold the front seats all the way back. I'm not sure my and my wife will have enough room, but we may gain a little more by having our heads at opposite ends of the car. If I fold the seats back all the way and maybe put a couple pillows on the passenger seat it might be a good place to put my head once we put an air matress on top of everything.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:20 pm

dcn wrote:GTSSportCoupe;
Just a quick question about configuring the Terc for camping. I am planning to go to a mountain biking meet my brother's helping to organize this weekend, and I was just downstairs seeing what the seats could do.

My front seats don't fold all the way forward, are they supposed to? They go to about 60 degrees forward only. Wayy too steep to sleep on, is this normal?

The best thing I found was to take off the headrests and fold the front seats all the way back. I'm not sure my and my wife will have enough room, but we may gain a little more by having our heads at opposite ends of the car. If I fold the seats back all the way and maybe put a couple pillows on the passenger seat it might be a good place to put my head once we put an air matress on top of everything.

Hey dcn, I think you missunderstood what I do. When I camp, I take all the luggage out of the back of my tercel and put it on the front seats and on the floor in front of the front seats. I also put luggage on the floor in front of the rear seats. I recline the front seats as far forward as they go, and I put the rear seats all the way down. I make sure that the area between the rear seats, and the back of the front seats is somewhat level with luggage too. I then lay my mattress in the BACK of the car, so it extends from the rear hatch, over the reclined back seats, and right up against the back of the front reclined seats. I can fit two 4'x6' mattresses (one air and one foam) in the back of the car - these get me above the wheel wells. There is not much head room at all with the two mattresses, but it is really comfy to sleep in.

I'm going camping this weekend too, and will take some pictures of the interior of my car when it's setup.

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:09 am

Lollypop wrote:DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!!!

I cant see the pics....now I know how a blind man must feel when in a strip joint with friends

All audio and no visual

The blind guy is allowed to feel what he can't see?

jetswim · Post by **jetswim** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:16 am

In defence of camping with a VW van, I have a Westfalia and nothing beats it in terms of comfort and being able to camp anywhere. Sure you won't get the mileage from a Terc. but you got sleeping room for 4, a sink, stove, fridge, living room and all you have to do is park it. Not to mention a reliable aircooled engine that won't overheat! Oh yeah and space for a canoe too! I've got the original tent too that connects to the side tripling camping room. I'll post a pic one of these days of it in action. Here's a pic of the stove/sink setup behind the driver's seat.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:46 am

jetswim wrote:In defence of camping with a VW van, I have a Westfalia and nothing beats it in terms of comfort and being able to camp anywhere. Sure you won't get the mileage from a Terc. but you got sleeping room for 4, a sink, stove, fridge, living room and all you have to do is park it. Not to mention a reliable aircooled engine that won't overheat! Oh yeah and space for a canoe too! I've got the original tent too that connects to the side tripling camping room. I'll post a pic one of these days of it in action. Here's a pic of the stove/sink setup behind the driver's seat.

I'd love one!

But they are a bit of an investment. Also, I wouldn't want to take it into the harsh areas I take my beat up tercel. It would be nice having both though....