MOTOR CAMPING
St. Louis Canyon, Starved Rock Park, Illinois, one of the many beautiful parks of this state affording camping grounds
MOTOR CAMPING
BY
J. C. LONG
AND
JOHN D. LONG
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1923
Copyright, 1923,
By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY
The Quinn & Boden Company
BOOK MANUFACTURERS
RAHWAY NEW JERSEY [[v]]
CONTENTS
PAGE
Chapter I. [Over the Horizon Line] 1
Introductory—Extent and Growth of Motor Camping—The Touring Spirit—The Economy of Motor Camping—Week-enders.
Chapter II. [Saving Money by Motor Camping] 5
How One Family Saved Money—How a Farmer Did It—A Boston Woman—Two New York Couples—Four Ohioans and Their Outfit.
Chapter III. [The Week-end Camper] 15
Week-end Wild Men—Numerous Camping Sites Near the Large Cities—Camp Sites Near New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles—The State Forester—Clothing—Bed—Bedding—Expense—Food—Fire and Fuel—Tools—Tents—Hammocks—Medical Kit—Children—Church.
Chapter IV. [Camping With a Ford] 31
Number of Fords, Mobility of Fords, How to Camp with Them—The Foldaway Bed—The McMillan Bed—The Carefree Folding Outfit—A.B.C. Bed for Fords Only—Universal Car Bed.
Chapter V. [A Home-made Camping Outfit] 38
Standing the Test of an 8,000 Mile Trip—Good Water Supply Everywhere—Army Cots and Canvas the Basis of Outfit—Complete Directions—Mosquito Netting Sides Permit Adequate Ventilation.
Chapter VI. [Equipment for the Journey] 46
Motor Bungalows—Trailers—Tents: Those Extending from the Car; Those Resting upon the Ground, but Attached to the Car, and Tents Separate from the Car—How to Estimate Canvas Duck—More Elaborate Tents[[vi]]—Combination Tent-beds—Car Beds—Cooking Equipment—Wood, Oil, Gasoline and Alcohol Stoves—Campfires and How to Manage Them—Broilers and Grids—Cooking Utensils—Tools, Lights, etc.—Water Bags and Filters—Canvas Bungalows—Refrigeration.
Chapter VII. [How to Choose a Camp] 80
Securing Permission—Church Grounds and School-yard Camp Sites—Municipal Camp Sites—Autumn and Winter Camping—Water Supply—Wells and Springs Doubtful—Selecting a Camping Site—Disposal of Refuse—Latrines—National and State Forest Camps, General Regulations—State of New York Regulations—New York State Parks and Forest Preserves—Adirondack and Catskill State Parks.
Chapter VIII. [Fire and Food for the Camper] 96
Raw Foods—Hotels—Various Fuels Compared—Fireplaces Provided at Most Camp Sites—Wet Weather Fire-making—Primitive Cooking Methods—Prepared Foods—Corrective Foods—Camp-fire Cooking—The Dingle Stick—Forestry Regulations Concerning Camp Fires—Coffee and Flapjack Making—Wayside Markets—Men Cooks—How to Cook a Quick Meal—Improvised Fireplaces—A Varied Dietary—An Ideal Meal—A Balanced Menu—Recipes for Camp Cooking—A List—Biscuits, Flapjacks, Corn Bread, Corn Meal Mush, Fish, Rabbits, Squirrel, Game Birds, How to Boil Potatoes, Baking in Clay, etc.
Chapter IX. [Camp Health and Recreation] 122
Making a Pleasure Rather Than a Business of Camping—Coöperation in the Camp—Rightly Selecting the Camp Site—Playing by the Way—Basket-ball, Quoits, etc.—Exercise—Emergencies, First Aid—Prone Pressure Method of Restoring the Unconscious—Poisons and Antidotes—Position of Tent—Supposed Hardships of Camping Mostly Illusory—Keeping Dry—Keeping Out Insects—Sample List for a Medicine Kit—Care of the Car—Evening Sports.
Chapter X. [Sleeping Quarters] 140
Importance of Comfortable Sleeping Arrangements—Methods of Sleeping in the Car—Sleeping on the Ground—Beds of Boughs or Browse—Autumn Leaves—Folding Cots—Air Beds—Sleeping Bags—Combination [[vii]]Bags and Beds—Home-made Mattresses—Sleeping in Hammocks—Night-caps—The Touring and Sleeping Outfit of a Tourist Veteran of Ten Years’ Experience—Driving Out the Sleep Disturbers, Flies and Mosquitoes.
Chapter XI. [Primitive Camping] 157
How Two Adventurers Can Rough It—Simple Supplies—Making One’s Own Coffee Pot—Plentiful Food in the Wilds.
Chapter XII. [Where to Go] 168
The Motor Camper’s Continental Range—The Consequent Need of Provision for All Touring Emergencies—The Great Continental Highways—East and West, Bankhead, Dixie, George Washington, Lincoln, Old Trails, National Parks, Pikes Peak, Ocean to Ocean, Old Spanish, Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt International, Park to Park, Yellowstone—North and South, Atlantic, Dixie, Jackson, King, Jefferson, Lee, Meridian, Mississippi Valley, Pacific, Pershing, Puget Sound to Gulf—Also Many Others of Less Importance Listed and Described—Description and Lists of National Parks and Forests, State Parks and Forests and a Few Leading Municipal Camping Parks, Followed in Next Chapter by a List of These Camp Sites Arranged Alphabetically by States—Description of Methods in Vogue in National Parks and Forests in Connection with Motor Campers, and Provision Made for Their Comfort—The National Parks Listed—Dates of Seasonal Opening of Various National Parks—State Parks and Forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin—The Most Striking Municipal Camping Parks, Such as Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Denver, and Alameda, California—Desirability of Attracting Motor Campers.
Chapter XIII. [List of Camping Sites by States] 204
A List of About Two Thousand Camping Sites Arranged Alphabetically by States—Municipal Camp Sites, State Camp Sites, and Camp Sites in National Parks and Forests, Beginning with Alabama and Closing with Wyoming—This List Indicates in Tabular Form the Facilities Offered at Each Camp Site. [[viii]]
Chapter XIV. [State Rules and Regulations for Motor Tourists] 312
Motor Laws of the Different States as Affecting Motor Tourists from Other States—States Listed Alphabetically—Also Trailer License Laws of the Several States, Each State in Alphabetical Order—Suggested Regulations for Camping Parks—Tabulation of Information Concerning the Fishing and Game Laws of the Various States—States Given in Alphabetical Order. [[ix]]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
[[1]]
MOTOR CAMPING
CHAPTER I
OVER THE HORIZON LINE
Introductory—Extent and Growth of Motor Camping—The Touring Spirit—The Economy of Motor Camping—Week-enders.
Most of us are possessed of the desire to be somewhere else. Since the dawn of history hordes of men have pressed into new countries. Sometimes the expeditions have been in search of food and plunder, but mixed in with these motives has been the human passion for something better, the hope for sunnier scenes lying over the horizon.
Hemmed in by the restrictions of modern business life, people no longer, even in this Western World, move by tribes or companies into new homelands. But the restlessness remains.
