Dupont’s Camping Auto
I found pictures of Dupont’s camping auto on Flickr and I just had to share them with you.
It says:
Photo shows a Stoddard-Dayton camping car built for engineer and politician Thomas Coleman du Pont (1863-1930). Du Pont used the vehicle during his supervision of the construction of the DuPont Highway through the state of Delaware.
We actually have similar technology for hatchback cars today. One company is called Sportz Dome To Go.
Before buying my Springbar, I seriously looked at these tents, but I had problems with it. I like to set up camp, but sometimes we need to take the car for supplies, to head to the lake or even make a trip into town. If my tent is attached to my car, I’d have to break camp in order to make a firewood run.
One thing I liked about it was that I could sleep in the car and let the heater keep me warm, but since the tent is situated at the back of the car, I’d be constantly worried about car exhaust setting my tent on fire. It just wasn’t something that would work for me.
After looking at this video for the setup in a pickup, I have NO desire to own one of these tents. There are EIGHT poles?! Why does this tent need to be so complicated when my Springbar goes up in fifteen minutes?!
In the end, I prefer to use my car as a transport vehicle and keep my shelter separate from it. It appears that Thomas Coleman du Pont, however, did not agree with me.