(Also posted in 944 section…posting here for general interest)
A canoe camping trip, with one night on the mainland plus two on an island, finally provided the perfect excuse to finally give my “944 car-camp tent” idea a try.
First - the canoe…a 16 foot Kevlar “Ranger,” mounted on Yakima racks and guyed by threading polypropylene rope through existing holes on bottoms of front and rear bumpers. Works like a charm and rides smoothly and solidly, completely without vibration or excess noise:
For sleeping arrangements - I first removed the passenger seat, “replacing” this with the large (65qt) Yeti (on a pad), atop which I placed another pad plus custom made, 3/4” ply topper. Note the curved recess cut out to allow for comfortable shifting:
View from front, with “feet” position in foreground - providing plenty of room for my 6’1” frame (additional yoga mat and Therma rest pad not shown):
On the outside, the rain fly from a large Sierra Designs tent, thrown over the car (with hatch open) and guy-lined to the ground. Rear zips on either side provide great access, plus the narrow plastic window (one in front also) perfectly positioned to see outside:
Front view - not perfect, but workable. The coverage was more than enough to allow windows to remain open to provide good ventilation while still keeping bugs out:
Finally, the reward: two nights on a perfect island campsite on Flagstaff Lake in central Maine. Fourth largest lake in Maine at over 20,000 acres…we had this lake (or at least all that we could see and explore over two days) completely to ourselves. Here’s an evening view from our campsite:
Postscript: My ‘87NA, with canoe attached and loaded with gear plus 65qt. Yeti cooler full of ice, still achieved just over 27mpg over 320 miles of mostly empty northern NH/Maine roads (lots of twist and sweepers - nice!).