In the United States a new and increasing way of satisfying this desire for recreation and adventure has swept over the country. Motor camping has become a leading national pastime. Thousands play golf every year, tens of thousands play tennis, hundreds of thousands engage in baseball, but in the past few years millions have gone in for motor camping. There are over ten million cars in this country. Each [[2]]year the number is increasing, and each year the number of families that join the national horde of motor campers mounts higher.
The New York Times estimates that at least five million cars were used in camping trips during the past year.
The number of visitors to the National Forests alone now mounts up into the millions. As far back as 1917 the U. S. Forest Service reported a total of three million tourists during the summer. In 1922 this had increased to 5,350,000, of which 3,692,000 were motorists. The motoring visitors to the National Parks during the past season totaled nearly 700,000. More than three-fifths of those visiting the National preserves to-day come by motor car and a large proportion of these are touring campers.
In Colorado during 1922 there were 1,173,000 motorists visiting the parks and forests in that state, as compared with 277,000 who traveled by other means.
The immense popularity of motor camping is easy to understand when one realizes that this pastime is romantic, healthful, educative, and at the same time economical.
Father can take the whole family for a two weeks’ or a month’s trip in his car at virtually the same cost as staying at home. The room rent he will have to pay on his trip will range from nothing to fifty cents or a dollar a day for the family.
There are many thousands of acres of free camping grounds in the national and state public playgrounds. [[3]]In addition, nearly every town west of the Appalachians has its camp site, while on the Atlantic Seaboard there is a large increase in the number of municipal camp sites every season. The approximately 2,000 civic sites, which are listed elsewhere in this book, make no charge for accommodations or merely a nominal one. The towns in addition to the spirit of hospitality are anxious to have tourists for business reasons. The Executive Secretary of the Denver Civic Association has written: “An auto camp, in my judgment, is just as essential to any city, town or community that wants to thrive and prosper and keep ahead of the times, as a railway station.”
With provisions costing no more than at home, with moderate investment for camping equipment which will last for several years, the family can get a vacation in the open, can see other parts of the country, can get an appreciation of the national life which could hardly be realized in any other way. To the boy living in Connecticut, Georgia can become an actual reality rather than an inch or two of space on the map. The eastern family which has a full summer vacation can readily visit California.
But an extended period of time is not needed in order to enjoy the satisfactions of motor camping. There are wildernesses within a hundred mile range or less of any of our large cities, with the result that many motorists are becoming week-end campers. The New Yorker can find near-by camp sites in the Catskills, and in the State Forests of northern New [[4]]Jersey. The Philadelphian may enjoy the wildernesses in southern New Jersey. Baltimore has a Forest Reserve actually adjoining the city, while near many of the western cities, such as Denver and Los Angeles, are some of the beauty spots of the world.
This chapter has aimed merely to sketch briefly the extent and some of the possibilities of motor camping. The following chapters discuss in detail the subjects with which the motor camper is concerned, such as preparation for the journey in the way of equipment, conditions he will find, where to camp for short or long trips, laws to be observed.
Motor camping is simple. With a little foresight in preparing for the adventure, and the observance of a few common sense principles in traveling any family may start on its camping trip with the assurance of happy days ahead. [[5]]
CHAPTER II
SAVING MONEY BY MOTOR CAMPING
How One Family Saved Money—How a Farmer Did It—A Boston Woman—Two New York Couples—Four Ohioans and Their Outfit.
Some motor campers carry an elaborate equipment of supplies and live in the height of comfort at comparatively moderate expense. Motor camping, however, is also a possibility for the very limited purse. It is the purpose of this chapter to give a few specimen budgets and experiences of campers.
Almost any way you may arrange it a motor camping trip can be made to save your vacation money.
Even if you tour as luxuriously as is possible for a camper, you will save a great deal of money over what your tour would cost traveling by rail and stopping at hotels.
Details of different camping factors, such as equipment, are covered in subsequent chapters.
How One Family Saved Money by Motor Touring
This family with guests numbered five adults. They made a motor camping tour from Bemidji, Minn., to Kansas City, Mo., and return. They had an inexpensive car, equipped with a modest [[6]]camping outfit. They made the excursion described in thirty-one days, traveling at the average leisurely speed of seventeen miles an hour. Their total outlay for food was $66.76, and the entire cost of gasoline and oil for the journey was $34.27. This brought the total traveling expenditures for a party of five adults from Bemidji to Kansas City and return to the sum of $101.03.
Had this party taken the same tour by rail the cost would have been as follows:
| Excursion fare Bemidji to Kansas City, 5 adults | $233.75 |
| Pullman berths, both ways for 5 adults | 60.68 |
| Meals at $1.00 per for 5 adults, 31 days | 465.00 |
| Hotels, 25 nights for 5 adults at $6.50 per night | 162.50 |
| Total | $921.93 |
| Cost of tour, motor camping | 101.03 |
| Money saved by motor camping | $820.90 |
The railroad expenses, as will be observed, are put very low, as there is no allowance for such items as tips. And, furthermore, the party of five are assigned to only three Pullman berths. The hotel expenses, too, are drawn down as low as possible. In fact, had the trip been taken by rail the estimates given would have been exceeded.
How a Farmer Did It
An Iowa farmer with a small car of popular make started out with his wife and three children to see [[7]]the Colorado mountains. He expected to take a trip of about seven hundred miles out and back. Before they were home again they had covered a distance of more than seventeen hundred miles. By the way, fully fifty per cent of all motor campers are farmers.
This farmer tells us that from start to finish of their motor camping vacation, they did not sleep in a bed, eat off a table, or sit on a chair.
Their equipment consisted of a small tent, the most necessary clothes, a tin cup, a tin plate, and a tin spoon for each person. They had a big butcher knife, one fork, a skillet for cooking meat, a two-quart pail for other cooking and to serve as a coffee-pot; also a gallon pail in which to carry water. A knife and fork per person were also provided.
For covering at night they took along a good supply of blankets. Their food was bread, meat and canned fruit—all bought in the small towns through which the family toured. In addition milk, butter and an occasional chicken were purchased from farmers in the country as they passed through.
Firewood for the cook-fire and straw for bedding in the tent they got for the asking. The cooking was done over an Indian fire on the ground.
Their car was in good condition at the start. They drove moderately and carefully, and their only expense on the car was for gas and oil. Their vacation trip of seventeen hundred miles was taken at but little more cost than the expense of staying at home. Any other kind of an excursion trip for [[8]]these people would have been out of question as they could not have stood the price.
Equipment which was sufficient for the family of an Iowa farmer, comprising himself, his wife, and three children, on a 1,700-mile trip
A Boston Woman
Now for some details of a motor camping tour taken by a Boston woman and her friends. This trip involved much more elaborate preparation and considerable more expense than the case just given, but nevertheless was much more economical than a similar tour by rail and hotels.
This Bostonian after minimizing baggage as much as she thought possible took along the following items: one light-weight cloth-tailored suit, half a dozen tailored shirt-waists, one foulard gown to wear of an evening should occasion arise, the necessary underwear, a motor coat and bonnet. She also took extra wraps, steamer rugs and rubber coats. The clothing was packed in suit cases. The party consisted of eight people and took sleeping tents, each tent large enough for two. They took hammocks and folding beds so constructed that they could be bundled and tied on the rear of the car. The tents cost fifteen dollars each. They had two luncheon or tea baskets and three thermos bottles. The baskets used were circular in shape, about the size of a cart wheel, and contained small silver, cups, saucers, and plates for eight people, besides an alcohol cooking apparatus and numerous metal covered dishes and china platters. When these baskets [[9]]were closed they were carried after the manner of extra tires.
