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How to Turn Your Station Wagon into a Tiny RV (Car Camping In A Station Wagon)


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Art Cormier lives in a tiny house on wheels. But when he travels, he doesn’t take it with him. It’s too heavy. So in this video, he’s going to show you how he turns his VW station wagon into a tiny RV. And you can use his ideas to turn your car, station wagon, or minivan into a tiny motorhome too!

By the way, Art also teaches other people how to design and build tiny houses on wheels at Tumbleweed’s tiny house workshops throughout the country in case you’re interested.

If you want to learn how Art uses his VW station wagon as a micro motorhome when he goes on trips or travels on the road then enjoy the video below. And would you consider turning your current car into a micro RV? Let us know in the comments. Thank you!

Don’t miss other awesome conversions like this, join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more stuff like this! 

Car Camping In A Station Wagon

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Images © Art Cormier

Art’s Tiny House And His Station Wagon 🙂

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Images © Art Cormier

No, he doesn’t tow his tiny house with that car! Art explains below. 🙂

VIDEO: How to Turn Your Station Wagon into a Tiny RV

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Would you consider car camping? Would you turn your car into a tiny RV like Art has done with his? What would be your favorite car to do this with? See you in the comments!

If you enjoyed this tiny RV (car camping) story you’ll absolutely LOVE our Free Daily Tiny House Newsletter with even more! Thank you!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Cahow
    January 27, 2015, 3:14 pm

    First of all, Art, “THANK YOU FOR KEEPING YOUR VIDEO SHORT!!!”

    There’s been some discussion on Alex’s site about the long, drawn out, and utterly boring 20-30 minute Tiny House videos that feature every door knob and critter at their home. Short, Sweet, Succinct and To The Point…I love it!!!

    Second, you are very well spoken. Great video presence; I enjoyed your video and humour, immensely.

    Nice set up; thank you for sharing. I do have ONE question, however: Back in “The Days” (when I was a wee lass in the 50’s-60’s) everyone was allowed to travel this way and you simply pulled over onto the shoulder of the road or truck stop and “slept the night away.”

    Fast-forward to NOW, where you can’t pull over ANYWHERE and Rest Stops/Truck Stops have time limits of 4 hours to lay over. WHERE do you Park & Sleep, Art? I’m really curious.

    My husband and I live in very rural Michigan and are in our early 60’s…and even WE have had the local cops pull up to our car when we’re parked on a dirt road in the country to find out “What no-good are the two of you up to?”

    Apparently, the telescope that we have pointed at the night sky during a meteor shower wasn’t a #GetAClue to the inquiring officers. LOL

    • INVSBLTY
      December 7, 2015, 6:03 pm

      Cahow, my wife and I live nearly on the 45th parralel, near the town of Gaylord! How close is that to your location? Have you and your husband ever gone to the Wilderness State Park, west of Mackinaw City? We forded across the 1500 feet of Waugoshance Channel to get to Temperance Island! It was so foggy, but we had a great time. We are in our mid-60’s! Enjoying life, and waiting for His 2nd coming! Blessings to all that are fans of Tiny House Talk!

  • Karen R
    January 27, 2015, 4:06 pm

    No bathroom . . .I would rather stay home (and I love to travel). Guess it works for him, but I would look for a small self-contained towable. Even his great presentation couldn’t convince me that sleeping in his car would equal a vacation.

  • Comet
    January 27, 2015, 4:45 pm

    @KAREN R—No bathroom? No problem! Get thyself to any camping store or Walmart and buy a FIVE GALLON BUCKET and a TOILET TOPPER SEAT. For about $20 you have the basic equipment. From there you can either use a plain plastic bag as a liner and dump it in a trash can or compost spot; OR you can use several methods to deal with the waste:::: Sawdust; Kitty Litter or diapers. No; you dont wear the diaper. What you DO is break open the diaper and use the absorbent inner fiber and water grabbing material. Then you dispose. (Some kitty litter is pretty much the same as what they use in a diaper liner and cheaper besides) You can dispose of this stuff in the PET WASTE bins at rest stops BTW.

    If you don’t have the room to sit in your car or van or even a pop up or tear drop trailer you again go to Ebay and buy a POP UP SINGLE which is a pretty roomy tall “tent” which can be used as a change room; toilet; and with the addition of a solar set up– a shower. You can also buy or make a propane fired hot water set up. That would also allow you to do dishes with warm water or rinse out clothing!

    Your idea of a “vacation” and this guys might be completely different–after all some people jump out of perfectly good airplanes for excitement!

  • Steve in Palm Bay
    January 27, 2015, 7:10 pm

    Comet,

    I gotta agree with you on this. Art only uses this for his camping needs….not as a full time shelter. Hence this works for him. I do something similar with my topper on my Toyota p/u. And since I live alone and am happy living lighter than I have to, it works for me. Obviously not for everyone….but hey, variety is the spice of life. I do wish I had known of Art’s upcoming event in Orlando. …about an hour and a half away…I am sure sure that it would be worth the drive.

    • Alex
      January 28, 2015, 8:17 am

      Thanks Steve! And I’m sorry I didn’t let you all know about the event earlier. But don’t worry, there will be more. Tickets are still available though if it’s not too late to make arrangements.

  • alice h
    January 27, 2015, 8:20 pm

    I did a tour of Nova Scotia several years ago in a rented Geo Metro. I had a tent but it was a lot simpler to just put back the passenger seat (it went all the way down) and curl up in my sleeping bag right there. I outfitted the window with a scrap of screen and some magnets so I could have fresh air without the bugs, cooked at picnic tables along the way and generally enjoyed a wonderful week. There were plenty of places to tuck yourself away and snooze as long as you were quiet and up and away early. Fantastic star gazing, a panoramic view out the front window and much comfier than the tent would have been.

  • Theo
    December 11, 2015, 5:35 pm

    Bleah. I’m looking for a van to convert. If I can’t find one with a raised roof, I will add a raised roof. Standing up inside is a necessity, not a luxury, as far as I am concerned. Composting loo, no problem. I didn’t watch the video, but from the pictures, looks like there wasn’t a heap of planning done beforehand. Basically, it looks like something I would put together for a weekend camping trip.

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