Rally Camping Car! (part 2)

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 04/27/2015 at 15:50 • Filed to: RallyCampingCar

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While preparing for a camping trip last month, a small fire in the old truck forced me to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . After packing it to the gills, I realized I was doing it wrong. I needed more space.

So, I went on a search for a decent cargo solution. I tried out a couple of options, but finally settled on a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It’s an older Thule Mountaineer that has seen some use. My complaints about it are minor and have nothing to do with how much it will hold.

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We finally got to test it out this weekend with three-day, two-night camping trip. The hat held two full packs, two tents (one 4-person, one 8-person), fishing gear, a couple of sleeping bags, a couple of ground tarps, and some of our food. We had space inside the car for a cooler, another backpack, and three Boy Scouts. I could have squeezed in one more Scout, but nobody wanted the middle spot in the back.

It performed admirably. We had major storms in the area and despite driving through the weather, everything stayed nice and dry. I can’t say as much for our tents.

To make the hat a little easier to mount and dismount, I’d like to update the mounting brackets, but it’s going to take some engineering to get that done. It’s also looking a bit worn and needs a coat of paint. This, I can do with just some time, some sandpaper and a few coats of Krylon. I went looking for custom paint schemes and wasn’t disappointed:

$kaycog > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 15:58

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I love your hat! Excellent job!

vicali > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:03

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Bought a used Skybox 21 for the Forester while the kids were little (playpens, highchairs, strollers, diapers!). Now that they are a bigger and travel a little lighter we sold it off to another family.. circle of life..

TheRealBicycleBuck > $kaycog 04/27/2015 at 16:07

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The hat is still black, so I’m hoping that’s the one you are admiring. I’m planning a knock-off of the first shark-themed one, so the shark teeth are coming. My wife has already volunteered to pose for the back.

I was thinking that this will be an excellent project to keep a Boy Scout busy over the summer, but painting Mrs. BicycleBuck might be a bit traumatic.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:10

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Yeah that first one is the way to go haha

TheRealBicycleBuck > vicali 04/27/2015 at 16:11

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I bought mine from a fellow who used it to carry gear for six (!) daughters, all who were on travelling soccer teams. Sports and camping seem to be the central themes in my life. The hat’s first use was to carry a pop-up canopy and chairs for a track meet last month.

$kaycog > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:12

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Good luck with painting your wife. Remember that flattery will get you everywhere.

TheRealBicycleBuck > $kaycog 04/27/2015 at 16:17

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I tried painting her while we were painting my daughter’s room. She kept running away.

vicali > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:17

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They do that well, our main drawback to camping with it was that the canoe goes up there! It was pretty hard to beat for road tripping though..

$kaycog > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:31

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That’s funny!

TheRealBicycleBuck > vicali 04/27/2015 at 16:35

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I saw an Impreza wearing a canoe for a hat just yesterday. It had me thinking about Ice-Cube, no, wait, Ice-T, no, wait, - internet search - Xzibit! Yo, Dawg, I heard you like hats, so I got you a hat for your hat so you could go camping AND canoeing at the same time!

vicali > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 16:50

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TheRealBicycleBuck > vicali 04/27/2015 at 16:54

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I really like the hood tie-downs. Did you make them or buy them?

vicali > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 17:00

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diy, one ratchet strap gave it’s life so that we could paddle.. (actually only a foot or so).

Folded over and electrical taped into a loop, then drill a hole through and bolt it down using one of the fender bolts.

http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/sho…

TheRealBicycleBuck > vicali 04/27/2015 at 17:09

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Neat trick!

RTeeJay > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2015 at 21:07

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How’d your driving performance/experience change with the box on top? Did it make the car a little top heavy?

TheRealBicycleBuck > RTeeJay 04/28/2015 at 08:21

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There isn’t enough weight up there to make it feel top-heavy. It has surprisingly little effect on the performance of the car. If I turn the radio off, I can hear some wind noise, but it is hard to tell the difference below 60 mph or so. Turn the radio on and that problem disappears.

At low speeds over bumpy roads, the locking mechanism rattles around a bit. The lock itself is centrally located. You can see my keys hanging from it in the picture. The rods that extend fore and aft to engage the locking tabs are what rattle around. I’m thinking of adding a little foam to quell the noise. Or I can just keep the windows up and drive fast.