S550 camping. Need ideas.

[Sivi70980]

Do you think you'll actually get any sleep? Seems awfully uncomfortable to me.

Kind of like the threads on attaching a tow hitch to your Mustang, always make me cringe a little.

Cringe? Makes my body hurt.

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[ORRadtech]

Yeah Im with you , sorry OP. but putting up a tent and being comfortable is way easier and quicker then what you want to do. I mean if your gonna be in a camp ground anyway. I slept in my mustang once because i was yeah Im not paying for a hotel...yeah that lasted one night. Its not comfortable at all. And that was just me not 2 people. I would seriously consider a small two person tent. They go up in literally less then 5 mins. PLus that cover over your spare tire area is super flimsy once you put weight on it. I would go ahead and do a test run. sleep in it one night with your girlfriend before you go and see if you still want to do that. And like everyone else says you better take a spare...

Weather or not the OP heeds any of the advice / experiences he's been given I'd like to hear what he decided and how it works out.

 

[Coolmanfoo]

Okay so here is what we have decided on.l based on all of the advice and experienced you've provided

Small two person tent is the way to go for us. They fit in the trunk and can be put up with ease. We also have 2 foldable chairs, binoculars, flashlight, pepper spray and gloves. Kind of the basics for shitty situations. Binoculars are more for star gazing because I love me some stars.

We are probably going to skip the inflatable air mattress and just do bedroll instead. Might be a regret but I'll know soon enough.

Backseat will be where we keep most of our food/water. We have a ton of water. 6 gallons and 6 1liter bottles. I for some reason have a deep fear of running out of water. Maybe I just enjoy being alive?

Our trip will start in the bay area, we will camp on night along highway 1 near Pismo Beach, wake the second day and head to death valley, camp there for an evening. Then a short haul to Alabama Hills (my Whitney) area.and then finally north to Yosemite for a night. After which I'll just drive back home to the Bay area.

Essentially one big circle in California that will have coast, desert and mountains. I really cannot wait. I LOVE LOVE LOVE. That the mustang can hold so much. Im not a fan of trucks or bulky vehicles. I like the speed and driving aspects of the mustang so the fact I can live out of it for 4-5 days is really a dream come true.

One small thing is charging electronics. Girlfriend does a lot of photography and photo editing on the road for marketing purposes so keeping her laptop and camera charged may be a slight pain.

Any last minute suggestions? We head out sometime in September

Edit: this trip is easy due to being so close to towns/cities most of the way. If this goes well we are planning to do a slightly more off the grid trip through Arizona/southern Utah and Colorado in October.

 

[Interceptor]

Sounds like a plan, I would take some umbrellas for shade, not a lot of trees in the Alabama Hills. Binoculars will come in handy for the Vistas.

 

[ORRadtech]

Wait you gonna two man tent camp in death valley? In summer? you do realize they have set the top three records for the hottest temps ever recorded on the surface of the planet and one was set just last week. The hottest temp ever on the surface of the planet. IM sure night isn't that much cooler.

According to the internet (Google knows all, right?) Average daytime temps are a bit over 106f and average nighttime temps are a bit under 75f in September.

OP, hope you're planning some stop along the way with shower facilities. You might also give some thought to find a way for the GF to have some toilet privacy in the mornings. Haven't met too many women who enjoy that part of life being out in the open...

 

[Coolmanfoo]

Wait you gonna two man tent camp in death valley? In summer? you do realize they have set the top three records for the hottest temps ever recorded on the surface of the planet and one was set just last week. The hottest temp ever on the surface of the planet. IM sure night isn't that much cooler.

We've stayed in death valley before in lateSlate / October. It can be warm during the day but night time is actually beautiful. I wouldn't be caught there in July or August though. That's just insanity lol

 

[joez3]

I usually do my death valley trip in dec/jan when it is cold. I also take my truck since a lot of the fun starts where the pavement end. If you staying in the developed camp grounds in valley they have running water. Some of the camp grounds are like large parking lots, more for RVs, if you get into one of these try to get close to the edge so you can setup your tent on the dirt. Furnace creek ranch changed ownership so I don't know if they still do this but campers could buy a pool pass, they have showers so you could get cleaned up.
Back in July I tried to drive though Yosemite but they turned me away since I didn't have a reservation to get in. This is part of covid-19 stuff. If you can't go east on 120 go up to 108 Sonora pass. You'll put the brembo to the test.

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