Read Ebook: Motor Camping by Long J C John Cuthbert Long John D John Dietrich

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ovides a satisfying protection against the chill of a cold night. Such a comfortable may be bought at a reasonable price in almost any fair-sized department store; or it may be home-made where the wool batting with which to fill it can be procured. This last, however, is not always the case, although in most city stores this article is obtainable. Such a comfortable should be inclosed in an outer covering of light, washable material, otherwise it will very soon become very much soiled.

For the sleeper who prefers to roost high and dry in his auto body there is considerable choice of arrangements. He may do as already suggested, turn around his cushions, and with suit cases and duffle bags make out a pretty good foundation on which to sleep. Nevertheless, by making a comparatively modest investment, he may get a folding bed which can be packed into a small roll so as to take little room when not in use, but which when used will give him a bed incomparably more satisfactory than one made of cushions and other odds and ends.

One of these car beds, called the "Utility Auto Bed," will fit any car from Fords to Packards. It is very comfortable. No mattresses are needed. It is made of heavy, olive drab canvas. The frame is made of a strong but light-weight material. The whole folds into a small bundle which weighs twenty-three pounds. This bed is listed at .00. This bed can also be used out of the car.

Another very comfortable article is the Red Seal Auto Bed. It is truly a luxurious bed, affording with its strong spring flexible mattress complete rest and homelike comfort. It has a strong steel frame, light but rigid, constructed in a manner that makes erection or folding a simple and quick matter. The mattress is of high-grade duck and non-stretchable webbing, re?nforced with leather where attached to the springs. This bed is also equipped with strong tensile steel springs that prevent sagging of the mattress, thus assuring perfect satisfaction and comfortable sleep. It can be used as an extra bed in the house. This bed when on a floor stands 17 inches high, with a length of 6 feet 4 inches and a width of 47 inches. It rolls into a bundle 47 inches in length with a diameter of 5 inches. The weight is 46 pounds, and the list price .50.

In the Tent

Where the camper prefers to do his sleeping in a tent, he has the choice of the tent floor for a bed, a bed made for the occasion by laying blankets over straw, leaves, cedar boughs, hemlock fans, or other browse, or, finally, a camp cot.

If the ground is dry with a gravel or sandy foundation a sleeper can be quite comfortable lying on a canvas spread directly on the ground itself. This is true particularly during July and August in those regions where the nights are warm. The writer has been very comfortable with nothing under him but a canvas tarpaulin spread on the ground of his tent over the gravel surface of the tent floor. This, with a single blanket, has been all that he found necessary for comfortable sleep.

Many prefer to make up a bed of leaves, cedar boughs or other springy material, which is thrown upon the tent floor and covered with blankets. To properly confine this foundation within the bounds of the bed it is well to stake out the map of the bed, and then lay poles cut to the right lengths within these stakes to bound the bed and keep the bedding of boughs or leaves in place under the blankets. In the autumn leaves can easily be gathered in quantities, and these certainly make a fine easy bed. Boughs form a more problematical material for bedding. Small cedar branches or twigs well covered with blankets make a good springy bed with a refreshing balsamic odor. Hemlock fans are a little rougher than cedar and so do not make as soft a bed. Sometimes where evergreens are not found, other browse, such as male fern, is used. The male fern will make an easy bed, but its odor is offensive to some.

Folding Cots

There are any number of varieties of folding cots for those campers who prefer to sleep in that way. Many of these are quite inexpensive and fold up very compactly. There is a "Gold Medal Cot," listed at .50, which folds into a package 4 inches by 5 inches by 3 feet 2 inches long and weighs 17 pounds. This cot is made of the highest grade olive duck and will support a weight of over 1,000 pounds.

What is called "The Improved Yankee Cot" is another strong, convenient and comfortable camp cot. It folds into a package 32 by 4 by 5 inches, weighs 16 pounds and is guaranteed to support 600 pounds. This cot, when opened, is 6 1/2 feet long, 27 inches wide and 18 inches high. It is made of twelve-ounce double-filled brown duck. The woodwork is of air-dried rock elm, and the steel supports are 14-gauge and all japanned.

Sleeping Bags

There will be no need of bed or cot where the camper prefers a sleeping bag. This may be laid down on the tent floor, or even placed out in the open.

There are sleeping bags which are designed to be used in the open and which supply their own protection of the head from the inclemencies of the weather. When the weather is fair many prefer sleeping with no covering below the stars.

