I liked the idea of having a small house on wheels that you could take anywhere and anywhere. The ability to take and leave seemed like a dream. You do not need to carry boxes, board a plane, or get in and out of a hotel. Just store your car with food, arrange your clothes and toiletries in a drawer, and go out with all the comforts of home. It is the glamping of the next level.
Personally, I like to get into nature, but I’m not in camp. I have no desire to sleep in a tent on the ground and to urinate in an outdoor joint. So camping in a car is the best (and only!) Option for me. One day, I hope to have my own. But in the meantime, I’ve been dying to try. So when I found the Cabana company, which allows you to rent luxury camping cars, I took the opportunity to try out its services.
Log life of the van
From RV to Airstreams, there are many camping car options, but modified racehorse cars have become popular over the last few years because they are shorter. You do not need to worry about parking a 40-foot RV — instead, you can get a 20-foot (5 feet shorter car) than a large freight truck) and move it easily.
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I rented a smart running car with a sink, stove, refrigerator, bathrooms, toilet, bed, and closet. There are also solar panels on the roof, which give you enough electricity to charge the equipment, and heat and cool the car. With pickup available in Los Angeles and Seattle, Cabana trucks are ideal for up to two people exploring the west coast.
Save / take your car and start the journey
Storing and arranging a car ride through Cabana is very easy. You can choose to simply select your dates, lock the car, and arrange it yourself; you can reserve one of Cabana’s pre-planned trips that include car expenses and a full trip schedule; or answer questions so that the Cabana staff team can see what you are interested in and then arrange a special (satisfactory) trip.
Starting your trip is like using a car sharing service like Zipcar. Once you have set the position, you will get the address of the pick-up area. When your trip arrives, go to the polls and use the Cabana app to unlock your car and start your journey. Inside you will find the keys, and instructions on how to do everything from turning on AC to kitchen set.
Driving
Living in New York City, I do not drive often. So the idea of spending seven days driving around California in a big truck surprised me a little. But once I got to the back of the wheel, I realized it wasn’t too hard. It certainly feels different than driving, but you get used to it very quickly. It has large side mirrors and a backup camera so you can see your surroundings very well. It also comes with a phone holder on the dashboard so you can easily see your GPS.
Sleep
Cabana passenger cars have a comfortable and queen-sized couch that sits upright in the back of the space, so you do not need to worry about keeping your bed at night. My favorite part of sleeping in a car like this is that with the back bed, you have a beautiful view from the rear windows. Our first night, my boyfriend and I arrived at our first camp after dark, so we had no idea where we were or what the scene was. Getting up and taking coverings from the windows in the middle of the desert outside Palm Springs was a delight. I loved being able to just sit in bed and take over our environment.
Cooking and eating
When inside the car there is a sink, refrigerator, and hot water kettle, cooking is handled outside. Go to the back of the truck, open the doors, and you will find a stove that comes out from under the bed, with a sink, a propane stove with two burners, a counter counter, and cooking utensils, and removable utensils. vessels and utensils.
Removing the kitchen from the back is a good space saver so there is more space inside the car. However, it can be a little difficult, especially if the weather is cold. Inside the car, the passenger seat rotates around the center, the bench rises from the edge of the cupboard, and there are columns that allow you to place a tablecloth, creating a comfortable dining area for two people. But, if you are staying in the campground, there is likely to be picnic tables set up where you can enjoy your meal outside.
Using the bathroom
The bathroom is small and has a shower and toilet section. Using the toilet is easy — you just go and pump water just like you would any other toilet. The same goes for a shower, except the space is much smaller than your regular shower. Additionally, there is no separation between the toilet and the bathroom so once you clean and clean the toilet it will be very damp. But, with the help of an exhaust fan, it dries quickly.
The toilet flows into a black water tank under the car while the sink and shower water are poured into a gray water tank. In the short term, you do not need to worry about removing these. You can get three to five days out of the toilet before the tank fills up depending on how much you use. And there is a digital monitoring screen on the car that lets you watch how the tank fills up.
Because I had a car for seven days, I had to pour out the tanks on the fifth day. This is something you do on the campground, and you will see signs indicating where and how to do it. The experience was humiliating, to say the least, but not nearly as bad or difficult as I thought it would be. Basically I had to pull a pipe from the storage pipe under the car, connecting one end to the car and the other with a special pipe down to the camp. Then I opened the black tank drain valve (tank and everything you emptied the toilet) and then a gray tank (a tank with water from the sink and shower). The instruction manual contains good instructions and a pair of gloves so I can stay clean during the process. But, it was tricky. Unfortunately I created a huge array of cars because I did not know and a human angel who was driving behind me came to help me.
Save
Because the van is small, light installation is a must. But, you can still bring a sufficient amount of items — my girlfriend and I each brought a carry-on suit and handbag. The car has two pull-out luggage shelves and a closet complete with rods and hangers. There are also two drawers under the bed, and we used one to keep the pantry and the other to put our toilets and other things we wanted easily accessible such as a candle and a bluetooth microphone.
When you drive a car, your belongings need to be stored so that they do not fly over the back of the car. Each door and drawer have a special handle that clicks on them so that they do not open while the car is moving. All these projects are properly closed before leaving, your products will remain safe and secure.
What a trip it was
Spending a week around California by car was a dream come true. I started my journey in Los Angeles, and for the most part it was a short walk to Trader Joe and Goal so my partner and I were able to store food and other essentials such as tissues and block the sun before we hit the road. Fire Tip: Bring a series of Christmas lights with you to make the car feel more comfortable.
Then we headed for our first stop: Palm Desert. We parked at the Lovelight Tentsite & Car Camping website and had a great time. Campsite has a super cool and eclectic vibe. Getting to know host Mikey, her three lovely dogs, and her tortoise was a thrill. Part of the camp was about 30 minutes from Palm Springs, so we drove there to buy and go for dinner before going for two nights at Joshua Tree National Park where we stayed at Jumbo Rocks Campground.
This is easily the coolest place I have ever been. The rocks were really jumbo, and I felt like I was on Mars. We went for a walk, went into town to do business, and took it. many. pictures. When we were in the garden, we had zero cell service, forcing us to exist and just enjoy our environment. It was glorious.
For the past three days, we stayed in Dana Point, a coastal town in Orange County. For the first night, we parked right at the side of the road outside our friend’s house, and we stayed for another night in the water on Doheny State Beach. We went back to our parking lot so we could open the back doors and jump on the sand. I loved sleeping in a comfortable bed watching the waves crash on the shore. It really was a wonderful and magical experience.
Would I do it again?
Sitting in a Cabana car only strengthened my desire to have my own car. I got the experience of these new, beautiful places from my little piece of house. I liked that I didn’t have to go back and forth from the hotel — I was living in a harsh natural environment. Of course, you can get this with any camping experience, but, as I said, I am not a resident. Van camping is the only type of camping I have ever considered, and it was a great experience. After a long drive, I realized that the bed was only four feet away. And each time I had access to food and a toilet that was mine. No matter where we were, we had our little chance to get back and that felt very basic.
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