With this outfit and two cars these motorists toured through New England and a portion of Canada. They tented in open field or grove wherever night overtook them. Fresh eggs, milk, butter, and occasionally a chicken or two were obtained at moderate prices from farmhouses on the way.
Some long trips are made with a surprising economy not only in the matter of shelter and subsistence, but also in expenditure for motor supplies. A school principal in Montana made an excursion from his home to San Diego, Cal., and back. He logged a total distance of 2,503 miles. In doing this distance he used only 116 gallons of gasoline and three and a half gallons of oil. These cost the sum of $39.35, making his transportation cost him at the rate of a little more than a cent and a half a mile (1.6 cents). His mileage on gas figured out 21.58 miles to the gallon. Of course, in these figures no account is had of the wear and tear on the car or of depreciation.
Two New York Couples
Two New York couples forming a one-car touring party went motor camping through the Hudson River country. Their outfit was somewhat elaborate, and for the ladies consisted of toilet articles, underwear, flannel underskirts, linen shirt-waists [[10]]without collars, gray flannel shirt-waists, sweaters, high water-proof shoes with heavy soles, woolen kimonos, sun bonnets, motoring bonnets, heavy raincoats, khaki skirts, flannel night-dresses, stockings (including extra pairs of heavier weight), and slippers.
The men confined themselves to heavy flannel and khaki shirts, and two silk and wool negligee shirts each. In addition they took regular summer underwear and a set of woolens apiece. Besides khaki suits for use when motoring, they took along old suits which had been discarded for street and business wear.
Having sent for the catalogues of a number of sporting-goods houses, they selected from them and bought two patent automobile tents made of sea-island cotton and oiled in such a manner as to water-proof them. Each tent had a telescopic tent pole. The center of the rear tent wall was made to be guyed from the steering wheel of the car and the two corners of the rear wall were guyed to front and rear car wheels, thus providing two one-family houses, one on each side of the car.
This party was provided with a combination cooking outfit which included four cooking pots, coffee-pot, tea-pot, two frying pans, and four each of plates, cups, soup bowls, knives, forks, dessert spoons, and tea spoons. All these articles were of aluminum except the frying pans, and all nested in the large pot which was ten inches across and eleven inches high. The frying pans had folding handles. [[11]]There was also a porcelain, salt, pepper and mustard set that nested together, and two oblong cake pans, one slightly larger than the other. They took eight woolen blankets, four camp stools, a patent grate, a three-quarter size ax in sheath, a thirty-caliber rifle, a shotgun, fishing tackle and collapsible table.
The provisions taken consisted of tobacco, prepared coffee, pea-soup powder, tabloid tea, evaporated milk, flour, sugar, salt pork, bacon, cheese, baking powder, baking soda, beef-tea cubes, sweet chocolate and soda crackers.
The clothing was carried packed in four suit cases fastened to the trunk rack of the car. The tents were carried in large duffle bags on the running board, and the remainder of the outfit in bags placed in the tonneau.
The party at each stop made “a real Indian fire,” as they called it, by clearing a space on the ground about four feet across. Then with some yellow birch bark which they had previously gathered they kindled a small fire, later adding small branches, so that in a few minutes they had a low fire of pure coals. Next, two forked sticks sharpened at one end were driven into the ground, a cross pole was laid in the forks, and by means of a couple of wire links the coffee-pot was hung from the pole about eight inches above the fire. Soon the pot was boiling, and, adding evaporated cream, the coffee was ready.
The beds were fashioned in this wise. They [[12]]selected several small saplings about an inch and a half in diameter, and cutting them off just above a convenient crotch at the top, pointed the lower end, leaving the stick about twenty inches long. These were driven about a foot into the ground, forming thus four bed-posts. In driving the posts it was arranged so that the crotches were toward each other. Across were laid poles on each side. Again, across these longitudinal rails were laid a row of birch branches about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. While this foundation for a bed was being prepared the women would industriously gather a sufficient supply of balsam twigs to cover these improvised beds to a depth of eight inches. Over these last were spread the blankets, and they had beds fit for a king.
The cooking experience of this party was also successful. They mixed dough and put it in a greased cake tin. After raking away the coals they put the tin in the hole where the fire had been. The other cake tin was then placed on top, and the ashes and coals were heaped on over it. In fifteen minutes the hot bread was cooked to a turn. Potatoes in soaked newspapers were put under the ashes and came out in about half an hour cooked to perfection.
Thus these New Yorkers went motor camping for two weeks up and down the Hudson and Connecticut valleys at very small expense and with health-giving enjoyment. [[13]]
Four Ohioans Travel at $1.00 per Day Each
A party of four Ohians from Cleveland took a twelve-hundred-mile motor camping trip through their own and one or two adjacent states. They report that it cost them from a dollar to a dollar and a half a day to run their car. They state that their meals for four averaged two dollars and fifty cents a day. Lodging cost nothing. They had delicacies, too. Their refrigerator basket kept the butter cold and enabled them to have deliciously cool cantaloup, lettuce and tomatoes.
Personal baggage was kept down to the lowest possible amount. Two double suit cases rode on the baggage carrier, and two large duffle bags were placed in front of the suit cases. They also carried a tool outfit including a spade, hatchet, pick-ax and a coil of strong rope; also the usual repair kit for car and tires. The outfit just described weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. This list was found to meet every requirement and was easily packed in the car.
In addition to the articles already named the following items were also carried:
- One canvas tent 8¾ feet square.
- One A tent 8 by 10 feet.
- Four folding stools and cots.
- Blankets, ponchos and pneumatic pillows.
- Two waterproof duffle bags.
- Canvas water bottle.
- Folding water bucket and basin. [[14]]
- Two hatchets and clothes line.
- Aluminum cooking set.
- Alcohol stove and fuel.
- Two vacuum bottles and a refrigerator basket.
- Two electric flash lights.
- Camera and tripod.
- Fishing tackle.
- Canned provisions, coffee, sugar, etc.
- Tarpaulins and assorted straps.
From the experiences given the reader may see how widely equipment and expenses may vary according to the choice or economic ability of the motor camper. The equipment in addition to the car may range from almost nothing to what is quite elaborate. But whether simple or elaborate, motor camping is seen to be an economical way of taking one’s vacation. [[15]]
CHAPTER III
THE WEEK-END CAMPER
Week-end Wild Men—Numerous Camping Sites Near the Large Cities—Camp Sites Near New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles—The State Forester—Clothing—Bed—Bedding—Expense—Food—Fire and Fuel—Tools—Tents—Hammocks—Medical Kit—Children—Church.
Probably every dweller in civilization, whether of Main Street, Zenith City, or the metropolis, dreams of breaking loose some time and getting back to “fundamentals.” He wants to get off somewhere at the end of things, near the “jumping-off place.” Or he pictures himself on some long canoeing trip in Labrador. Perhaps his fancy turns to summer time in Alaska, or to the mystic beauties of central Asia. At any rate he wants a change. He wants primarily wild country and fresh air. He wants to shake off confining routine.
