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Sleep in an RV?

frankh

frankh

Well Known Member
Hi all,

I am looking at taking job that is 75 miles away from home and looking at possibilites of commute/stay over.

Its only a 30 minute flight but of course the fuel and would add up pretty quick...I.e 250 hours per year if done daily.

But what if I stayed overnight 2 nights a week??..well thats 150hr/year..thats doable (it is likely the saving of property tax increase near to this major city might pay for the commuting anyway).

But where to stay?..So I'm 5'8" and was wondering if I pulled out the PX seat back and cushions if there is enough room to lie flat (with the rudder pedals folded up) between the rear bulkhead and firewall?...

I think I'd need some styrofoam to make the three areas level (and not have the flap horizontal bar poking me in the back (maybe a simply plywood "shelf" to make the footwell level with the spar.

I was thinking if its possible to get flat then it should be quite comfortable. The airport is secure with a fence and provided I use a canopy cover then it would just look like a parked airplane,...

Thoughts?

Frank
 
The sounds like either the hottest and stuffiest, or the coldest most miserable place on earth, depending on the weather. I can't imagine it EVER being comfortable, though.

frankh said:
Hi all,

I am looking at taking job that is 75 miles away from home and looking at possibilites of commute/stay over.

Its only a 30 minute flight but of course the fuel and would add up pretty quick...I.e 250 hours per year if done daily.

But what if I stayed overnight 2 nights a week??..well thats 150hr/year..thats doable (it is likely the saving of property tax increase near to this major city might pay for the commuting anyway).

But where to stay?..So I'm 5'8" and was wondering if I pulled out the PX seat back and cushions if there is enough room to lie flat (with the rudder pedals folded up) between the rear bulkhead and firewall?...

I think I'd need some styrofoam to make the three areas level (and not have the flap horizontal bar poking me in the back (maybe a simply plywood "shelf" to make the footwell level with the spar.

I was thinking if its possible to get flat then it should be quite comfortable. The airport is secure with a fence and provided I use a canopy cover then it would just look like a parked airplane,...

Thoughts?

Frank
Click to expand...
 
bring car?

Is it possible to bring a car or truck and park it next to the plane? The airport where I used to fly out of, you could park a truck in your tie down spot when you flew your plane, but not sure about if the plane was still there? That may be a bit more comfortable - back of a camper shell. Maybe you could be the night watchman- for a spot to sleep!
 
Could be done

I think it is doable. May not be real comfy.

Sounds fun to be able to fly that much for work. You might could just get a tent and air matress and see if the local airport or FBO will let you camp out.

If you are doing work at the second location I will assume that you will have some form of ground transportation thier. How about a low dollar minivan. The one that I currently have (donated to me) had a bench seat in the back and 3 seperate sections in the middle row. You can remove the rear and 2 of the middle ones and still have a large area for camping out with 3 seats for passengers if need be. Chevy Venture 24MPG .

Just some ideas.
 
+1
Bring an old station wagon or something. you'll want it for ground support while you're there anyway.
I keep an old Chevy pickup at an airport I go to alot. It's theft proof....no self respecting car thief would take it.
 
This is in the pacific NW so not hugely hot and most of the time comfortably above freezing. Plus if i used styrofoam to level the sleeping area that would add a significant layer of insulation..plus the sleeping pad and and bag wold be on top of that.

ventilation might be a concern however..it will cetainly be fogged up before the flight home..:)

As to the car, I'd thought of that and can comfortably sleep in the car (6'4" of stretch out space). the problem is that sleeping in your car is illegal and can lead to hefty fines, not to mention its not exactly safe in this built up area.

The car basically is outside the security fence on a major street so sadly can't get to the airplane.

Might have to do a sleep experiment in my hangar one night..:)


Frank
 
frankh said:
Might have to do a sleep experiment in my hangar one night..:)


Frank
Click to expand...

Bingo - no mater what anyone supposes, suggests, or guesses, it will only cost you one miserable (IMHO) night of sleep to find out if you like it or not.....

I slept in the back seat of the -8 one night at a locked up airport....sleeping in a sitting position wasn't that bad, but the fogging up and moisture was pretty uncomfortable!

Paul
 
Ironflight said:
Bingo - no mater what anyone supposes, suggests, or guesses, it will only cost you one miserable (IMHO) night of sleep to find out if you like it or not.....

I slept in the back seat of the -8 one night at a locked up airport....sleeping in a sitting position wasn't that bad, but the fogging up and moisture was pretty uncomfortable!

Paul
Click to expand...

You see this is rapidly becoming an engineering challenge..already the mind is wandering to ventilation or dehumidification devices...:)

I'll let you know how I get on..Assuming I get the job of course.

Cheers

Frank
 
No way

Just the humidity from your breathing will condense on everything. I spent 1 night at Oshkosh in my Thorp it got cold so I closed the canopy you should have seen the condensation on every surface of inside of aircraft.
 
