Sleeping in MG4 [merged thread]

[Rolfe]

Yes, it is doable. Thanks to you lot, I went out and gave it a preliminary try. You do need something to raise the foot end of the lilo, at least in the SE. A single inflatable cushion wasn't enough, but an actual pillow was fine.

I tried again with two inflatable cushions, and that worked too.

I'm sorry neither picture shows the foot end, I'll go back out and take another showing that.

The lilo (actual cost 13 euros, the price sticker was still on it) seems quite comfortable, although it is not as long as it claims to be on the packet. (Says 185 cm, in your dreams.) I do have an actual airbed which will take up more space but might be more comfortable, which I will try on another occasion.

The small suitcase was just right for height to support the pillow end of the lilo, although I didn't get it central due to the raised part of the floor getting in the way a bit. There might be a way round this. I removed the passenger head rest on that side to get it in.

For a preliminary trial, this worked pretty well.

Here's the picture of the foot end.

There is a reasonable amount of vertical space, I don't think that's going to be a problem. I think you would be able to build a framework to raise the floor and it would still work.

The lilo is in fact about 166 cm by 60 cm, well short of the 188 cm by 71 cm advertised on the packaging. I will try my airbed another time as that may work better, but the lilo is OK and would work.

I did notice that the car switched itself off while I was in here typing my previous post. It stayed on while I was working in it, and in fact got too warm and I had to turn down the temperature on the HVAC. But while I was away, it turned off. I don't know what governs this, or how the other member got it to stay on. Thoughts appreciated.

 

[DixieTGS]

Did you take your key with you while away. That would seem to be reasonable behaviour if so.

 

[Rolfe]

Ah! Just shoot me now! OBVIOUSLY!

My key lives inside my bra, so the car always reacts to me without me having to do anything about it or even think about where the key is at any given moment. So of course it was in the house when the car switched off.

Thank you, I will now put on a dunce's cap and go stand in the corner.

 

[sila0164]

Good pictures, thank you for sharing. A custom bed frame of some kind seems doable. Seems like the boot doesn’t taper too much.

If I’ve understood the cars boot up procedure correctly, you have the “enter” state which is before it’s ready to drive and the “ready” state. It changes when the brake is tapped?
I don’t know if either has a standby timer, but I would think having the key in the car would make it stay on in one of these. Preferably the “enter” state.

Would also be nice to know whether or not the door locks affect it staying on, so you can lock it while inside.

 

[Rolfe]

Good pictures, thank you for sharing. A custom bed frame of some kind seems doable. Seems like the boot doesn’t taper too much.

If I’ve understood the cars boot up procedure correctly, you have the “enter” state which is before it’s ready to drive and the “ready” state. It changes when the brake is tapped?
I don’t know if either has a standby timer, but I would think having the key in the car would make it stay on in one of these. Preferably the “enter” state.

Would also be nice to know whether or not the door locks affect it staying on, so you can lock it while inside.

I absolutely think it's the key that is the key, so to speak. There is obviously a standby timer that activates when the key is not present, as I've seen it do that before. I can experiment with these things, and also with locking it from the inside.

I was under a misapprehension about the lilo, because I believed the dimensions on the packet. I thought it was close to the size of the airbed so there would be little difference between them other than in the thickness of the "mattress" but not so. I think the airbed being larger might work better because it would fit in the available space without tending to move around so much. If it's not raining tomorrow I might give it a try.

Another advantage of the airbed may be ease of inflation. Of course it takes more to inflate it than the lilo, but it has a wider opening that inflates quite easily using a hair-dryer. With VtL available, that should be possible. Of course there are pumps available to inflate lilos, but I don't happen to have one.

I am not necessarily planning to sleep in the car, as I like my home comforts, but I have in the past been close to needing to do so because there was no accommodation available, and once as a teenager actually had to do it (in a saloon car with three other people - my parents and an aunt - so we all had to sit in our seats) and it was hideous in that situation. I want to be prepared so that I can do it in comfort if need be.

I've been trying to think what the checklist should be of things to take with me. Thoughts appreciated.

Airbed or lilo
Sleeping bag
Something to raise the foot end of the airbed
Water
Collapsible bucket
Kettle (VtL adaptor needed)
Washing kit and towel
Something in the way of food for an evening snack and breakfast
Folding garden chair and picnic table

What have I forgotten?

I have occasionally thought about getting some sort of frame made to raise the boot floor, for occasions like this, so if anyone has any idea about that for the SE I'd be interested to hear about it.

 

[sila0164]

Looks good. Might need a pillow though?
I’ll refrain from asking what the bucket is for… ?

 

[Rolfe]

The bucket is for washing in. Boil the kettle, add enough cold water to make the temperature pleasant, and perform ablutions.

Despite being of the female persuasion, I can make use of the landscape as well as anyone else for other matters.

(I usually sleep very flat, and there is a bit of a pillow-section to the lilo, though I agree many people might want a pillow.)

ETA. Thinking about it, it's possible the picnic table and the folding chair might simply store away on the boot floor under the airbed and raise the bottom that way, without any need for pillows or frames to fill the space. Another thing to experiment with.

