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:

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I would need room for my fishing gear.

I like it though!

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.

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

I prefer bringing a support vehicle.

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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.

... 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.

Whereas, the typical mid-sized sedan only has about 12 CF in their trunk today!

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!!

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!.

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!

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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!

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They keep getting bigger, but the junk keeps growing too!

Oh for the simple life of 914 camping again!


Tom
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Does this count?

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

Or 914 campers are more practical packers

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

Nice packing job, Saigon!

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!

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!!??


TT
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I love camping.

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

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

Can a Cayenne really tow anything?

Elliotttt!

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.


Tom
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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 - 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.


Tom
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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!!

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

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

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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

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.

What was the rack for ?

bill
great pics from back in day
that car looks sweet! didn't know you had one new in 70, too cool
hopefully we get together for a central Tx run this fall

cjl

I think that's one style of bike rack they had out there back in the day. Bill can correct me if I'm guessing wrong

My old gray cells say it reminds me of one another 914 guy I knew had on his 71. But then that passenger side bar & clamp way off to the right is throwing me a bit though!


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Looks like the bike is laying on the ground in the background here....


.

So that's my guess!
Tom
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Hey Guys!

Curt/cabinetmaker is looking for folks to do the Talimena run next month - if you Texans can make peace with the Sooners during football season long enough for a 914 Twisties run!

Go off & argue who has the best BBQ along the way!
.... I know you guys like to eat!!!!

He's got a post on it in the Garage here!

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=2&t=263182


Tom
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Your spine got tired of being in a "S" shape I reckon! A small tent or under the stars would've been a load more comfy!

I know, cuz sleepin in the seats was my typical rest stop quickie sleep - & a few "other quickies" too!

Amazing how much room there is in a 914 - compared to a 911/912 or any other sports car of the day!


TT
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That's a nice car!....love the Zambezi green. I noticed that you're from Dillsburg.....my daughter goes to Shippensburg University which is up the road from you. That's a beautiful part of PA.

Where did the family fit?

Tom,
#5 cracked me up.

Every time my wife and I would go camping she threw in every thing but the kitchen sink (which I often commented on, 'why not include the kitchen sink') to which I got one of her looks.

But in those days never had the pleasure of owning a teener. One time went with my Mitsubishi mini truck with camper shell and tent only to forget the poles. My buddy always teased me for that one. But it worked out, just emptied the bed and put the sleeping bags in the bed, was comfy.

Dave

Dave - #5 comes from personal experience .... with ex & current wives!!

Cal - they have an annual charity car show for Boys Republic - where Steve McQueen spent some time as a youth, then supported it throughout his life - ergo his son Chad now participates & it's called the Steve McQueen Boys Republic charity car show (or something of the ilk).

I've helped as a volunteer there for the past couple of years, but I want to "volunteer" your avatar with McQueen giving the Brit/UK equivalent of the finger for their t-shirt, poster, banner, etc. art for next year!!

this =

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Valy - he said he took the 914 to.... not the family with the 914.... they all had to fend for themselves - including the wife/SO/GF stuck at home with the passenger seat!

Love the pix & stories folks! I'm glad to see that so many of us old farts on here had camped in our 914s - err out of them - back in the day!

Most of the tail-dragger crowd back then would never even take their "babies" out anywhere close to someplace dusty - like a campground, for goodness sakes!

Cheers!
Tom
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Tom you're exactly right Bicycle rack. Was dumb and young and traded the car for a 320i a few years later. Took the teener bicycling all over Texas and camped a lot. 2 people. 2 bikes. Luggage. It all fit.

Bill -

The 320i was a great car & first of the infamous 3-Series run (I still own & DD my 85 325e) .... but the loss of a -6 .... arrghhh!

I only avoided making those mistakes, by not buying a bunch of cars, & am a bit of an odd-man-out in the car hobby - classic & otherwise, having only owned 5 since my first in Fall 1969 - & still owning #3-5 & continuing to drive, enjoy & maintain them. Well - the 914 has been more of 30 years of storage/preservation until the kids were grown & gone, & I can get the resto & repairs done.

I still have #3 -`73 914-2.0 & 2nd owner since 12/75, #4 - `85 BMW 325e OO, & #5 - `88 VW Westy OO .... & we're now on the hunt for #6 - an `06-10 Cayenne S to tow our vintage `60 Avion T20 travel trailer (that doesn't count wives & parents cars which I drove, but didn't buy/own directly).

If I still had the #2 - `69 Pontiac Ventura (an upscale Catalina full sized 4 dr), then that would make a period correct TV for the Avion (in the 1960s at least) - but both a gas hog & not reliable for any really long trips IMHO without spending Cayenne $$s to restore & upgrade it for towing. I got my 914 & sold the Pontiac after the `73 Oil Crisis ran gas from $0.25-.30/gal to $0.80-1.00 in a matter of weeks & limited me to 10 gals every other day during college, & commuting to 3 part time jobs + school to make ends meet! It's 400 cid 2 bbl auto got 7-10 mpg - the 914 got 28-39 mpg - no brainer!

While somewhat interesting today as a rare but unloved classic, my 68 Opel Kadett isn't much missed today, as it would be just another little used car sucking up budget to just to have around.

I've camped out of them all, & taken long road trips with them all - all 5 cars in their day & turn.

As said above - the 2 trunks of the 914 was the most fun to watch the amazement of everyone around the campground though! Especially when it included the 2 bikes or 2-4 sets of skis & all the gear, luggage & other paraphernalia!!

We ALL know the inevitable & ubiquitous question: "So where is the engine in that thing anyway!?"

PS - What kills me, is how young we old farts all look in these old pix from back in the day!


Tom
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I came back across this older 914 camping topic, while looking for pix of 914s towing, 914 hitches, etc.

You could also put a hitch on your 914 & tow this little Eriba Puck, which was co-designed by Eriba with VW to be towable by a 1950's 25 HP VW -

Ours is a 1970 Eriba Puck - USA Export Model:
12' L x 5.5' W & +/-6' H with pop-top down (10' L at Cabin);
70 lbs hitch wt. & 660 lbs trailer wt. dry/empty & rated for up to 1036 wet-n-loaded.

.... don't mind my wife, she's just Pucking around with "her cute 'new' little trailer" in the 1st pic!
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Our owners manual for the 88 Westy says it's rated for up to 2200 lbs & 220 lbs hitch wt (we have the GoWesty hitch), but I'd not want to go that high without severely stressing the 4 squirrels in the engine bay, since it's about 4800 lbs itself & has the aerodynamics of a brick on wheels! 914s are half that weight with the same HP & 4-wheel disc brakes (Van has front disc, rear drum).

IIRC there was a factory tow rating & hitch made for the European & UK 914s to tow a small Caravan/Camping Trailer, as they had for the 356s & 911/912s back then since the 1950s.

H&H Specialties in MA over here used to make a hitch for 914s, as well as 356s & 9111/912s back in the day - which fit under the stock mufflers without cutting body panels. Maybe they'd repop them - but this time with a 1.5" & 2" receivers, since they're still in business today?

1972 H&H Ad -
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So go find you an Eriba Puck & a 914 hitch to pull it.

I'm sure that our 914s would do well towing these, because there are literally 1MM+/- Pucks out there worldwide towed by the small cars for which they were designed, & the Puck's PO used to tow it with his 68 Beetle that had only minor mods to it's 1600cc & he eventually added 4 wheel discs to it for better stopping on his DD commute.

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Cheers!
Tom
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Nice Bob...

They only essential I didn't see was diet Pepsi ....all else

Oscar