Show AMERICA OUT-OF-DOO- RS to New'Ways Enjoy Car Trips Don’t look upon that auto as just something to get ' you someplace —it’s your traveling bedroom closet kitchen and marina 7 v By STANLEY H BRAMS matter what vintage or model your autoNomobile can be much more than a way to get you from here to there on your next vacation trip Each year finds more ingenious ways created to make the car a genuine utility—meaning that it helps you live better and easier as it takes you over the highway It transports your vacation clothes and sports equipment of course Beyond that it can function as your bedroom at night or as the basic component of your shelter tent It can function too as a surprisingly versatile power outlet —for shaving warming beverages playing your favorite records ' —and for other uses as well Take packing for example One auto manufacroof-to- p turer has a rubber-mountluggage rack with base and side rails of stainless steel Practically all other makes can be similarly equipped to handle odd-sicargo or overflow If you need still more space think about a little trailer to pull along There are any number on the market light and roomy enough to handle all the gear you could reasonably want One such trailer has a dual advantage: it is a cargo carrier (with 25 cubic feet of capacity) and also the base for a large canvas shel- ter sleeping four persons inside its 11 feet of length and 6 feet 4 inches of width (price around $345) In the past it’s been popular to tow your boat behind you but now there are lightweight water craft which go right into a station wagon or onto the roof of other models One craft packs into two canvas bags weighing about 40 pounds each and can be blown up into a Another ex- -‘ ample is an inflatable rubber canoe (about $160) and a third is a sailboat of polystyrene haulable - ed ze 200-pou- nd raft-rowb- oat on a carrier (about $120) There are even ot plywood boat made plans for a homemade in two sections that nest together for movement in a station wagon All kinds of practical devices are on the market to make your trip more convenient Most electric-shav- er manufacturers have devised - conversion recesses so Dad plugs which fit cigarette-light- er can get an earlier start by shaving as he travels There are similarly powered water heaters — sticklike Seating elements that can be dipped into a small container of water so Baby’s bottle can be brought slowly to the desired temperature or hot water provided for instant coffee The lighter recess also serves to power spotlights that find welcome use when trouble arises at night or when a camp site is reached after dark You also can buy refrigerating units that fit the 'car—some of them powered by bottled gas found in sporting-good- s and hardware stores car-to- 12-fo- to sleep in the car? Rambler pioneered Want idea of front seats which form drop-ba- ck a flat base long enough for any adult Studebaker’s Lark and some foreign cars offer the same facility If you want fresh air and insect protection too “while you sleep you may find that your car can be equipped with screens some of fabric mesh some of metal These are available in various mod- els by Chevrolet Chrysler Ford Rambler and other manufacturers Nervous about sleeping in your car? One woman ht pulls into gas stations and obtains to back the in permission sleep parking area where she locks herself in her car partially opens the windows attaches net window screens and closes open-all-nig- By hitching a tent to their Corvair sports wagon these outdoorsmen have set up an ideal site attached tents the such as shown one come in a host of shapes and sizes Easily camp n li i her eyes — knowing there’s a measure of protection during the night plus a handy washroom She stops around noon when motels are being cleaned up asks permission to pay for a shower and a clean towel and says she has never been turned away Generally this costs her 25 cents — a small outlay indeed for lodging along the road! Or you can sleep on the roof There are some package units that mount on top of your car and extend out to one side creating enough room to sleep four quite comfortably five feet off the ground (about $280) If you wish you can curtain the support poles at the side' and afford yourself dressing-- p 1 7 room space W Today’s ' popular half-wag- half-b- us on vehicles basis of increasing numbers of camping and travel outfits specifically designed for them— tables which snap into place against one wall inside and can be taken out and fitted with legs for use anywhere couches with bases that are storage drawers complete kitchens and so on In a word these vehicles can be used for vacation jaunts al- most as if they were trailers Tents which are in effect “hinged” to the automobile are quite commonplace too Sizes and shapes are in variety to suit any taste their one point Qf similarity is that they derive support from ' " full-fledg- ed the car in which they are transported and sometimes use the car as one of their walls Thus you can create about as much comfort and convenience in your car as your wallet can afford Simply decide what you’d like to have on your next trip and chances are it’s ready and waiting for you at your car dealer the store down the road or the handyman’s supply place do-it-your- self For less rugged individuals this “motor home” by Dodge combines an auto and trailer in a single luxurious unit |