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Car Camping Advice

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garrettwc:
Time to break in the new forum and get some advice.

I'm planning on getting back into camping this year. Did it a few times when I was younger with church group, but that's been a long time.  We're going to start out with some basic car camping.

Other than the obvious tent and sleeping bag, what gear should I have?

Are some places better to go than others (national forest vs. state recreation area, etc)?

Any tips you can share to make my reintroduction a positive experience?

cfabe:
I've had great luck with national forest campgrounds. They tend to be very spread out so your neighbors aren't on top of you, and they usually have nice facilities. Plus, there are no additional restrictions on guns in national forests, like there are in national parks. Of course state run facilities will vary.

Get some of the cloth folding camp chairs, those are pretty nice.

jamz:
I'd bring:

Something to cook with, like a stove, utensils, cleaning stuff, etc.

If you're going to be out a while, bring two coolers- eat out of one, and leave the other sealed with tape. It will still be cool after 4-5 days.

A ground pad to sleep on, little rocks really dig in after 1AM or so.

folding chairs.

bug repellent

a big tarp and some cord to shelter the area if it rains

Pleas DON'T bring:

A radio or TV

alcohol enough to make you really loud/rowdy.




Love, James

charby:
This is what I bring

Tent- can be big because you ain't packing it

Chuck box, 4 plates, 4 sets of table ware, misc pots and pans, knife, spices, cutting board, small coffee pot, 4 coffee cups, tongs, slotted spoon, solid spoon, spatula, misc gladware, matches, stainless steal griddle.

Coleman stove

Coleman latern

sleeping bags

big air matress

chairs in bags

two coolers, one for beverages, one for food.

weiner sticks

first aid kit

radio

big water jug, the blue one you can buy at wally world

hatchet, small hammer, pliers

I can't think of anything else off hand, I know my equiptment grows every year as I discover I need something else.

First time out in a while, I would camp at a county or state park close to home, just in case you hate it and want to go home, 5 miles a lot closer than several hundred.

Charby

Greg L:
The basics have been covered.

One thing that I do is keep all the cooking utensils/plates/cups/etc in a medium sized Rubbermaid container.  It keeps them all in one place & the container doubles as a wash basin.  You'll probably also want a small dish drainer to let the dishes dry on.

Keep the meals simple to fix your first few times out.  Your learning curve on all the other stuff will be steep enough to keep you occupied without having to mess with a big complex dinner.

Bring a few books/cards/games for when you are stuck in the tent on a REALLY rainy day with the kids.

Have fun.

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