Camping - 914 Style Options

[saigon71]

Took the teener to our annual family camping trip. Supplies were a bit disorganized and I had to remove the passenger seat to make room for the cooler. Overall, it worked out pretty well:

[PlantMan]

I would need room for my fishing gear.

I like it though!

[ripper911]

I've taken my car camping quite a bit, there's plenty of room for stuff. It always surprises people when I start packing up and everything fits in the car.

I use smaller soft sided coolers that fit in the frunk or floorboard.

[KELTY360]

Excellent...you can even carry a big stash of donuts and oreoes when camping in a 914.

I prefer bringing a support vehicle.

[jeffdon]

Done a ton of camping in mine over time. In fact, my avatar picture was taken while overnighting in Cambria, on the way to Rennsport IV, back in 2011.

[Tom_T]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) ... Ditto with the others here -

PS - our 914s have really generous 16 cu ft of trunk space between the 2 trunks - granted a bit oddly shaped, ergo the soft bags, smaller coolers, etc, & packing skills are needed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

Whereas, the typical mid-sized sedan only has about 12 CF in their trunk today! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I camped in mine a ton when it was my DD for a decade & 145k miles - & WITH a passenger & on long distance trips up the coast to CA-OR-WA & back east too!

My Tips for you are:

1. Ditch the big cooler (at least for the 914 use) & get 2 smaller ones which will fit in the front trunk - no need to go soft sided.

Also, save pint &/or quart milk & juice bottles with screw-on caps, fill them with drinking water & freeze for your cooler ice - kills 2 birds = ice + drinking/cooking water!

2. Ditch all those boxes of gut-bombs (dougnutz), cookies, etc. & repackage them into zip locks that you can nestle in the nooks & crannies.

3. As noted above, go with soft bags for clothes, gear, etc.

4. For the fisherman - get collapsible rods! ..... or maybe adapt a 914 ski rack!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

5. Teach the wife/SO/GF to pack conservatively & small - & yourself too if needed.

6. Get those nesting pots/pans/plates set & flatware, cookware, soft back packs for hiking, etc. & everything else small & compact that you can - well worth it if you camp much & want to use the 914!

7. Practice "puzzling in" all your gear for the perfect way to make it all fit!! Take your time to get it all in just right & what needs to be handy in an easy spot.

Additionally, for big gear & hobbies you can get 2 of the Hardt 914 ski racks &/or bike racks that attach to the L & R roll bar underside + L & R windscreen frame - & adapt them to take a Yakima roof rack for more gear, kayaks, etc., but go with the lightest wt. one preferable aluminum & don't load too heavy stuff up there supported by the windscreen frame & by 3 screws each side from the underside, cuz they're only good for 100-150+/- lbs. I'd guess.

My buddy adapted his racks, & another buddy used the racks design to make a custom mount F-R & L-R that the Yakima or sim. roof mounts attached to from aluminum plate. He used it for his kayaks - sorry, no pix of that either, but you can use the Hardt ski & bike racks for patters of the 4 "L" brackets - 2 of each type F & R, with L & R differing orientation - so really 4 differnt parts..

FYI - In mine I had packed 1970's era camp gear, including: 3-man umbrella tent, 2x 18-24 Qt coolers + dry & canned food (soft bags & zip-locks, 2x sleeping bags& 2x foam mats (thin backpacking type - & sometimes 2x folding camp cots, 2-burner LP stove, LP lantern, toolbox, bags for 2 for weekend or 2-3+ weeks, 2 bikes on the 914 bike rack or 2 or 4 pairs of skis (L or L+R racks for downhill &/or XC) on 1 or 2 Hardt 914 ski racks (see pix on Jeff Bowlsby's site under accessories), hiking boots, etc., etc. - depending upon the trip.

Unfortunately I can't find my old 70's-80's pix from some of those trips, nor any of my old 914 pix from back in the day!. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Then a bit before we got married in `85, we were camping out of the 914 up at Bodega/Pelican Bay CA, & my wife saw a sibling to "her happy van," which she then decided was her idea of camping! So we got the `88 Westy in the pic below a few years later! My 914 packing skills came in handy in shoe-horning in all the shittage for us + 2 kids on long cross country trips every year & local camp trips too!



Nowadays my wife moved it up a notch again to vintage "Glamping" in our restored 1960 Avion T20, for which we're on the hunt for an `06-10 Cayenne S to use as a tow vehicle (rather than renting trucks/suv's), so the pic below is not our CayS, but a cut-n-paste to show my wife the look. Not a classic 1960-61 car, but it will be more reliable for long trips & more usable for PCA club events & drives. Still practicing my packing skills though, to jam in all the vintage `60's stuff to set-up at vintage trailer rallies & shows!



They keep getting bigger, but the junk keeps growing too! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Oh for the simple life of 914 camping again! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[AZ914]

Does this count? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[23e Heure]

Either 914s have more trunk space than a 911...

