# Camping in a U-haul? they are cheeper than an RV and better than a tent.



## Beastcub (Oct 18, 2009)

so i got hired as a costume performer for an event 2 hours from home. i need to stay overnight.  there is no hotel, just a place on the fair ground where we and the vendors/other performers/ect can set up camp in. i am going to be way too deadbeat tired to set up a and take down a campsite. and because my sister will be with me and will not leave home without her mutts it makes an RV expesnive to rent ($150 cleaning fee if an animal is in the RV, plus $1000 refundable deposite which if the dog pisses in the RV i am screwed)

so what if i rented a small uhaul and we camped in it. 

is it against the law?
do you suppose you can open them from the inside?
would be suffocate?
even if we slept with the door open at least is it something where all we have to do is clean the floor, throw our stuff in there, set up our sleeping bags when we get there, and at the end of the event all we do is close the doors and leave and we can unload the next day. and it would be way more weatherproof than a tent (i camped in the rain before...my tent leaked...i woke up in a puddle)

so am i nuts? has anyone actually done this?


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## pheonix (Oct 18, 2009)

Some places wouldn't allow it.
If someone locks you in you're fucked cause they don't open from the inside.
No.

Ask the camp ground if it would be alright, chances are they wont care.
Hope you don't get robbed/killed/the shit kicked out of you while you sleep.


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## Tycho (Oct 18, 2009)

Beastcub said:


> so i got hired as a costume performer for an event 2 hours from home. i need to stay overnight.  there is no hotel, just a place on the fair ground where we and the vendors/other performers/ect can set up camp in. i am going to be way too deadbeat tired to set up a and take down a campsite. and because my sister will be with me and will not leave home without her mutts it makes an RV expesnive to rent ($150 cleaning fee if an animal is in the RV, plus $1000 refundable deposite which if the dog pisses in the RV i am screwed)
> 
> so what if i rented a small uhaul and we camped in it.
> 
> ...



I wouldn't do it.


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## blackfuredfox (Oct 18, 2009)

probably okay, there are people who live in storage units.


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## Ratte (Oct 18, 2009)

I really wouldn't consider something like that.

Just rent an SUV or something, and leave the dogs with a sitter.  If they don't like it, well, too bad.


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## blackfuredfox (Oct 18, 2009)

Ratte said:


> I really wouldn't consider something like that.
> 
> Just rent an SUV or something, and leave the dogs with a sitter.  If they don't like it, well, too bad.



forgot about that, if you have a sedan the back seat usually drops open to the trunk so there is more room.


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## Sabian (Oct 18, 2009)

That actually sounds awesome, I would do it in a heartbeat. You have a cave to set up in, and you could fit about 4 people very comfortably. Just leave the door cracked alittle, I mean it is as safe as a tent. It may seem a little rugged and hobo-ish to some but it is functional and cheapish.


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## Azure (Oct 18, 2009)

Go early, set up a tent?


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## blackfuredfox (Oct 18, 2009)

actually, i helped unpack one of those, they get really hot inside even for the 5-15 minutes i was in there throwing stuff out.


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## Nargle (Oct 18, 2009)

That doesn't sound like a good idea at all, and probably illegal. If you want to, you could just use it to set up shop and sleep in the front. There wouldn't really be enough room for two people and dogs, though. Also, where do you plan on storing the dogs when you're driving? Hopefully not in the back, right??

I really think you should just rent a van or an SUV. Or just find the nearest hotel and wake up extra early to make it to the fair ground on time.


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## Torrijos-sama (Oct 19, 2009)

Drive a van.

That, or use a Truck with a campershell.

If you can't sleep in a tent, though, learn how to, or else life will be miserable for you.


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## Beastcub (Oct 19, 2009)

jesusfish2007 said:


> Drive a van.
> 
> That, or use a Truck with a campershell.
> 
> If you can't sleep in a tent, though, learn how to, or else life will be miserable for you.



i've camped plenty of times before
for a college trip i spent 3 nights in the white mountains of CA... which us high mountain desert which means dry and cold....it got below 20 the second night and my sleeping bag was rated for 50...i was so cold i almost thought i was going to die T__T then the third night it was windy and if i was not in the tent it would have blwon away as all my pegs came out and the corners were bouncing all around me...

then there was the mount lassen trip...with the RAIN! AHHHH nothing like waking up in a PUDDLE because the one thing the ONE THING you did not bring was a tarp to cover the tent >__<

my concern is after hours of fursuiting at this event i will be wiped out and i HATE breaking down a campsite, i would rather everything stay inside whatever we are driving PLUS my stuff is safer in some thing i can lock up ($1000+ fursuits left in a tent....er NO)
i have a van we can take the back seat out of but that is cramped sleeping for 2 let alone 3 people ( a friend is likely to join in) and a dog and 5 costumes


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## M. LeRenard (Oct 19, 2009)

Wouldn't recommend it.  They're not designed for that sort of thing, so they don't open from the inside.  Supposing you got stuck in there, it would more likely be temperature that would kill you than asphyxiation.  I mean, it's a metal box with no insulation.  You use it to transport furniture and such things, after all; not people.
If you're so concerned, just take a car and sleep in there.  Not very comfortable, but hey, everyone has to do it at some point in his life.  And there's little risk of death.


