Financial restraint have meant we are now about to undertake our first camping holiday as a family of 4 (2 girls age 4 & 7)
Although My wife and I have done dozens of festivals I have never considered those as a camping holiday merely somewhere to be comatose in between drinking & the music !!!!!!!!!!
We set a budget of £200 I have acquired the following
Gelert Lokon Vario 6 Tent
Camping Gaz 2 ring hob & Grill
Collapsible picnic table & chairs all in one
Kitchen stand & Shelf unit
Collapsible utility Table
Plates, bowls mugs/beakers
Cutlery * Kitchen utensils
Additional Airbeds & sleeping bags (Kids)
Additional camping chairs (Kids again )
A couple of LED lanterns
First aid kit
Still to get
Camping Kettle
Camping pots pans (Are camping specific pans neccesary or can std household ones suffice)
Fuel for stove (looking for advice on type & size rqd)
Is there anything obvious I have missed ? although I have read several posts with various lists this is a trial run so just looking at fundamentals at present ....
Tent Erection
We undertook our first run at erecting the tent and i Have several questions regarding this
I read that many people utilize a 'base' or footprint groundsheet before any tent erection process commences What is the benefit of this & do you then put pegs through this when erecting main tent.
The groundsheets supplied overlap considerably if kept inside the tent perimeter therefore again do you pierce the overlaps particularly as the bedroom pods need securing to the ground via pegs or do attempt to align/fold under so that all pegs go straight into the ground
At this time of year are tent carpets necessary or can throws/picnic blankets etc prove adequate.
Utilizing cool boxes & Freezer packs (We have dozens) how long can bread, milk bacon sausage egg etc be deemed safe to use in order that we can plan meals effectively
------------- No longer a camping virgin!
July 2012 - Newquay, Cornwall
Aug 2012 - Dawlish, Devon
July 2013 - North Devon
Aug 2014 - Sanford park
Aug 2016 - Hendra
You have done well for £200, I use some old pots and pans from home. They are ok, but I find they take a little longer to heat up. Enjoy your first trip though.
We do not use a foot print. People do to protect and keep clean their tent particularly if it has a sewn in groundsheet (sig) or zipped in groundsheet (zig) the Footprint needs to be sligtly smaller than your tent as if it is sticking out from the edges of the tent you will end up having to peg through it and water will gather between the footprint and your tent groundsheet causing a water bed effect. (not good)
We have a slightly longer footprint for our tunnel tent, only because it was in the sale! We just fold it over to tuck under the tent. Without the footprint we would have had a wet and dirty tent many a time, whereas its easier to clean footprint when we get home. We peg footprint down, only takes a few pegs, then tent pegged seperately
Think you've done really well with your budget. Like others have said, take stuff from home, pillows etc and great bargains in the likes of £shop, Home Bargains and B&M.
We only paid £4 for those 2 camping pans that fit into each other, good to take.
Insulation is important. We bought those those cheap roll up foam mats to go under each airbed
Regarding the gas to use for your stove, check what it takes, look on here or relevant web site. We use a small gas bottle for ours, but your first can be pricey cos you buy the first bottle then you get it changed for a full one when it runs out. Sites sometimes have them.
Just use your common sense regarding the food. We just take fresh for the first day then buy more where we go . Some sites let you use a freezer to freeze the packs for your coolbox, but not always.
Food will last for a good 2-3 days in even the cheapest of cool boxes. Freeze as much as you can as well to help keep the contents cool and help it last longer. Even freezing bottles of water will help along with the ice packs.
I think your other questions have been covered very well above.
I hope you all enjoy the trip and find that camping is something you end up loving and want to keep on doing
Other posts have given good advice. Here's my five pennyworth.
Essential bits:
a) 5l water container. This is the responsibility of your girls to find drinking water and bring back while you and Mrs Rhino have a polite discussion about pitching the tent.
b) 2 buckets: one to fill as fire bucket, one for washing up. This too will become responsibility of younger campers before too long.
c) Alcohol, extraction device (corkscrew), tumblers to drink it from while small people are washing up
d) emergency whistles for youngsters, if they are at all worried. Head torches are a great idea too.
