npatel

Sleeping in a 996 convertible is definitely stupid. But if you think it’s good stupid, or at least mildly entertaining to shake your head at stupid, read on.

As cliche as the #VanLife trend of living out of a van as you travel is, there's something beautiful about the optionality. Everything you need in one car (or #LifeVan). A self-contained adventure on wheels. While I could never see myself as a full-time van dweller, I’ve always wondered how long I could enjoy it for.

But most #LifeVans are optimized to be comfortable when they're stopped. The in-motion part of the drive is rarely a highlight (unless you happen to love driving vans, and always secretly dreamed of being a delivery driver, piloting a big box full of smaller boxes).

I’ve loved every minute of driving my ’99 996 since I bought it a little over 3 years ago. For faster, for slower, in repair-time and in health. And whenever I drive something close to a van/SUV, I quickly find myself wishing it were the 996 instead.





Here’s Where It Starts Getting Dumb

Over time, these two reasonable thoughts combined into one very unreasonable idea – could you car camp out of a 996?

I was inspired in part by @996roadtrip on Instagram and others who camp in rooftop tents perched atop their Porsches. Unfortunately, my car’s soft-top rules this option out.

If I want to sleep inside the car, the passenger seat seems like the best bet. I started by making it as flat as possible – leaning backwards, angling the lower portion, etc. The limiting factor is the back of the front passenger seat hitting the bottom of the rear passenger seat. I removed the lower leather-covered cushion to get a couple more inches of clearance.

Rallying (Foam) Support

I bought 2 yards of 4” high density foam (24” wide, but I only needed 20”). With the seat as flat as possible, the effective sleeping angle is about 10 degrees. I cut a roughly 4-foot piece of foam covering the seat, with the bottom end angled. Some shorter blocks support it underneath, improving the sleeping angle closer to 8 degrees. I’m having this jumbled stack of pillows and foam upholstered now.




Everyone who’s tried it so far has found it surprisingly comfortable (with emphasis on the “surprisingly”).

The Obvious Question – “Why?” (or, more reasonably, “Why the #@%#?!”)

Part of it is to see if it’s possible. But part of it is the allure of the go-anywhere adventures that a setup like this enables, where each mile driven is a gift rather than a chore. When the weather cooperates, you can embrace the cabriolet ethos of being as one-with-your-surroundings as possible. It’s not that I see myself sleeping in the car for nights on end. But it’s nice to know that it’s a possibility, to explore freely beyond the bounds of AirBnB, knowing that even in the worst-case scenario, shelter is covered.

Part of it is that I love convertibles. I’d argue that a faster/newer/nicer car offers a marginally different driving experience. But driving with the top down is a transformatively different experience, one that I’ve loved since childhood. The same setup could work with another convertible, but I’d be hard pressed to find one more fun to drive than a 911. A Jeep with an automated convertible top would be roomier, but would the thought of the next drive put as big a smile on my face? (That said, giving a Jeep to a suspension shop with the directive “optimize purely for paved-road handling” is a long-term fantasy of mine.)

The Plan

Calling it a “plan” might be charitable. It’s more like a list of constraints which, taken together, sound comically incompatible:
- surfing in every state on the East Coast
- meetings in New York
- paragliding in Connecticut, if the weather cooperates
- working remotely full time

The general agenda is surf, work, drive, repeat. Tentatively planning on surfing in:
- Cocoa Beach, FL
- Tybee Island, GA
- Folly Beach, SC
- Duck, NC
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Ocean City, MD
- Rehoboth Beach, DE
- Somewhere on the Jersey Shore
- Montauk, NY

Further north, I’m not as sure. Cape Cod has had a surge in great whites close to shore this season. Did I spend an irrational amount of time thinking about great whites when planning this trip? Maybe. But if you’ve gotten to this part of the post, you’ll agree that “rational” went out the window long ago.

3D Tetris

My 5’10” surfboard in its waterproof travel bag is riding shotgun, with the bottom of the board nestled fins-side-up in the footwell while the rest of the board lays atop the foam mattress pad. Rather luxurious accommodations for a surfboard, if you ask me.

This means the only available storage space is behind the drivers seat, and in the frunk. The frunk is largely spoken for by my paragliding setup, so I’m working with 1 rear seat’s worth of space. Not quite a walk-in closet, but it’ll fit the essentials.

Logistics

The rest of the car setup boils down to three categories:
- working: a power inverter to charge the laptop when driving, and a desk attached to my steering wheel with an iPad as a second monitor when stopped
- surfing: wetsuit on top of my surfboard in a mesh quick-dry bag that collects water runoff. Changing mat and towel poncho to really round out the surf-bum-chic look
- sleeping: fans and netting to allow bug-free air flow at night even with the top closed

I’ll spare you the full details, but I’m happy to talk more about logistics if anyone’s interested.

