Camping in a 2 Door?

[Tahoe Diesel]

Hello to all,

New to the forum and doing some research for a planned purchase of a 97/98 Tahoe with the 6.5 turbo diesel with tailgate (not barn doors). So far I've learned that the 6.5 diesels were only produced in the 2 door body style, and are quite rare. (considering Yukon also)

This truck will be my daily driver and I'm also planning to use it for off-road camping/fishing/hunting trips, where I'll be wanting to sleep in the back (not interested in a diesel pick-up with a camper-shell). I'll be permanantly removing the rear seats and installing a fresh water tank and storage compartment in the footwells with a false floor mounted flush with the rear deck. Also, re-locating the spare wheel to an exterior rear-mount carrier.

So, with this in mind I have a few questions for you 2dr owners:

1. Is there enough room for my slender 5'-11" body to sleep comfortably back there, i.e. stretched out? (even laying diagonally, if necessary) - Dimensions anyone?

2. Is there an aftermarket rear bumper with a swing-away style spare wheel carrier available? I've seen the kind that mount to the hitch receiver. However, that spot will be reserved for a dirt bike carrier. I could mount the spare on the roof, but only as a last resort.

3. What are the pro's and cons of the two available 4x4 shifters; electronic dash-mount and the manual floor shifter?

I'm really hoping the 2dr will be big enough for me to camp in. If not, It'll be disapointing as I really like the look of the 2dr Tahoe/Yukon. In which case, I'll be looking into a diesel Suburban which will be a bit of challenge off-road and a real pain to find parking in my congested city.

Thanks.

 

[IRQVET]

Welcome to the forum.

As for sleeping in a 2 door Tahoe/Yukon . . . maybe with the tailgate down you could fit in there all stretched out, but who knows. I've never met anyone who purchased a 2 door for camping. Usually, people buy the 2 door because they like the look, all 2 doors are rare, or they just like driving a full size SUV that isn't enormous.

 

[Tahoe Diesel]

Thanks for the welcome, Norcal.

driving a full size SUV that isn't enormous

I live and drive daily in San Francisco, so I'd guess you would have first-hand experience of what that's like? Enormous SUV's make for a tough life around here, so the 2dr would be ideal in the city. But will it be big enough to camp in? Leaving the tailgate down with my feet sticking out isn't gonna fly though, LOL!

I did sleep in the back of a 2001 Grand Cherokee on a dirt bike trip a while back, and I remember that it was a tight fit, but I did feel very comfortable and slept very well...although, I think the bbq steak and baked potatoes flushed down with lots of beer helped out with that

Surely a 2dr Tahoe has as much length back there as a Jeep GC?

 

[blizz]

I've done it plenty of times comfortably at the beach. What I'll do is back up so that the barn doors are facing the ocean so we get a nice cool breeze, fold the seat down and put some blankets back there and crash out. I'm just shy of 6' so you should be fine. I've been toying around the idea of taking it to a park to camp in the back, however, here in S.Texas some sort of AC is a must. I did make one of those ice chest redneck AC deals but I haven't had the chance to use it yet. They also make a tent that connects to the rear of the tahoe and that acts as the bed or above ground storage and then you have the rest of the tent for whatever else.

 

[Tahoe Diesel]

OK, but did the barn doors need to be open for the room as well as the fresh air?

Agreed on the AC. Be interesting to hear how well the home-made dealio works out for you? I was thinking about one of those manufactured igloo coolers with the fan modified into the lid; I've seen them advertised for use in small airplanes.

For heat, I have an Espar diesel heater that I picked up cheap on Ebay.

I think the tent addition is a great idea if you have a companion and the weather is nice. I'll be heading out to wilderness areas (bear country) all year around. I'll sleep a lot better in the security and shelter of a comfy SUV

---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 AM ----------

I imagine completly removing the seats will give me more room than simply folding them down? Also, if you slide the front seats all the way forward, and maybe even remove the center console if it protudes past the seats, that should be more than enough, right? I'm pretty sure that's what I did in the Jeep.

 

[99Yuk]

I'm going to ask a dumb question, couldn't you just take a tape measure and measure the back of the truck with the seats removed or folded down? Try and see if measured straight back from the front seats gives you enough room, or maybe diagonal?

As an aside. I've camped out in the back of my four-door with the seats folded down just fine. I used four comfortors for the bottom, and one or two to cover up with, and idled the truck all night for heat. Lots of room to strech out. The last time I had to camp out was last fall when I volunteered as a HAM radio marshal at the Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft. I wasn't going to spend $140per night. I slept like a baby.

But you didn't ask the most important question about camping out in the truck. Mosquitos!!!
I once camped out in my Jeep XJ, and I swear every mosquito within a 5km radius found holes and came on in. Camping out in the Yukon, nothing! That was the best part, no mosquitos!

 

[blackcoffee]

Personally I went the same route as you and along with my Daily Driver/Towing this is my camping/off road vehicle as well. Get like a Surco roof rack and tire mount and just mount the spare tire on the roof. I took the rear seats out and its got some plush black carpet all throughout which is thicker then the OEM carpet and even without any kind of cushion its pretty dang comfy. I'm like 5'9 normal size. I fit really comfortably and there's tons of room. I've camped with 3 people in the rear before and 2 in the front seats.

 

[Tahoe Diesel]

couldn't you just take a tape measure and measure the back of the truck with the seats removed or folded down?

I could, if I had the truck. This is just me trying to do my homework. Wanna make sure the truck will meet my needs before I travel across country somewhere to pick up one of these rare beasts.

I actually spotted a 2dr gasser here in my neighborhood while driving around this morning...whipped out the tape measure and measuring from the exterior, got about 71" from the inside edge of the tail light to the edge of the passenger door. It looked as if that was a pretty good approximation of the available interior space. So, with that and what you guys are telling me, I think I'm good to go...71" is the magic number for me.

I've camped with 3 people in the rear before and 2 in the front seats.

Wow! hope the windows were cranked?

Thanks for the responses!

 

[99 2dr]

I have spent many nights in the back of my 2 door hoe with the back seat folded down. May I ask if you are doing this as a hobby, or a job? Where are you going to be camping at?