Great Camping Hunt

curtlyb

Savvysal wrote: »

Footprint groundsheets are a great idea - unfortunately they don't make them for all tents.............

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B&Q do a tarpaulins which are the same material at the groundsheet, but bright blue :rolleyes:

10m x 10m (massive) for about a fiver, just pitch your tent on top and cut it 3" smaller than your tent all round.... sod paying £25 for a purpose made one

Like what was said earlier in the thread, it's a cracking way to position your tent before getting it out of the bag.

BillScarab

One tip is to pack the tent last int car. then it is the first thing you take out when you get there. Otherwise you haev to unload the car to get at the tent which isn't great if the weather is poor or the ground is wet.

Also take lots of bin bags, handy for all sorts of things but especially if your tent is wet on the way home and you don't want to try and squash it into whatever bag it came in.

RGN

Having camped in Dorset for several years in different camp sites with wife and children( now grown up) our own observations are:

• ensure campsite has a no radio/music/TV policy i.e. quiet policy- which helps you sleep, as you'd be surprised at how much earlier you do go to sleep in the great outdoors.
• endorse the head lamp recommendations - keeps your hands free while bending especially in low roof tents.
• find out where supermarkets are in local area and shop on arrival - saves space in the car.
• Take cool box for travel food / sandwiches - tip: use bottled water as refridgerant - remove cupful of water from plastic bottle, replace cap, freeze and add to cooler box on departure. Keeps food cool and you have cold water for a couple of days - perfect for the beach!
• If driving - stop every 45-60 minutes to stretch/toilet break/snack/rehydrate - keeps everyone fresh,happy and prevents car fever !!
• While big tents once erected are great - they are a devil in some cases to erect and disassemble, especially some like OUTWELL - so ensure that your tent is easy and fast to erect, especially if you have kids. Also avoid a tent with too many zips and mesh layers - it drives the missus crazy, although it does keep the insects out.
• An external canopy to cope with the inevitable rain helps when cooking/ barbecuing - staying dry out of the tent.
• Endorse the idea of citronella for insects,wood kindling, ground sheets,good sleeping bags,clothing layers.
• Guys - take an electric razor - saves space and mess.
• Take flip-flops - easy if it rains, use in showers, on the beach, etc.
• Lastly - please respect your camping neighbour by keeping noise levels down - after all everyone is there to enjoy the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Although I have still not come up with a solution for those campers who snore to kingdom come and drive you crazy !! Ear plugs are a must !!

HAPPY CAMPING

Tracey2609

Have scanned through other people's comments - so other people may have suggested this - sorry if I'm repeating:

We took a gazebo, for extra space next to our tent, we also took a couple of tarpulins, which were big enough to go under both our tent and the gazebo. Our last camping trip was in Cornwall of last year and was particularly wet but as we had the gazebo up and the tarp underfoot - we were able to take our muddy shoes off without getting mud into the tent. We took large stackable plastic storage boxes which we put our clean clothes in to keep them dry - it was our first time camping in our new tent and I was worried about the roof leaking (as I said it rained alot). That being said the roof didn't leak but the storage boxes did keep the sleeping area a lot tidier. Also cheap fleece blankets are great we got ours from Asda - I think that they were only a couple of quid - we put them between the air bed and the sleeping bag and were cosy all night.

Tracey

mountainchrisriver

Savvysal wrote: »

Footprint groundsheets are a great idea - unfortunately they don't make them for all tents.

but you can buy stuff 'off the reel' and make your own...

http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Tent_Pegs__Poles___Anchors_73.html

scroll down to the bottom of the page...

kirkie_2

What sort of fridge/coolbox do people use? How do you keep things cool for a few days? Just thinking that if it was plugged into the car it would drain the battery or do people have a separate battery?

Nottightjustcareful_2

When our family got kitted out for a camping holiday we went to a tent show in the Cotswolds where all the tents were erected in a field. We ended up buying one we would never have chosen from a catalogue. The one we originally wanted was actually far too small.

Other camping gear was reduced by 10% so overall we did pretty well.

Our second tip is to buy a Camp site guide from a bookshop. They come out annually and are handier than a web page. You can pick out the camp sites you will like but also the ones you know are not for you!

Finally if you live within 3 hours or so of a good camping/holiday area keep your gear in a pile in the garage ready for a crash decision to go camping that weekend. That way your kids will always associate camping with sunshine.

mishe

thankyou to all who imput to this thread very helpful. i have been camping once only hated it tent to small and very cold we now have a two year old so there is now three of us and we have been invited to go camping with friends and have said yes in a mad moment. anyway does anyone have any tips on camping with a two year old and what size tent to get to be able to fit a travel cot in it as well and have enough room for us. we will be camping for a week.:eek:

shaveface

I'm lucky in that I'm a Beaver Scout Leader, so I have access to the tents, cooking equipment, etc that the group has (so long as I book it in advance).

Like many others I agree that, if you're going as a family, use a tent for more people than you're going to be sleeping and high enough to stand up. The numbers the manufacturers give are usually if you're all lying right next to each other with hardly any room to move. If one of you snores ...

Before going, make up some dried food mixes. I fill bags with dried bread mixes (flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, dried milk), home-made muesli, stew mixes (herbs, salt, pepper, pulses) and a few others. It means you're not taking tins that you don't need, and things like bread can be made by adding water to be bag and kneading it with the bag closed. For the stews, you add milk and some locally bought meat.

Get a collapsible water container. Takes up almost no room but saves you having to go back and forth to the water supply. Caravanners tend to use barrels with a handle, but for camping they take up too much room in the car (and are no good if you're hiking).

If there's two or three of you, invest in a Trangia (or equivalent) stove set. It runs from meths and comes complete with pans and kettle. It will burn in any conditions and stacks inside itself.

Glowlights. You can buy these from many places (try army surplus at around £1 each) and can provide many hours light in an emergency. I find the blue ones best for my eyes.

Campsites. The one great advantage of camping is that, if you don't like the site, you can move to somewhere else. Don't feel that you're stuck there - if it's too noisy, or full of midges, or too muddy, or the facilities aren't as advertised, have a polite word with the owners and cancel the rest of your booking. You can then go on and find another site.

gogdog5484

lou- wrote: »

Hello,

For those who are hopeless at putting up tents, or for those who want to get on the booze sharpish, I highly recommend the Quechua pop up tents. They have a sewn in groundsheet, take two people and their stuff comfortably, take a second to pop up and my one has stayed dry in a hideous storm when I didn't put the guy ropes out. I have had it for several years and a few more festivals and I can't recommend it enough - the only thing it doesn't have is a porch, but if it's raining I just zip my head out of the door and tie a brolly to the top.

Also, pegs, string and big scarves or towels make great wind breaks/shades between tents and have plenty of other uses

Go to decathlon in the winter they get reduced big time got a 4 man one last winter for £29.00!!!!