I am all about 2 day camping and driving to random places. I have a 1 man tent that sets up perfect. Otherwise, I just throw a blanket down.

 

They have those solar powered ventilation fans now that sit at the top of the window, they could work. If it doesnt have a screen over the opening it would be an easy modification.

 

You could leave the car idling overnight with the air conditioning on. I heard somewhere that the average car uses 0.15 gallons of gas per hour when it's idling. So, I figure that with the air conditioning on, let's say the HHR uses 0.25 gallons of gas per hour (since the air conditioner increases fuel consumption). So, if a gallon of gas is, on average, about $3.00/gallon, then 0.25 gal. X $3.00 = $0.75. So it costs $0.75 per hour. So $0.75 X 8 hours of sleep = $6.00. So it would cost $6 to idle your HHR overnight. So if it was a hot summer night, that's what I would do personally. I'm more of an "air conditioning person" though anyway. If you think about, a lot of truck drivers sleep with their trucks running in the winter with the heat on full blast. I think it would be hard to fall asleep with the big diesel engine rumbling and vibrating the truck. In contrast, the HHR's engine runs so smooth and is pretty quiet, so it would just be like a humming noise in the background. But that's just me though, I know not everyone would want to do that.

 

Well, I guess your username fits your HHR perfectly then. The panels are probably a lot nicer to sleep in.

 

I guess, I was gonna use the name "Motel 6", but that was taken..

 

That's a good idea if it's hot enough to make it worthwhile.

I'm not sure that idling a gas engine that long would be good for it though.

I read in an owner's manual from one of my cars that it's not and it recommended tapping the gas every 5 minutes or so.



I like the screens idea - "up with the sun, gone with the wind..." "Out to the road, out 'neath the stars, feelin' the breeze, passin' the cars..."

 

I was wondering the same thing at first, so I did a search. This is what I found: http://autorepair.about.com/b/2009/0...r-your-car.htm There are mixed opinions about it though. Some people say its bad, some people say it isn't harmful at all. I think considering how modern engines have gotten lately, it probably wouldn't hurt the engin, at least if you only did it every now and then, not excessively. But I'm not a mechanic either.

 

Maybe ChevyMgr could answer this for us. He seems to be very knowledgeable about cars and mechanical questions like this.

 

Excellent for sleeping in in cool weather. Slept down to -21C - (Grande Prairie, AB 2009-12-01/02. The HHR Panel is a fuel efficient RV.

Use about three inch foamy. Panel is great because it is private especially when the windows frost or fog up.

Haven't had to deal with mossies yet but have a yard of nylon mesh to hang over the window.

 

Marzipan, thats a good idea some double sided sticky tape on the back of screen, cut to fit the window size you want and instant bug proofing.

Sleeper, it sounds like your HHR is the doghouse.....

I have left my gas truck idling for hours went traveling and needing a few hours rest. I always try to park with the wind blowing the exhaust away from the truck and i leave 2 windows open an inch or so to keep the air moving inside in case the exhaust fumes find a way inside. It uses more gas than you would think. A 4 cyl sould be alot better in the fuel consumption at idle.