I will be driving my car with my wife to Uluru for 10 days from Victoria. I enjoy driving so long drive won't be a problem for me. I would like to go cheap by camping in my car(Seden). I will turn the back seat into bed by putting bedding into the backseat. I tried sleeping position with my wife at home in the car and it is cozy and somehow comfortable for us. By looking at the weather in a couple of week, it will be around 1°C at night. I do not think it is a good idea to turn the engine and heat on. What do you guys think of engine running with the heat on?
Camping at Uluru by Sleeping in The Car with The Engine on for Heat
supercheapguy on 23/06/2018 - 09:51
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If not from the night out, from the wife's wrath in the morning when she realises what dear husband had gotten her into. Lol
Thats the Seden from Sweden ?
what do you mean?
Whooosh….
Its a sarcastic dig. Its called Sedan not Seden !
Yo, here's a thought, sleep under the car with head towards the engine. This way, you can get maximum heating effect.
Running a hose from the exhaust into the car would be more cosy
So will the coffin they'd be in when the cops find them.
Cheap swag & decent sleeping bag would be far superior.
will be bringing those thanks
We have travelled Australia for over 2 years camping free 99% of the time. Here is some tips. No need to have engine running at all. Take some heavy duty sleeping bags and a quilt or 2 to put on top. I suggest having a foam mattress underneath. Warm clothes and beanie and gloves help.
There is a fair few spots to camp along Lasseter hwy. The closest one out of Yulara is about 20km out on the rock side. It looks like a little rest area with just a bin but if you look closely there is a track that goes back over a tiny lump/hill and open up to a pretty large area to camp. . Good quiet place to camp and good views of the rock.
Hope it helps.yeh it does help and imagine waking up see the rock. I will be bring warm clothing to keep us warm Thanks for your comment
Forgot to say, have a great time. Uluru and travelling there is a amazing adventure and is so much fun. Drive safe.
Haha yes. I will have fun and drive safe. I figure Uluru will be the best place to do so.
When I was a kid I had a -5 rated sleeping bag. Went camping in the middle of winter with hail etc. It was pretty hot in the sleeping bag so I just wore boxers. Once my tent started to collapse with the wind and I ran outside just in my boxers to fix up my tent. My friends thought I was nuts..
haha you are insane by running just boxers in cold weather.
I've heard good things about running a fan heater or oil fin heater in the car. Keeps it nice and toasty, and definitely helps you drift off to sleep.
A cheaper way would be a good old fashioned open fire.
Run a hose from the exhaust into the cabin for extra car warmth
All great top camping ideas!
I have a few trips in places like the Blue Mountains where I want to work on some photo projects - milkway shots and timelapses which will involve sleeping in the car a few days over the weekend.
I have a Honda genny - EU20i which I plan to chain around a post/tree or car and have a cable running into the car to power an electric heated throw blanket which I'll have inside a Winter sleeping bag. I thought about a small fan/ceramic heater but seemed too much of a hazard and power hungry
I'll be wearing thermals too so if that doesn't keep me warm Im not sure what will.I will keep that in mind for future trips but generator will make noise to the surrounding
Love the Blue Mountains area. Plenty of good free places to stay provided by the council in good locations. Just rug up, have a good sleeping bag and some blankets. There is no need for a generator. Generators just annoy every other camper or people with property nearby. It is such a peaceful place, don't ruin with the dreaded noise of a generator.
You will get amazing photographs there, maybe post a few pics so we all can see what we're missing out on. Happy travels.
I have done this with my husband before many years ago. I had a 3 year old and 18 month old with me too in our camry. I was 4 months pregnant too. It was too cold to pitch a tent and we slept in our car while at Uluru. It was doable . We didn’t have the heater on and was comfy enough.
Enjoy yourselves . Great way to travel.
See many dingos?
yeh I feel it is much safer to sleep in the car but I will give you claps for managing that with kids. I will enjoy thanks :)
WOW the entire family. What car was it?
Camry.
Only for one night because it was too cold to pitch a tent.
It was at the last place before entering uluru. Free camping and toilets.
We have upgraded to campervan recently and now prefer flying, renting a car and airbnb . Cheers.
There's been so many great suggestions on this thread. I particularly like the ones re buying warm gear that doesn't require electricity - you need to have a backup plan in case your car breaks down. I wouldn't ever leave a car idling overnight, especially not in an unfamiliar place.
Yeh I will not be running my engine all night as it might potentially damage my engine and I don't wanna get stranded far away from my home
Get a $50 tent, you already have the mattresses, and use the quilt you use at home. sleep in clothes if still cold.
