Tips for late season car/truck camping (no hot tents)

[Aaron-in-CO]

With upcoming plans to hunt 3rd season rifle (Nov 12-18) here in CO, I was wondering what tips/hacks people have for a more comfortable and efficient camp without a wall tent or tipi.

My plan is to sleep in my vehicle and move camp as needed depending on what we are seeing. I will be with two buddies for a few days and probably solo for the rest.

Given the limited space to spread out and the main heat source being an open campfire, what have you found to work well in simple, late-season, vehicle-based camps?

 

[SuspiciousFish]

If you sleep in your vehicle you need to crack open at least one window. Things get swampy really quick if you dont, especially with 3 people. I learned this the hard way and it was horrible.



Here is another trick. Take a stainless steel waterbottle, fill it with water then put it on your stove before you go to bed. Let it heat up until the water is simmering then close the lid tight, wrap a shirt around it and throw it in your sleeping bag. The water bottle will keep you warm all night and in the morning you will have nice warm water to drink to hydrate for the day.

We did this every night hunting high altitude CO last week and it worked well:

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I spent many nights sleeping in my Yukon XL. 4' mattress out of RV. I always had my GSPs to help warm up the truck. Like SF said crack one a window.

 

[dtrkyman]

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Like sleeping in my own bed!

 

[*zap*]

A shelter with a stove that you can stand up in sure is nice......just sayin.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

A shelter with a stove that you can stand up in sure is nice......just sayin.

There is wisdom here. Unless you are willing to invest in an expensive quality insulated sleeping pad and a sleeping bag that is actually rated for -15 to 0 deg then this is the way to go. The CO high country is brutally cold at night. Even when we went last week it dipped into the low 30s with frost on our tent the first few mornings. I had a 20 deg rated Kelty Mistral 20 bag and had to sleep with my hoodie, vest and 700 fill down jacket to keep warm enough to sleep. (That bag is a POS by the way).

To the OP- I am not sure if you have done this before but really think about the cold and how you are going to stay warm getting back to camp, getting a fire going, cooking, waking up at 4:00am and sleeping. You dont want to get out there and barely survive the first night and realize your basically screwed the rest of the hunt.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Kodiak Canvas Tent and a Buddy heater.

 

[displacedtexan]

A shelter with a stove that you can stand up in sure is nice......just sayin.

And can be had cheap.

 

[coloyooper]

I’ve run buddy heaters in the back of my truck pretty successfully. Keep a window or two cracked for CO

 

[handwerk]

I've spent many nights in the back of my truck/topper. I put a sheet of rigid 1 1/2" foam down in the truck bed, it helps a lot for both warmth and comfort.

 

[huntsman22]

We did this every night hunting high altitude CO last week and it worked well:

Big difference between 'last week', and 3rd season.......

 

[NB7]

Kodiak Canvas Tent and a Buddy heater.

Yup. Can't beat that combo there for the money, comfort and ease of use

 

[huntsman22]

Ah yes.... The ol' campfire for the main heat source when the wood is soaked, it is zero, or below, and the snow is blowing sideways..... Them are the glory days!

 

[Rob5589]

What about a 12v rv type heating pad?

 

[Werty]

I have a topper on my truck and sleep in the back all year for hunting. When I wake up I put my water on my propane stove, the heat from the cooker helps with getting out of the sleeping bag ( I leave a screen cracked). I have it set up and ready to light for when I get up.
A stocking cap or beanie will allow you to handle colder temps.
Take more sleeping bag then you think.
you'll need.
Get a 32oz bottle to piss in the night so you dont have to get out of your car in the middle of the night.
Good luck!

 

[downthepipe]

You need to tell us your vehicle… an suv is different than a truck. A truck with camper shell is different than without. That said, the first thing to do is get a very big and warm flannel sleeping bag. A nice sleeping pad and good pillows and you should be just fine. Realize you will be going to bed about 7-8p and nights are long. Bring a battery powered radio or other things for entertainment. I would say an important aspect is being completely prepared for when your arrival back to camp (fire ready to light) and also completely ready when you wake (water for coffee in stove, hat gloves and headlamp, warm up the car etc. I also recommend bringing 2 good pairs of boots. If it gets wet, you will never get your boots dry overnight so just be ready with a second pair.

 

[Customweld]

When it gets that late in the year, staying dry and warm without a stove is hard. It’s hard to keep your water from freezing.It’s hard to dry out if you get wet. It’s hard to get warm after you’ve caught a chill. Being in a vehicle makes it tough because there just isn’t a lot of room for any type of heater. The risk kicking something over is pretty big. I’m sorry, I wasn’t much help there.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Big difference between 'last week', and 3rd season.......

It works all year round in conjunction with whatever your sleep or stove system is. Will it replace an actual wood stove in a wall tent in 3rd season? Probably not. But you can do both or get a cold rated bag. You are basically taking a ton of BTUs from a stove that would usually just warm the air then escape, capture it and put it directly into your bag.

 

[Bubblehide]

Get a HOT TENT!

 

[BigBerm]

I sleep in my jeep down into the low 20s with a window down. A good R Value pad, a pillow and a Kodiak Canvas Sleeping bag with Kodiak Canvas Quilt is a great combo for me. The key is the flap on the bag so that no cold air leaks in.