The "Kenwood Sleeping Bag and Tent in One" has 4 1/2 , 5 1/2 or 6 1/2 -pound inner bags of soft, warm, new wool. For very cold weather these bags can be arranged to nest one within the other so that the camper sleeping out may add or remove the thicknesses of his covering as the temperature may change. There are special double flaps over chest and shoulders, and no rest-breaking buckles, snaps, buttons or lacings. A 5 1/2 -pound waterproof canvas cover with extra long fly gives complete outdoor protection. This sleeping bag is generously roomy. It is 7 feet long by 5 feet 8 inches around. The canvas fly is propped up, forming a dog tent above the head of the sleeper.

Camp Mattresses

Another combination camp and bed is the "Airtube Camp Mattress." This is a mattress with a shelter tent attached. It is impervious to moisture, and the camper can sleep on the wet ground. The mattress is formed of 3 1/2 -inch Rubber Pneumatic Tubes, incased in separate cells, in a light, serviceable cover. It is easily filled by lung power, and requires only about fifteen pounds air pressure. It conforms to the body and to uneven ground. The tent is made of army khaki cloth and completely covers and incloses the bed at both the head and foot, the peak being at the head, with a triangular screened window in the face of the tent-head for ventilation.

There is a combination sleeping air bed and sleeping bag called the "Perfection." When the air bed is deflated it rolls up into a small compact bundle. The distinct feature of this combination is that mattress, blankets and bag are three separate articles that make one complete outfit and still can be used independently. Thus the mattress with its separate cover can be removed from the bag and used in the home or otherwise when not wanted in the open. The lining, also being removable, can be taken out for cleaning and drying, which is an advantage not to be overlooked, as where the lining is fastened to the bag it is nearly impossible to get it thoroughly dry when once wet. This sleeping bag is made of the best quality eight-ounce waterproof Densol Cloth in a dark brown color, and is closed with a row of braided loops which insures a tight and strong bag when laced, yet one that can be instantly opened and spread to the air. The lacing can be ended anywhere desired. Thus in cold and rainy weather it can be laced all the way up, leaving only a small opening for the head, and in warm weather can be left partly open. At the top of the cover is an extra flap, which can be drawn over the head when used in the open.

There are a number of very good air beds and air pillows on the market which need not be described, as they are familiar to the public. In inflating an air mattress a tire pump may be used, but most of them can easily be inflated by lung power, and the exercise involved will be good for the camper's lungs.

Another portable bed is the "Army Bed Roll." As the name suggests, it is a bed that rolls up. The outside is of heavy waterproof khaki duck. The mattress is filled with curled hair. When spread out on a tent floor it makes a very comfortable bed.

There are mattresses made of Kapok which are in favor with some campers because of the extreme lightness of the material which gives these mattresses their name. Kapok is a product of the East Indies. It is a silky fiber similar to the silk found in the pods of the ordinary milk weed of our fields. It is about the lightest substance known, at least of the fiber sort. It is many times lighter than cork, and so is used in the best grade of life preservers. Kapok beds are very light and soft and so are attractive to the motor tourist both on the score of convenience and comfort because so easily portable and restful. Kapok mattresses when used in sleeping bags serve to make them exceptionally warm.

Cots if made without a mattress, as most of them are, will need as much covering beneath the sleeper as above him if the weather be cold. Newspapers laid on the canvas of a cot will make it much warmer when warmth is an object. The same is true when newspapers are spread between blankets, or upon a rubber sheet laid on the ground. If the ground is not perfectly dry a rubber sheet or rubberized canvas will be needed if the sleeper wishes to sleep on the floor of his tent.

In the West they have an arrangement that they call a "Slab," which is a bag the exact length and width of the cot and is laid upon it as a mattress and serves fairly well to keep the cold from striking up. This bag is made of what is called ticking and is similar to the mattresses still used in some sections, which are bags the size of the bed filled with straw or corn husks. In fact, except for the bulkiness, such a home-made mattress serves many very satisfactorily. In almost any part of this country east of the Missouri River the camping tourist can readily get some straw from a near-by farmer and fill his bed tick with it. Where the stay is to be for some days this will involve very little trouble. To get straw each evening would be rather bothersome.

The insulating properties of the air make an air mattress warmer than a cot, but in cold weather the air mattress is cold, unless re?nforced with plenty of blankets on its surface.

In cold weather there are many advantages in sleeping in the car. If it gets cold the engine can be run a while to warm things up a little. In addition to those car-body beds previously described there are several others on the market which are excellent for the purpose. Any one with tools and a little ingenuity can rig up his own sleeping outfit and without infringing on any patents have as good a bed as the market affords.

