So I just got back from another trip in the 97 4runner. Just spent a few days down in NC riding on the beach and surf fishing. After camping with friends near the dunes and sleeping in the back of the truck, I was wondering who else does this in their 4runner?? And what mods have you made to assist you?

Peace

The trunk is a little short, a little over 5 feet. At 6'4" it would be a bit of a tight fit. Of course the 4Runner is great rig to go camping in.

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My assessment:

One person: OK (the lower seats cushions of the second row could be unbolted for a couple of inches more length and the front seats pushed forward for max. length. With this a 6 footer should be comfortable.

Two persons: Wife and I did crawl in back to simulate and came to the decision that it was going to be too tight for sleeping comfort. I need to be able to toss and turn.

But try it out -- only you can make the right decision for your sleeping comfort.

If you went to Hatteras its illegal to camp on any of the beaches within the park, and federal tickets will be issued. Course if everyone reads the park rules and uses common sense, not a problem, but this year 3 things that Nps rangers are going to hit hard are camping, and speeding, and reckless driving.

No, that is usually where we head out with the club... but this weekend was further down in NC past cape lookout.

If you unbolt the rear seat cushions, it gives enough room to sleep. The only problem is that if you have a lot of gear and you need to sleep in the back, it means that you need to move the gear elsewhere. Often times I get where I'm going at night, so it's easier to camp in the back than to set up a tent. Plus it gives a bit more protection against the critters and the elements.

What a timely post. I was just getting ready to post re. the same topic!

My wife, three girls, and I are avid campers. We have tent camped as a family since the oldest was a baby in diapers (16 years) and I have been camping and backpacking since my teens (over 30 years). We almost always primitive camp, bringing our own water, porta-potti, etc. While we own five tents and camp year-round, last year we did break down and purchased a Chalet (A-frame) hard sided folding camper. It is an off-road model that still enables us to get back to the remote spots we like.

I digress.

This weekend was so nice that the wife and I (no kids!) took Friday off and headed out to one of our favorite locations - the Allegheny National Forest in NW PA. Since it did rain all day Friday and it was only the two of us, we decided to camp in the Runner.

Since we are both short (5'7" and 5'2"), the length is not a problem for us. I opened up the back door (can't do that with a GX470 LOL!), and I used my Napier Explorer 2 SUV "tent" cover for ventilation. I also connect a 5' x 7" tarp off the back of the roof rack, extending over the cover. One of the nice things about this type of camping is the simplicity. Much faster with less set-up and tear-down.

We brought two folding camping chairs, a small "Jam-It" table, my Whisperlight backpacking stove and fuel, a small soft-sided cooler, a small mess kit, 5 GL water, mummy sleeping bags, potti-stool, shovel, Therma-rest pads, ponchos, and food. I also brought and used my Coleman catalytic heater that fits perfectly in the 4th generation cup holder and takes the chill out of the cold night air. Of course we did bring firearms since shooting is one of our main activities!

While in more seasonable weather there may be other campers within 1/2 - 2 mile or so, there were no other campers evident and probably no other humans around for at least 5 + miles. The logging and fire roads we travel were very muddy with huge ruts (from the logging trucks) and I could only go about 10 MPH max, but we never got stuck. I will say that my Cross-Terrain tires did slip and slide more than I would have liked. (Revos are definitley in my future). No problem traversing the branches, rocks, and other debris that collects over the winter months.

Even though it rained almost all day Friday, the evening was clear and we had a nice fire. Saturday morning was gorgeous, with the sun shining through the windows at 6:45 a.m. Weather on Saturday and Sunday was in the high 50's. We loved the absolute quiet and tranquility. (even our tri-mode cell phones have a very hard time getting a signal up there).

The 4Runner is as great vehicle for camping, abeit tight in sleeping length. We could sit up with out backs against the front seats and read with the help of the middle roof light. The flat wheels well humps are great places to put our coffee mugs and books. The rear door pockets are large enough to hold our water bottles, glasses, small flashlights, and my Glock 23.

A great time for us to recharge our batteries. We will go out again in a month or so when we have a free weekend.