But this dweller is an ordinary sort of chap leading an ordinary life. He has perhaps but two weeks’ vacation during the year, which he finds have, somehow or other, been scheduled for visits to his own folks and to his wife’s relatives. So he puts away his dream of the wilderness and lives with a sense of being thwarted.
To-day, however, thousands are finding that they [[16]]can be week-end wild men. All they need is to step into a motor car, make certain inquiries, and they will soon be finding their way off the beaten path into the longed-for wilderness. Within the week-end motoring distance, within a distance of seventy-five miles, and usually much less, of the biggest cities of the country may be found wide deserted areas where man can commune with the stillness and the stars.
Falls at Stony Brook, Stokes State Forest, in Northern New Jersey
Pine forests in Southern New Jersey. Camping sites are available both in the North Jersey and the South Jersey State Forests
For New Yorkers
Take New York City, for example. Within sight of the upper part of Manhattan Island and accessible by ferries is the Palisades Interstate Park owned jointly by the states of New York and New Jersey. Of the total area of more than thirty-six thousand acres New Jersey owns some thousand acres of the section running for twelve miles along the Palisades ridge. In this nearer section the motorist may find secluded camping sites that seem almost out of the world of mankind, while in the Bear Mountain portion of the park there are great stretches that are a veritable wilderness.
Going further afield the week-ender from New York City can find camping sites in the Catskills at such places as Chichester, westward of Kingston. Up through the Westchester hills, too, are many beautiful and secluded spots where the New Yorker may be “far from the madding crowd” within a brief hour or two from the traffic of Fifth Avenue. If he is willing to spend several hours going forth [[17]]he can visit for his week-end the State Forests of North New Jersey. In these reserves are the ridge and western slope of a stretch of the Kittatinny Mountain range which slopes down on the west to the Delaware River. At Branchville as he approaches the State Forest he can call up the State Forester, who will accord the camper the courtesies of his department and assist the motorist in locating his camp site. Here camp sites, spring water, trout fishing, and small game hunting in season are offered without cost to the public. Three lakes where fishing, boating, and hunting may be had are near by. Wild deer, which may be hunted in season, exist in considerable numbers in the Kittatinny Mountains. The camp sites here available are of several kinds; some of them near good roads, some in clearings or old fields, and some deep in the woods. New Jersey residents’ applications naturally receive first attention, but there are thousands of acres, and visitors from other states are welcomed.
For Bostonians
Every large city in this country has remote spots within easy motoring distance where the week-end camper may be as far away from the crowd as desired. The Bostonian will find camping accommodations at Wellesley, or he can purchase a permanent site for his exclusive use not many miles from the city. The State Highway Department is planning a number of camp sites along Massachusetts roads. [[18]]
For Philadelphians
The resident of Philadelphia can cross the Delaware and find solace in the woods of South Jersey. The “Penn State Forest” of the South New Jersey group is five miles east of Chatsworth on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and consists of 2,700 acres of pine and cedar forest in one of the wildest sections of that state. In his own state the Philadelphian will find not far away the ranges of the Blue Ridge Mountains running northward toward the Pocono and the Delaware Water Gap, and even these last are not altogether beyond reach of the motorist faring forth for a week-end.
At Baltimore there is right at hand the Patapsco Forest Reserve on the outskirts of the city where camp sites are given free to any who apply for them. Permits are required, but no fee is charged. The State of Maryland maintains a series of camp sites along the National Pike between Baltimore and the Pennsylvania State Line. These camps are free and are “established for convenience, comfort and use of the people of Maryland and tourists who come into the state.” The nearest of these camp sites to Baltimore is Conococheague, seventy-nine miles west of the city.
Near Cleveland
Not far from Cleveland is the camping-ground of Marblehead, located on a peninsula combining the [[19]]advantages of water and woodland. There is also another wooded camp site near by at Amherst, Ohio.
Near Detroit
There are thousands of square miles of woodland available at moderate prices on the east coast of Michigan, but the motoring Detroiter who does not own his own shack in the woods can find accommodations in the many beautiful State Parks, those near by being Island Lake and Cedar Hill.
Near Cincinnati
The Buckeye who abides in Cincinnati may find week-end camping sites among the hills of southern Ohio or across the river in the State Parks of Kentucky.
For the Chicagoans
The dweller in Chicago who desires to go forth in his car for a week-end camping trip has a wide variety of choice as to location. He may find camp sites of natural wildness within the park system of his own city, especially along the Desplaines Valley. He may travel north into the woods of Wisconsin as far as the Cushing State Park, near Waukesha, or to the south he may reach the Indiana Turkey Run State Park, near Marshall, Parke County, of that state. This last park, almost due south of Chicago, is a tract of 470 acres, the largest tract in the [[20]]state that has never come under the woodman’s ax, and its trees are the largest and finest in the Middle West. In addition it may be said that there are dozens of towns in Illinois which have set apart outlying woodlands where the Chicago man can find fresh air and outdoor life.
Abundant Camps in West
As one works farther west, the possibilities for a quick journey into the wilderness become increasingly easy. The Rocky Mountain National Park is within ready motoring distance from Denver. California abounds in free playgrounds. There is the Los Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, the Santa Barbara National Forest a little farther north, and about seventy-five miles above San Francisco begin the Trinity National Forests.
In the beginning of his experience the week-end camper would do well to consult local motor clubs for maps and information regarding camp sites. He may find it wise to initiate his experience in week-end camping by going to those sites provided by various towns. There, save in the eastern sections of the country, he will likely be able to find stoves, shelter, sometimes even cut wood and electricity, already provided. These municipal motor camping sites are now numbered by the thousand, but they are not numerous yet east of Ohio. (Tabulation of motor camp sites by states is given in another chapter of this book.) [[21]]
One of the few of these motor camp sites in the east near New York City is the one at Rahway, N. J., about twenty miles southwest of Jersey City. This consists mostly of an open field in the City Water Works Reservation along the banks of the Rahway River, which flows through a wooded gorge about a hundred feet below the plateau of the camp site. As yet almost nothing is provided in the way of camp conveniences except camping space.
When the camper becomes less of a tenderfoot he may venture forth into wilder areas. Then he can write to his State Forester and learn where there are camp sites that he may occupy in the real wilderness within reach of his week-end tether.
The State Forester is usually a man after whom other politicians might pattern. There is not, as a rule, much money in his job. In the main he is doing it primarily for the love of the work, and he will take pains to help all those wishing to visit his domains. A State Forester of California, for instance, has made a special study of the motor campers requirements and makes these suggestions for his equipment.
Equipment Recommended by State Forester
“Clothing.—An old business suit of corduroy, khaki, or overall material. Include a sweater or mackinaw, and figure on medium-weight underwear. Underwear should be of wool, or two pairs of medium-weight cotton. Shoes should be easy on the feet and stout, with soles heavy enough for hobnails. A flannel shirt half size larger than usual should [[22]]be worn. Leggins of canvas or leather are an advantage, and buckskin gloves without cuffs are best for general use. The hat may be of felt with a moderately wide brim.
“Bed.—Air mattresses are the most comfortable beds for the mountains since they can be placed even on bare rocks. There are, however, a number of objections to them, one of which is their cost.