Sleeping in the car gets one away from the intrusion of the creeping and crawling things that abound on the ground, and which will succeed more or less in getting into the tent where that is used for sleeping quarters. Then, too, in time of wet and storm the car is sure to be dry. On the other hand, the sleeping quarters in the ordinary car are very close and crowded. There will be no trouble about ventilation, but pretty much all the space in the tonneau will be occupied by the bed.

Hammocks

Some motor campers get along finely by sleeping in hammocks slung from the sides of the car at the ends to near-by trees or even to tent poles. There are some wide hammocks that answer very well as beds. The snug hammocks that are used in the navy are of strong canvas, but they are very hard to get into and at first quite uncomfortable. It takes several nights to get used to one of these hammocks, and some people never get to enjoy them.

There are really no very satisfactory sleeping hammocks on the market. The navy hammock can be bought of dealers in navy supplies. The ordinary porch hammock can be bought almost anywhere, but it is not very satisfactory as a bed. However, one can buy a wide hammock made of heavy canvas of tan color with metal spreaders and cotton ropes for about five dollars which will make a pretty good sleeping hammock for a camper. Where a hammock is used care should be taken to have the head higher than the foot and to have it strung as taut as possible, otherwise the sleeper will be doubled up something after the manner of a jack-knife.

Although sleeping in a hammock is attended with some difficulty, any fairly active man or youth ought to find it quite satisfactory in fine weather. In bad weather some provision will need to be made to secure shelter from the rain. In the winter season no one will want to sleep in a hammock because it would be very difficult to keep warm in one in freezing weather.

A very useful article in cold or chilly weather is a night hood, or night cap. This should be of wool. Such a protection is mighty comfortable of a cold night. Also, in cold weather, the best way to have warm feet is to take off the shoes and day socks and put on heavy sleeping socks.

Perhaps we should not leave the subject of sleeping accommodations without describing one or two other interesting outfits for the tourist camper. One of these is the "Comfort Sleeping Pocket." This is a luxurious puncture-proof air bed in a water and wind-proof felt-lined covering. The outer covering or pocket is made of "Wearproof" duck, lined with heavy red felt, wind and waterproof, light and strong. It is shaped to the body to save weight and bulk, but is very roomy. There is "lots of room" to "turn over," for blankets, circulation, etc. There is one opening only, which is closed by snap buttons and an overlap. While cold and weather-proof, it allows for throwing the pocket open for airing. An extension flap at the head, 25 by 36 inches, may be used as a wind-shield, storm hood or head covering. The inside air bed is made with a patented longitudinal device which prevents the "rolling" sensation common in old-style air beds. The inside air bed is four feet long, four inches thick at the top, gradually diminishing toward the foot. There is no abrupt drop at the end. A pump is not needed as lung power is sufficient to inflate the bed. As an added protection, the air bed is inclosed in a felt sub-pocket.

There is also an air pillow, felt covered, 11 by 16 inches, which is fastened to the bed with snap buttons and which is a part of this outfit.

The other device which we mention here is a light tent of the lean-to type with what is called the "Brownie Camp Pad" to support the head, shoulders, back and hips of the sleeper. The "Brownie Camp Pad" is an abbreviated air bed which is placed on the sewed-in floor of what is called a Utility Combination Tent. This is an air-bed combination for the fellow who goes "light but right" and who requires something light, strong, practical and inexpensive. The entire combination weighs only eleven pounds, and when rolled up makes a very small compact package.

When the motor tourist camps in one of the municipal camping parks he will seldom, if ever, receive assistance in the matter of sleeping quarters, but these public camping sites are usually lighted with electricity, they have public comfort stations, and many other features which are detailed elsewhere. They usually provide, too, a degree of shelter against bad storms, which have a habit of coming up in the night to the dismay of the camper. These public camping places are not only sheltered from the wind, but are well drained and mostly wooded, so that in a night storm the camper has little to fear from the elements.

An auto camper who has been at the camping game for the past ten years, who has kept at week-end camping right along and who has crossed the continent a couple of times, camping along the route, has out of his long experience reached this as his standard outfit. He takes an "Auto bed" with a 7 by 7-foot tent; a six-pound cotton pad or mattress for the bed; a two-burner gasoline camp stove; one heavy double blanket; one wool-filled quilt; a blanket roll; two eight-quart milk cans for water; and a refrigerator basket. The whole affair packs into very small space.

The tent and bed appeal on account of the roominess of the tent and the spring feature of the bed. The outfit is heavier than some, but can't be beat, he says, "for sleeping comfort." He considers the bed and tent the main part of any auto camping outfit, as an uncomfortable selection of either one will probably do more to discourage the new camper than anything else. The outfit, bed, tent and pad, fold into small space. Everything is carried clamped to the running board and weighs about seventy-five pounds.

