All of that camping gear...

[calicamper]

How's it going guys. So, I'm a new member, and I really enjoy checking out all of the setups and rigs that everyone else has! Being new, I hope you guys will forgive me if this post isn't in the correct part of the forum, but from what I can tell, it seems fitting.

Not about one piece of gear in particular, but the headache of all of it. My girlfriend and I love camping, but for the few days ahead of time, and for a couple of hours after we are home, the stress level involved with all of the stuff involved in going camping is crazy. What I am talking about is basically running down the lists of food, ice, cooler or even two, beer, chairs, tent, sleeping bag, food and kitchen boxes, dog supplies, etc...

By now I am sure that you guys are seeing a familiarity to yourselves several years ago, or even recently for some. I have been camping all of my life and this just seems the way that it has to be. You wonder why you end up bringing some of this stuff, but when you get there and are living with it, it all seems necessary.

My long term solution for this is to eventually get a slide in camper. That's not really financially possible right now, and storage will also be an issue. I have a 2006 Dodge Cummins short bed, with a softopper, and all of the bed space is quickly used. This truck will soon be for sale. I also have a 1997 ext. cab cummins with a long bed and this truck will be kept. We have also just bought a Yukon xl that I predict will soon see camping use, but I foresee the same problem as with the 06 dodge. Where is it all going to go?

Now that summer is nearing an end and boating season will be letting up in California soon, it will be time to get ready for dirt bikes and more gear that goes along with that.

We love tent camping for now and I understand that the solution sounds simple...just put everything in Rubbermaid containers and keep it all in one place. Unfortunately there is also storage issues at home and the fact that some things, such as pillows, some blankets, and pots and pans must be repurposed from home to go camping.

May turn into discussion, may be in the wrong part of the forum, but I know many have been here before and I would like to know if you have much of the same issues, or if one day you finally figured it all out, and found a low stress way to pack your gear into the truck, even at a moments notice, and get camping. Let me know.

Wait till you have kids. LOL - we went from a Subaru Legacy hauling a small tent, and basics for Triatholon events in CA - and towing our little Racing sailboat to regattas up and down the state. To selling the boat due to no time with kids in tow. To adding a 4x6 trailer / tent so we could haul all our gear and sleep off the ground. All our gear is stowed in 5-6 costco yellow top bins currently less than $9 a bin! - Takes about 30 minutes to hook up the trailer and toss the bins on and have the ICE chest packed and in the car. The issue now is that we like our camp kitchen set up but it adds time to the set up and tear down at the campsite. Takes us a solid 30-40 minutes to get set up or to tear down. If all we were doing was setting up the tent we could be set up in 15 minutes but everything else, bikes, kitchen gear etc just adds to the set up time.

The fastest set up is the pop up camper on the truck you have it packed and ready to go just add food and go! Set up time at the other end is fast toss out two chairs maybe a small mat if your fancy, pop the camper and your done. The down side is if you use the vehicle at your places you need to pack up to use the truck. After we set up, we can make day trips go exploring etc and return to camp without any tear down set up needed etc. The only way it would go faster for us would be to move to a small RV trailer with bunk beds and exterior rear kitchen thus still leaving us with the ability to use the car to go explore etc.

 

[KevinsMap]

the first I don't really agree with. I have drawers, but I have containers that go in the drawers to pack it (plates, bowls, ammo can for lights and batteries etc etc etc) so its a minute to pack them.

its all about organization

the rest I agree with lol

You edited my quote, in the middle of a paragraph; naughty ;-) Not a big deal, but it does change my meaning significantly, especially of what follows: The original ::

"First - Avoid built-in packing organization, such as cabinetry and drawers, unless you keep them packed and ready to go at all times. That is when this system works. And then it works very well, but you are (mostly) fully loaded, all the time. Not for everyone. Otherwise, removable storage bins (of your choice, and boy has a lot of ink been spilled on this subject , and with only the essentials. Pack light."

I only mention this because I also want to commend you for the use of bins-in-drawers, a clever hybrid system that combines the best of both types I discuss. The bins stay packed? That would make it very convenient to load, but free up the car for daily driver use. I still shy away from the wasted space inherent in drawers, and the added weight; but that is because I have a Jeep, and every cubic inch and ounce counts!

In fact, I am very likely to modify (blatantly rip-off) this concept for my own needs; it has potential.