“Bedding.—The most serviceable bedding is an eiderdown quilt, with an extra covering of denim, and two light wool blankets. The quilt can be pinned with blanket pins along the bottom and side to form a sleeping bag. Wool quilts can be substituted for eiderdown, although they are not quite as warm. A 7 by 7 foot 10 ounce canvas will make an excellent bed cover to be placed next the ground, and is also useful as a pack cover. In a pine forest, pine needles, raked up before building the fire and with the cones removed, will make a wonderful bed.”
In addition to their desire to help, the State Foresters realize that besides its health values this camping movement is likely to have a profound effect on our national economic policy. We have been exhausting our timber supply. Every one knows about it, every one believes that forestry is a good thing, but it has been a political issue of such minor interest as to command little attention. As the average man develops the camping habit, comes to know the Forest Reserves, forestry will become a part of his life. He will meet the officials or their deputies, learn some of the problems, and have the same interest that he has in his home and his town. We may then see the time when conservation will receive the same intent attention as the income tax. [[23]]
Keeping Expenses Low
The expense of a week-end spent in motor camping may be made very slight. The equipment may be simple. Of course, the camper has a car to start with, whether flivver or something more elaborate.
An outdoor week-end tent to pitch alongside his car may be bought as cheap as $10.50. Or for about the same price he may get a bed to go from end to end of the car that will supply comfortable sleeping accommodations for two people. Special equipment of this sort is made for Ford touring and sedan types (see Chapter [IV]). If the week-end camper is ingenious he may rig up a bed of his own by disposing the seat cushions and his suit cases so as to form a foundation on which to lay his quilts and blankets. A bed inside the car is mighty convenient in rainy weather, but in a small car the quarters are a little close for complete comfort.
As for clothing, we have already had the advice of an experienced forester. Mr. Average Citizen, however, can usually get along with an old suit of clothes, an extra set of underwear and a second pair of socks. After a little experience, the week-end camper will be surprised to find how little he really requires in the way of extra equipment.
The Diet
When it comes to the matter of food, it is difficult to lay down rules, as there is such a difference in [[24]]the matter of taste and appetite. One man will get along finely with some hard-tack or stale bread to which he adds some canned beef and cheese. He will also take along some seasonable fruit. Mainly for the sake of something hot he will take along some ground coffee and a tin pail in which to cook it over an open fire or on a Boy Scouts’ theroz stove. With several loaves of bread, two pounds of the canned beef, a pound or two of cheese, and the fruit and coffee he will fare finely over the week-end. Another man must have his butter, hot meat, eggs, hot bread, etc., or he will suffer.
The Stove
It is a convenience to have some sort of a regular camp stove of the folding variety that will take wood fuel. An open fire may be made with very little fuel, and is most camplike. In some places an open fire is forbidden, and if permission to camp has to be secured from a private owner of a site favorable action is much more likely if it is stated that there will be no open camp fire. In rainy weather, too, the camp fire is likely to be a problem. If it is intended to depend on the open fire either under the shelter of a tent, if rainy, or in the open, it will be well to take along a few pieces of dry wood that may easily be split up for kindling.
The usual toilet articles will be taken along, and there will be some provision for containers to hold clothing, food, etc. The week-ender will not require [[25]]anything extensive in the way of containers, but he should have at least a suit case or two, or duffle bags. Of course, clothing will be much less mussed if packed in a suit case. The suit case or suit cases may be carried on the running board. Whatever is carried outside the car must be fastened on with great care and security, and well protected by water-proof covering against wet.
The week-ender will not need so much in the way of tools as one going for a longer trip, but he should not fail to have his ax, shovel, and huntsman’s knife in addition to his usual tools for the care of his car. For eating he can make out with tin plate, tin cup, knife, fork and spoon. Of course, he may take as elaborate a table outfit as he pleases, but he will not get as fine a tang out of his outing as he will if he roughs it a little. If he wishes to really rough it he may sleep out in the open in a sleeping bag. In case of rain he can roll under his car. Mr. Average Man, however, will not care to overdo in the way of roughing it, yet as a rule he will get along with little, particularly if he camps with a like-minded chum who with him mostly wants change and fresh air for the week-end.
The week-end camper will follow his usual washing methods in summer, but in winter, or when the temperature gets down to the frost level, he will have to modify his washing methods a little if he does not wish to suffer from cracked and chapped face and hands. When the mercury gets down to frost or below, don’t wash, but rub on vaseline, and [[26]]then to remove the dirt wipe it off thoroughly with a towel. This will leave the camper with a fairly clean appearance and with a smooth skin.
Family Camping
We have been all along considering this question of week-end motor camping from the masculine angle. This is not necessarily the only way to consider it. In many cases the motor campers are a man and wife, or even a family including one or more children. Of course, when a woman is along a little more preparation must be made; more clothing and equipment, more complete and systematic provision in the matter of food and cooking arrangements; more comfortable sleeping arrangements also should be arranged. A group of four would need at least one extra shelter tent. Such tents are very inexpensive and have the advantage, since they have no poles, of folding up into a small space so that they can readily be carried on the running boards.
Selecting the Site
The tents may be erected by stretching ropes from the top of the car to near-by trees. Care should be taken to have the tent pins driven deep and to attach the canvas close to the ground. If possible, the site chosen should allow of drainage away from the tent in case of rain, and should be, so far as [[27]]circumstances will permit, on gravelly or porous soil. In any event it is desirable to dig a shallow trench about the tent to drain away the water that will run down the tent in case of heavy rain. In selecting a site care should be taken to avoid a creek bottom. We have seen motorists camping in a meadow by the side of a stream below a road skirting the foot of a precipitous hill. We have even seen such a camping site pictured as ideal. Ideal it would be in fine dry weather, but a heavy summer shower, particularly at night, would endanger the camp and its occupants. Such streams often rise with great suddenness, and if nothing more the campers would be put to extreme discomfort by having to move in haste, and in the wet, to higher ground.
Making a Suitable Bed
A raincoat with blanket spread over it will form a convenient mattress. Some campers, and the weight of tradition, recommend cedar boughs for a bed, but the art of arranging and sleeping on them has to be acquired. The only kind of boughs or browse that can be comfortably used as the basis for a bed must be fine in quality, otherwise the corners of the boughs will find the bones of the sleeper with infernal ingenuity and make his rest very unsatisfying. Some campers prefer to sleep in hammocks. In some cases where the body is of sufficient length these may be slung from end to end in the car. Otherwise they may be slung from the corners [[28]]of the car top to near-by trees. A canvas fly may be arranged overhead to keep off rain. It takes some experience to be able to rest easily in a hammock, but once the habit is acquired there is no more comfortable bed. The hammock is the bed of our sea jackies and marines, and they thrive on that kind of a couch.
In summertime a raincoat and a pair of blankets for each person, with hammocks, car beds, or tent, should care for the necessary sleeping equipment so far as covering goes.
The Medical Kit
A medical kit should always be carried. This should include a Red Cross first-aid outfit. In the absence of a physician it is well to have on hand cascara or castor oil, sun cholera tablets in case of diarrhœa which often develops from change of drinking water, Epsom salts to be taken to clear out ptomaine poisoning, and mustard for external application in case of cold. Iodex should be included to be used in the event of sprains.
