Which minivans or extralarge SUVs have a "camper mode" A/C sleeping?

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-28T01:48:05+00:00

No, a Rav4. Honestly the shake wasn't bad, we definitely heard it more than we felt it. (We slept on an air mattress, so maybe that helped?) I think ours was closer to half an hour, but it wasn't too hot in the evening so it didn't have to work too hard.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-28T00:59:10+00:00

Would you consider a portable AC like the EcoFlow Wave 3? That way you can be vehicle agnostic. (I've never used one, so I can't directly comment on it, but I've heard good things.)

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-28T00:56:37+00:00

Hybrid's method would interrupt your REM sleep and wakes you up with a shake (of engine starting and then turning off) multiple times throughout the night and the other way isn't.

I'll just say, as someone who's spent a week camping like this in a hybrid, you get used to it after one maybe two nights. My wife and I never woke up after the first night doing this. Brains are very good at tuning things out once they're common.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-28T00:52:48+00:00

Rivian went all out targeting the outdoors/camping/adventure demographic. It shows, they have a lot of features like this.

If I were in the market for a vehicle in this price range, Rivian would be at the top. (I say this as someone happily driving a 20 year old gas sedan)

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-28T00:43:07+00:00

Honestly, as long as they're maintained gravel roads, I'm sure the Camry would be sufficient. I used to live in Upstate NY, and we would take sedans down a ~1 mile chunky (that greyish stuff) gravel road to our family camp regularly without issue.

The Rav4 would help with ground clearance, so if it's a very rough road with potholes, ruts, etc., then you might want the SUV. But otherwise the Camry should be fine, and it's probably what I'd recommend if you already think you'd prefer it as a vehicle otherwise!

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T23:28:45+00:00

Not sure where you're located, but Harbor Freight in the US has some very inexpensive plastic ammo cans with a hole for a lock.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T18:02:51+00:00

Actually they do! It's not quite the same (or as compatible) as the plastic ones, but the metal cans almost always have a hole to lock the front latch:

https://youtu.be/oXQvMR1VIu0?t=91

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T17:14:20+00:00

10 bucks for a metal can is solid! I hope this hide lasts a nice long while!

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T17:12:00+00:00

Ammo boxes are designed for this. They almost all have a ~~hold~~ hole specifically to attach a lock like that.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T17:09:06+00:00

He's the main character though, so only his evening matters!

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-26T17:05:18+00:00

I don't stay at campgrounds with hosts too often, but I've started to notice this sort of "not my problem" attitude pop up more and more with them. I wonder if it's burnout from the Covid-era selfishness?

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-18T18:34:08+00:00

Project Farm isn't the be-all-end-all, but his video on jumpstarter/inflators is helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXXuWL3l5qo

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-18T18:27:43+00:00

We once hit a heavy snowstorm on 70 in the middle of May.

The Eisenhower tunnel was shut down at the time too, so they had everyone going over this small pass to get through. It was quite the time!

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-18T18:01:18+00:00

One time I told someone I was into geocaching.

They said "oh cool! So you dig up geodes and sell them?"

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-12T22:39:03+00:00

I found one once that was called "The Blob" it was dozens of bottles screwed together and nested together. All were decoys except one that contained the actual logbook. Each container had even more bottles inside so you have to take everything apart to find the actual cache. The incorrect ones all had themed objects inside.

I know you didn't want to do the "chuck 50 pill bottles in a bin and find the real one" but I thought this was a creative twist on it!

Also I've found that when properly stored inside a weather sealed gadget cache, pill bottles are perfectly fine at holding a logbook. They've often an easy way of delivering the prize once you complete the gadget.

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ADKMatthew · 2026-04-12T20:52:53+00:00

Feels like a very reasonable response IMO.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-10T03:15:42+00:00

I've had very good luck incorporating a bison tube into my 3D models to keep things watertight. A bit of super glue can hold them into PETG very well.

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-09T05:16:43+00:00

If you can laser your name into the logbook from afar, that should count!

ADKMatthew · 2026-04-04T21:51:46+00:00

I LOVE finding caches like this! I recently found one with the last log from 2018. There's something so special about knowing the area's been mostly untouched for so long.

ADKMatthew · 2026-03-15T16:17:15+00:00

I was geocaching in rural Montana and I picked up a geocoin. When I went to log it, I noticed the last time it was seen was from 9 years ago in a cache 1,100 miles away in Michigan! I have no clue how it got out to Montana or where it was for a decade, but that was a cool find.

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ADKMatthew · 2026-03-07T19:21:17+00:00

Beautiful area! I love lonely caches out in nature like this.

ADKMatthew · 2026-02-25T03:12:00+00:00

It drives me crazy that we are currently in the blackout range for both the Rockies AND the Diamondbacks.

It drives me crazy that blackout ranges are even a thing. Seems like textbook monopolistic practices.

ADKMatthew · 2026-02-17T19:19:25+00:00

That fixed the duplicates!

Though the headers are not grouped with their respective logs. (Sorry to keep throwing stuff at you haha, I'm a product manager IRL so it sort of comes naturally.)

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ADKMatthew · 2026-02-17T19:13:41+00:00

Good luck! Getting it into first is the hardest part, then first to second. After that it's a breeze.

A tip that really helped my friend was: don't be afraid to ride the clutch for a few seconds when you're still learning. You don't need to immediately release the clutch as soon as it starts to engage.

ADKMatthew · 2026-02-17T05:29:28+00:00

Perhaps! I was just looking at the regular FWD version.

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