Name: The ECamper: A Mini-Glamping Blue Boxcar for Alaskan Adventure.
Brand: Honda
SKU: 250401
Price: 105.6 EUR
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (25 reviews)

2008 Honda Element Ecamper

And now, for something completely different... but first, some announcements:*********************************************************************************
Available soon: an "Eletent Basecamp" rear hatchway screen-door/window panel plus a matching pair of privacy/bug-screen panels for the middle pop-out vent-windows, allowing bug-free cross-ventilation on the main deck. Search for Eletent by "Rain Dean" on the "Element Driven" website for images and details. The maker is slow to deliver, so I'm hoping I'll have it in time for most of the Summer 2024 season.Update 08/04/2024: The rear passenger door window-screen covers arrived and are now installed for bug-free lower/main deck summer ventilation; picture(s) coming soon. However, I continue waiting for the Eletent rear hatch panel.********************************************************************************
New add-on for the 2024 season and now available: a modular interior furniture ensemble; elegantly designed specifically for the Element and small-batch crafted with CNC machine-cut precision in Asheville, North Carolina, utilizing sustainable locally grown furniture-grade plywood. Because this furniture is neither mass-made nor produced in China or Malaysia, etc., with a Swedish-sounding product name, it is very expensive and in retrospect has me wondering why I bought it—other than that it's beautifully designed and crafted. I might have to find another Element to put it in for the 2025 summer season, in lieu of an Ecamper modification.There are three configurations available:
A: for 1 or 2 occupants; B: for 3 occupants, and C: for 1 or 2 occupants.If all 4 seats are required (for 4 occupants), there is no compatible configuration; it cannot be installed.•Configuration-A includes the 36" couch and cabinet assemblies; both rear seats are removed.
•Configuration-B includes only the couch assembly and associated sleeping platform extension for the couch when reformatted as a third-occupant bed; the left rear seat is installed, preventing installation of the cabinet assembly.
•Configuration-C consists only of the rear cabinet, with just the right-side rear seat installed or both rear seats removed.Bespoke cushions are included in both configurations A & B.***********************************************************************************Introducing my Honda Element "Ecamper," conversion build number 733, performed in Spring, 2022 by the manufacturer Ursa Minor Vehicles in Portland, Oregon, enabling an economical mini-RV experience in a comfortable and highly maneuverable package.Extended multi-day pricing discount in effect, see Pricing header.Summer minimum rental booking period is 4 nights; however, if you see a gap of 5 days or less on the booking calendar that you can use for at least 2 nights between already booked periods, please contact me for an exception. Off-Season (Fall, Winter and Spring) minimum 3 nights.
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My well-maintained 2008 Honda Element EX (2007-2011 are the favored year-models), is ready for the Alaska road system or just the local area, year-round. This Element is recent to Alaska from the east coast, making it one of the nicest ones I've seen on the streets around here.The ECamper unit is factory-wired with LED reading lights, a dome light and a 12V power outlet, all connected directly to the vehicle battery, eliminating the need for the ignition to be on. In other words, I opted for all the upgrades.Its set of warm season tires are new as of July, 2024.For winter operations, it's fitted with a set of Nokian Hakkapiilitta-10 studded snow and ice tires for the maximum in upper-latitude winter traction and secure footing; that’s in addition to the automatic all-wheel-drive.Be prepared to answer queries from curious onlookers. It may well be the first ECamper they've seen.Cosa è inclusoIncluded at no extra charge, and as requested:A one- or two-burner propane camp stove and 1-lb. bottle of fuel;Basic cookware, kettle, silverware, cups as needed or requested;24 Qt. high-performance ice-chest cooler, 19"x16"x17" high "Coho" brand (Costco-sourced).Up to 4 Coleman "20º-40ºF-rated" sleeping bags, each configurable as a bag or flat heavy blanket;Several flat bedsheets size Twin XL, i.e., a top and a bottom sheet for each sleeper;
