Sideways Sleeping
- Thread starter Coenraad
- Start date
This sounds like an attempt to gauge interest in the design/product. Do you have a commercial interest in this @Coenraad?
We used to sleep athwart ships in our LR 101 FC radio Body, it gave a bit more space for someone to make an early morning cuppa. That was brewed up on a Wallis Hotplate with a blower lid, nice and warm. I do not think I would like to have a bit of ourselves sticking out in this day and age especially rough camping, even off-road. Could be a bit vulnerable perhaps to bitey things, neck suckers and so on. Imagine having to adorn garlic all night! Those cross things around the neck burn a bit too. 
I take it you don't travel much.
Seriously though, while the trap door stick your head or feet outside might solve a space or other problems, I would be seriously concerned about personal vulnerability, security and safety. I guess if you are always on secure populated campsites that might be not so bad but occasionality one has situations when lone vehicle camping. Srangely for many years we and I have camped wild, but ones exremeties are out of sight in a tent and a little distance from a strike. It would not feel comfotable i do not think
One particular situation I recall a number of years ago in a LR 101 FC Radio Body. We we late setting off for our intended off road tour camping weekend. A bit tired too tired to make on way on to the Strata Florida track. I pulled over into a small lay-by by the river at the Devils Staircase, reversed in front facing the road. Had a brew made up the bed and we crawled in doused the candle and mad for sleep. A vehicle pulled up. Even in the dark I could just make out what it was, it was a battered old short wheel base Land Rover. Someone got out then a short while latter got back in and drove off. Perhaps they had wanted the space. Eventually went into sleep. perhaps an our latter we we where woken by a bright light. A white Long wheel base Land Rover pulled up stopped then reversed very close to us. I sat up a little perturbed . A guy got out and disappeared across the road and appeared to climb the fence. I told my wife to sit up, something did not appear quite right and we where boxed in too. The disappearing man returned walked along the length of his vehicle toward the front of ours and then down the side. Heart thumping I crabbed something blunt and heavy, what the f--k he pulled open or rear door, I was about to defend our selves perhaps for our lives I was extremely pumped and a quite a bit scarred too I do not mind admitting. This bloke had invaded our sleeping space abruptly, without invitation and now he was shouting at us and he seem really pissed off...............
Then out of the snarling cacophony came some semblance of reason. "WHAT FU..,ING UNIT ARE YOU!!!" He barked out!? "WE sent a F...... patrol over a F.....g an our ago to check this place out. What the F are you doing here and F who F...,,,, well sent you"
By now pounding heart beat must have slowed a little from its absolute maximum to still something very thumping, but I felt some relief. By know we had put on an internal light and he the ivader could see I had armed myself. He was very big I might add.
I had reason to use the words before. "We are civvies" I rather excitedly blustered out, I was so, so relieved, you guys reading this have absolutely no idea what this trauma like eventwas like in just a few momments. My heart rate had climbed an equivalent 0 to 100mph or max beets faster than an F1 car and now it was crashing down with lots of adrenalin starting to take its negative after effect with faint shakiness releife and babble. He calmed down he, could see that we where sitting up on ta bed he was a bit bemused and also apologetic.
"I am afraid you wont get much sleep here tonight. We have aircraft cumming down here all night, we have x number of men all over the mountain. He explained who and what he was, the purpose of the other vehicle and why he was initially concerned by what unit we might have been. Was very annoyed at the reconnoitring vehicle for not mentioning us as an entity or talking to us to find our purpose.
I asked could we watch events and he said it was OK by him but we might prefer somewhere else because of the disruption the exercise might cause us but I was very keen to have a close up of things. After a few pleasantries he returned to his white LR 110 and I could see UN in black large letters. It had a whip antena on the roof and the inside illuminated in red as he got into the back. We got properly up and crawled over to the front to watch in pitch silence and . After a 10 to 15 minutes the Mrs spotted some thing crawling in the road then another then strange figures came out of the gloom from all around. Faces blacked, all armed, looking like a war front. Our guy came out of his 110 lined up about 6 to ten men, with a little torch examines all weapons looked down the breach and ever now and the we could hear him explain "Civies" all this only a few feet in front of our grand stand front row seat in our Camo painted military drab 101FC.
One does not just hear a large chopper, one feels and experiences it at close range, its quite guttural I think. From one side of our vehicle a Westland I think, it was banked steeply over us so steeply in fact we could see its instruments before it levelled off and then landed just the other side of the road in the field that seem to attract our first visitors. The lined up men trotted over to the fence and into the field and disappeared into the belly of the beasts . Then with ever noisier engines took off and disappeared faster than it came. The Mrs climbed into the back, she had seen it all before, very, very used to the military. I was up several ours till I to was bored with "Civies" noise, landing, more noise, another batch of funny looking blacked out men, "civies" and on it went on. We awoke in the morning and not a sigh of anything unusual jts remote mountain countryside beutiful.