 

[Torryhun]

Ah! Just shoot me now! OBVIOUSLY!

My key lives inside my bra, so the car always reacts to me without me having to do anything about it or even think about where the key is at any given moment. So of course it was in the house when the car switched off.

Thank you, I will now put on a dunce's cap and go stand in the corner.

O, so it was your key, I thought you where just pleased to see me !?, (sorry couldn't resist, the old ones are the best) ?

 

[Rolfe]

OK, more pics. The airbed is working better.

This is a full-size single airbed intended for an adult to sleep on. It takes up more space than the lilo but it fits in, and because it extends all the way from the back of the front seats to the tailgate it's more stable.

I'm still not sure of the best way to support the head end, but that's just a matter of experimenting. It's probably best to have the bed more or less central on the load bed rather than to one side, and support the head end in the centre.

Again raising the foot end also needs more work. My garden chair is under that, but it needs more. I've had to order a new picnic table because my previous one collapsed, but I'll see how much difference that makes when it arrives.

There's a decent amount of space inside the tailgate, and even raising the foot end of the mattress up more isn't going to compromise this too much. (Be warned though, these shoes are size 4. I am offering no guarantees on what size 13s are likely to look like.)

I may have to buy a new airbed. I've had this one for several decades, and the bung that closes the air filler hole has perished and cracked. Not sure it's going to hold. Seems a shame to scrap it for want of a bung but I doubt if you can buy these separately. I don't want to find myself lying on the load bed at three in the morning.

OK, this is annoying. The car is still turning itself off, even with the key still inside. When I left it unattended it was still on after about 18 minutes and off after about 35 minutes, so I suspect it went off after half an hour. Oddly, the infotainment screen and the radio were still on, even though the DRLs and the HVAC had gone off.

Any ideas?

 

[Ian Key]

I'm still not sure of the best way to support the head end, but that's just a matter of experimenting. It's probably best to have the bed more or less central on the load bed rather than to one side, and support the head end in the centre.

Is something like this a possibility?

https://amzn.eu/d/asEToep

 

[Rolfe]

It's a good idea but probably overkill for this purpose, and I do want the footwells to carry luggage and provisions. I think using the small suitcase is probably the way to go.

I'm really puzzled about the car turning itself off though. I was so sure @DixieTGS was right about the key, but it still turned off with the key inside the car. And yet we have two examples that suggest this isn't actually a problem. In another thread, a member who had actually slept in his car, in the winter in Scotland, implied that it had stayed on all night, but when I asked him about it I don't think he came back to me. Also Bjorn Nyland drove an MG4 to the Arctic Circle and slept in it there. You could see the snow on the nearby mountains. If the car had turned off leaving him freezing, I think he'd have mentioned it.

Any further thoughts?

I think I'll have to get a new airbed though. This one, which is probably 30 years old and more, is not staying inflated all night, probably due to the perished bung. I've seen one advertised in Argos which comes with a mains-operated pump for inflation (and deflation I think), which would save faffing around with a hairdryer. It's 2 inches longer than the one I have (185 cm as opposed to 180 cm) and the load bed is only 180 cm, but I think the extra 2 inches will probably squeeze in.

 

[DixieTGS]

Can the cars tyre pump be used for inflating low pressure high volume things like this with a suitable adaptor?

 

[Rolfe]

Possibly, but there's no problem running a pump off the VtL.

 

[Archev]

What about these plastic storage boxes with lids. There’s loads about from various stores. One or two of them might sit well between the front and back seats and offer support to an air bed etc. food, cook pots etc could be stored in them. There’s a multitude of sizes available. Some are a wee bit flimsy but others are plenty strong enough.

 

[Rolfe]

Good thought. I might actually have something like that in the house already.

Any further thoughts about how to make the car stay on when there's nobody in the driver's seat?

 

[Archev]

Good thought. I might actually have something like that in the house already.

Any further thoughts about how to make the car stay on when there's nobody in the driver's seat?

Your aforementioned carry on suitcase sat on the seat ? Depends on the weight of it ?

 

[Rolfe]

Won't be easy because the seat back is folded forwards. And I don't think it would be heavy enough. I need to know how the people who have done it have organised it, really. I was so sure the key would do the trick.

 

[Archev]

Won't be easy because the seat back is folded forwards. And I don't think it would be heavy enough. I need to know how the people who have done it have organised it, really. I was so sure the key would do the trick.

Would one of these rfid pouches or boxes do the trick and block the signal?

 

[sila0164]

Have you tried putting it into the ready state?

Maybe putting weight in the drivers seat?

There might be a sensor to tell whethter or not someone's there

 

[DaevM]

I've been trying to think what the checklist should be of things to take with me. Thoughts appreciated.

Airbed or lilo
Sleeping bag
Something to raise the foot end of the airbed
Water
Collapsible bucket
Kettle (VtL adaptor needed)
Washing kit and towel
Something in the way of food for an evening snack and breakfast
Folding garden chair and picnic table

What have I forgotten?

Kitchen sink springs to mind ? ?