Mention has already been made of the inclusion of children on week-end camping excursions. Yes, take them along—as many as the good Lord has given you. It is the undying spirit of youth in you that makes you want to pack your outfit and take to the open road. So why deprive the kids of their rightful heritage, the right to fill their lungs with clean country air and to stretch their strong little [[29]]legs where there is plenty of room for them to stretch?
They may get restless, but the week-ender will not be likely to travel far enough for them to need anything more to occupy their attention than the passing landscape until the destination is reached. Even take the baby and swing a little hammock for it at one side or across the car.
With children along a little more care should be taken as to what is provided as food and drink. It will be safer to have all water boiled and to have along a good supply of evaporated milk. Of course, where infants are included in the camping party arrangements must be made to supply the customary diet which they have been having.
Church
The last commandment of the Scout Law runs in part, “A Scout is faithful in his religious duties.” Now, the week-end camper need not neglect his religious duties, for in the East and South, as also in the Middle States, the week-ender is not likely to camp in a place so remote as to be more than a fifteen-minute, or thereabouts, motor ride from a church of some denomination where he will be likely to get as much good as he will be able to assimilate. If he is particular as to his brand of religion he can pick his camping site accordingly. And, furthermore, he is liable to be surprised at the excellence supplied at the country church. He may miss the [[30]]pomp and artistic quality of the city church service with its excellent music and other features, but on the other hand he may be led to realize that the old professor in the theological school was right when advising his students who were candidating for pulpits he said: “When you go to a city church wear your best clothes, but when you go to a country church take your best sermon.” And the country churches are by no means all deserted. There is a country church in Orange County, N. Y., where any Sunday morning fifty or sixty cars may be seen parked about it by the attending worshipers—a church, too, that is by no means unique in its prosperity.
Week-end camping will tend to bring the town and the country into closer acquaintance and sympathy to the mutual advantage of both. The tendency more and more will be for the week-ender to take occasion on his outing to stock up with fresh vegetables, eggs and fruit, thus giving the farmer a more profitable market for his products and giving the city and town dweller fresher and more wholesome food. [[31]]
CHAPTER IV
CAMPING WITH A FORD
Number of Fords, Mobility of Fords, How to Camp with Them—The Foldaway Bed—The McMillan Bed—The Carefree Folding Outfit—A.B.C. Bed for Fords Only—Universal Car Bed.
About half the passenger motor cars in this country are of the variety known as Ford. Hence we may assume that a large proportion of the readers of this book will want to know what can be done with a Ford in connection with motor camping.
The little Ford can go most anywhere, but one reason for this is its rather diminutive size. The motor camper can get around conveniently in a Ford, but he must limit the equipment taken along with him pretty closely.
If but two are going along, the problem will be easy of solution. Two men or a couple ought to be able to get along with the contents of two suit cases, one on each running board. The few tools required may be stowed under the seat. A small tent or two hammocks and a fly may be added to the suit case on one running board and a roll of blankets put on the other running board, leaving space enough to enter or leave the car.
Some campers are careful to trim the car, as it [[32]]is called, by balancing the load with about equal weights of equipment on each side of the car. Roughly this may be easily done, but usually the passengers are stowed without regard to balance or trim, and the camping outfit will not be more disparate in weights than the passengers are likely to be. Unless the difference is very great between the loading of the two sides it will not matter much.
Two views of the Foldaway bed for Ford sedans; above, showing it in use for the night, and below, serving as a part of a dressing room
Different Colors for Different Goods
Considerable space may be saved by having duffle bags of the round type, and smaller bags that will fit within the larger bags. These small bags will pack better if of cheese shape, and there will be less difficulty in locating the contents if they are of different colored goods—a color for each classification of stuff; say, white for underwear, blue for canned goods such as evaporated milk, and red for dry groceries like coffee and flour. These duffle bags and the contained bags may just as well be home-made with the resulting saving. The outer bag may be made of heavy canvas, or even stout drilling. Burlap, although a little coarse and rough, would serve if canvas or drilling may not be had conveniently.
Need for Waterproof Protection
Whatever is to be carried outside the car must, of course, be wrapped up in flexible oilcloth or [[33]]other waterproof material, as the rain is very successful in driving in through an ordinary box or suit case with results disastrous to the contents.
No matter what car the motor camper may use there are at least four things for him to consider. Perhaps most essential to determine in advance is where and how he will sleep. Food, clothing, and car he need not bother so much about. He has his car, whatever make it may be. His clothes, too, can be made to do, no matter what they may be. His food at a scratch he may pick up by the way, but as to sleeping quarters he must take thought in advance.
If the Ford is a touring car or a sedan the camper or campers to the number of two may arrange to sleep very comfortably in the car itself.
In a sedan the seat backs fold forward, and by setting up the two suit cases alongside between the seats a foundation may be laid upon which the blankets may be spread to form a bed. The suit cases may not be quite a fit, and it may be necessary to fill in with some of the other stuff so as to get a fairly level bed, but getting this done to one’s satisfaction is half the good and fun of camping.
How a couple traveled for 9,000 miles in a Ford roadster, using a home-made equipment, is described in the following chapter.
There are on the market to-day various devices for the Ford owner which will enable him at slight expense to convert his touring car or sedan into very comfortable sleeping quarters. The products mentioned [[34]]here are not necessarily the only good devices on the market. The aim is to give one or two examples of various types of equipment, so that the reader may have an idea of the range of material available.
Sedan Bed
One of these devices is the “Foldaway Bed,” for the sedan. The Foldaway rolls into a bundle 4½ inches by 4 feet, weighs only 14 pounds, and takes up less space than a golf bag. It is made of tough oak and double strength canvas and will support two 250-pound people. The Foldaway has a clever stringer suspension. The rear seat cushion is pushed up to the front of the car, the seat beside the driver is removed by pulling two cotter pins, and the back seat sets low on top of the driver’s seat with cushions removed. The Foldaway may be set up in four minutes. The camper may undress in the car by rolling back half of the bed, and there is room under the bed for clothes and equipment.
Above is shown the McMillan Auto-Bed for use in touring cars; a special size is made for Fords. The lower drawing is the Universal Car Bed which operates on the suspension principle
Touring Car Bed
Another bed for the Ford, for the touring car, is the McMillan Auto Bed. This may be bought for ten dollars or less for the Ford size. The McMillan Auto Bed is based on the idea that you should use what you have rather than load yourself and the car with a lot of things you haven’t and [[35]]don’t need. With the McMillan Auto Bed the cushions you sit on during the day are the cushions you sleep on at night. With this difference: Between your body and the cushions is a roll of smooth heavy canvas and as many blankets as you see fit to use. The cushions give, but do not sag. Your bed conforms to every curve of your body, and it is wide enough, long enough, and strong enough for two grown people or three—yes, at a pinch, four—children.
The McMillan Auto Bed is set up by removing both front and rear cushions. The adjustable steel rods, on which the cushions rest, are next hooked over the tops of the car seats, both front and back. Then the cushions are replaced so that they will lie evenly on the rods, and the canvas is attached by straps to the side brackets at the back and in front to both sides of the wind-shield.
