Using my E36 for camping.

[croyde]

I have sort of put this question in the holiday forum but maybe you guys don't wander that far

Family camping newbie here so I have booked a pitch for the Summer but yet to buy a tent and all the other bits and pieces. It will be me and my 3 kids in the car so a bag or two can be put in the cabin but have any of you lot managed to get all the gear in a E36 saloon without resorting to roof boxes, trailers etc?

Cheers.

[steve_bmw]

no. me and the missus went to the lakes, we packed a 3 man tent, 2 folding chairs, sleeping bags, pillows, cooking stove, cool box and a bag for clothes, we had to use the back seats for alot of stuff.
if you travel very light, and eat out all the time i guess you could get away with just the essentials, tent and sleeping bag.
have a trial run packing the car.

[e30m3evo3lover]

I have a coupe and have used it for camping, and the boot is larger than it looks and you can fit a surprising amount of stuff in there, always managed to fit everything in. And if you take the spare out you get a little bit more storage space! Better get some tyre weld for emergencies though.

[MarkwG]

No, but...with a roofbox & a bike rack, happily carried the equivalent up, down & around the country & further. It's no big deal, once you're there the rack & box lock up for storage & you're driving a car, rather than a van, when you need to.

[soda]

I wouldn't think you'll have a problem, E46 for me but for a week with 3 blokes there was no problem.
Included 8 man tent, big bbq, 3 big bags, table, 3 folding chairs, climbing gear and about 6 slabs of beer.

Tent may have been overkill though

[croyde]

soda said:

I wouldn't think you'll have a problem, E46 for me but for a week with 3 blokes there was no problem.
Included 8 man tent, big bbq, 3 big bags, table, 3 folding chairs, climbing gear and about 6 slabs of beer.

Tent may have been overkill though

Good one!

Did you have a lot of stuff on the back seat?

The tent I want will be as big as yours and it seams that if you buy cheap it's bigger in storage mode than the pricier ones.

You'll have to send me a diagram of how your lot and stuff went in. Impressive

[soda]

croyde said:

Did you have a lot of stuff on the back seat?

The tent I want will be as big as yours and it seams that if you buy cheap it's bigger in storage mode than the pricier ones.

You'll have to send me a diagram of how your lot and stuff went in. Impressive

Diagram indeed

In the back was 4 slabs of beer behind my seat and 1 rucksack, coats and a chair on the parcel shelf.

Set 2 bits of rope in the boot first of all.

Put anything hard in first, bbq/coolbox, and tuck shoes/jumpers around them. Try and leave about 4 foot of the end of the ropes on top, other end of ropes should be hanging over the lip of the boot. Then bags, tent, chairs etc. When you reach the last few bits you think it's never fitting, tie the ropes round it and tighten like fk. Compresses the stuff to fit and nothing falls out when you open and close the boot

Make sure you leave nothing vital for the trip in the boot, I'd love to be able to say I didn't leave my wallet in my shorts and have to strip half the boot out at the side of the road.




ETA the tent is a cheap effort, my mates so not sure were he got it. 2 sleeping areas, living area about 10' x 10' and a big extendable shelter. Not up to the standards of more mountain oriented gear but perfectly fit for purpose when camping out of a car. Stood up to all the West coast of Ireland weather without taking off at least.

Edited by soda on Friday 21st January 15:35

[croyde]

Thanks for the master class. The use of the parcel shelf is genius. I have overloaded my E36 many times in the 12 years that I've owned it and have never thought of that.

Cheers.

[dan101smith]

I took my E36 Evo saloon to Oktoberfest a few years back, 4 up with 2 tents, sleeping bags, chairs, and all the rest of it. All the gear went in the boot, none had to go in the cabin. You just have to be careful about how you force it all in.

Epic trip, that

[croyde]

Thanks people.

[sparks_E39]

Got 3 lads massive tent, all our luggage to Italy in my 528 in 2009, and didn't use the parcel shelf!