If a recently married man tells people he’s going to be sleeping in his car that night, concern, it seems, is the immediate reaction. “No,” I tell them, “this is for fun.”
Little do they know that the Dacia Duster I will be using is fitted with a fold-out bed, a double(ish) mattress and a tent, all of which combine to create a set-up that is poised to turn even the most bougie of Glastonbury glampers a shade of jealous green – especially given the extras cost... £2090!
Am I about to experience the future of camping? Is this the camper van killer? We’re all about to find out with a night in a New Forest field.
In classic fashion, I hit the first obstacle before I’ve even turned the engine on: there’s no boot space. The new Duster has a pretty cavernous 517-litre load space, yet the InNature Sleep Pack Ultimate (to give the fold out bed its official name) takes up the lot. Insert face-palm emoji here.
There is some space under the bed’s supporting structure, but that’s needed for the tent itself. Luckily, though, tonight it’s just me – the wife laughed and said “no thanks” – so my overnight bag, some food and basic survival equipment can go on the back seats.
I arrive at my base for the night about 45 minutes later. Despite the extra weight in the back, the Duster doesn’t drive any differently, and there’s no sign of the economy dropping below the official average of 56mpg. It’s about 1pm as I park up. It’s clear I’ve drawn a short campsite straw, because my space has no shady tree coverage and the car’s temperature gauge is currently reading 38deg C. No better time to start setting up camp, then…
The first job is to make the bed, so to speak. I did carry out a small trial at home to make sure it was working. It all made sense, but my lasting impression was that this was going to be a bit of a faff. And so it proves.
First, lower the rear seats flat and push the front seats as far forwards as they go. Next, pull out the wooden bed base, which is heavier than it looks – mind your fingers, like I didn’t – and clip it into place. Then fold out the mattress, add some extra side cushions (to stop you falling into the footwell), attach the window blackouts, which magically snap into place, and… done. This time it was all rather painless – bar the finger.