Roadster and Coupé Beds
For the roadster and coupé there comes what is called the “Carefree Folding Outfit for Touring, Camping, Dining, Sleeping.” This is an attachment weighing 160 pounds which is easily attached to the rear of a roadster or coupé in half an hour by fastening four bolts. This outfit gives the camper a comfortable elevated bed, a storm-tight shelter, a folding dining table, handy while preparing meals and during meals, a writing or work table between meals, plenty of room for suit cases and camp equipment, [[36]]a special food compartment, a separate bedding compartment, a sun or rain shelter under extensible canvas during the day, and three minutes’ time converts the outfit into a thoroughly practical sleeping room.
One concern, the Auto Bed Manufacturing Company, makes what they call “The A.B.C. Sleeper” for Fords only. It provides means for making a real spring cushion bed for two adults in a car of this type. It can be used with the top up or down.
This same concern makes what they term the “Universal Car Bed” for every car, and which is also a perfect fit for a Ford. It is built on a patented principle of sagless tension, and has a bed mat of heavy canvas, olive drab in color. It is guaranteed not to scratch or mar the car. This bed is priced at $18.00. The A.B.C. Sleeper, for Ford cars only, is listed at $7.50. Prices referred to in this and other chapters are taken from catalogues, but are subject to change and are given that the reader may have a general idea of the cost.
The American Camp Equipment Company makes a car bed which is comparatively inexpensive ($11.45) and will fit a Ford as well as a Packard. It may also be set up outside of the car as a double cot for use in a tent or house. This appliance is called the Moto Bed.
A convenient and inexpensive piece of equipment for a Ford car of any model is the Carefree Luggagett. It fits on either running board. There is no drilling. It is fastened with a strap hook. It affords [[37]]a closed tight space for carrying loose articles. It has a smooth retainer wall with no rivets or lugs to tear or wear holes in luggage. Since container space is closed, no strapping or tying is necessary. It allows the doors to open over it. It may be attached or detached in a minute. It is substantial and weighs only 7½ pounds. [[38]]
CHAPTER V
A HOME-MADE CAMPING OUTFIT
Standing the Test of an 8,000 Mile Trip—Good Water Supply Everywhere—Army Cots and Canvas the Basis of Outfit—Complete Directions—Mosquito Netting Sides Permit Adequate Ventilation.
One of the most interesting experiences in motor camping of which we have known is that of Mr. Frederick W. Huntington of Brooklyn, N. Y. His trip is of particular significance, not primarily in being adventurous, but because it illustrates what any one can accomplish through ingenuity at very moderate expense.
Mr. and Mrs. Huntington traveled from New York City to California, on an 8,000-mile route, in nine weeks’ time, driving every day, and camping every night without a mishap.
They encountered wind-storms and rain-storms, but their equipment stood all the blasts and proved waterproof all the time. In some places the mosquitoes sang in the vicinage by night, but were never admitted to the society of the campers. The travelers report excellent roads all of the way to the Mississippi, and passable highways all the way across the continent. They were never more than forty miles from a good water supply. They found [[39]]camp sites in nearly all the towns beyond the Appalachians, but seldom used them, preferring usually to camp in some secluded spot near the roadside. In fact, they discovered that unless one arrives fairly early in the afternoon, many of the camping parks will be found to be crowded already, with little room for the late-comer.
The striking feature of this trip is the tent equipment which Mr. Huntington designed. It is simple and effective. With a little aid from a local machine shop, or even a blacksmith shop, it can be made by any prospective camper. Accordingly, a description is given herewith showing just how Mr. Huntington constructed his outfit. The drawings which accompany this chapter will serve to clarify the text.
Two Army Cots the Basis
The basis of the Huntington tent structure is two ordinary army cots placed side by side, six inches apart. A hole is bored in each crosspiece at the end near the adjoining cot, both at the head and at the foot of the bed. The next step is to take two brass rods about three-eighths inch in diameter and twelve inches in length. Have a machinist bend each rod into the shape of a double-pointed matting-tack, with the horizontal part eight inches in length. Thread the ends of the two side pieces so that they become screw bolts. Then insert these two devices into the holes aforementioned. Secure them with nuts fitting the threaded ends of the rods, and [[40]]you have the two cots fastened securely together (Fig. 1).
Basis for home-made tenting outfit built by Mr. Frederick W. Huntington of Brooklyn, N. Y. Note the two standard army cots, the canvas trough, the sticks of the frame work, and the design of the joints.
The Improvised Floor
The next feature is the canvas trough which supplies a floor on which one stands while getting into bed or dressing. This protects the feet from the ground, and keeps insects from coming up from the ground. To prepare for this trough, attach five tapes or strips of canvas about nine inches in length in a row at even intervals along the cloth of each cot about nine inches from the inner edge. Then take a piece of tent canvas fifty-eight inches wide by six feet six inches long. Along the outer edges of this attach tapes which are to be tied with the tapes attached to the cot, giving a U-shaped trough six inches in width and with a depth determined by the height of the cots from the ground, with the edges overlapping six inches on the cots. The ends of the trough are stopped by pieces of cloth eight inches wide by twenty-four inches in length, the extra length permitting a six-inch flap at the top of each end of the trough and the extra width allowing for seams (Fig. 2).
Framework for the Tent
The framework of the tent is built up from the cots. To construct this, first bore four three-eighths-inch holes, one at each of the outside ends of the [[41]]crosspieces of the cots. Then screw in four screw-eyes near those holes through which the brass rods are inserted (Fig. 3). Next take two strips of hardwood eighteen inches in length, using about three-quarter-inch stuff; also two more similar strips three feet nine inches in length. Bevel the ends of these pieces of wood so that when joined they will appear as in Fig. 4, left. The joints for these tent supports are the most difficult part of the construction. They will probably have to be made at a machine shop. Each consists of a one-quarter-inch brass rod (about the size of a fat pencil) with holes drilled in the lower end for the attachment of wires. Passing through and welded to each rod is a one-half-inch-wide metal strip extending out about one-half inch at either side forming wings, with a hole drilled through each wing. Slits or deep grooves about three-fourths inch in depth should then be cut in the beveled end of each stick or support into which the wings are fitted. Holes should be bored through the sticks to correspond with the holes in the wings. Bolts are then passed through the holes and hammered at each end so as to clinch them, thus preventing their slipping out (Fig. 4, left).
In the lower end of each of the upright sticks of this device a quarter-inch hole is bored and a piece of dowel stick glued into the hole. A thin wire nail driven into the upright and a binding of copper wire help to secure the dowel stick (Fig. 6).
Detail of framework of home-made camping outfit. Note in Fig. 6 how the little piece of dowel stick is inserted into the upright of the tent frame. Figs. 7 and 9 show how the frame and cots are assembled, while Fig. 8 gives detail for wiring.
You now have a framework secured by brass [[42]]joints and fitted at the lower end with wooden posts which rest in the outer holes at the ends of the cots (Figs. 7 and 9). As the illustrations indicate, the framework described must be made in duplicate, one for each end of the tent.
From the holes in the two corner joints of this arrangement picture wire is stretched to the screw-eyes at the inner ends of the crosspieces and secured by snap-buckles (Fig. 8, left).
At each end of the tent a flat piece of brass, two and a half inches long and three-quarter inches wide is the means employed for the guy ropes and ridge wire. There are three holes in the brass piece, one for the guy rope, the center one for the center post in the tent’s framework, and the third for the ridge wire (Fig. 8, center and right).