Or 914 campers are more practical packers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

Here's a fellow DDKers car on our roadtrip to Belgium last week:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/c2.staticflickr.com-19057-1443545168.1.jpg)

[AZ914]

Nice packing job, Saigon! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[Tom_T]

Does this count? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Yes & no Jason, but be careful to dolly or flatbed/lowboy tow the 914 if it's your TOAD behind the RV, so you don't add phantom miles &/or cause drivetrain or suspension problems. Best would be to do like the racers & get an enclosed V-front or roundy auto hauler to prevent paint damage!

.

"Either 914s have more trunk space than a 911...

Or 914 campers are more practical packers"

Yes to both! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

BTW - I LOVE this thread & had hoped to start a 914 camping thread if/when I found my pix, so I hope others will continue to post your 914 camping pix & exploits.

Thanx for starting it Saigon71 - & a huge Thanx for your service, if your screen name has the meaning I think it may have!

I know too that there are a few who have posted towing a pop-up or small trailer with their 914s too - e.g.: like those Euro lightweight Eriba Pucks, etc.!

Oh geesh! ... on that Puck, my wife saw one at an auto museum "in tow" behind a Splitty Bus, so now she wants a vintage one to tow with her "happy van"! When will she stop!!?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

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TT
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[Elliot Cannon]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I love camping.

[stevegm]

Took the teener to our annual family camping trip. Supplies were a bit disorganized and I had to remove the passenger seat to make room for the cooler. Overall, it worked out pretty well:

Bob, you continue to give me motivation. Your car looks great. I can't wait to get my car done.

[EdwardBlume]

Go big or go home... actually I'm selling it, so I'm going home.

Can a Cayenne really tow anything?

[Tom_T]

Elliotttt! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

This weekend we're doing a vintage trailer show at Newport Dunes RV Resort in Newport Beach with our trailer & Westy, so come by Sat. 11 am - 2 pm +/- for anyone interested in seeing a classic car show + vintage trailer show rolled into one!

I'll try to get a pic of the guy here in SoCal who has a Belgian/Euro BMW 2002 Cabrio with a Euro lightweight polished aluminum teardrop shaped trailer, if he's there. There may also be some VW Bus + trailer rigs there too.

... just to get the juices flowing!

NPC, but those little & light Euro travel trailers are usually 500-1000 lbs & towable for Bugs & Splitty Buses - so 914s would be a breeze.

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Tom
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[Tom_T]

Rob -

YES - Both the Cayenne & Touareg with ALL engines are all rated to tow 7716 lbs with 700-770 lb hitch wt. (a bit less on the later `11-16 models, & the Audi Q7 about 1000# less due to the 3rd row seats & longer length).

PS - because our Avion is built to be lightweight with aluminum semi-monocoque (sp?) skin & upper frame & boat builders' cabinetry etc., it's only about 3-3,500 lbs. wet & loaded & has electric drum brakes from new - so it's half the Cayenne's capacity, but the V8 will get about the same mpg towing as the V6, so I'd rather have the extra HP & TQ when towing.

PSS - there is a Utube video of a Touareg V10 TDI with 1000+ lb/ft of TQ (one version that VW did good QC on) doing a pull-off with a Dodge 2500 dually Diesel - & draggin it backwards! So much for big ole 'muricun trucks!

IMHO the Cayenne is better due to the better QC, bigger & more powerful engine, bigger brakes & better/stiffer suspension. Many PCA members here in SoCal/Zone 8 use them to tow their race, AX & concours cars, & some with boats & campers too!

Porsche did a great job with the Cayenne - & like our 914s - it was a VW JV that saved their economic (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bootyshake.gif) - just like the roughly 120,000 914s did back in the 70's!

Eric Shea & a few others on here have them & tow with them.

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Tom
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[SKL1]

I don't have any pix, but back in the early '70's when my dad and I both had 914's we'd take turns on which car to take to Road America or Blackhawk Farms, but would camp with a decent sized tent, sleeping bags, cooler, etc. People at the campgrounds would always marvel at how much stuff we pulled out of both trunks when setting up the campsite. My dad was a pro at packing!!

[bandjoey]

Camping with my new 70 -6. Way back when.

[Michael N]

This was my first attempt. Definitely not my last as it was too convenient at the track.

[flyer86d]

Back in 1983, we went to our DE at Mosport. Sue was pregnant with our eldest and we thought it would be a great idea if we went camping at Algonquen Provincial Park, Ontario for the week following. Back then, we were driving our cars to the events. Our 71 had Zeitler heads, 11-1 compression, II cammed, 1.7 with airport gears. We left the slicks at home and filled the trunks with our camping gear. We had a great time. Very early one morning while driving to go canoeing, we encountered a Moose standing across our lane. I swear I could have driven under it. What a trip. Our last as a couple before many years as a family.

Charlie

[URY914]

I used to sleep in mine at Daytona and Sebring. Sleeping bag, cooler, loaf of bread and sandwich meat. Seems that my back was more flexible 35 years ago. Don't know what happened.