[elhigh]

When touring to MN via Superior's north shore - stunning, lovely, wonderful drive - we took a Caravan and did much sleeping in a tent we custom made from PVC pipe and lots of heavy nylon. The pipe was flexible enough to spring and hold the tent's shape, and the tent we made to drawstring tightly around the entire back of the van with its hatch open. The hatch is high enough for me to stand under without even ducking. Inside the tent was very roomy, lots of space, and we made a platform bed for the back of the van where our two small boys could sleep, complete with a tumble bar so nobody wound up on the ground the hard way in the middle of the night.

It worked great. We practiced with it a couple of nights at home, and on the road got many questions and compliments. One morning in Michigan we were just starting to get up and move around when we heard the first few drops of rain. Five minutes later we were fully dressed (well, rated G at any rate) and had the entire tent completely broken down and stashed in its place in the van. Then the sky opened up. Practice pays off.