What did YOU forget on your first camping trip?

[ljswanson53]

Now this is a fun thread! Any camper has stories like this to tell, but, any temporary inconvenience aside, they’re all first world problems.

[garycarolyn]

Originally Posted by Kimmyb

We are the proud owners of our first "new to us" 2007 Casita 16' LD! We are going on our inaugural weekend camping trip this weekend. We were just trying to get our trip organized and wondering what other people might have forgotten or wished they would have brought on their trip?? Thank you all in advance!
If this has been covered, please redirect.

'We love our 2005 16'SD but forgot to DUCK the first time out the little door! Also, don't forget to take the toilet paper and towels out of the bathroom before showering! Also, we need a plastic step stool in front of the door for easier entering, it's easier on the knees.

[stude]

Originally Posted by tractors1

Coffee filters for our percolator. Paper towels work fairly well.

:especially if you split them apart then u get two days for the price of one.
Stude

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by tractors1

Coffee filters for our percolator. Paper towels work fairly well.

I worked in an auto repair shop in the 70s... the owner provided free coffee for employees and customers. He used an electric percolator and used a couple of layers of toilet paper for the filter. We employees commented about it all the time among ourselves... funny humans we are.

[BarbinBC]

I kept a list. Some items we had to purchase along the way.


-tea towels & dishrag
-laundry soap
-slotted spoon & ladle

-large pot
-potato peeler
-antihistamine cream
-hatchet
-cleaning rags
-cheese grater
-plant & bird books
-inventory of food on board
- fish weigh scale to weigh propane tank
-small shovel

[JBB]

It wasn't our first trip, but the worst thing I would say that we forgot to pack was our bed pillows! We were going to be gone for 2 weeks out in the middle of nowhere. No WalMart or Dollar stores nearby to run to! Needless to say we have bought pillows that stay in the camper. Trying to sleep on folded towels was no fun!

[theresa p]

Hi---this isn't something we forgot, but instead, something we forgot to check.
The damn bed was uncomfortable! Needed more "padding". Thought our natural padding would suffice but apparently, no.


We both found that when we turned onto our sides, we felt like we were sleeping on the fibreglass without any cushionning....


...so now, we sleep in comfort as we not only have the 4" cushions but also a 3" foam plus a 2" memory foam topper. Wonderful!!!!!!


If we'd done a trial campout in our driveway we'd have discovered this..but alas, we didn't.

[Speedbump]

32’ stick camper to aNew to me Casita 17, Remembered every thing above, I forgot my Friken chairs....ya,.... my Friken chairs!

[Bobbie Mayer]

First trip- didn't forget, but didn't know I'd need an adapter for the Campster power cord.

Since then- once I forgot my dog's seizure meds but was 15 minutes from home.

Once I was half an hour en route before realizing I'd forgotten a dog.

Last trip- the toilet paper. And some of my clothes.

I usually work off a list nowadays and try not to forget things.

[tua]

Not my first trip but my 7th camping trip....you would have thought I would have been a pro by then....I left all my pants. Only had the pair I was wearing.

[Spongelander]

Forgot the fresh water hose, filter and regulator (I could tell you EXACTLY where I left them at home!). Unbelievably, Camping World was literally a mile away, so we picked up a new set...

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Krestow

The spatula. (Flipping eggs with a spoon isn't as easy as you might think!)

Wouldn't that be an order for scrambled .

[Doug Arthurs]

First camping trip with my Dad when I was a kid. We had a big heavy canvas tent. We forgot to bring the separate bag with the poles in it. Nothing says close family as Dad and three kids sleeping in a Chrysler town and country station wagon.

[yardsale]

Front wheel of one of our bikes.

[Jim Bennett]

I forget what I forgot!

One time when headed camping, but on a canoe trip not in a trailer, we had 6 of us packed into my F350 cab with 3 canoes on top. Stopped for fuel, and shortly after we took off, my nephew asks where I was going. "Duh, canoeing". His response "Well, you left Uncle David back at the gas station". Seems he went in to use the bathroom and I never knew. He did not look happy when we came back to get him.

But to be fair, he did forget his dog once while out camping, but we brought her home for him.

Originally Posted by tractors1

Coffee filters for our percolator. Paper towels work fairly well.

Forgot filters for my AeroPress once (now carry a SS one). Got a big one from a Starbucks and cut it into round disks.

Originally Posted by elk_rapidian

Kindling and camp fire tools. Firewood is usually available near every campground, but not the "accessories."

That would be an axe then. That says on the truck full time for me. Makes kindling that will start with just a match.

BTW, for those not aware, a wooden match burns hotter than a butane lighter and will light stubborn material a bit easier.

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I keep a sawdust and paraffin firelog in the trailer and just lop off chunks of it as kindling. Burns longer.

I have seen others do this for backpacking where one can't bring an axe for splitting up small kindling. Works better than the manufactured ones, though they are better than nothing.

I used to dip loosely rolled toilet paper or paper towel in melted wax, then squeeze/drain off a bit and let cool. Once set but not hard I cut them into wee chunks to use.

[Kai in Seattle]

First trip with Peanut, we didn't know where to put anything, really, and spent the first two days rearranging and re-rearranging...by the third day, we had forgotten where nearly everything was.

I also apparently forgot how to sleep in a trailer...happy to announce after our most recent trip that I can, indeed, get the pillows stacked just right to finally be able to assume I will reliably find some of that "gentle thing, beloved from pole to pole."


BEST,
Kai

[Kai in Seattle]

One time early on, I forgot my shoes. We arrived at the beach after a few hours' drive and I discovered I was wearing pink fuzzy slippers. No shoes packed anywhere, and none of Paul's that would work.

Got lucky and found some boys size 7 shoes in a hardware store...no women's shoes and nothing smaller available in any nearby town.


K

[Kai in Seattle]

First trip I forgot about the little step in the middle of the floor. Only a small step, but it is so jarring...and maddening!

Takes me a trip or two 8) to reliably remember it's there.

Kai

[julmar]

February trip to the sw I forgot fav camp chair Luckily found one finally @ Costco in Indio. Now have 2! Luv that side table.

[Dennis mn]

The tent