I’ll post more pictures once the mattress pad is upholstered, and once I have everything loaded up. Planning on making the trip next week, pending some scheduling.

strathconaman

A small tent/bivi sack, sleeping bag and air mattress would take up less space, and probably be more comfortable. Just saying.

Rich_Jenkins

I think this is awesome and I won't hear a word against it. You rock, man. I think you know what you want and are set to do it. so Do it!

I retired at 56 and my wife and I sold the big house and bought a gigantic truck and Airstream travel trailer (my wife's idea of "roughing it" is a cold sandwich for room service.) We toured the US and Canada in our RV for two+ years on the road. I've since gone back to work as a corporate drone for a couple years, but I enjoyed my life on the road.

I wonder; do you plan to carry a more uh horizontal option? I did some backpacking out in the mountains a few years ago; all I had was my pack at 40+ pounds but in that I had one-person shelter, rain fly, liner, Big Agnes pad, etc. I slept like a baby. Not saying your "in car" arrangements would not work, just might be worth an option. No worries if you've thought this through.

I look forward to hearing more about your adventure. If there is anything I can contribute to make your experience more positive, I will be sure and do so.

Good luck!!

cds72911

Good luck. Have fun.

As an aside, I don't think you have to sacrifice drivability to do a comfortable road trip. I've had several Toyota Landcruisers of varying vintages that all have comfort and are good on the road. If you put a set of bolt in storage boxes in the back, with the 2nd row seats folded down, you have a great sleeping platform. Your surfboard would fit either inside or on the roof. I even have a 12v powered fridge that can make living on the road pretty civilized.

npatel

You're absolutely right, and you're not alone in pointing this out It's definitely an option, but I like not having to set up a tent, particularly late night/early morning (ie one of the campsites has a check-in time of up to 10pm, which gives me more flexibility without setting up in the dark). But that would have been more logical

Thanks for the words of encouragement! Your time on the road sounds like a blast. That's a good point on a tent as an option - I'm planning to take a small one, as long as space permits.

Appreciate it! And that's fair, a Land Cruiser would be great, and I'm sure there are other similarly enjoyable-to-drive cars. With my current requirement of a retracting roof, I think limited to Jeeps (I've had minimal seat time, but the driving experience wasn't what I was looking for), the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet (lol) or the Mercedes/Maybach G 650 Landaulet (also lol). But once that wears off and I'm looking for a more sensible adventure-mobile, there will be a lot to consider.

Nickshu

Take out the passenger's seat, you will likely have more room and options to make a bed with it out.

npatel

That's a good idea - lots of room for activities without the passenger seat. Unfortunately I have a passenger joining for some time in the middle (after unloading a 996 worth of junk), so I'll need the passenger seat this go-around. Sitting at the back seat would be an option, but I/my friends don't love the angling of the rear seat for long drives. Will keep that in mind for the next trip though.

Makes me think of the 3-seat McLaren F1-style conversions for 911s. 3 in comfort, rather than 4 in agony.

motoo344

After my dad died 7 years ago I just needed to get away so I packed my track-prepped e36 M3 and drove it 10,000+ miles in a month playing golf all over the country. I attempted to sleep in the back of the M3 once in a wal mart parking lot and it didn't go well but it was certainly an experience. I would love to do again one day with something like an Astro Van or some sort of 90s conversion van.

911 carrera blue

Just buy a Cayenne

Flyfishnick

Pics and pics and more pics. This sounds like a true adventure. Well done!

808Bill

BINGO!
My pop up takes about 10 minutes (with a beer) to set up. My queen size air mattress takes (2nd beer) to fill up. Sleep like a baby= priceless.

808Bill

Plus, should it rain, you won't suffocate in your car with the windows up!

npatel

Sounds incredible, and no better way to honor someone's memory than by living a life full of memorable experiences. Best case scenario it's a good time, worst case scenario it's a good story.

If only Porsche put the Cayenne Cabriolet concept into production - they would have had one (and maybe only one) buyer



Thank you

I did a lot of tent camping when I was younger, and packing up a dew-wet (and soon dirty) tent every morning was one of the few parts I didn't love (ditto for setting up camp in the dark, but I guess that's less of an issue now that I have a car with me). Still, obvious pros to tent camping, and it makes more sense most of the time.

Ventilation is a good point - sources are mixed on how safe it is to sleep in a closed car (the oxygen level seems more than sufficient, but it's CO2/CO buildup that can be an issue). The current plan is to roll down the rear windows, clip on a rain cover/mesh screen, and a small fan for airflow. Finishing up the window screen covers this weekend.

SoCal911t

I admire your spirit. Go for it!

Me? I'm at a stage of life where roughing it is drinking a martini on the hotel room balcony out of plastic instead of glass.

jennifer911

Can we just do a Rennlist-funding campaign and buy Npatel a 6-pack of Best Western rooms!