Had lots of interactions particularly in Wales with the Army and some other units also.
Thing is that was funny in the end but massive all the same. Occasionally other things happen, that are also unsettling or poentially threataning and being inside a tin is better or feels better than having parts outside the tin so to speak. Especially when asleep
One particular situation I recall a number of years ago in a LR 101 FC Radio Body. We we late setting off for our intended off road tour camping weekend. A bit tired too tired to make on way on to the Strata Florida track. I pulled over into a small lay-by by the river at the Devils Staircase, reversed in front facing the road. Had a brew made up the bed and we crawled in doused the candle and mad for sleep. A vehicle pulled up. Even in the dark I could just make out what it was, it was a battered old short wheel base Land Rover. Someone got out then a short while latter got back in and drove off. Perhaps they had wanted the space. Eventually went into sleep. perhaps an our latter we we where woken by a bright light. A white Long wheel base Land Rover pulled up stopped then reversed very close to us. I sat up a little perturbed . A guy got out and disappeared across the road and appeared to climb the fence. I told my wife to sit up, something did not appear quite right and we where boxed in too. The disappearing man returned walked along the length of his vehicle toward the front of ours and then down the side. Heart thumping I crabbed something blunt and heavy, what the f--k he pulled open or rear door, I was about to defend our selves perhaps for our lives I was extremely pumped and a quite a bit scarred too I do not mind admitting. This bloke had invaded our sleeping space abruptly, without invitation and now he was shouting at us and he seem really pissed off...............
Then out of the snarling cacophony came some semblance of reason. "WHAT FU..,ING UNIT ARE YOU!!!" He barked out!? "WE sent a F...... patrol over a F.....g an our ago to check this place out. What the F are you doing here and F who F...,,,, well sent you"
By now pounding heart beat must have slowed a little from its absolute maximum to still something very thumping, but I felt some relief. By know we had put on an internal light and he the ivader could see I had armed myself. He was very big I might add.
I had reason to use the words before. "We are civvies" I rather excitedly blustered out, I was so, so relieved, you guys reading this have absolutely no idea what this trauma like eventwas like in just a few momments. My heart rate had climbed an equivalent 0 to 100mph or max beets faster than an F1 car and now it was crashing down with lots of adrenalin starting to take its negative after effect with faint shakiness releife and babble. He calmed down he, could see that we where sitting up on ta bed he was a bit bemused and also apologetic.
"I am afraid you wont get much sleep here tonight. We have aircraft cumming down here all night, we have x number of men all over the mountain. He explained who and what he was, the purpose of the other vehicle and why he was initially concerned by what unit we might have been. Was very annoyed at the reconnoitring vehicle for not mentioning us as an entity or talking to us to find our purpose.
I asked could we watch events and he said it was OK by him but we might prefer somewhere else because of the disruption the exercise might cause us but I was very keen to have a close up of things. After a few pleasantries he returned to his white LR 110 and I could see UN in black large letters. It had a whip antena on the roof and the inside illuminated in red as he got into the back. We got properly up and crawled over to the front to watch in pitch silence and . After a 10 to 15 minutes the Mrs spotted some thing crawling in the road then another then strange figures came out of the gloom from all around. Faces blacked, all armed, looking like a war front. Our guy came out of his 110 lined up about 6 to ten men, with a little torch examines all weapons looked down the breach and ever now and the we could hear him explain "Civies" all this only a few feet in front of our grand stand front row seat in our Camo painted military drab 101FC.
One does not just hear a large chopper, one feels and experiences it at close range, its quite guttural I think. From one side of our vehicle a Westland I think, it was banked steeply over us so steeply in fact we could see its instruments before it levelled off and then landed just the other side of the road in the field that seem to attract our first visitors. The lined up men trotted over to the fence and into the field and disappeared into the belly of the beasts . Then with ever noisier engines took off and disappeared faster than it came. The Mrs climbed into the back, she had seen it all before, very, very used to the military. I was up several ours till I to was bored with "Civies" noise, landing, more noise, another batch of funny looking blacked out men, "civies" and on it went on. We awoke in the morning and not a sigh of anything unusual jts remote mountain countryside beutiful.
Had lots of interactions particularly in Wales with the Army and some other units also.
Thing is that was funny in the end but massive all the same. Occasionally other things happen, that are also unsettling or poentially threataning and being inside a tin is better or feels better than having parts outside the tin so to speak. Especially when asleep
I'd better get myself over to the Team Dibble thread then.
In a word… no. I think I’d rather sleep in a wheelie bin.
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