I have had many discussions with fellow campers about the best way to pack the car for a camping trip.
We have a smallish car, but even with a big car if you have a family you will need to do a little bit of planning so you make the most of the space.
A practice run is a great idea, you can lay all your kit out and decide what to pack first and then after you have packed it all and shut the boot, then take all the kit back out in the order that you think you will need it on site.
Doing this will show you if you have buried anything that you need straight off!
Check the weather before you go, one camping tip for wet weather is that if there is a chance of rain then have waterproof clothing easily to hand when you arrive at the campsite, as you may need to keep dry if you have to pitch the tent in wet weather. You may need a torch or flashlight readily to hand if you arrive late in the evening.
We like to have the tent in the boot, near the front, so as you open the boot it is easy to take out. We don’t pack the tent first as you will be emptying the boot to get to the tent when you get to site.
Try and pack stuff in the order that you need it so the tent and things you need first are easy to get. I have learnt from my mistakes and made sure my tent accessories (mallet, airbed, pump etc) are also near the front. Just throwing in the tent accessories into the car isn’t helpful because the last thing you want to be doing is unpacking the whole car to try and find them!
As soon as we have arrived at the campsite, after finding the perfect pitch, then we can easily get the tent out and pitch it.
The main thing we do is pack solid items at the bottom. Be careful not to put too much weight if you have fragile items such as fibre glass poles, etc. Apart from the tent, our cool box is one of the biggest items, and it is solid, so that goes in our boot first.
For longer trips then pack clothes and shoes in smaller bags. Sturdy shopping bags (‘bag for life’) are good, don’t pack too much into each and they will fit well around larger items, behind the front seats in the car or into any gaps between larger item. A bottle of wine wrapped in a towel will also fit neatly into gaps.
Our camping chairs and table also fit behind the seats, however i am looking at some new flat lightweight camping chairs which will save space.
Most of the bedding goes on the back seat and packed in clear plastic storage bags. We have in the past used vacuum bags, that’s great on the way, but not good on way back!!
So we recommend a bit of preplanning for packing the car for camping and having a checklist so you don’t forget all your essential items.