Edit: Got Pics?

Again, no worries But one must be careful when editing quotes...

 

[Christophe Noel]

This is why I love to motorcycle camp and bikepack. When I bikepack, I take 20 pounds of gear...max...and can have a full camp pitched in under 15 minutes and dinner ready in 25. When we car camp...er...excuse me...overland, I often take way more stuff, but still keep it very simple. Again, camp is set up in 30 minutes, packed in 45 at most.

 

[zelatore]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that boating season might end in California....This Is Not So!

Otherwise I'm more or less like everybody else here - dedicated boxes for most things and a system of how they fit in the rig. I happen to use the Ridged tool boxes as they stack and lock together and are fairly inexpensive compared to something like a Pelican or other specialist storage.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-22-in-Pro-Tool-Box-Black-222570/205440481

 

[calicamper]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that boating season might end in California....This Is Not So!

Otherwise I'm more or less like everybody else here - dedicated boxes for most things and a system of how they fit in the rig. I happen to use the Ridged tool boxes as they stack and lock together and are fairly inexpensive compared to something like a Pelican or other specialist storage.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-22-in-Pro-Tool-Box-Black-222570/205440481

If you water ski or are the typical Power / recreational boater in CA you generally are on the water April through Mid to end of October. I grew up water skiing in CA. Today I race sailboats which case we sail year around and my big boat sits in a slip and we use it more in the winter than the summer given winter months we have fewer nuking 20+ knot days on the SF Bay. Spent Labor Day on Angel Island took the kids Hiking then we hung out till sun set and had dinner on the boat before we sailed home.

 

[zelatore]

That's why I have both a trailer boat (Donzi 22) for the lakes/rivers/delta, and a cruising boat (Carver 32) for the bay/coast.

Back when I was in sales we often found November to be a very strong month for us. This was for mid-size (30-60') cruising powerboats. I'm sure the trailer boat market would lay down in the winter. These days I'm still in the business just not in sales. I'm pretty consistent year-round.

The top of Angle Island is the best view in the bay. At least on a clear day.

(written while sitting on my boat in the Oakland estuary)

 

[peneumbra]

Maybe the best example of "be sure you've got all the gear you need" is a fire department responding to emergency calls.

It's very embarrassing to arrive at, say, a structure fire, only to find out that you've forgotten to reload the hose bed, or left the ladders at the station, or... well, you get the idea.

Same is true with medical calls. "Now, where'd I leave that med box? Dang! You wait here and I'll be right back..."

So I guess I'm a bit obsessive about bringing all the gear, even if it's only a camping trip.

Actually, I've found that the best way to get around that is... simply buy a house or cabin where you'd go to recreate, and move there. Then you don't have to worry about what to take, because you're already there.

 

[Happy Joe]

We have evolved over the years...
I now refuse to subject myself to deep totes, drawers etc.; if the container results in more than one layer of stuff, it can be improved...(several decades of self abuse can lead to enlightenment).
We have successfully used plastic ghetto furniture (shallow wally world drawers) to improve stuff access over deep totes. They can be acceptable lightweight large tent furnishings.
Since (mostly) getting back to a 2 person 9x9 dome; a series of shallow totes allows storage of stuff under the cots. Labels, color coded lids and standard position/location keeps tote searching at a minimum.

Some essential equipment remains in the vehicles at all times (first aid kit, fire extinguisher, tools, long runtime flashlight, self rescue equipment etc.).

If I have to remember to transfer something from the home supplies to the camping supplies, I buy another so that the camping supplies are independent and ready to load.
....some things need redundancy (a can opener and a Swiss army knife with a can opener, a chair for every one and a spare, a flashlight for everyone and a spare (with spare rechargeable batteries)).

Enjoy!

 

[calicamper]

That's why I have both a trailer boat (Donzi 22) for the lakes/rivers/delta, and a cruising boat (Carver 32) for the bay/coast.

Back when I was in sales we often found November to be a very strong month for us. This was for mid-size (30-60') cruising powerboats. I'm sure the trailer boat market would lay down in the winter. These days I'm still in the business just not in sales. I'm pretty consistent year-round.

The top of Angle Island is the best view in the bay. At least on a clear day.

