Is the Honda Odyssey Minivan the Perfect Glamping-Mobile?
Minivans are arguably the best family vehicles with a spacious interior that’s easy to access and all sorts of extra room for cargo and passengers. There aren’t too many minivan models on the market these days, thanks to the popularity of crossovers, but the Honda Odyssey is one of the best choices for its reliability and premium interior.
Minivan Camping Essentials
Before you head to your Honda dealer to take a look at the Honda Odyssey for your camping endeavors, it’s important to know what goes into minivan camping. Firstly, the Honda Odyssey has rear seats that fold down in the rear, and the second row flips up. You have a few options here. You can arrange it for kids to sleep in the rear of the van and then add a rear tent for more room. You can also put both rows up and get enough room to sleep two adults.
Camping with a minivan allows you more room than camping with just a tent or even camping with an SUV. Since a minivan has both a rear hatch and a sliding side door, you could potentially have two tents or awnings set up on both ends for a maximum of room and security.
For any camping setup, you’ll need some essentialls such as a few air mattresses, an external power source, a water source, window coverings for the van, and rooftop storage. Depending on the length of your trip, you may want to consider other niceties like a portable toilet, a car vacuum, rechargeable fans, and ample space for food storage.
How Easy is a Minivan Camping Setup?
One thing you may be asking is how easy it is to convert your minivan into a campsite after having it in a driving setup. This largely depends on how many extras you have, but in general, you would start by folding the rear seats and setting up the air mattresses. Set up any tents that connect to the van, then you can start unpacking your cargo storage.
The great thing about minivans is how easy it is to stow the seats and how much room they have. Unlike an SUV, they’re easy to access and lower to the ground, so connecting a tent is much more seamless.
When it comes time to pack up, you would simply reverse the process. Remove the sleeping items from the floor of the minivan and set the rear seats upright again. Pack any cargo into the rear or the rooftop storage, and you’re done.
Choosing a Connecting Tent
To maximize the space in your minivan camping setup, you’ll likely want to consider an SUV tent. Despite the common name, SUV tents typically fit a wide range of crossovers, minivans, and SUVs. For a minivan, you’ll likely be looking at medium to large tents. These tents are usually rated for seasonable compatibility, for example a 3 tent is rated for spring, summer, and fall.
What defines this type of tent is the vehicle sleeve that’s designed to be attached to the rear hatch of an SUV or minivan. The other part of the tent is a ground tent that expands your sleeping area. You can also add awnings or sunshades for even more privacy and versatility.
Ultimately, camping in a minivan is only limited by your imagination. There’s so much to work with compared to an SUV.