Looking for advice: I camp with a friend in my E at the beach about five weekends a year. We sleep on a twin air mattress. (We scoot the front seats forward and then throw our gear on the seats.) FYI - we don't have a roof rack yet--can't afford one at this point (even with a sponsorship.)

We decided that we'd like to get beach chairs. Nothing fancy. We almost bought those short little aluminum-framed ones this weekend. But I'm worried that they're going to totally scratch up the front dashboard area when we store them towards the front of the car when we get in the back to go to sleep. We're careful, but one false move could cause a gigantic scratch.

Anybody else use anything different for sitting at the beach? I am imagining some sort of environmentally-friendly foldable seats... but they don't have to be environmentally-friendly. We want something with back support... sitting on a blanket, towel, or straw mat at the beach is getting old.

Any alternatives you can think of? Thanks! (We could always rent beach chairs...)

Small folding chairs like this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009DT4K0/ref=wl_it_dp/104-4952114-1391135?%5Fencoding=UTF8&colid=2I0F7WRI3E41O&coliid=I21QYZGBORTIN5&v=glance&n=3375251) shouldn't be a problem - they normally come with a carrying sleeve so you can sling it over your shoulder. I don't think there's anything on the sleeve that would scratch.

You can find them at a lot of different sports/outdoor places and some are bigger than others all folded up, but usually they're 3' long or less and in the $30 range.

Like Johnsonwax mentioned, just get a folding chair that can be stowed inside a sleeve like this:

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1098/chair0fh.jpg

They can be found for as little as $10 sometimes.




But please explain to me what the hell exactly is a non-environmentally friendly chair?

But please explain to me what the hell exactly is a non-environmentally friendly chair?

Yeah, I guess if Tropicana is willing to subsidize your chair you can find one for $10. If someone is going to put advertising on me full-time, they can pay me to sit in the damn chair - not the other way around.

I guess a chair made out of renewable or recycled resources. You could easily make a chair out of recycled aluminum and PET (soda bottles). I'd feel better tossing $30 toward that than one that wasn't recycled.

I was at a Gander Mountain store the other day and they have the same chairs at regular price for 7.95. DO IT, DO IT!!

If you want to atick with low profile and light-weight, you could always go with:

http://www.crazycreek.com/index.cfm

Yeah, I guess if Tropicana is willing to subsidize your chair you can find one for $10. If someone is going to put advertising on me full-time, they can pay me to sit in the damn chair - not the other way around.

I guess a chair made out of renewable or recycled resources. You could easily make a chair out of recycled aluminum and PET (soda bottles). I'd feel better tossing $30 toward that than one that wasn't recycled.
Here are several links for chairs within the $10-$15 range (without Tropicana endorsing them)
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=200775939&SearchEngine=Froogle&SearchTerm=200775939&Type=PE&Category=Sport&dcaid=17379
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1411125
http://hectorshardware.biz/shop/product.asp?dept_id=1422&sku=800627&

Or for around $28 you can get the Big Bubba deluxe chair:
http://www.rvpartscenter.com/ProductDetail.asp?PID=36279&SID=38&DID=18&CID=415

Whatever you get just stick them under the car when you go to sleep...that's what we do with many non-food items.

I got a set of REALLY nice double chairs at Costco for $25, heavy duty with cupholders. Not sure if they're still there. Also bought a lightweight single for $7.95 at Wallyworld, no ads. All come with sleeves. Gotta get'em, they make campin way more fun :)

I use a Crazy Creek (http://www.crazycreek.com/)chair for about 11 years the Power Lounger. It is compact no weight to it and is also great on the E's tailgate.:cool:

I just picked up a backback chair at Costco before my last trip to the beach last week. I think it's a Rio brand and was less than $20. It has an aluminum frame so it's lightweight for as big as it is. The pack bag is roomy and it's fairly comfortable strapped on. My wife said it was too big for her so I found a slightly smaller version at Wal-Mart, but it has a steel frame and its a little heavier. They both are low like a beach chair, but have high backs with little cushions for your head and recline to several positions. I think they are really comfortable and make it easier to haul gear out to the beach. :)

Thanks to everybody for the chair advice!

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8000&crumb=%26quot%3Bchair%26quot%3B%5E%26query%3Dchair %7ECamping+%26+Hiking%5E%26cat%3D4500001&query=chair&cat=4500001&vcat=REI_SEARCH:N

There are many like this at REI...