How do I buy gear that uses less space for car camping?
Posted: March 14th, 2011 | Author: Mitch | Filed under: Camping Gear | Tags: back seats, Camping Gear, clothing gear, ice chests, poet, size car | 2 Comments »In the past I’ve done a lot of car camping. However, even in a full size 4 door sedan, I am using up all kinds of space with clothing, gear, ice chests, etc…so much so that with 2 people, the trunk and back seats are fully occupied.
I’m in a position right now to order a new set of camping gear. How should I go about it so that the gear all fits into the large trunk of my full size car? I envision being able to provide for 4 people in my trunk with food and gear, and still have the seats to transport them.
I’m not a poet or an English major, so if I need to add details, please let me know.
Thanks!
The first thing is to try to reduce the amount of gear and clothing you bring with you. While you need fresh socks and underwear every day, pants and shirts can usually go two days between changes. Exchange bulky clothing such as denim and flannel for more compact chinos or synthetics. Trim out unnecessary items from your toiletries kit. If you have a properly-rated sleeping bag you won’t need to bring blankets. Leave your pillows at home and stuff your pillowcase with your extra clothing. Minimize your cooking gear down to the bare essentials.
After you eliminate or swap all you can to save weight, then you can look at replacing items with gear that’s more compact.
The first easy swap is to get rid of those cotton bath and dish towels and switch to synthetic pack towels.
Things like lanterns and bug lamps can take up a lot of room. If you have huge gas or oil lanterns, consider replacing them with more compact (and longer running) LED lanterns. Instead of bug lamps or citronella candles bring mosquito coils. Replacing folding tables and chairs with roll-up tables and bag chairs will save space.
Also look at the size of your coolers and how you pack them into the trunk. Sometimes going with a different cooler design will allow you to pack your car more efficiently without sacrificing cooler capacity. And if you’re bringing more than two coolers, (one for beverages, which gets used most often, and one for food), you’ve got too many.
Do you bring both a stove and a grill? Maybe you can consolidate by using a Coleman Grill/Stove unit (just don’t use the grill side for pots and pans, it _CAN_ melt; don’t ask how I know). You can also get a griddle accessory for this unit, which might replace your frying pan entirely.
Next look at your sleeping bag. Although they can be a bit expensive, you can find sleeping bags that compress down to 1/4 the size of a cheap unit. 9" x 15" pack size is easily obtainable without spending over $100 per bag. Then look at what’s going under your sleeping bag. Is it a huge cot or mattress? You might be able to save a bunch of space by switching to a more compact-folding cot or self-inflating mattress.
Then look at your shelter(s). How much room could you save if you went with a smaller tent design? Is it worth the trade-off in space? Maybe you could find a tent with similar floor space that packs into a smaller footprint. Do you also bring along an easy-up, screen room or gazebo to shelter your kitchen/dining/sitting area?
Finally, if the above doesn’t solve your packing problems, or the cost exceeds your budget, you can always add additional storage space by using a removable roof-top basket and/or waterproof cargo bag to handle additional gear. Just be careful to adequately secure everything before heading out on your trip.
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Mark M gave a pretty good answer. I dislike camping with my wife—not that I don’t enjoy her company, but we leave the house with EVERY conceivable item you can imagine—-and then if there is a Wal-Mart nearby, she adds to what we already have. LOL I love to camp, but I just as soon stay in a cabin or a motel for all the trouble I go through everytime we car camp.
Give Mark M five stars