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Old 11-12-2019, 02:51 PM
 
924 posts, read 1,022,218 times
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Hey all, hoping to have someone who is KNOWLEDGEABLE and actually done this themselves; not really looking for someone with an opinion who "thinks" it will be bad or never tried it before or does not know anyone. So please refrain from providing false feedback thanks!!

Anyhow, I am planning a dirtbike trip on a particular area and plan on sleeping in my car in Colorado. Hotels are too far away from the area and dont want to have to keep driving back.

Issue is, sometimes it gets either too cold or too hot so I would like to leave a constant temperature on.

I am thinking maybe 4 or 5 nights sleeping in this area. what are your thoughts? Or should I really be looking at a diesel at this point? like a transit van
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:20 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,243,006 times
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I did a cross country summer trip MANY years ago and slept in the car most nights, 18,000 miles in 2.5 months. It was a 1964 Skylark Wagon, and I did have A/C (Sears underdash). This was summer though it got to freezing sometimes at night in the rockies. I never left the engine on, at most, ran it 15-20 minutes to get the heat or AC to bring the temperature up or down. There is just too much chance exhaust leakage into the car. When moving the wind blows any leakage away, sitting it just rises. That risk may be far less today, but I would still not be that trusting with something that could kill you. Better to bring extra blankets, and perhaps a battery-operated fan and lots of batteries.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:24 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,826,444 times
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I spend many hours in my car in the summer and winter. I have to run the engine for heat or cooling for many hours. If I'm going to sleep, I crack open two windows to reduce the risk. However, I find it hard to fall asleep in the car.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:31 AM
 
Location: Outskirts of Gray Court, and love it!
5,675 posts, read 5,890,781 times
Reputation: 5817
Any gas stations in this middle of nowhere place?
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:37 AM
 
Location: 0.83 Atmospheres
11,474 posts, read 11,567,247 times
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What time of year are you doing this?

I have slept many nights in my 4Runner in the Colorado mountains. I have a sleeping bag and a camping pad. Never needed to run the vehicle at night. I do find that if you don’t crack a window, it’s very damp inside by morning.
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Old 11-13-2019, 08:02 AM
 
Location: NC
5,459 posts, read 6,058,580 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog77 View Post
What time of year are you doing this?

I have slept many nights in my 4Runner in the Colorado mountains. I have a sleeping bag and a camping pad. Never needed to run the vehicle at night. I do find that if you don’t crack a window, it’s very damp inside by morning.
Very damp inside brought back vivid memories of my cheek stuck to the window of an old Chevy stationwagon that two of us were sleeping in on a weekend hiking trip to the NC/Va border mountains back in the 80's.
Temperature got down into the low teens. I must have rolled over during the night and landed up against the window. My cheek was frozen pretty good up against the glass of the back window when I woke. We had to run the car for about 15 or 20 minutes to unstick it and not pull off skin.
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Old 11-13-2019, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Southern Arizona
9,601 posts, read 31,710,724 times
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Simple answer to your question, WillC . . . Engine and Electronics Overheating.

The newer the vehicle the more "long term damage" can result from idling for long periods of time.

Engines need air for cooling and there is very little "breathing space" under the hood nowadays.
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Old 11-13-2019, 11:02 AM
 
Location: Florida
7,779 posts, read 6,394,423 times
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Buy a heavy sleeping bag, your car will last longer.
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Old 11-13-2019, 11:27 AM
 
3,218 posts, read 2,436,110 times
Reputation: 6328
Quote:
Originally Posted by willc86 View Post
Hey all, hoping to have someone who is KNOWLEDGEABLE and actually done this themselves; not really looking for someone with an opinion who "thinks" it will be bad or never tried it before or does not know anyone. So please refrain from providing false feedback thanks!!

Anyhow, I am planning a dirtbike trip on a particular area and plan on sleeping in my car in Colorado. Hotels are too far away from the area and dont want to have to keep driving back.

Issue is, sometimes it gets either too cold or too hot so I would like to leave a constant temperature on.

I am thinking maybe 4 or 5 nights sleeping in this area. what are your thoughts? Or should I really be looking at a diesel at this point? like a transit van
Look into renting a class B with some sort of power for running heat off grid. A class B would be fairly easy to drive and could tow your bike just make sure it is ok with the people who rent it to you. RVShare is a website much like airbnb for rv's.

I wouldn't recommend running your car all night even with windows cracked but if you do decide to do this bring a carbon monoxide detector with you. Also consider that sleeping in a car won't be too comfortable.
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Old 11-13-2019, 11:32 AM
 
Location: Alaska
3,146 posts, read 4,108,699 times
Reputation: 5470
Quote:
Originally Posted by getatag View Post
Very damp inside brought back vivid memories of my cheek stuck to the window of an old Chevy stationwagon that two of us were sleeping in on a weekend hiking trip to the NC/Va border mountains back in the 80's.
Temperature got down into the low teens. I must have rolled over during the night and landed up against the window. My cheek was frozen pretty good up against the glass of the back window when I woke. We had to run the car for about 15 or 20 minutes to unstick it and not pull off skin.
Which "cheek" are you referencing?
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