Winter car camping!

Mama.

Mama.

Active member
I search- barred, I couldnt find anything I wanted, even though I know the threads exist. So.... Lets talk about sleeping in the car in the winter!

I actually lived in a Subaru with my boyfriend for a month+ up at Baker a couple winters ago. It fucking sucked, but it was fuckin' awesome too... a really simple lifestyle. I'm trying to gather tips and tricks from other people to make it more comfortable, organized, and easy. It's also going to be just me a lot of the time, too... so I dont have to worry about 2 sets of gear and stuff.

Whats your setup? Heater? How do you food? What about wet gear? What rating of sleeping bag? Air mattress? Give me all the infos.
 
I fell asleep in my friends car drunk last winter and no one could find me. I woke up with no blankets and shaking so hard that I couldn't even get my phone out of my pocket. So ya, I'd suggest you don't do what I did.
 
I've spent my fair share of nights in my car after being locked out by the rents. You shouldn't need any space heaters or anything if you buy the right kind of sleeping bag. Get one rated for real cold like -20°f or something.. A backpacking mattress pad will add a little cushion to the seats (I'm assuming you will fold them down). Just make sure to cover your face otherwise your nose will get real cold haha

For food, lots of granola bars, you could get a small microwave and a a/c inverter so you could cook up like pre packaged meals that don't need to be frozen. Or even a backpacking camp stove would work too.

I have no suggestions for where to dry your stuff, maybe you could try and leave socks and stuff on one of the heaters in a lodge or something, not sure about how to dry boot liners!

It's always been my dream to be a ski bum for a month or so, good luck and have fun!
 
I definitely think I want a heater. A good sleeping bag is a must, but I think a heater would improve the morning hours. Getting up, and dressed, etc.

I have a jetboil, so that will come in handy... I'm trying to thing of a way to crack my sunroof but not get snow in the car so I can cook in the car and not die. Yay staying alive!

Maybe I should get one of those display tents they have at REI that are like a foot tall and duct-tape it to the top of my car over the sunroof. That will be totally practical and awesome.
 
You could cover the sunroof with a tarp or anything really. It goes without saying but be careful cooking in the car, don't want to burn anything, I've done that in a tent.

Are you in an Outback where you put the back seats down? Or something else? I've never slept for an extended period of time in my car but I like having a pad and two warm layers, i.e. two sleeping bags or a warm sleeping bag on top and a comforter underneath.

Never had or needed a heater, but damn it would be nice for the mornings, sometimes it takes me forever to get up.

Wet clothes are the worst, and really the only serious problem I think since (for me at least) it's usually not too hard to stay warm. And I don't have a solution for them, other than putting the clothes in your sleeping bag. I have no idea how you would dry out ski clothes though...

Good luck!
 
Yeah, the car cooking is gonna be very cautiously performed. I'm a klutz. And Outback, yes. The folding seats are so nice, and I have a 2000, so they actually go FLAT unlike the 96 we were sleeping in a couple years ago.

I think the heater is gonna be clutch, for drying clothes and staying warm. I just need to find one that I can use in the car with just the sunroof cracked like I said. A tarp makes sense though. Hurr durr idk why I didnt think of that.
 
pro tip: make sure all your stuff is wool and while sleeping stick bootliners, wet socks, wet underlayers, skins either in your sleeping bag or under the sleeping bag between the bag and the pad.

drys everything out and keeps your liners from freezing and make putting them on in the morning much more pleasant.
 
Have a good season man I remember reading that thread glad your gettin back on the snow.

You still pushing a cop car? Ha Ive always wanted to whip one your the man for that I love big boats like crown vics.

To OP- I think the biggest challenge will be finding stuff to do and a place to go chill without spending money from 4pm when the lifts close until 9 or 10 when you will pass out to sleep. Hang in a starbucks and surf the web or something for a few hours each evening.

Next biggest challenge is how to dry wet shit. Maybe a ski locker?

I have slept in the back of my car but I have a station wagon and a cot mattress in the back which is close to a bed. Ive always tried to keep the motto of only going back there if I am tired as hell and ready to go to sleep. So the car will be running and fully warm when I go back there, and I'll crack a window the tiniest amount for ventilation, and hopefully will be asleep before it gets cold. If you can sleep long enough that when you wake up its close to morning its probably cool to start the car and rock some heat won't waste too much gas.

Ive only done this when its after 3am on a powder night and Im not tired or falling asleep soon and I know I will miss first chair unless I go to the mtn and sleep in my car for an hour or two instead of passing out at home.

What do all the experienced car campers do to dry gear? And what do you do from 4pm until you fall asleep around 10?
 
I have never done long term stays but lots of one or two night camp outs in some cold as fuck places. Just remember that when you sleep when your really cold, you get about 2/3s the actual rest as when your warm (atleast thats my theory). Have a good sleeping bag. You don't need to spend $300. I got a pretty good one on sale for $60. Just don't sleep in like a summer sleeping bag. If you have a really nice one your ahead of the game. Its also nice to have a big blanket to put ontop of your sleeping bag if you have room in your car. THIS IS IMPORTANT- have an emptry gatorade bottle in your car. Use it if you have to piss. If you get out of your bag and your car your going to get chilled as well as lose all the heat in your bag. It will take you a long time to heat back up and fall asleep. If your a girl, I don't know how to help you with that, hold it? If its snowing put a neon flag on your car somehow. People have died sleeping in cars covered in snow when a snow plow smashes them into a snowbank because its 5 am and all they see is a pile of snow. So keep that in mind. As far as getting fresh air into the car, you can crack a window but that kinda sucks. the seats of my car fold down into the trunk and I sleep laying the the trunk into the back seat. I made hatch in my trunk with lats on the bottom and that I can close with a couple bolts. I know this next level shit. Most gas stations have a microwave and a bathroom with hot water. I have used a couple cloth filled bags of rice that are heated in a microwave till they are so hot you need a towel to move it to help keep my sleeping bag warm. Its nice to warm up the bag and stays warm a couple hours. You can also fill a couple milk jugs of steaming hot water and put them in a cooler as a warm box. Just like keeping things cold, the cooler needs to be warm for this to really work. When you wake up in -20 temps, some above freezing temp oj is amazing.
 
