What are your best camping tips and tricks?

[Badger]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Norm and Ginny's rule for bedtime.

1. Children once in bed were allowed to read until they fell asleep, no limit on time.

2. No requirement on what they read. We would buy any reading material they wanted.

Both boys are still great readers.

Oh my! I think if my folks had done that I would have still been reading when it was time to get up for school.
Even as an "adult" I will spend at least one day a month at work in a bit of a fog because I got hooked into a page turner and didn't get to sleep until the wee hours.

[Hazel in Sk]

We are very much 'basic' campers. Some basic pots, some basic dishes, some basic foods (some canned), some clothing, some tools for repairs, some things to amuse us on wet days etc. ;-)


We find it important to have a place for the various items - and work at keeping them in the right places. Baskets and clear plastic containers corral things nicely. We just find it easier if we can see what is in a container, (especially as we age and slowly lose our brains! )


Some items may be able to live in the tow vehicle. We cook outside so keep the pots, cooking tools, cans and dried food etc in the back of the vehicle.


It is so long since I've camped with small kids that I don't think I have much advice to offer other than ............


ALWAYS be able to get at the First Aid Kit and make sure it contains the things you may need (from pads for bleeding wounds, to slings and elastic bandages to wee Band Aids for kiddie hurts). Ours also contains a small, info packed booklet - we used it once when we faced an injury that neither of us had dealt with before. It is also where we keep a spare pair of glasses each, tweezers that work and a good pair of scissors. The rule of "If you don't use it for a few trips, leave it at home" doesn't apply to the First Aid supplies! Ours contains lots of useful items and is smaller than a shoe box.


I wish you a great deal of fun!!

[Sid]

One of my favorite Goodwill finds....The 10 inch and 8 inch frypans with folding handles from GSI. These were like new and I was surprised how little storage space was needed when the handle is folded into the pan. Really saves cabinet space.

[Eddie Longest]

Stash a roll of quarters in the trailer for the laundrymat.
Eddie

[Evergreengirl]

I just checked out Charlie's website, RV Widget Works. Neat storage items at a reasonable coat considering they're custom made.

[Darwin Maring]

We drive untill we think we want to overnight somewhere in about 1 hour, look up camping parks in the books (Woodalls Good Sam or KOA) give the park a call and reserve a place then 1 hour later arrive. This way, we are not tied to a schedule and/or specific location where we have to be.

[summersucks]

these tips are fantastic! love the pictures! I never would have remembered quarters for laundry, that is so smart. Charlie's website is awesome. If I had more time, I'd want them before our trip. Wonder how expensive shipping to Canada would be. Sid, the pan you have is very similar to our pot set, and the skillet I want does the same thing. Very convenient! I'm going to get a proper first aid set ready, great idea to bring along a booklet as well. We certainly won't always have internet access to look things up. I'm making a grand list because we have forgotten things every single time thus far.

[Mike Magee]

I try to find low containers made of plastic (even a cut-off cardboard box will do) that fit tightly against each other in the cupboard, so the stuff doesn't move around or fly out during travel. I use low, open-top containers so I can just reach in and grab what's in there. I put stuff back in the same place all the time, so I know right where it is and can reach up and in for an item without needed to pull the container down to look inside.

[Roger C H]

"When running the water to get it hot, run it into a 1 gallon pitcher and save the water for washing or flushing."

We use cut off gallon milk jugs, only we use them at home! We pour them into 5 gallon pails in the bathtub and use that for toilet flushing!

DO NOT use aluminum pots. Aluminum oxide is black and gets on everything nearby.

We use anything handy to pack in between things, towels, paper towel rolls, plastic shopping bags which later are used for trash.

We have two large Tupperware containers which fit under our permanent bed in the back. The one in back has two straps pop-riveted to it for pulling out. We keep our clothes in these.

We don't buy for the entire trip because we aren't going to the moon. We buy as needed. We also don't have refrigeration/ice box. A small container of vegetables makes a good lunch for both of us. Supermarket Deli's are our best friends. Cheaper than restaurants.

Our Trillium has shelves all around which was a problem because of the curved corner until we discovered plastic baskets at a dollar store. They are a nice size, are not solid, and handy to take to the campground bathroom with shaving or showering or tooth brushing supplies in them.




We don't use anything made of glass! I wash out plastic peanut butter jars with the screw lids and use them for instant coffee, sugar, tea, powdered milk, hot chocolate powder. Being all the same size and shape, they store easily and compactly, being plastic, they don't break, and having screw lids they don't open accidentally.

Medicine bottles of a size work perfectly for quarters, they hold ~35 quarters, which isn't a full roll, but it does keep them contained.

