I Hate Sleeping in a Tent. So I Turned My Car Into a Cozy Camping Haven. | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Elissa Sanci

Elissa Sanci is a senior staff writer. She has found that clear ice makes carbonated drinks taste better, and citronella candles don’t work.

Though I love soaking in the beauty of the great outdoors, I wouldn’t call myself an outdoorsy person. Rather, I identify as an “outsidey” person: someone who appreciates nature wholeheartedly but ultimately craves the creature comforts (and safety) of my home.

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I have no qualms with hiking miles to summit a mountain or sliding on my butt to get to the bottom of a canyon—but sleeping on the ground with only a thin layer of nylon separating me from the outside world is where I draw the line.

Not only do I prefer to be comfortable and warm at night, but I’m also simply too afraid of what could be lurking in the woods to sleep peacefully in a tent.

My solution has been to ditch the tent entirely and turn the back of my Subaru Crosstrek into a cozy campsite instead. This setup, which hinges on an air mattress designed for cars, is more comfortable than sleeping on the ground and blocks the elements better than a tent ever could. It also provides more security from potential campsite scaries, like small creatures and critters, or even predators like mountain lions. (But keep in mind that, even though a car offers more protection than a tent, bears can still break in, especially if they smell food—so be careful not to eat or store food in your car overnight.)

For someone like me, a prima donna scaredy cat, camping in my car is a way to have my s’more and eat it, too.

Here’s the gear I use when I want to be close, but not too close, to nature.

This air mattress has six inflatable chambers that allow it to fit into a wider range of cars, including sedan back seats. It includes a car-compatible air pump, along with two inflatable pillows and a piece that fills the backseat footwells.

The first thing you need to transform your car into a comfy cocoon is an air mattress specifically intended for use in sedan backseats and SUV cargo areas.

The Saygogo SUV Air Mattress, which I’ve used intermittently over the last two years, offers a great value for casual campers. It has six separate inflatable chambers that you can fill (or leave empty) as needed to fit your space. This makes it compatible with most SUVs and sedans and lets you personalize your setup in a way that makes most sense for you.

The Saygogo air mattress includes a separate inflatable piece designed to fill the gap created by your car’s backseat footwells, so you can lay comfortably without the mattress caving into that empty space. Also included is an air pump with a 9 V car adapter that can be used to inflate and deflate the mattress.

Fully inflated, the mattress has a max weight limit of 380 pounds and can comfortably sleep two adults. It loses a bit of air overnight, especially when two people use it, so you have to top it off if you plan to use it a second night—though I find myself deflating and folding up the mattress in the mornings anyway so I can use my car to get around during the day. The Saygogo air mattress also comes with two inflatable pillows, but I tend to bring a regular pillow, along with sheets, blankets, and my sleeping bag for especially cold nights.

These stretchy mesh shades fit over the top of your car doors to keep bugs out while letting air flow through freely when the windows are rolled down. They also provide some privacy and help block the sun.

I knew I’d want to leave my windows cracked overnight to keep the interior of my car from getting too stuffy while I slept, but the thought of inviting bugs into my space made my skin crawl. Universal car window screens were the answer: These mesh window shades let through fresh air while providing a barrier that creepy-crawlies can’t cross.

Essentially large mesh bags that you pull down over top of your car doors, these shades are elastic enough to fit over most car doors while retaining enough tension so you can pull them taut across your windows. (I use screens from SameeFloral, but a handful of seemingly identical shades are available on Amazon in case this particular option is out of stock.) Once they’re installed, you’ll be able to roll down your windows without interference. The dark shades also provide some privacy, and they’re reasonably effective at blocking morning rays of sun.

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This lantern fits in the palm of a hand and has two fold-up handles for hanging. Powered by three AAA batteries, it casts a strong, cool-white glow.

Light is essential for any camper, whether you’re in a tent or tucked away in your car. The Black Diamond Moji Lantern is palm-sized and emits a strong, cool-white glow that easily lights up the back of your car. The Moji Lantern turns on and off with a click of a button, and you can hang it from a grab handle or a headrest by its metal handles to create overhead lighting or keep it beside you on the mattress while you get situated for bed. This little lantern uses AAA batteries, so pack extras, just in case.

Lights can be used for more than just illumination; they can also help turn your space into a cozy den. I like to thread battery-powered string lights through my car’s grab bars so that I can kick back and decompress in the warm glow of twinkling lights after a long day of hiking. I turn them off right before I drift off, but you could easily keep them on as a night light. You shouldn’t rely on fairy lights as your main source of light—they aren’t nearly bright enough to be helpful in emergency situations—but they can certainly make your base camp a more inviting retreat.

This three-speed fan’s twisty arms easily attaches to the metal legs of a headrest, has a long-enough battery life to last the night, and includes a built-in LED light.

The first time I camped out in my Subaru Crosstrek, I didn’t foresee how warm and stuffy the air inside my car would get, even with the windows cracked—and things only got warmer once rain started pouring, forcing me to close the windows. I woke up in a puddle of sweat and, upon returning home, immediately bought an Amacool battery-operated fan, which we recommend for kids going to sleepaway camp.

The Amacool fan has three speed settings and is surprisingly powerful for something so small; it’s able to circulate the air in a closed space and cool down most sweaty sleepers (myself included). You can twist the fan’s flexible tripod legs around the metal legs of a headrest or a grab handle, and its USB-C rechargeable battery lasts up to 10 hours. The fan also has a built-in LED light, which can come in handy as a backup option if your lantern batteries die.

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This power bank is small and light, and its rounded edges make it easy to slip into a pocket. It has two built-in USB-C and Lightning cables and enough capacity to charge most smartphones up to three times.

Even though you can use your car during the day to charge your devices, it’s still a good idea to keep a power bank on hand in the event your phone or Kindle needs a little extra juice after you’ve settled in for the night. The Belkin BoostCharge Plus 10K is small enough to tuck into a glove compartment or back seat pockets when not in use, yet has enough battery capacity to charge most smartphones up to three times. It also has two built-in cables—USB-C and Lightning—so you don’t need to sift through your belongings to find your own charging cord.

This article was edited by Christine Ryan and Catherine Kast.

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Elissa Sanci

Senior Staff Writer

I cover a little of everything, from travel gadgets and car-organizing tools to label makers and reusable tumblers. I have an affinity for testing the buzzy products you’ve probably seen clogging your social media feeds—my goal is to figure out which trending items are actually worth your time, and which are a waste of money.

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