#Camperolla

car camping in a small 1998 Toyota Corolla

I got Camperolla when I was 16 and had it for 18 years until 2021 when I upgraded to a minivan. Camperolla had about 270,000 miles on it and went through 40 states. I started sleeping in Camperolla back in 2010 on my first long distance road trip from Alabama to Alaska.

At the end of 2018 I was seriously looking for vans to convert to live in as I wanted a vehicle I could stand up in and live comfortably in for months at a time. I work seasonally and would love to be able to reduce housing costs and just live in a van while I work and then travel. In the end I couldn’t make the decision to spend half of my savings as well as see my car insurance costs go up as well as my gas budget increase so I decided to see if I could convert my small car into a camper. [but I’ve already got my future van’s name, that I’m laying claim to right now—Barry Vanilow—it’s mine, don’t take it :)]

I took out my passenger seat as well as the back portion of the back passenger seat. My dad stacked up some wood blocks and layed a piece of wood down that I then covered with 2 bench cushions. I covered those cushions with tarp and voila I had a place I could lay completely horizontal with my feet sticking into my trunk a little ways. I later added a thermarest sleeping pad on top of the cushions, and coupled with my 0 degree sleeping bag I was ready to sleep in the car. I hit the road and over 4 weeks I slept in my car in Walmart parking lots, at rest stops, on national forest land, and at apartment complexes in 9degrees. The car isn’t as nice as a van might be but it works for short-term car camping.

If you’re thinking about getting on the road and traveling, I encourage you to just go out and do it. There’s no need to wait around until you have the perfect set-up, just get going and make it work with what you have. Happy travels!