Sleeping in the back of my Golf

dqa

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
Location
Alabama
TDI
RIP: 1999½ New Golf GL TDI satin silver
I was up in DC this past weekend for a conference. I was not excited about paying $50 or more per night for a motel room. In the interests of science and saving a few bucks, I slept in the hatch of my 99.5 Golf GL.

There have been a few threads in the past about how comfortable it would be to sleep in the back of an A4 VW. The Jetta wagon seemed to be the preferred choice, and there was skepticism about how well a Golf would work.

Technique: Pulled into the Travel America truckstop. I threw a sheet of 3/4" dense foam rubber across the luggage compartment floor and rear seats, which had been pulled down. Left the luggage compartment cover in place, to provide a bit more darkness. Used a sheet, blanket, and a couple pillows. Slept diagonally with head in direction of hatch, under luggage compartment cover. C-SPAN radio is broadcast in DC, and the dreary political voices in stereo lulled me to sleep in no time.
In the morning, my cell phone alarm woke me, and I went into the truck stop and took a $7 shower.

Problems:
1. The rear seats are a couple inches higher than the luggage compartment floor. The 3/4" foam wasn't enough to overcome this problem. A second pad doubled over would have done the trick.
2. It's easy to bop your head on the compartment cover, but this is a minor annoyance.
3. The diagonal is not quite long enough for a 6-foot tall human, and I was a bit stiff the next day. But if you sleep on your side, usually you bend a bit anyway, and this is enough, provided you don't want to stretch out at all during the night. Alternatively, you could sleep on your back, with a few pillows under your knees.
4. Exit strategy: the hatch doesn't open from the inside, and it's a chore to climb into the front seat. A 4-door would probably help.
5. The foam pad was actually a bit too firm. A couple of standard egg crate pads woud probably work better.
6. My radio shuts off after a couple hours, so noise outside could have awakened me easily. Actually, this may not be the case with the stock radio. YMMV.
7. In light of recent events, some have questioned the wisdom of spending extended periods of time at DC-area service stations.


On the second night, I had a big crate of materials which basically filled the luggage compartment. I was forced to sleep sideways across the stowed rear seats, on the doubled-over foam pad. No surprise, I slept very poorly.

Other notes: With mostly 78 mph highway travel, with some stop and go rush hour traffic toward the end, got 46.6 mpg on the way up. Made a pilgrimmage to Tevis for a tank of B100, and got 44.8 under the same conditions on the way back.


Conclusion: Sleeping in the back of a Golf is definitely feasible. However, it is much more comfortable if you are under 6' , fairly limber, not especially heavy, and take measures to raise the level of the luggage compartment, and possibly to raise your legs if you plan to sleep on your back. All in all not the best choice for catching some Zzzz, but IMHO worth the $50 I saved per night; likewise if you're not feeling neighborly towards the local Grizzly population.
 

car54

theGAME
Joined
Dec 5, 2000
Location
Woodbridge VA
TDI
2002 Jetta
lol. I spent two days sleeping in the back seat of my mercedes, with it running, when the starter died and I couldnt turn it off. Nothing like trying to sleep with a 5 cylinder MB diesel klanking away.
 

Ted_Grozier

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2000
Location
Hanover, New Hampshire USA
TDI
2002 Golf GL 4-dr
A few summers back I was in some tiny town north of Yellowstone in the 1983 240D and really tired but it was so unbelievably hot that I did what I usually do in those situations: crank the A/C, recline the big driver's seat to full horizontal, close the eyes and sleep a pleasant night with the 2.4-liter four banging away, gently shaking the rust flakes off the rockers and fenders.

At about 2:30 I awoke to banging on the glass. I crack the window an inch and the guy says "You know your engine's on?!"

"What?! I can't hear you over the engine!"
 

SpamJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2001
Location
Cable, MN
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2002 Silver
I slept in my old 78 RabbitL, Was sleeping in Texas when a officer tapped on my window and told me that an armed robbery had taken place 5 miles down the road. Kept me awake for 200 more miles.

Sam '02 Wagon
measured for sleep but not slept in.
 

kwhiner

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2000
Location
Sparks, NV USA
TDI
'00 Golf GLS Silver
Have never tried sleeping in the hatch area, but usually use the passenger side front seat and have found that to be very comfortable. I have on many occations gotten 6-8 hrs of unenterupted sleep especially easy in non-summer months.
 

DeafBug

Gone but Never Forgotten: Requiescat In Pace
Joined
Sep 22, 2000
Location
Twin Cities in MN
TDI
2001 NB
Originally posted by dqa:

4. Exit strategy: the hatch doesn't open from the inside, and it's a chore to climb into the front seat.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Something wrong with hatch release on the key FOB?