This camper uses half of the double blanket under the sleeping pad, then the bed is made up and the other half of the blanket is pulled over the top. This makes a sort of a bag and prevents the clothes pulling out at the foot. One wool blanket and a wool-filled comfort he has found to be warmer and less heavy than two blankets.

For a blanket roll he took a piece of heavy canvas about seven feet long by thirty-five inches wide and sewed lighter pieces or wings on each side and end, then waterproofed the whole thing. The blankets, folded lengthwise, will just fit in the center when the roll is spread out. Then the sides can be folded over and the ends rolled up. A couple of small pillows can be carried inside. It has been found that this roll keeps dust and wet from bedclothes better than any other way.

The other items of this veteran camper's outfit consist of a tin cooking set which nests into a six-quart pail and is somewhat heavier than an aluminum outfit, but was chosen because the wife preferred it with its steel frying pan. For a table he used the rack, which is under and supports his rear seat cushion, for a model, and cut a new one out of one-half-inch board to take its place. It has folding legs of three-eighths-inch iron rods sharpened at the end so that they can be pushed into the ground. For chairs he uses the cushions.

An extra plug socket in the tonneau makes an easy way to get a connection for a trouble light to hang up in the tent at night. An extra rear view mirror is clamped to the rear top bow and serves as a toilet mirror. Other units which this camper advises, but which he does not always bother with himself are vacuum bottles, folding canvas pail for wash basin, and a roll of paper towels. These towels may serve as napkins, and a strip utilized as a table cover.

Rainy weather and chilly nights drive flies into the tent in swarms which prove a great nuisance in the early morning when the camper is trying his best to sleep. The best way to get them out is to darken the tent as much as possible, open the entrance on a wide crack and shoo them out, using towels vigorously for this purpose. This is fine exercise and is recommended as a substitute for the "Daily Dozen."

Mosquitoes seek shelter from the hot sunshine by day, when the camper is in a region where these winged creatures abound, and are drawn by artificial light by night. It is easiest to get them out in the early morning, as they are highly sensitive to light and atmospheric conditions. In the early morning, too, after having dined well upon the camper by night, they feel more like taking the air. But, seriously speaking, always remember that mosquitoes prefer cool, moist air and dim light rather than darkness or sunshine. If there are any lurking inside during the day to avoid the hot sunshine they may be driven out just at dusk without much trouble--in fact, they will go out voluntarily if an opening is provided. But they are more stupid than flies and need some gentle persuasion to start them moving and aid them in finding an exit. Some importance attaches to choosing just the right time for this operation and closing the exit before twilight, when it becomes a matter of indifference to the mosquito whether he is indoors or out.

PRIMITIVE CAMPING

How Two Adventurers Can Rough It--Simple Supplies--Making One's Own Coffee Pot--Plentiful Food in the Wilds.

Although most campers prefer some of the comforts of civilization even when in the wilderness, there are adventurous souls who like to reduce the trappings of their everyday life to a minimum. This chapter is written to indicate how the woods can be made to yield nearly all that the camper may require if he is sufficiently ingenious, informed, and anxious to rely on his own resourcefulness.

A couple of husky young fellows need take nothing more with them than a couple of pup-tents, or hammocks for beds, or, again, if they have a flivver they can sleep nicely in a bed arranged over the seats of a touring car or sedan. In fact, by hinging the front seat-back of a touring Ford, and piecing out the car cushions with a suit case or two, it is possible to make out quite comfortably without any further sleeping equipment aside from blankets or comfortables. Another way to go it cheap is to have a hammock apiece to swing from the car to a near-by tree. A canvas fly stretched from the top of the car to a tree or trees sufficiently near, and over the hammocks, will serve to keep off the rain.

These several suggestions might be multiplied indefinitely, and they go to show how infinitely various are the simple arrangements that may be made by the economically inclined motor camper.

If the husky young fellows already mentioned wish to go it wild as well as cheap, if they are willing to hustle and rough it a little, they can camp almost anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains, and in most sections of the Pacific Slope, and live off the land without other supplies. Of course, they will have to be somewhat resourceful, and not too much of tenderfeet.

Here is how to do it. For simple equipment they will naturally require blankets, ax, hunting knife , skillet, tin pail, tin plate, knife, fork, and spoon apiece.

As for safety's sake it will be best to drink boiled water, it will be well to take a supply of ground coffee in tins. Most people find boiled water taken in the form of coffee more palatable.

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