Also wear a beanie as that's where you lose most of your heat from, as the saying goes, "if your feet are cold, put on a hat"
It also helps to have a fatty meal before going to bed, like a fatty sausage. Your stomach will generate a lot of heat at night digesting it :)
Enjoy the trip. Climb up the rock just before sunset when everyones down the bottom taking photos. Its nice and quiet and the camera flashes down below look pretty cool
yes I will do but not the sausage. I am not a fan of sausage. Seeing sunset at Uluru will be the first on my list
FFS ! Don't climb the rock. It hurts the local sentiment. They are banning it from 2019 anyway.
Get a cheap tent. Warm and comfortable.
Yep, I would choose a tent any day over the back seat of a car, inside of a car is strangely cold and damp at night but a tent is warm and cozy and has more room.
2:12am
I just finished 3 weeks sleeping in my car across the Simpson Desert, Finke, Alice Springs, etc….
Coldest place was Mildura
Just take a warm doona.
It's all I needed.
Only place I started the car at 6am was Mildura….Toughen up and rug up
Geez, your wife really won the jackpot with you.
Hahahaha gold!!
Might have found him on the relationship version of ozbargain, and has been experiencing 'buyers remorse' every day since. I would be fine sleeping in a car, but for my wife (who knows how to strip, clean and reassemble an AK47 after to growing up in the USSR and who definitely isn't soft) I would at least procure a tent or hire a camper for the trip. Women aren't fragile but deserve at least a little consideration and care beyond being stuff in the back seat of a sedan with the engine running.
I don't understand all the judgement being thrown around here - OP has asked for some simple advice and instead gets a bunch of strangers demeaning his role as a husband because he and his wife choose to sleep in a car, without any insight whatsoever. They wanna do a cheap road trip into the Red Centre…good on 'em. Why you and others would go out of your way to be critical of them for wanting to travel cheap - on OzBargain of all places - is beyond me.
Who cares about your wife being able to clean a gun - does she know how to spell and punctuate too? Maybe she can give you some pointers, as she evidently didn't find you on ElitePartner either.
That’s what I was saying to a couple of people commenting here. It’s not like I asked people roast my idea. I won’t post it here if I haven’t talked to my wife about the plan. People just need to have positive views for things. I am sure there are people who have done the same thing before on ozbargain.
There is 'saving money' and there is 'cheap'. OP is 'cheap', and also it seems unable to plan a family holiday properly.
As you need it spelled out for you explicitly, I mentioned my wife's capabilities as although she might tolerate such conditions there is no way I would ever let it happen. It would also appear to be common sense that leaving the engine running to heat the car is going to cost in terms of fuel and wear and tear, and is hardly a 'cheap' way of doing things, especially seeing 1 degree C is not even cold enough to warrant it.
@mikeoz: Another post explicitly denigrating the OP. I applaud your efforts to shield your wife from 'such conditions' as those proposed by the OP - how noble of you 🙄 - but what a pity you can't exercise the same high standards in your treatment of strangers online.
Some comments are a bit judgemental, definitely. But by and large most people are just giving their opinions on what they think the line of "saving money but also enjoying it" is. And anecdotally, which I think others share, the women I know tend to like their creature comforts more than guys - in general. We don't know if OP and his wife have discussed this and both agree to basically slum it out at Uluru, or if his wife is just giving into OP's suggestion of spending a 4-day trip to the red centre, (which is in a desert with lower night-time temperatures) sleeping in the car.
OP's attitude doesn't do him any favors either. He's consistently snippy with people who have told him it may not be a good idea, for even valid reasons like the fact that you're not legally allowed to just camp in your car anywhere. OP also didn't seem to do the barest of research either, since he didn't even know the park's opening and closing hours.
i'd like to see her strip and clean an AK47
It's certainly one way to avoid getting gunk on your clothes :D
Can’t believe there was only one dingo comment!!!! Lol
Sleeping in car, done it, leads to arguments cos you get grumpy and uncomfortable, basically sux, and that's when it's not cold. Don't do it! Just get some cheap accommodation $100 a night for the both of you and enjoy your holiday.
Buy a Prius. Or, buy a super-warm sleeping bag.
About 5 years ago I bought a really cheap return tiger ticket Syd-Alice springs.
Then bought a $500 return tour from Alice springs. Covered transport mini bus, 2 nights. Food. Swag and tent, uluru, kata tjuta etc
Considering I was by myself it was prolly worth it (the tour was about 12 of us mostly European).