If you can find any way to do it fly every day

The last 15 years I worked I flew to work every day and it remains one of the great joys of my life. You can always find reasons not to do it and money is only one of them. The entire cost is not what you should look at, it is how much more am I going to have to pay to fly than to drive and can I afford that. I think it is a very bad idea to sleep in your plane for you and the plane. There are some days you are not going to be able to fly no matter how bad you want to and you are going to need backup transportation - evaluate taking that to work a couple of times a week. I don't think 75 miles is too far for a daily commute compared to 60 from Orange County across Los Angeles to the north side. How are you going to get from the airport to the work site and back to the airport? I bought an old car and left it at the airport after coordinating with the management. I bought my fuel there every week and they never complained as long as the car didn't look bad. The cost of insurance, taxes and maintenance have to be dealt with and you have to work out a scheme for getting weather information early in the morning when the towers are not reporting yet and you have to make daily go/nogo decisions. You also have to have plans for when you go and things go against you like weather and inflight failures. One tends to shave things a little finer if you are doing it twice a day every day and you can get in some very tight corners. And then there is the real job - if you are not there on time bright eyed and bushy tailed every day for work you will be looked upon as an unreliable employe that doesn't have his priorities straight.

Good luck with working it out.

Bob Axsom
 
I commuted in my RV about 3x week the first 6 months I had it. Work was 75 miles away & took me 1:45 in commuter traffic. No easy route to drive there but, it took me 15 RV minutes, then a short 5 min bus ride into downtown Clearwater. I'd pick up the bus right at the airport gate.
An added bonus was it actually cost less to fly then using my 15mpg jeep plus tolls.

If you're going to try tenting it. Make sure you get a good Thermarest cushion. They are the best. You'll be happy you have it.
 
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I am going to assume you have either a -6A or a -7A. I'd dont think it could be done in any other RV. A tailwheel RV would have your head at a decline, and that won't be good for sleeping.

I am going to also assume you are young, because I am not that old, but I would not consider this as a regular thing.

But it can be done. I was considering how to put a 6-foot surfboard in the -6A and I tested out laying down with the passenger seat removed. I am 5'10" and I fit (barely). But surfboards don't bend, so getting it in was not possable without canopy removal.

I did consider using the seat back as an extension toward the rudder peddles. But as I mentioned, I would not do this regularly, so it is way down on the list of things to try.

There are dehumidifying bags that you can get at the hardware store that may help. I think they are ment for hanging in the closet. So you might consider this on your trial run.

Let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks all,

Ths job is also 75 statute miles away an Googlemaps indicates its 1:45 drive. My first thought was to drive twice a week and fly once a week. The car gives me the mobile sleeping platform. I know this works pretty well because I have slept in it before. I take the rear set cushion out and I have 6'4" of stretch out room. for two nights a week say a Monday and Wednesday its perfectly adequate.

I was going to leave the Friday commute as a "treat day"..i.e take the RV and avoid the Friday afternoon traffic.

Then I started doing some reduced power mpg measurements..By golly at 2100RPM and 18" MP the RV get about 28 statute mpg at around 120kts..Well my Neon gets low thrities.. Gosh darn, thats pretty close!

The plant is right next door to the airport (folding bike or shuttle bus).

Commuting 5 days per week in the airplane is going to be pushing 250 hours per year, that to me is a lot of maintenance to keep up with and not showing up bright eyed and bushy tailed every day is clearly not an option.

But flying 1,2 or 3 days a week is doable..providing I came up with somewhere to sleep 2 nights a week.. hence the crashing in the airplane idea.

Heck who knows, like Bob said, if I take this job and start commuting the RV might be the natural choice as long as there are backup plans, clearly in the winter one would have to allow enough time to drive in case the freezing level dropped too low in IFR, and allow enough margin not to get caught in the middle.

Frank
 
Frank--
did you say hangar? How about an air bed. Hum---the pilots lounge at the FBO might be more inviting. Or---a small tent -like a Eureka dome tent is small enough to fit in the plane.
You forgot to mention about EATING----
Tom
 
Yes its a 7a.. I am (in part) an HVAC enginer.. I know there will be experimental data in the ASHRAE guides on how much moisture the average human body pumps out so I should be able to come up with the required ventilation rate to avoid hitting the dewpoint on the side panels of the fuse. My guess is it may be hard to do this with a bucket of dessicant...a fun paper excercise to look at though.

A hangar yes... This comes down to the whole deal of "stealth sleeping".. namely that as sleeping in your car is illegal, how does one fly beneath the radar? Sleeping in someones hangar, storage unit, garage (all either in or out of the car/airplane) two nights a week is entirely doable.

Yes I'm young..as in I'm 50..:)

As to eating, there are usually microwaves, showers, workout facilities in large companies, a small portable TV set can be packed in theovernight bag. Simply take enough food with me to prepare on the two days away from home.

This of course is the challenge engineers just love.. How to optimise the amount of cash outlay while acheiving the required objectives..I.e how to be alert at work and maintain a decent home life.

