What sort of camping do you do?

Watching a caravan owner spend nearly 3hrs to pack up this weekend having more stuff than we have in the house.

I like long weekends and small camp-sites or a site in the woods fav places are the New forest or Burnbake near Swanage

I built the van to to be easy to set up, self contained and useable for as long a season as posable (we have been camping at Christmas) the kettles normally on with in 10mins of stopping
Its well insulated has on board water tank that will last around 4 days, a 80w solar panel, a compressor fridge, swivel seat and a propex heater
we try to keep the floor clear and every thing in its place so that we can just pull up and cook a lunch or a drink where we want.


This works for us but how about you

 

Well i would like to camp like that but our van isn't warm enough

bek - more blankets that's what i need

 

mine is set up as a day van so if i go anywhere i have to load boxes of kit
i never fancied a kitchen in the van or lugging half a tonne of furniture everywhere. this means i cant really do wild type camping but i go to shows and sites with facilites

 

I try and keep it all as simple and basic as i can

For me camping has a lot to do with leaving behind hassles and niggles of everyday life

 

We just pull up and stick the kettle on. We like hook-up as we use an electric fire, if needed, and for the fridge. We try to pack minimal and it all goes away, nothing lying around - except us! We watched another T2 this year spend 2 hours putting up an awning and unpacking loads of gear. Not for us. Perhaps we're just lazy...............

 

cheap sites and go most weekends

 

We'd only camp somewhere with an electric hook-up. So far, we've only used a drive-away tent awning (which took me 3 hours to put up and 2 to take down the first time I tried it). With a growing family, next year we're going to add an Eriba caravan, painted in the same colour as the bus, with a quick roll-out awning for short breaks, of 2 or 3 days, and a proper awning, which attaches to the bus at one end and the caravan at the other, for longer breaks.

For a single person or a couple, just a bus and nothing else is fine. For a family, the fact is, you're going to need a bit more space. There's not even enough room in a bus to swing a cat. No, I haven't tried it yet, but imagine swinging a cat above your head in a bus, in the style of an Olympic hammer thrower. It just isn't going to happen. You could probably manage it in the awning though.

 

Much the same as many others on here.

Coming originally from camping with a ridge tent means the camper was a revelation in luxury way back when and as a result it has been very easy to keep everything simple and light.

Even when going away for several weeks there is nothing on the floor and only maybe a bag and a coat laying on the rear shelf (spare is on the front). Everything packs away and it takes 5 to 10 minutes to set up or pack up. Dormy with a Viking roof does make storage a lot easier.

Its all set up to be quick, simple and easy, since neither of us is interested in spending time setting up complicated things that simply are not needed.

I guess its down to how and why you camp. We use a camper to tour round and visit lots of different places and we sleep somewhere different each night. Hence the camper is used as accomodation and pinics rather than as a fixed base. If I wanted to stay in one place for a long time then I would use a caravan, not a camper.

 

Well we do all of the above!
We have an enormous awning that we take when we are going to be parked up for a week,
but this weekend at Brighton we'll just be taking a very simple sunshade thing & there'll be a windbreak as well in case we need it.
But it will be the 10 minute set up & put down this weekend.

As a bit of an aside, we really do have enough long life food stashed away in the van...



to keep us for 28 days in case the Zombies do ever invade.

 

Excellent and paper bowls so no washing up ;D

 

WILD, i.e. pull ins from A roads, anywhere near water, never sites, got the bed , cooker, which is also heater attatched to 13kg gas bottle, got 2 carry 6 gallons of water anyhow (screwy ins!),change of clothes(?) toiletries, small radio > thats it folks ,me happy!

 

comfortable would be best way of descibing it now we have a Camp-let trailer tent, takes about 10mins to pitch then just sorting inside and comes down in about 10mins too, used it at grill n chill and got quite a few admirers.

 

i do minimalist camping !
like to keep it simply its good just to beable to get in van friday and have no worries i mean theres always a pub nearby
only thing i would change is the weather in this country the scenery is spot on !
roll on next summer
O0