1-4 pillows with pillowcases,
1-4 bath towels;—All linens, including the sleeping bags, are freshly laundered fragrance-free, inspected and dedicated to the rental.—If main floor sleeping is required in addition to the Ecamper deck, cushioning is available and included:2 1" closed-cell foam sleeping pads, each trimmed to half-width main floor dimensions;
2 3" open-cell foam sleeping pads, each trimmed to half-width main floor dimensions. These are intended to be layered for a total of 4 inches thick in each position. The roof box add-on is highly recommended with 4 occupants.Alternatively, a 2-person REI dome tent is available, allowing mosquito defense while sleeping for 3rd and 4th occupants; the upper-deck (ECamper unit's) tent-system provides screening for bug-free ventilation. The 2024 near-future addition of the "Eletent" Basecamp rear hatch and side-window screen system will correct the bug problem, and generate a revision to this statement.Please advise at time of booking or when known how many occupants will be traveling.Always included:A Noco GB40 lithium-ion booster-battery for jumpstarting in event of dead battery. Also serves as a light (including road emergency signal) and small-device USB power source, or for jump-starting someone else. Honda designed the Element with a particularly small battery.2 Bear-repellant spray units. If used, actual replacement cost will be deducted from the deposit. Bear defense spray is strictly prohibited anywhere aboard airliners; that includes checked baggage.Premium add-ons available at additional charge (see Add-Ons) in addition to the above new ultra-premium furniture configurations:A Yeti Tundra-45 high-performance 33L ice chest;Yakima 60" Jetstream cargo bars on locking Skyline towers;A Yakima NX18 top-mounted cargo box (includes the above cargo bars).A Thule Easyfold XT2 2-bicycle, locking hitch-mount carrier, rated for 2 heavy eBikes.Other notes:Factory AM/FM stereo system with CD player and accessory audio-in jack; cruise control, 5-speed automatic transmission. A Bluetooth receiver radio unit replacing the original is on my list of upcoming improvements.The ECamper top is equipped with Yakima rack system attachment hard-points enabling various rack and top-load options besides the bare rack system or the currently listed Yakima NX18 cargo box. Requests/queries for various carrier options, such as for kayaks, skiis, etc. will be considered for purchase and offered for add-on rental, upon request with adequate lead-time. The ECamper roof is structurally rated for the Yakima system-specified weight limits when lowered and secured. Your add-on suggestions are welcome; this package is a work-in-progress.Home base is 4 miles from Anchorage International Airport's terminal. In most cases I will pick-up and drop-off at the airport or your hotel most hours of the day, including very late night and early morning pickups-handoffs, so long as the handoff occurs on the first calendar day of the rental, all subject to prior and following rentals, and other factors.The Element offers backseat passengers generous legroom.New battery and starter installed June, 2022; new windshield installed March 2024. All 4 wheels: brake system flushed with fresh fluid after new rotors, calipers and pads were installed May, 2024.Subject to revision after the Fifth Element interior package and the "Eletent" screen system arrives...
•The ECamper conversion is optimal for 1 or 2 vehicle occupants; however it's quite amenable for 3 utilizing the Fifth Element bench/bed system add-on. However, the ECamper conversion makes it possible to sleep all 4 occupants with the back seats stowed and both lower-level sleeping pads laid out, particularly, but not necessarily if those extra 2 are children. The roof-mounted cargo box option should be considered for more than 2 if heavy on luggage, and especially with 4 occupants*. The box must be empty while the ECamper is deployed. Lifting and lowering the ECamper roof shell with the box mounted takes 2 people and extra caution due to just its empty weight.