Regarding gas, probably best to go with a Camping Gas 907 cylinder and regulator, as they are easily had here and abroad. Camping makes overseas travel possible if things are tight, maybe not this year but soon. Gas always lasts longer than you think - a quick shake of the bottle, using bathroom scales, or a magnetic thermometer that sticks on the bottle will help you tell how much is in there. Don't buy a spare, replace when it's getting fairly low.
Unless you're going somewhere really remote, don't try to take too much food. We're never too far from restocking in this country, and shopping for local goodies, at farm shops etc, can be part of the fun. One 'emergency' meal is important, though. With all things, try to discard that which you don't really use for the next trip, and resist the temptation to take more stuff.
Have a great time. Though now growing old(er) and grey, some of our greatest memories are of camping with the kids. It's a great way to get them to understand the values of being around other people; I'm sure it really helped them to become the confident and friendly adults they are today.
Wow! You have done well for £200. Welcome to the wonderful world of camping!
We don't use a footprint. Sometimes we don't use a groundsheet in the living part of the tent. Footprints and carpets have crept in over the last 10 years and as I figured out how to stay warm & cozy well before that I've never really bothered. Now that I'm old I do take a hot water bottle, though. And a hat to wear at night if it's going to be cold. And a roll mat under our SIMs (self inflating mats) and especially under any airbeds.
You'll need the right gas cylinder for your camping stove. If you don't know, take it into a proper camping shop and ask.
You can use any pans you like but it'sprobably best not to do what my OH did last year and put in **all six** stainless steel pans from the kitchen. They are heavy and take up space!
I think the essential is to have fun. So long as you're happy no one else minds what you bring.
Tent carpets are very similar to picnic blankets (the ones with the plastic backing), so just bring a few picnic blankets. They are so versatile - use in the tent, outside on the grass or for days out.
Also, apart from a first aid kit, think hostile weather conditions and how to steer your camping equipment through that in a safe way. Use all of the guy lines attached (they're not on the tent for decoration purposes, as I've seen in many cases) and check the tent and it's set up every day. Easy task with a nice morning brew in your hand and a hammer in the other. Taut guylines and clobber the odd peg that had an escape in mind. Keep the flysheet taut without creases and/or plies.
Milk, sausages, bacon and such breakfast valuables will keep for 3~4 days if the cooler is only opened when you know what to pick out of it. Therefor, my wife rules the cooler as she knows where everything is. I would have to search resulting in the cooler being open too long.
Also remember that cold sinks and heat rises, so having the cooling pack at the bottom of the cooler is less effective that placing them on top of the content.
Also, the shady spot at the foot of the trees is a very good spot to store a sixpack for immediate use. The spot under the trailer where a slight draught is blowing is also a very good place to store tin cans; it seems they cool themselves into perfect drinking temperature.
Also, learn from seasoned campers and remember there are no stupid questions; only stupid answers...
try local carboot for a Gas cylinder will save you a fair few quid on the new price and then you will just need to exchange it.
I quite like having a footprint helps me to pitch as i can mark out the exact spot I want. and keeps the underside of the tent cleaner and drier meaning it does not need too much attention on returning and the footprint gets cleaned and hung over the fence. saying that a cheap tarpaulin from a local diy shop would do a suitable job if made to a correct size at a fraction of the cost.
You have done well so far got the basics covered just a few little luxuries to go.
I have a cheap frying pan and a small camping pan set I got cheap at a carboot. saves a bit of space but not much in reality compared to home pans.
Tent carpets are a luxury in my eyes and can be quite pricey i have some old breathable groundsheet matting which just adds a better feel to the inside as i have a SIG i doubt a carpet would add much more insulation.
Take whatever you can from home initially. You can always add the luxuries later if you wish. I take my steamer and frying pan. When we started camping the worst thing was being cold at night. I have since learnt to put plenty of insulation between the floor and the airbed and also on top of the airbed. Fold up waterproof picnic blankets are great as 'carpets'and take up little room. We don't have EHU and use a cool bag. We take some frozen food with us which helps keep the bag cool as well as frozen bottles of water.
This tent doesnt have a SIG (sewn in groundsheet) so doesnt need a footprint groundsheet. Keep all groundsheets inside the tent as if any part is outside rain will collect on it and could run back into the tent.
As for a water container all the plastic collapsable ones we have tried give the water a funny taste. So we now buy 5 litres of bottled water at the supermarket when we get there, use it as a water container then bin it when we leave. No more nasty tasting water and normally only costs around 99p
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Newbie Advice