But a couple paying $1000…. too much, I think.
Sorry OP, this post is against your rules I hope you can cope.
If it is for the whole thing for $1000 for 2, it is doable. But taxi ride to airport sometimes costs as the same as air ticket. I Will do some more research on your suggestion
Is a double size electric blanket (240VAC) out of the question?
From a public picnic power point?Send me a PM, I will tell you where you can sleep, have a camp fire, etc.
Make sure you put locks on your wheels and petrol tank.
When you wake up your car will be on bricks, all your wheels gone, and a funnel straight down you’re fuel tank after they have drunk your petrol.
This guy is a troll. He strikes again
I'm actually enjoying his stubborn replies lol, good way to end a Sunday night
Agree
Some pretty good suggestions here for doing Uluru on the cheap -
http://www.bigworldsmallpockets.com/visit-uluru-cheaply/So if TLDR:
- Stay at Ayers Rock Campground in Yulara, $42.50 p/n for an unpowered site - https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/ayers-rock-…
- Preferably buy a tent, opposed to sleeping in car. $50 tent - https://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/tents/hiking-t…
- Need to buy pass to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to see Uluru. Costs $25 per adult for 3 days, but can extend to 5 days for free - https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/plan/passes/
- Food expensive, but IGA in Yulara. Petrol gets more expensive closer you get to Yulara, try to fill up in major towns like Alice Springs.
Thanks for your suggestion. I will look into it more.
Buy aa old Ford station wagon - LPG / Petrol if you can find one. No need to leave it running over night - We have camped in the snow in the wagon - double mattress, doona and 1000 thread sheets. We woke up warmer than we went to bed. carry an extension lead and a power board and a kettle in case you find a powered site, or can 'borrow' from the hand dryer in a toliet block
I got civic sedan so I won’t be looking to buy another car. Thanks for your comment though
If i may make some suggestions (have been out there a lot for work purposes).
Rather then staying at Yulara, there is a road house a bit earlier called Curtin Springs. It is a bit under an hours drive to the rock but there is no cost with camping (unpowered sites are free, powered sites are about $45 or so). It has good access to toilets and showers and a good restaurant for meals.
If you want to see the sunrise (and get away early enough) you should be able to avoid the bulk of the traffic, Lasseters highway can get quite busy and overtaking between Curtin Springs and Yulara can be difficult (there are not that many safe areas between the 2).
IGA in yulara is expensive (not as bad as communities) and fuel usually costs a fair bit more then normal price (over $2-$2.50 per litre typically). It may be more cost effective and warmer to take an electric heater and an extension lead, get a powered site rather then leave your car on overnight.
The fuel in Yulara is typically Opal (low aromatic - petrol sniffing was a big problem at the nearby community of Mutitjulu so they needed to switch). You can get 91 from Curtin Springs though (i think?).
While you are in the area i would suggest checking out Kings Canyon (stay at the station and not the resort - again cheaper camping options).
Be careful on that bit of road as there is wondering Kangaroos (morning and night), Camels and tourists.Btw you'll get kicked out if you sleep in the car inside the paid area for Uluru National Park.
Will be fine, I wouldn't bother with the engine as it will cool down very quickly anyway once it's off. Take some good sleeping bags and a few extra blankets.
What's with all the troll OPs lately? I wonder if it Could have something to do with the fact people keep feeding
the natives force you to sleep outside the park and the only campground charges like you need to pay for the whole camp. We feral camped a lot but near natives we got our fair share of hassle like their 4wd's shining some light bars (very bright) and yelling abuse at us. Just like in the threads above.
forgot to tell ya: a rock is a rock, do yourself a favour and detour to Kings Canyon, a hole in the ground is so much prettier than a rock.
1c? Don't need to leave the engine running. Just get some decent sleeping bags. I have some Kings sleeping bags from 4wd supa centre, been camping a little below 0 degrees and was sweating inside the sleeping bag. Although I was also wearing some thermals and a beanie. But was toastie after a few minutes!
A Civic, two people sleeping in the back, I applaud your efforts.
How many nights are you intending to do this?Honda would be proud lol
stick to licking windows please
Buy a second hand quality double swag and then sell it afterwards.
Probably end up costing you $0.
Just back from visiting myself in the middle of winter - had with me a small electric fan heater and very long extension cord, kept the tent nice and warm.
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Dumbest Idea ever,
this is like asking to sleep near a croc infested river in a hammock.
Mod please close this thread, the OP is a suicide maniac.