What are Camping Cars?
According to Wikipedia, “Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants (known as campers) leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Car camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhomes, cabin, a primitive structure, or no shelter at all. ”
Camping cars have large flat covered surfaces that could be used either as storage area or a place to stretch out a sleeping bag. Forty years ago, station wagons were seen as the typical camping cars. Today, camping cars may range in style from traditional pickup trucks with hitched compartments for sleeping, to a high-stacked van with sleeping decks to recreational vehicles or RVs with amenities of a mobile home.
Preparing For Your Camping Car Trip
Car camping is one of the most enjoyable activities a family can take. It can also be a little bit nerve-wracking, especially if you’re bringing along your kids and you’re trying to ensure you bring all the essentials without forgetting a single thing. This makes it even more challenging if you have limited packing space or just starting out camping and have not accumulated the necessary camping gear and equipment. This is the reason why you need to have a camping checklist. This will help make sure you don’t forget important items, go over the list again and have the assurance that you have thoroughly covered everything.
Motorhomes camping is simply enjoying the pleasures of traveling to other places in a home-simulated environment. Some campers get the thrill out of stealth camping, or guerilla camping or wild camping, which all refer to same thing. It is the art of mischievously or rascally camping on unestablished sites where camping is not normally allowed, hence, the term “de coquin” in French.
Keep A Car Camping Checklist
The following items make up the basic list of camping supplies in order to be comfortable and safe.
Water.
For every camper, allocate 1 gallon per day. This includes supply for drinking and cooking. This is important as spigot water may not be potable on the camping site.
Personal Items.
Camping is not an excuse not to take care of your hygiene. On the contrary, it gives you more reason to observe personal hygiene because you may be exposed to heat and dirt. Must-bring items are: Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Deodorant, Soap, Razor, Sunscreen, Bug, Repellent, Q-tips, and the like.
Food.
Plan your meals in advance. Shopping in advance will help you ensure you have everything you need. This will also allow you time to shop for whatever item you might have missed on the list.
Camping doesn’t always mean canned goods or that your meals will not be as good as when you’re preparing them at home. Creating a meal plan will ensure that you can still enjoy decent and balanced meals even when you’re camping. Eating outdoors stimulates the appetite so make sure to prepare more than your usual servings.
First Aid Kit.
Bring a well-stocked first aid kit. This will give you some peace of mind and be able to deal with little things like cuts, scrapes, and burns even if you are miles away from the nearest drug store. You can either buy a store-ready kit that contains most of what you will need or you can put one together yourself. If you opt to put it together yourself, make sure it contains assorted medicated plaster strips, a wound cleanser, a topical antibiotic cream, scissors, tweezers, medicine for pain relief such as Tylenol, or Advil, and sunscreen. Do not forget to also include medication for insect bites, anti-allergy tablets and medication for stomach pain. Also, make sure to replenish your first-aid kit every after camping trip to get it ready for your next trip, just in case.
Beddings.
Being able to get a good night’s sleep is extremely important and proper bedding can spell the difference. Make sure you have sleeping bags for everyone rated to the appropriate temperature. If you’re camping in cooler weather, make sure to bring blankets to throw on top of your sleeping bags. Unless you plan to sleep outdoors, buying sleeping bags is on top of the list if you don’t have one yet, thick comforters and sheets will work fine. Just make sure you have enough layers to keep you warm if the temperatures turn cool.
Clothing.
One of the most important things to consider in traveling is having appropriate clothing to see you through as weather conditions are not always at its best. Not being clothed properly will make you sick and that is the last thing that you would want while you’re far from a hospital. If you’re planning to go to a location where it rains, make sure to bring rain gear to keep you dry in case of rain, jackets for cooler temperatures in the evening, and extra changes of clothing. If you’re bringing kids, throw in a few more extra clothing.
Must-Haves Car Camping Equipment
Campsite Tools.
You need to have the basic campsite tools to help you take care of any issues that may arise. For instance, you may need a hammer for setting and pulling stykes, an axe and saw to obtain and cut firewood, and a sharp knife. You may also want to bring a pair of multi-purpose scissors and some ropes and ties just in case the occasion to use it arises.
Camping Kitchen Equipment.
