Sleeping in MG4 [merged thread]

Ramontiker said:

There is an offset of about 4°C between the temperature shown in the display of the aircon and the temperature you really get in the car. This is a known bug in the MG4 aircon

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A bug which seems to have been resolved in the latest HVAC software update plus 1100R38 Infotainment for the Standard/SE/Excite models.

This may be unnecessary and stupid information. I left my keys like this. It made me feel like they needed to be close to the car for everything to go well.

Note: My car was in front of my office during all test time. So there's no need to worry.

Leaving the keys outside the car seems to be a foolish thing to do?

siteguru said:

Leaving the keys outside the car seems to be a foolish thing to do?

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If you think it will close automatically during all test time...

I was more thinking about someone stealing the keys while you're sleeping ........

Don't worry about it so much. Because I didn't. As I mentioned in the note, it was right in front of my office. I checked from time to time to see if the engine was closed.

siteguru said:

I was more thinking about someone stealing the keys while you're sleeping ........

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I think you misunderstood. I was not inside the car. The key was there so that the automatic car would not shut down and the car was in a safe place. After all, this was just a test and it was daytime. But maybe it was not necessary because the distance between where I was and the car was 10 metres. The key could have stayed in my pocket. I wanted to be sure.

Also, if you ask how I locked the car from the inside, I used the driver's side automatic window and closed it.

As far as I know the car should be locked from the inside to leave the aircon on all the time. Otherwise the car shuts down.

Ramontiker said:

As far as I know the car should be locked from the inside to leave the aircon on all the time. Otherwise the car shuts down.

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That's what I heard. That's why I locked the car from the inside using the driver's automatic window while I was outside the car, then I closed the window and freed my hand with a quick manoeuvre.

So this is a way to leave the key in a locked car without anyone in?

I don't know if this is a way to leave the key inside a locked car. Since I didn't have the courage to try this, I left the key close to the car but outside. Because as I know, if I left it inside, there is a possibility that it wouldn't be able to open the door from the door. Maybe even the spare key wouldn't be able to open it either.

Great info, everyone. I like the table, are you going to make these to order, @Ramontiker? But on the other hand my Ikea box is almost perfect and I use it to keep my gear tidy, then just put my cape on top to bring the height up to the level of the seat back.

I preferred the whole back seat folded down because it gave me a nice flat bedside table area. It also made it easier to get into the car on the right-hand side, sit on top of the folded seat back, then get into bed from that position.

I tried leaving the key in the car and walking away much earlier in the thread, but the car still switched everything off after half an hour. You need to operate the central locking from inside to prevent that happening. I was having trouble reaching the switch, but @Archev pointed out that I should just use my hiking pole which was in the car. Then someone else pointed out it can be done from the quick menu on the infotainment screen. Just shoot me now.

I didn't realise a heat pump would be noisy. My car doesn't have one so it was beautifully quiet, but consumed more charge I think.

As regards calls of nature. I was getting out of the car which wasn't a huge issue because it wasn't cold in September. Well, apart from the night spent 800 feet above Little Loch Broom, and even that only went down to about 8 degrees. But I did figure out a way in principle, if an emergency were to happen. I will go equipped in future, just in case. @decrep, you need to ask @Archev about his solution, gentlemen for the use of. He didn't have to leave his roof tent all night.

Semerkand said:

That's what I heard. That's why I locked the car from the inside using the driver's automatic window while I was outside the car, then I closed the window and freed my hand with a quick manoeuvre.

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Ouch! I wondered if that was possible, but didn't quite dare to try it. That could be a way of getting "dog mode", I think.

Rolfe said:

Great info, everyone. I like the table, are you going to make these to order, @Ramontiker? But on the other hand my Ikea box is almost perfect and I use it to keep my gear tidy, then just put my cape on top to bring the height up to the level of the seat back.

I preferred the whole back seat folded down because it gave me a nice flat bedside table area. It also made it easier to get into the car on the right-hand side, sit on top of the folded seat back, then get into bed from that position.

I tried leaving the key in the car and walking away much earlier in the thread, but the car still switched everything off after half an hour. You need to operate the central locking from inside to prevent that happening. I was having trouble reaching the switch, but @Archev pointed out that I should just use my hiking pole which was in the car. Then someone else pointed out it can be done from the quick menu on the infotainment screen. Just shoot me now.

I didn't realise a heat pump would be noisy. My car doesn't have one so it was beautifully quiet, but consumed more charge I think.