• A 2-person tent is available if the lower-level sleepers want mosquito protection, as the Element's mid-windows will likely need to be open for ventilation. This will be revised when the the "Eletent" system is received from the manufacturer.Not for pulling a trailer.I'm not sure what the implications of "tailgating" and "music festivals" are, so ask me if that's a concern; I've left those options in their negative default positions.In mid-June 2022 I had to last-minute cancel a booking due to the sudden failure of its original engine starter-motor, hence the automated 0-star rating for that cancellation. Thanks to a good relationship with a local shop, I got it promptly replaced with a fresh starter, but not soon enough for that rental. A new battery was also installed. I loaned out the standard gear including tent and the Yeti cooler, helping the family with their last-minute Toyota RAV-4 rental experience.And finally, please drive especially carefully and defensively on the state's road system; automobile insurance rates are high and auto body shops are big business in Alaska for good reason. Just a minor non-injury collision can ruin the vacation plans for so many others.Like other hosts, I have to prohibit driving the Denali Highway, McCarthy Road and the Dalton Highway past the Yukon River crossing due to their surface conditions and remoteness regarding communications, recovery and repair. It is extremely important to avoid accidents and damage. Lead-time for repairs here is often measured in months, likely destroying the vacation plans for everyone with pending reservations.*required if any cushioning is desired, being so bulky if 2 will be sleeping on the main deck. Possibly, with four occupants, if packing very minimally, i.e., as if backpacking, providing their own very compact sleeping gear and minimal other items, all can fit in the rear stowage area provided the cooler is left behind. I will provide the measurements of this area in the near future.
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Need something bigger and glampy-er, but for only up to 2 occupants? See my other listing here:
https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/anchorage_ak/2020_ford_transit_334269-listingRaccomandazioniIf you only go as far north as Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs is worth considering. And of course, Denali National Park beckons, particularly when the sky is clear. My website includes several photographs of the Alaska Range, including Denali (aka “Mt. McKinley”).https://deancully.com/Aerial-Alaska/Mountains40 miles south of Anchorage is the dual-use road/railway tunnel to Whittier and the gateway to Prince William Sound where the Alaska Marine Highway System's car ferry docks for those wishing to travel through the sound for Valdez, rejoining the road system (or the reverse route to Whittier). Make reservations as early as possible. On the way to or from Whittier at the south end of Turnagain Arm is the skiing resort/community of Girdwood, worth a slight diversion.http://ftp.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/schedules.shtmlCloser to home base, the Kenai Peninsula presents Seward and Homer, with campgrounds in-between. From Homer you can park the Element and take a water-taxi across Kachemak Bay to Seldovia; or better, ask to be landed directly at the nearby Between Beaches Alaska luxuriously rustic cabin resort on MacDonald Spit for a night or two:https://www.beachesalaska.comAlso recommended, and on the road above Homer:https://www.akcoastalstudies.org/guided-tours/inspiration-ridge-preserve.htmlJust outside Seward is the turnoff for Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park (no entry fees): https://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htmIn Seward the Alaska Sea Life Center is well worth a visit:
https://www.alaskasealife.orgOr... just drive it around Anchorage and “the valley” if you simply need a comfortable and roomy, yet highly maneuverable car for general transportation. And as for the Mat-Su valley, Hatcher Pass road is highly recommended during the warm season. Another hour or so from Palmer near Sutton on the Glenn Highway is the Matanuska Glacier, well worth a visit and guided tour, year-round:https://glacieraccess.com
https://deancully.com/Aerial-Alaska/Ice/2Near Palmer: https://www.muskoxfarm.org/Sunsets from Point Woronzoff can be spectacular; nearby is the north end of Runway 33 at Anchorage International Airport, a world-renown attraction for plane-spotting enthusiasts and photographers, particularly for the Boeing 747 and other wide-body freighters including Ukrainian Antonov 124s; but sadly, no longer world's only AN-225 Mriya. Opposite Point Woronzoff at the south end of the airport is Kincaid Park, known best for its cross-county ski facilities during the winter months and shoreline access and trails all year.Up on "The Hillside" above Anchorage is parking at the trailhead for Flattop Peak, some 3,000' above and overlooking Anchorage; various other maintained trails abound in the Chugach.Along Turnagain Arm when the conditions are right, the bore-tide may be observed; The tidal shift offshore Anchorage and in Cook Inlet can vary 40 feet or more, twice a day during certain times of the lunar cycle and time of year. Even on more typical 25-30' days, it's impressive.https://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-bore-tideThis is, of course, an incomplete list, but it's what comes to mind. Altre cose di cui prendere notaTravel is prohibited on the following:McCarthy Road beyond Chitina.The seasonal Denali Highway-route 8, between Cantwell and the end-of-pavement west of Paxson.North of the Yukon River crossing on the Dalton Highway, route 11.More than about 5 miles on any other unpaved state/municipal-maintained public roads without prior approval.