cheap camping equipment for a family of 5

rach!_3

as title says really,
we want to go camping this year, but have limited funds.
there is a 4 man tent with sleeping bags and mats on halfords for £50,
which is cheap enough but where can i get other things fairly cheaply?
i dont know if this is all we will need but my list is
1 more sleeping bag/mat
stove
pots/pans/cuttlery
lights
chairs

TomsMom

My daughter and family wanted to start camping a couple of years ago, and the cost of the amount of stuff you need mounts up!

She started off by buying good second hand stuff, either from local ads or ebay. As and when experience and finances allowed otherwise they added other stuff.

Maybe there are some bargains coming up in the specialist camping shops as it's coming towards the end of the season.

rach!_3

thanks i'll see what i can find,
neither of us have ever been and its something we have always wanted to do and we're sure the kids will love it.

creased-leach

You'll really struggle to get 5 in a 4 berth tent I'm afraid- unless the kids are tiny. Most campers reccommend extra capacity as they're very tight on space.

On the upside, you can pick up some camping gear in poundland. Scrap the chairs- they're not a necessity- and take a couple of pans from home- cutlery too. No sense buying specific camping cutlery/pans if it's your first time.

baby_bronagh

go outdoors have a sale on camping items.

hope this helps


bb

rach!_3

creased-leach wrote: »

You'll really struggle to get 5 in a 4 berth tent I'm afraid- unless the kids are tiny. Most campers reccommend extra capacity as they're very tight on space.

On the upside, you can pick up some camping gear in poundland. Scrap the chairs- they're not a necessity- and take a couple of pans from home- cutlery too. No sense buying specific camping cutlery/pans if it's your first time.

i hadnt realised this, im thinking all 3 kids could fit in a double sleeping bag(i know they would) so if it fits 2 double sleeping bags would this still not be the case?

tiff

Ask on freecycle for some things. You will need a gas bottle or canister for the stove. Best to try and get this from freecycle or the tip as you would normally have to pay a deposit for the bottle. People may be wanting to get rid of theirs camping stuff due to the weather, so worth asking.

rach!_3

have asked on freecycle, both of us have but for some reason no one ever replies, yet you will see others asking for the same things and within a couple of days they have recieved

lightisfading

rach! wrote: »

i hadnt realised this, im thinking all 3 kids could fit in a double sleeping bag(i know they would) so if it fits 2 double sleeping bags would this still not be the case?

You'll probably struggle, to be fair. A 3 person tent is generally crowded with two adults - and would be the same with 5 (even small) people in a 4 man - I think they base it on the exact width and height dimensions of an average adult, multiplied by 3, with NO extra space. Bear in mind even if you keep most of your gear in the car you'll still need room for some things in the tent ie lights, books, one set of clothes each, shoes etc. If anything you might find it harder to fit 3 kids than 3 adults as kids won't sit still! I would go to a camping shop or halfords if they have a tent set up and see if you can get inside it to get a judge of the size.

skiTTish

When it comes to the tent and sleeping bags ,please dont go 'cheap'
You will be thoroughly miserable in a leaky tent and cold at night
Gelert make reasonably priced quality bag ,go for a 3 season even if summer camping.
For the tent ,dont consider anything sold on ebay exclusively and dont buy anything with a hydrostatic head of less than 3000 ( 3000hh )
You could do with joining www.ukcampsite.co.uk loads of great advice on the tent pages there