(written while sitting on my boat in the Oakland estuary)

A neighbor has been selling boats for over 30yrs and the past three years he's never seen anything like it. He's doing 2-3 cash deals on big boats a month and hasn't seen it slow down yet. Large number of people are from over seas also. After he mentioned that to me about two years ago I checked on Airstream and found they were back logged with orders and were building as fast as they could also. The stock market has felt over heated for a couple of years now so lots of people are sitting on cash vs putting it into the market etc. We were in the same boat we never sit on cash given its just worthless sitting there. The market felt too over heated so we were slow to park it in investments. In the end we ended up doing some work on our rental, some work on our house and ended up replacing my wifes 2001 VW which needed to be replaced. So were back in the build up the cash reserves mode again and in 6 months to a year we'll be looking at the market again to see if there is a logical spot to invest in the market.

 

[kj4vyi]

You have gotten some good advice so far. A few notes, from experience ;-)

First - Avoid built-in packing organization, such as cabinetry and drawers, unless you keep them packed and ready to go at all times. That is when this system works. And then it works very well, but you are (mostly) fully loaded, all the time. Not for everyone. Otherwise, removable storage bins (of your choice, and boy has a lot of ink been spilled on this subject , and with only the essentials. Pack light.

Second - Do not re-purpose anything. Buy dedicated everything; linens, pillows, pots and pans. Ikea is your friend. Only what you need. Keep it all organized, at all times. Pack light.

Third - After each trip, put everything away ready for use, well organized in those bins so that everything can be seen when you open the lid. If you can't see it, your storage bin is too deep for purpose. Don't hide things from yourself. Pack light.

Fourth - Keep a master list, of everything. Include the place you store it, and stick to it. If you do not use it 2 trips in a row, don't bring it. Take it off the list. Pack light

Fifth and last - Label Everything... and pack light.

Enjoy.

Unpacked:

View attachment 304090

Packing under way:

View attachment 304091

Hate to hijack but i want to know about that tarp / cover you have in the first pic - you can pm me or if you have a link to a thread where you talk about it would be cool -- really like it !!

thanks for the bandwidth

Chad

 

[photogdave]

I can honestly say, with a slight tinge of shame, that I likely wouldn't be camping at all these days, much less exploring the backcountry if I had never bought a Westy.
So in my case the right vehicle made all the difference. The mini-RV concept of the campervan allows me to keep most of my gear always packed (except for valuables), water in the tank, bike rack mounted, extra clothes stowed, even some non-perishable food items always handy. I can, and have, jumped into the van and taken off for the mountains without packing a single thing.
I live in a small townhouse with minimal storage space. If I had to store, pack and re-pack rubber totes for every camping trip, drive a little hatchback to a campsite and pitch a tent I probably wouldn't bother with any camping and just go for day hikes/rides.
Now I can find a nice rustic spot in the woods, pop the top, crack a bevvie and enjoy!
I will echo what others have said about minimizing and using specialty gear. I started using household pots and pans etc. but I've switched over to mostly backpacking cookware and other portable, compact gear. I now have cupboard space to spare and it feels good!

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Over the years I have accumulated so much gear that every now and then I have to go through it all and pare back to essentials. I think the most important lesson I have learned is don't be afraid to spend money on good gear. It pays for itself in the long run. Being versatile and having gear that can be multi-purpose is critical. I have backpacking gear for light camping off my SxS. What I bring on a trip depends largely on how many will be coming with me, and the vehicle I am using to access the wilderness. If solo I can go very light, or I could provision gear for about six different people - some may have to share though. When going off the SXS, I typically take Freeze-dried foods with what I call "add-ins". I'll bring cooked ground beef, chicken and/or pre-chopped veggies to add to my Mountain House meals, it makes a huge difference. Ultimately, I have a master packing list that covers all types of camping situations I might be involved in, from boating to quadding to simple car-camping. I just cross out whatever I'll not be using.

 

[cdarthvader]

We go camping every month with the Boy scouts, and with 3 kids i was tired of loading and unloading the SUV to the max just to get the equipment there. I bought this trailer for 1000$ and is probably the best investment I've ever made. All the camping stays in the trailer minus food and cooler. Everything has it's own area and is labeled and ready to go. Everything is locked up until ready to use. My wife loves the trailer so much she had to add a little of her own flair to it

 

[GregSplett]

thumbs up Vader!

 

[calicamper]

Several of the sailing guys I race with have gear trailers like that. Your right they are great for just serving as the gear locker ready to go.