Whatever kitchen equipment you will bring depends on the extent of the meals that you have planned to prepare. It can be as simple as a can opener and a spoon to a complete mini kitchen. Of course bringing the basics is the best decision and when we refer to basics, it means plates, cups, bowls and cutlery set. Although some things on the list doesn’t look basic, you will be surprised how much of good use it can be and be happy to have brought it with you. The list includes: portable griller, cooking stove, serving spoons, frying pan or griddle, 2 pots/casseroles, coffee mugs with lids, cooking tongs, corkscrew, lighter, aluminum foil, strainer, salt/pepper/garlic salt, dishwashing soap, flipper for eggs and pancakes, vinyl tablecloths and dish towels.
Flashlights and Lanterns.
One of the extremely important camping needs is lighting because when the sun goes down for the day, it is really dark outside. Everyone in your family should have their own flashlights. Make sure to also bring batteries with you and if you’re using rechargeable batteries, bring chargers where you can recharge batteries using your car’s energy.
Nice-To-Haves On Camping Trips
For some folks, campings are not-so-common occasions that they simply make it a point to enjoy every moment of it. Other members of the family who do not enjoy much staying outdoors must be provided with other means of entertainment such as books, a deck of cards, toys for the kids, beach balls, picnic or beach blankets, or cd players. Lastly, if you want to capture precious moments with the family, you may not want to forget your camera.
Car Camping Tent
Depending on the size and amenities of your car, other members of the family may have to sleep out in a tent, so if there’s one thing that you must not forget, it is bringing a tent with you. A tent will offer you the privacy and protection from the rain, wind, and insects when you are sleeping outside. If you have little kids and you want them to enjoy camping a notch up higher, you can let them indulge in a Disney Pixar 5-piece easy-to-set up dome tent which includes Sleeping Bag, Compass, Flashlight and Carry Bag.
Going Invisible Under Your Camping Car Tents
A lot of people go camping for the other reasons. Some campers simply want peace and quiet or want to take time out to reflect, or escape from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. And because most RV parks are filled with fellow campers, they go stealth camping. Stealth tents were originally used by the military during operations but was eventually taken on by some campers wanting to be invisible. Stealth hammocks are also perfect to use amongst forests.
Camping Car Dilemma – Camping Car Rental Versus Owned
If you want to experience comfortable camping, a camping car is no doubt what you need. Camping cars provide ample storage for necessities as well as provide pleasurable camping comforts that a typical home can offer. There are different types of vehicles for camping to choose from. From camping trailers, trailer vans, trailer tents folding campers and SUVs. Buying a vehicle for camping purposes may entail dishing out large sums of money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 while larger ones are more expensive. A few of the vehicles that are custom-made for camping are Rapido motorhomes of France, Europe, the Challenger, Mercedes and Newmar’s Aire.
If you go on camping trips occasionally, you may want to consider renting out instead. This saves you money from recurring expenses of maintaining the vehicle even if it is not running. Camping can be an experience of a lifetime, but one need not purchase a camping car actually. However, if you frequently go on camping vacation for long periods of time, buying one is cheaper than renting in the long run.
Choosing A Camping Car To Rent
There are many vehicles in the market that can be used for camping because of its size and features. SUVs and recreational vehicles are popular choices for campers. You can rent one for the duration of your camping trip. This will save you money and avoid maintaining costs. Below are some tips to help you go about choosing the right camping vehicle to rent or hire:
*Do some research on the different types of vehicles that may best fit your camping needs. Take into consideration camping equipment that you want to bring along such as sleeping bags, tents, pillows and blankets so as to approximate your packing space requirements. Roads and terrains must also be considered. For example, if it is an off-road site, consider a four-wheel drive vehicle.
*Search online or through local directories for car rental services, rental options and rates and then compare prices. Browsing through some of the camp car reviews will help you pick out feedback and some sound suggestions where to look.
*Once you’ve shortlisted your top choices, call the rental companies of choice and make sure the vehicle you want is available. You can also reserve vehicles online. RV dealers and rental services are scattered all over the world. In the USA, you can check out RV dealers like Aires de Service, Colorado Springs, Lejeune, Avis and Md in Maryland or Esterel in Canada and Argus in Ireland.
*Book the rental over the phone, by website or in person at a local office in advance to avoid inconveniences.
The Perks Of Being A Part Of Association of Camping Car
Being a member of an association for campers can have its advantages. At affordable annual memberships, members can avail of association benefits such as discounts on rooms and cabins, membership to exclusive stores, access to online Airport Guide & Flight Planners and members’ web site, Information Hot Line and a lot more.
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