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I've slept in my car so many times this year its crazy. Pretty much, stay dry, try to find a spot where you can have a fire (makes cook/drying clothes a million times easier), manage you stench(car camping can get stinky if you don't do laundry/shower) and most important- don't forget to crack a window if you are using a heater/stove inside your car because there is a good chance that you will die.
 
make a friend who lives near the mountain or wherever it is you are planning on being (or if you're going to be moving around.. make friends everywhere). I imagine you'll want to shower, brush your teeth.. etc. Could also help solve the cooking and where to dry clothes situation.... (and wash them too.. come to think of it).

good luck!
 
I've done it but it sucked. Small car tall dude = lame. Wet gear too bad you're gonna die anyway. Food fuck it you're gonna die.

Pretty much wasn't a good time whenever I lived in my car in the winter. Probably the best spot I ever kicked it was the mid lodge on a mountain. Get dropped off by a cat, snowboard down in the morning to punch in= win.

That said I've thrown wet things on the vents to dry. Spun several laps on the hand dryers in the bathrooms. Things like that. Food = what ever you can afford that makes you not die.
 
thinking my massive minivan might be perfect for this. Heres a q. Should i get my hands on a small generator to run a space heater, or is that a horrible fire waiting to happen?

Also what are some good camping spots in the winter? Schweitzer has a great lot, as does Bridger and Snoqualmie. Any other prime spots?
 
if you're thinking of doing this at stevens, please park in lot D (north side of hwy 2) also there are outlets on the bases of the lightpoles which are rated suuuuuper high amps (had to plug in my 1 ton block heater...did fine) if you're super desperate rent cabin at 59'er diner but that's probably not 'core' or whatever you baker kids are into nowadays
 
Ahahaha stop it. We're too core for you.

But thanks for the info on the outlets! That might come in super handy.
 
What ever mountain I'm at is kind of my home mountain. I'm at my OG home mountain right now but haven't lived in my car or anything wild.
 
PROPANE STOVE AND PROPANE ACCESSORIES!

From that you can run a small heater and stove. Other than that you shouldn't need much. The propane heater is going to heat up the inside of a car within 20 minutes. The best way to save on propane though is to insulate the windows and ceiling or if you're in the bed of a pick-up, put insulation under the bed as well. The next best thing you can do to save on propane is to use a fire to cook whenever possible. Most places; even with a fire ban, will allow you to have a "cooking" fire. Around here, CO, propane is around like $25 or $30 for a refill and usually you'll go through one a week depending on how cold, what you're cooking, etc.
 
If you can find a place to plug in then that's huge. I have an extension cord with a two outlet splitter running through the engine compartment, then under the dash so that the outlets are right on my Blazer's tunnel. Then the male end hangs out of the left side of my hood (actually plugs into a junction that also feeds a block heater and battery blanket). Then I plug in an interior car warmer (just a small electric heater fan) to one of the interior outlets and you can adjust the temperature on it. Keeps shit really toasty in there, and the battery blanket/block heater makes for easy starts in the morning if needed.

 
I was also thinking of doing this during the winter and I had a couple of people telling me to light some candles in the car with my windows cracked open. Anyone knows if this works?
 
Multiple duvets, extra pillows to make things more comfortable, multiple sweaters to sleep in (or a boy/girl for body heat). We threw the skis under the car for the night as there was literally no one around who would steal them. Ate very simple food while sleeping in the car.

Success, made it for first chair.
 
Theres some good advice in this! i might try it out in the spring for a couple nights when its a bit less cold and i have my license haha
 
Biggest issue is drying your gear. Chill at a bar to dry most of it off then crank the heater in the car for a little bit. Be sure the tail pipe isn't covered otherwise you will be a dead ski bum and nobody likes a dead skier. For a heater, be sure it doesn't give off co2 or other gasses as you

could die by suffocation that way too. Someone help me out but there is a heater that

is perfect for this type of indoor use but can't remember the name...

I'm planning on sleeping in the car alot this winter as well, and plan to have a 0 degree bag, with extra wool blankets for those really cold nights. Air mattress will be my friend and I will probably do warm cereal/oatmeal for breakfast in the mornings using a small stove setup. Condensation is an issue, and the only way around that is by cracking the windows. Cold vs. wet. Its a trade off.

 
i consider myself to be a hardcore ski bum, but you couldnt pay me a million bucks to live in a subaru with someone else for a winter. have you guys discussed getting jobs ? i mean you are on the internet which means you have money...... i dont get it ....
 
Somewhat unfortunately I drive a Wrangler. Instead of car camping I just pitch an actual tent next to my Jeep. I've been daydreaming and doodling a way to make a fold out for the "bed" of the jeep that will extend it so I can sleep up off the ground
 
I'm sorry just to clarify please tell me you're cooking outside your car with a propane stove? And the heater is a vented propane heater, of course.

I agree on the insulation, but it doesn't have to be anything crazy. Even just those reflective sun blocks people put in their windshield turned reflective side in will make a difference, and collection condensation too so you can actually see out your windows in the morning
 
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