Its a just areally cool thing to be able to figure out..:)
 
Camping out

I commute 65 miles one way, and "camp out" up to two nights a week in town. Shower at work after the shift then go crash in an old church van I picked up with 250K+ miles on it for a few hundred dollars. (Prayed on alot!) Put a twin mattress, inverter and Toyotmi heater in it. Good to about 25 below. I also have a chair. It stays parked at work, no tags or insurance. For me, this is the minimum space I need for a regular work schedule. Really camping out in an airplane would be doable, provided its a one off event, vacation travel or some such. It really is no way to live. Even though it's comfortable for sleep, moving around inside is always hunched over, and outside of a portable dvd player or books, nothing much to do in my free time except go someplace and spend money. Bathroom issue. It is nice having a place to crash when the snow storm blows through or I an too trashed from work. Sleeping in an airplane for work? Not for me.
 
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Ironflight said:
I slept in the back seat of the -8 one night at a locked up airport....sleeping in a sitting position wasn't that bad, but the fogging up and moisture was pretty uncomfortable!

Paul
Click to expand...

Wow. I'd have to be sleep deprived for days to pull that off. I wish I could sleep sitting up in a hard, narrow seat with no leg room and a few degrees of recline. I'll be thinking of your rv8 slumber on the next coach trip to Asia.

Hey Frank, OOC, do you do your own annuals? I can say that I usually have an opportunity to see how well I fit in the cockpit with all the innards pulled out for the annual, and the last thing on my mind is 'comfort'. However, 'Tylenol' does come to mind. Good luck with the new job.
 
gossip

Yip, we always seemed to have one or two guys that would try to do the same thing - under the radar. Problem was, it just couldn't be kept a secret and thus his "lifestyle" became interesting conversation fodder at the water fountain.
 
If you have a hangar at the work end (sounds as expensive as a cheap apartment), is there enough room for a small travel trailer inside? Saw that setup as recently as last weekend...
 
Maybe

You know - a little hibachi grill would fit perfectly in the left seat while you were lounging in the right - you could use it to cook as well as provide heat and help minimize condensation. Oh, you might want to fit a little removable chimney in your canopy, just don't forget to attach a "remove before flight" flag. Wait - you DO have a carbon monoxide detector in the cockpit, right????
 
frankh said:
But flying 1,2 or 3 days a week is doable..providing I came up with somewhere to sleep 2 nights a week.. hence the crashing in the airplane idea.
Click to expand...

Unfortunate turn of phrase. I think I know what you meant :)

- mark
 
You need to get a "crash pad". I live in Milwaukee and work in Houston. I looked at all sorts of options, but ended up renting a room. Depending on where you are at, for $2-500 a month you should be able to find a nice furnished room to rent. It's already tough being away from home, you really need to find a comfortable place to stay. It's not just for sleeping, but a place where you can relax with something cold to drink after a long day. Check "craigslist". You will find something there.

Alternately, 75 miles is "commutable" you may just consider buying a diesel and lots and lots of audio books.
 
Travel Trailer?

Any place to put a cheap, small (16ft) travel trailer close by? Many old ones can be found in the low thousands... If you don't have power, no huge deal I guess. At least a decent bed, propane stove and heat, and a comfortable place to sit (i.e a closet with a portable toilet).
 
JonJay said:
Frank, where is your work location?
Click to expand...

Looking at Hillsboro oregon (nect door to the airport in fact)..I live just North of Corvallis.

Havent got the offer yet, have a salesman on the inside for my talents and the interview is this Thursday, phone screen went well obviously.

Just thinking of options at the moment.

Cheers

Frank
 
Sleeping in an RV

I've done the exact thing you are contemplating, except in a Mooney. I used an aluminum folding cot (the kind with a 2" foam mattress). I built aluminum leg extensions for the front two sets of legs (nearest my head) removed the set of rear legs and placed this rearmost part in the hatrack. With the leg extensions, the cot was raised so that it was above the seat backs.

There was only maybe 4 or 5 inches above my nose as I would lie on my back, but it really worked great. It helped being 5'9" and 145 lbs. It was a little difficult to get into and out of, but not too bad.

I flew (and slept) all over including several days at Oshkosh. I slept very well, much better than in a tent on the ground. Saved a ton of money and had lots of adventures.

I've since sold the Mooney, building an RV-6 now. Tell me if it works for you.
 
I live in Hillsboro (well, Aloha, but i'm about 10 min from Hillsboro airport) and commute to Salem. Sometimes I get to take the airplane, like today. :D

It takes about an hour to make the drive.

To commute by plane...

1. 12 minutes out to the airport.
2. 3 minutes of preflight.
3. 5 minutes to get the engine warm and taxi to the end of the runway.
4. 15 minutes enroute.
5. Another 5 minutes securing the plane.
6. 5 more minutes getting into my buddies hangar, changing into bike shoes, and putting air in the bicycle tire.
7. 15 minutes to bike to the office (with traffic).

For a net total travel time of... One hour and two minutes. That's a very optimistic estimate, normally it takes an hour and 15 minutes. Today took longer because I had a cup of coffee with my hangar neighbor before leaving this morning. Also, the return took longer because I had to divert due to weather (i'm VFR only).

Many times i'll practice maneuvers or make an extra landing along the way. So, while it takes me longer to commute this way, it is very enjoyable.
 
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