You don't need to key for the radio, you know.
 

Oberkanone

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2001
Location
NW Indiana
TDI
13 Jetta TDI Premium manual "gone"
Something wrong with hatch release on the key FOB?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even with the hatch unlocked it is still difficult to reach the handle for the hatch on the outside of the car when you are on the inside.
 

manapy

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2000
Location
Boston, MA
TDI
1999 A4 Jetta TDI; 2011 Jetta SportWagon
was waiting for tickets overnight and passed out in my 240D for about 5 hours with it running. the rumble lulled me to sleep. the damn jetta isnt nearly as comfy for snoozing.
 

KdF Man

Active member
Joined
Dec 5, 2001
Location
St. Louis, Mizzery. Deutchtown, baby!
TDI
kdfman
Originally posted by dqa:

Conclusion: Sleeping in the back of a Golf is definitely feasible. However, it is much more comfortable if you are under 6' , fairly limber, not especially heavy, and take measures to raise the level of the luggage compartment, and possibly to raise your legs if you plan to sleep on your back. All in all not the best choice for catching some Zzzz, but IMHO worth the $50 I saved per night; likewise if you're not feeling neighborly towards the local Grizzly population.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">When I'm on the road and tired, I just pull into the nearest rest stop/truck stop whatever, pull the curtains, make up the bed, and go to sleep in luxury. I may even cook up dinner too.

Damn Westfalia's are da bomb!


Brian
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
A nice fluffy sleeping bag helps a bit. The headrests make great pillows.

I need to get tinted windows and a sunshade for the hatch to provide more darkness.
 

MineMapper

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2000
Location
UK
TDI
2016 Transporter Kombi
Originally posted by 20IndigoBlue02:
A nice fluffy sleeping bag helps a bit. The headrests make great pillows.

I need to get tinted windows and a sunshade for the hatch to provide more darkness.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">All helpful items.

What you really need however, is a nice loooooong Passat Wagon.
 

AutobahnTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2000
Location
Western New York, USA
TDI
no more TDI :(
You said that you couldn't open the hatch from the inside. Do the new Golfs have the child safety release on the inside of the hatch? I know federal law mandated that all new cars have them in the trunk, but a Golf technially doesn't have a trunk. I know new Jettas come with them.

[ October 16, 2002, 12:48: Message edited by: robgti ]
 

golfstream

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 10, 2001
Location
Balmer, Hon
TDI
Golf, 2000, Black
Originally posted by MineMapper:
...What you really need however, is a nice loooooong Passat Wagon.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Or, perhaps one that has been shortened slightly from its original length?... hmmmm?


I'm sorry old chap... I just couldn't stop myself.


Speaking of not being able to stop... oh darn, I've done it again, haven't I?


-Mel
 

TDIinTX

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Location
Dallas, Texas
TDI
2002
Only problem is climate control--it's my understanding it's no good leaving the TDI idling for extended periods of time (i.e. 6-8 hours). Could this be mere folklore, or is there truth in my doctrine?
 

Beowulf

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2000
Location
Lovettsville, VA, USA
TDI
A3 Jetta, 1998, Green
You've inspired me to try sleeping in the trunk of my Jetta (with the rear seats down) the next time I'm on a long road trip. I bet my wife and I both could sleep comfortably in the trunk...what to do with the two kids, though?
 

Beowulf

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2000
Location
Lovettsville, VA, USA
TDI
A3 Jetta, 1998, Green
Originally posted by Jeff McDaniel:
Only problem is climate control--it's my understanding it's no good leaving the TDI idling for extended periods of time (i.e. 6-8 hours). Could this be mere folklore, or is there truth in my doctrine?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Climate control" isn't that sleeping two to a sleeping bag (disrobed, of course, for maximal heat transfer)?
 

dqa

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
Location
Alabama
TDI
RIP: 1999½ New Golf GL TDI satin silver
Nitpick, nitpick. I never figured out the precise motel rate including tax, but I think the $50 quote I got was without tax.
Beowulf:
You've inspired me to try sleeping in the trunk of my Jetta (with the rear seats down) the next time I'm on a long road trip. I bet my wife and I both could sleep comfortably in the trunk...what to do with the two kids, though?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I can't recall if the Jetta's any longer than the Golf, but unless you're short, sleeping lengthwise rather than diagonal will definitely cramp your posture. Pythagoras tried that once.

As for leaving the engine running, I thought it was generally a bad idea to sleep in a car with the engine running, due to carbon monoxide fumes. Any reason this would be different with the TDIs?
 

Ron Raley

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2001
Location
Silverdale,Wa 98383
When I was divorced from my first wife I spent a month at least living in My 72 superbeetle, talk about cramped until I was able to get a friend to put me up for a while.
 
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