The exterior of the tent is similar to that of an ordinary tent in shape. It can be made from any quality of duck, but should be waterproofed when completed. Waterproofing preparations can be bought at most sporting goods or hardware stores.
Dimensions of the Tent
The slope of the roof of the tent on each side is three feet ten inches by six feet six inches. The outside walls below the slope are twenty-one inches by six feet six inches. These are the dimensions for the outside of the tent and the pattern for its construction is shown in Fig. 10. One feature that will [[43]]be noted is that the outside flaps are fitted with holes for tapes so that they may be tied back to the ridge, permitting the freer flow of air.
Mosquito Netting Side Curtains
The inner side flaps are similar to the outer, except that a stretch of sixteen inches of mosquito netting is inserted running from end to end of the tent wall (Fig. 11). Top fits end of pole 10 again.
The bottom strip of the inner side-flaps referred to in the above paragraph is of sufficient length so that six inches of it can be turned in to lie along the outer side of the cot. The weight of mattress, blankets or whatever is used to sleep on will keep this turned-in flap from coming out.
Along the ridge on the inside of the tent is secured a seven-inch-wide strip running the length of the tent (Fig. 11). By use of the clips or pins this serves as a clothes rack at night.
Tent Ends
The only feature that remains to be considered is the ends of the tent. These ends, illustrated in the upper part of Figure 12, are thirty-six inches wide at the base, fifty inches high at the inner edge, twenty inches high at the outer edge, and forty-five inches along the shoulder. These dimensions permit an outside overhang of four inches at the bottom. [[44]]An eight-inch inside flap is sewed on four inches from the bottom, and is turned under the mattress, or sleeping bag, when the tent is closed.
It is advisable to make a waterproof bag in which to carry the tent. This done, the equipment consists of the following main items:
| 2 | army cots. |
| 2 | brass connecting rods with nuts. |
| 1 | trough. |
| 1 | tent. |
| 1 | bag. |
| 2 | rigging devices with ropes. |
| 6 | stakes. |
The total outfit weighs under sixty pounds.
The Huntingtons carried this equipment in a two-compartment box on the rear of a Ford roadster. The size of this box was 42¾ by 37⅛ by 20½ inches. One compartment was devoted to this equipment and the other carried two suit cases, blocks and tackle, and water bottles. They also carried a running board cupboard, the dimensions of which were 45 by 28 by 8¾ inches.
This outfit, with ponchos, blankets, and extra clothing, constituted the entire equipment.
Cooking utensils were not a serious factor in this trip, as the desire to cover a long distance in a limited amount of time caused the travelers to purchase most of their meals en route rather than take the time required for cooking.
Tent pattern of home-made camping outfit. Note in the upper part of Fig. 10 the little tab sewed on at the tent corner, holding the ring to which the side guy ropes are secured. Another feature is the mosquito netting inside flaps which permit free circulation of air. Fig. 11 is a strip of canvas along the ridge which, with pins or clips, serves as a hanger for clothes.
[[45]]
The feature of the compartment described above is that the two compartments are horizontal, the lower being covered by the false bottom of the upper. Equipment not needed at every stop is kept in the lower compartment and hence is not in the way when the campers are packing or unpacking.
The Huntington compartment is covered with waterproof canvas affixed with curtain cleats.
End pieces of tent of home-made camping outfit, and the way the design appears when closed. Note the various cross cords and tapes which permit of close tying in case of storms. Normally the side flap is tied back, with the inner mosquito netting flap acting as side wall, since the latter permits of better ventilation.
[[46]]
CHAPTER VI
EQUIPMENT FOR THE JOURNEY
(See Chapter [V] on a Home-made Camping Outfit)
Motor Bungalows—Trailers—Tents: Those Extending from the Car; Those Resting upon the Ground, but Attached to the Car, and Tents Separate from the Car—How to Estimate Canvas Duck—More Elaborate Tents—Combination Tent-beds—Car Beds—Cooking Equipment—Wood, Oil, Gasoline and Alcohol Stoves—Campfires and How to Manage Them—Broilers and Grids—Cooking Utensils—Tools, Lights, etc.—Water Bags and Filters—Canvas Bungalows—Refrigeration.
Before going into details concerning the various articles in the way of equipment, such as tents, bedding, cooking utensils, stoves and the like that contribute to the comfort of the auto camper, it will be well to consider somewhat the methods by which the car itself can be best adapted to the purpose of motor touring. Prices referred to in this chapter, though based on catalogues, can only be approximate, since the market, as in other products, is variable. It has not been possible to include here all of the desirable equipment on the market. Typical examples of the more popular kinds of products are given, so that the reader may have an idea of the range of the field. [[47]]
Motor Bungalows
In these days when the gypsy habit is being contracted by many thousands who tour to the southlands in the winter season and across the continent during the summertime there are many who find it most convenient to have special caravan car bodies which in effect are land yachts or traveling bungalows. Some of a mechanical turn or training will take one of the standard chassis and build upon it a bungalow top to suit the owner’s needs and tastes. In other instances a special bungalow body will be built to order by one or other of the automobile manufacturers; and local car dealers will give the inquirer a list of body makers who will undertake this kind of construction.
We give an illustration of a traveling bungalow built for a man prominently identified with the automobile industry who uses the outfit in his business, which takes him afar over this country, and also for gypsy tours with his family in vacation time.
This outfit is a real home. Measuring seventeen feet long and six feet wide, the house itself contains everything necessary for comfort. The furniture is skillfully designed so that the tables fold and other pieces nest into each other for economy in space.
The beds are made up at night from the seats in somewhat the same manner that a lower berth takes shape under the deft hands of George, the porter. But these berths are longer, wider and infinitely more restful. Then the windows are large [[48]]and can be raised without the aid of a crowbar. The ventilation is perfect.
As one-third of human life is spent in sleep and a considerable portion in consuming food, the dining apparatus of this portable home is designed with the same care as bestowed upon the sleeping quarters. The table, sufficiently large, folds neatly into a minimum of space. The refrigerator is commodious enough to meet the expectations of the keenest appetite.
This gypsy caravan contains five lockers, including one devoted to the commander’s dress clothes, a tent to provide extra sleeping space on the roof of the car, a thirty-gallon tank containing water under air pressure for the shower bath, a writing desk, electric lights throughout, a two-burner stove, fireless cooker and phonograph.
With this equipment the family toured New England in summer. The trip totaled 1,666 miles and the entire expense for gasoline, tips, cleaning and storage was only $66.44, or less than four cents a mile for the journey.
Opinions Differ on Trailers
The matter of trailers is one of considerable dispute. Some tell of seeing abandoned trailers left broken down along the roadside. Others declare that they never knew motor camping comfort until they came to use a trailer. Undoubtedly a trailer reduces the speed somewhat. However, the pull of [[49]]a good trailer only amounts to about twenty-five pounds, and so will not interfere with reasonable speed. On the main highways with wide roadways and easy grades a trailer will be a great convenience and source of comfort and give no trouble. On the other hand, where the grades are steep and the roads narrow and crooked the trailer is quite likely to prove a large-sized nuisance. One can back around a street corner with his trailer in the rear without great difficulty, but to back one down a stretch of crooked mountain road to a turn-out so that a descending car may pass him would be beyond the power of the ordinary driver.