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## Nylak (Oct 19, 2009)

Oh snap, I would totally do this, because I am an idiot.

No, I wasn't being sarcastic, I totally meant it; I'd do it in a heartbeat, but it still sounds like a really bad idea. Personally, I'd leave the door open and just set up a screen (Like a simple hanging sheet or something); then you have some degree of privacy while not worrying about suffocation, high temperatures or getting locked in. And if anyone is gonna rob you in your sleep, honestly they're gonna rob you in a tent, too.  This has the bonus of being easily "broken down"; just lock it up when you leave for the day.


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## Beastcub (Oct 19, 2009)

Sabian said:


> That actually sounds awesome, I would do it in a heartbeat. You have a cave to set up in, and you could fit about 4 people very comfortably. Just leave the door cracked alittle, I mean it is as safe as a tent. It may seem a little rugged and hobo-ish to some but it is functional and cheapish.




at least some one understands the inspiration. 

I can snuggle into almost anywhere and make it into my own comfy nest with the giddy demeanour of a kid building a fort... hell that night my tent leaked on the shcool trip i ALMOST crawled into the bearproof food storage unit as it was dry inside and had a big door (which i would leave open) but it looked a tad too small and i did not want my classmates thinking i was a freaken nutcase...still i could so imagine myself snuggling on in there....


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## Orion928 (Oct 19, 2009)

im going to be completly honest, as ive actually tried this.... fir almost the same reason.  and i must say that was the most miserable night i ever had...  literallty everything that could go wrong, did.

they really arent openable from the inside, because the latch can atually fall down and lock you in.  that ewas the most serious problem.  there were minor things like the sleeping bags sliding everywhere, the floor being REDICULOUSLY uncomfortable, and the fact that if youre on even a slight slope, expect to wake up with your friends piled onto you.  i actually had to call someone else at the campground to get out of there, and was more embarassed then i had been in a long time. 

You can do it, its just not advisable.  id say your best bet, is an air matress in a REALLY big tent, it works fine, and to prevent leakage, throw a tarp over it and seal it using an anti-water spray sealant.  its even cheaper than a Uhaul rental... at least where i lived...


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## Vaelarsa (Oct 19, 2009)

Tell your sister to suck it up and leave her dogs with someone, or she doesn't need to come?
May sound dickish, but seriously, bringing her dogs isn't worth you endangering yourself or your merchandise.

But my advice is set up a small sleeping space in the back of a van, or the back seat of a van.
I'd rather be in a tent myself, but vans are easy and safe to sleep in.


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## Smelge (Oct 19, 2009)

Transit van.

Plenty of room in the back for several to sleep, opens from the inside, chuck a load of sheets/duvets and shit on the floor for comfort. Win.


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## Shay Feral (Oct 19, 2009)

I personally wouldn't camp in a Uhaul, it would take away from the charm of camping to begin with IMO...


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## Ilayas (Oct 19, 2009)

For the cost of renting a u-haul I'm sure you could rent a rather large van for the weekend. Should be more then enough space to fit 3 of you.  You could try renting a tent as well (I don't know if that's an option).  If you are too tired to take down the tent perhaps you should ask for some help from those that are going with you.   Also if you plan on camping a lot in the future invest in a better sleeping bag.  

And then there's the pick up with a cover option.   My sister and a bunch of other wildlife majors camped their way across the south west one spring break (it was really cold out) sleeping the back of a pick up (among other things).  

As others have mentioned I think it'd be wise to leave the dogs at home.  Perhaps have your sister get a neighbor or friend to look after them.  Heck as a kid I used to dog sit all the time for the people that lived around me.  $20 or so bucks to check in on the dogs 3 times a day for a weekend is easy money.


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## net-cat (Oct 19, 2009)

Okay, first. Who's paying for this? You are? Goodness. Sounds like your sister needs to either pay up for her dogs or find a sitter for them.

I hate it when people think they're entitled to special consideration for their dogs/children, but that's a rant for another thread.

Second, sleeping in a U-Haul is a bad idea. And there is one very simple, critical reason for this. Once they are locked from the outside, you can't open them from the inside. I can totally see you sleeping in it and some kids come by and play with the latch, or something.

Beyond that, it's not ventilated for people. You probably won't suffocate unless you stuff like ten people in there, but it's going to get damn hot in there with even two. (Especially if there are dogs, too. 101 degrees, yo.)

The floor, of course, can be dealt with by mattresses and such.

I think your money might be better spent on a nice, large van.


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