As regards calls of nature. I was getting out of the car which wasn't a huge issue because it wasn't cold in September. Well, apart from the night spent 800 feet above Little Loch Broom, and even that only went down to about 8 degrees. But I did figure out a way in principle, if an emergency were to happen. I will go equipped in future, just in case. @decrep, you need to ask @Archev about his solution, gentlemen for the use of. He didn't have to leave his roof tent all night.

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I opted for the double barrelled deluxe version just in case.

As you can see they are adaptable- ladies for the use of too

Um
I didn't dare mention that.
For me, leaving the car is the better solution.

For me, the plate is the best solution because, unlike an air mattress, the futon requires a very flat surface.
I would be happy to offer the plate to others, but shipping would be more expensive than the materials required. Any hardware store will cut the sheet to size and all the materials including cutting cost less than £20. If anyone wants the plate I can send more detailed instructions.
I like to use the narrow back seat as it allows me to dress and undress in the car and also sit there wile using the plate as a table. When I am in the sleeping bag I fold the back of the seat down.
I have not slept in the car for several days, only for trips to the seaside or to friends and parties.
I also don't cook in the car. Although I don't like the waste, I only use a small capsule coffee machine (Krups Essenza Mini), which can also make hot water for tea or Yum Yum noodles.

Archev said:

I opted for the double barrelled deluxe version just in case.
View attachment 32953
As you can see they are adaptable- ladies for the use of too

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I honestly wouldn't dare. The mind literally boggles. I definitely think my low-tech idea is safer.

Ramontiker said:

For me, the plate is the best solution because, unlike an air mattress, the futon requires a very flat surface.
I would be happy to offer the plate to others, but shipping would be more expensive than the materials required. Any hardware store will cut the sheet to size and all the materials including cutting cost less than £20. If anyone wants the plate I can send more detailed instructions.
I like to use the narrow back seat as it allows me to dress and undress in the car and also sit there wile using the plate as a table. When I am in the sleeping bag I fold the back of the seat down.
I have not slept in the car for several days, only for trips to the seaside or to friends and parties.
I also don't cook in the car. Although I don't like the waste, I only use a small capsule coffee machine (Krups Essenza Mini), which can also make hot water for tea or Yum Yum noodles.

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I can see that the futon has its own requirements. Looks useful though, perhaps taking up less space than the air mattress. On the other hand the air mattress takes up very little space when deflated using the pump blowing backwards. The difficulties of getting a flat surface in the boot area in the SE have been discussed earlier in the thread. I just put my folding chair and table under the bottom of the mattress and it's fine but that obviously wouldn't work for the futon.

I haven't tried dressing and undressing in the car, as you may have seen earlier I'm thinking about getting a small gazebo for this sort of thing, but I haven't quite decided yet. I do have the cape which is handy to provide warmth and modesty if going to a camp site toilet during the night, and also provides modesty when dressing and undressing as you can do it under the cape. But in cold weather it would be good not to have to get out of the car. I might try that.

I haven't actually cooked as such in the car, although you'll have seen the discussion about microwaves and induction hobs. I have however boiled water to make cup-a-soup and Pot Noodles and (rather expensive) dehydrated camping meals, which worked very well (as well as tea and coffee of course). I found I made quite a lot of tea, but I tended to go into coffee shops in the afternoon when charging so didn't make much coffee when camped.

The first night I slept in the car I could have sworn I didn't sleep at all. But in the morning I got up and got washed and dressed and made breakfast and didn't feel bad. In the afternoon I went on a hike that took me 1,000 feet up from my base level and again I didn't feel especially tired, so maybe I did sleep after all. The night I spent at Applecross (when my car Caliban and Archie's car The Magnette were nose to nose) I slept right through till about 8.30 without getting up at all.

You'll have seen my musings about sleeping in the car at Glyndebourne ten days ago. I actually booked a hotel room for two nights instead, at great expense, and it's just as well that I did because the first night was freezing and the second night was enlivened by Storm Bert. I'm still thinking about it for the summer though.

The Citroen is in preparation. I’ve been building a folding storage / bed platform for an air mattress and sleeping bag. The three individual seats in the back of the car fold away almost flat into the floor. The folding bed can be moved to either side or removed so that I have a massive van.
I’m in the frustrating middle of fitting switches to the back door so that I can open the window or the full tailgate from the inside for egress / emergency.
Still not started installing my front and rear dashcams.
I haven’t been out for a proper decent run with it yet but it is a total joy to drive. It started at about 2 mi/kWh and is now doing 3.1. It’s as if it’s “running in” in the old ICE parlance


The bed will be 1800mm x 750mm or six feet by two foot six in old money.
There’s no “engine cover” to store my charging cable (and curly wurly ) on so a frunk might be another project - goodness knows there’s lots of empty volume under the bonnet.