[Avey]

Ok, so this is something most people wouldn't talk about! But we find that if we use American innotek portable toilets it saves the black tank from filling up. That way we can stay longer at a campsite. They are a toilet in a bag, made to use and then throw away. A lot of out door jobs use them as their porta potty on the worksite. We use them over our trailers toilet.
Cathy

[Roger C H]

Originally Posted by Avey

Ok, so this is something most people wouldn't talk about! But we find that if we use American innotek portable toilets it saves the black tank from filling up. That way we can stay longer at a campsite. They are a toilet in a bag, made to use and then throw away. A lot of out door jobs use them as their porta potty on the worksite. We use them over our trailers toilet.
Cathy

Careful, some places it is illegal to dump toilet waste in the regular trash.


http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recr...bletoilets.pdf

[Denece]

I think they are talking about urine. Once gelled ( like in baby diapers) it is legal to dispose of in trash. That is what the stuff in the bags is for.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[SoloMatt]

Yep. The popular brand is Travel John and they contain a polymer substance that turns sewage into odorless gel that is safe for disposal. They work for 'all bathroom emergencies' (quote from company) not just urine. They're over a buck a bag, so it's an expensive way to go, depending on how many you might need but, then again, you may be saving on overall campground costs by camping without sewer.

[Rob V]

I bought a bag of sodium polyacrylate diaper polymer from Amazon. Appears that it will be less expensive than the commercially sold, prepared plastic bags. We'll see.

[neparker]

We use biodegradable bags and powder which converts liquid to gel. Very convenient and acceptable in most Forest Service campgrounds: http://www.amazon.com/Cleanwaste-Min...rds=poo+powder

Another tip for organizing clothes -- I found this on Fiberglassrv (Gilda, maybe?) -- use laundry bags to store like clothing, wherever you decide to stow them. I also found that different sources (eg Walmart, Target) offer different mesh sizes in their laundry bags which makes it very easy to differentiate between his and hers. Really works well.

When we camped in our Boler and Scamp, we also found that Container Store hanging shelves were perfect for the closet. They come in sizes to fit both the narrow and standard closets. Trim the length to fit (or not!) Just crimp the hanging hooks so everything doesn't end up on the bottom.

-- Anne


PS What a great question and list! I've bookmarked it.

[Island Claire]

We keep coats, boots and hats in the tow vehicle in a bin.

As you are traveling with children it is useful to keep 4 liter jugs of water in the vehicle. They will heat during the day and be very useful for cleaning feet, faces etc, and for cleaning up after a day at the beach.
We found a child's broom in the dollar store and shortened the handle a bit more. Fits in most of the cupboards in the trailer.

We have a hook on the outside of the trailer under the awning where we hang dripping wet coats. No puddles in the trailer

We use a bungee to hold our paper towel. Run it through the tube and hand it anywhere - off the awning on nice days, from a shelf, over a cupboard door...

We do not like an outdoor carpet, but we do have to 2 by 2.5 foot pieces of outdoor carpet that get put on the ground outside the door to help keep the mess outside.

We also use the towel of the backseat of the car to dry method. Works well.

[honda03842]

We carry a bunch of things in the car. Much of it is for when we're not towing.

We carry a case of bottle water. We do a lot of driving where safe water may not be available.

Two walking sticks and a small back pack for our hikes and geocaching.

A roll of quarters in the glove compartment for laundry or loonies.

Passports in the car and $20 in cash for when we forget our wallets.

A wooden block, tire pressure gauge, air compressor, tire repair kit and a small bottle jack.

A plastic bin with a sweater, rain coat and cap for each of us.

A bin with fluids, oil, distilled water, bearing grease, spare bearings and a few tools.

A small bin, fits under the seat, with snacks, nuts and twizzlers.

A small bin with a jump starter and a meter.

A small bin with first aid supplies.

A small bin with a handle of maps for the travel area.

A bottle of aspirin and ibuprofen.

A wireless tire pressure/temperature monitor for trailer tires.

A wireless LCD monitor for the trailer's rear camera.

A picnic blanket.

Two phone chargers, a 150 watt 12 to 110 volt AC inverter.

And a bunch of things I forgot....

[robertsd8]

We use the back of our SUV for some storage, especially dirty clothes and infrequently used items or items to be used days later.

[Joy A]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Stash a roll of quarters in the trailer for the laundrymat.
Eddie

Like Eddie, I have quarters for laundry. Mine are in a small ziplock stored in small tupperware container that has the laundry soap. I use the Tide that comes with fabric softener in it.

Then don't forget the showers.
I have a small tote bag that I keep my bath items in: towel, wash cloth, 2 small bottles of shampoo and 2 small bottles of rinse (you have to have a variety), a soap box with soap, zorries (I never stand on the floor of any CG bath in my bare feet and wash the zorries good after each use and put them in their own plastic grocery bag) and then a small purse with usually $10 of quarters. These are for coin operated showers.

[Larry,C]

We like to use bags for consumables like cereal or dog food then as we consume the contents the container gets smaller and takes up less space.