After our first camping trip this year, we upgraded the tent to 6 berth and decided that my Mondeo saloon wasnt big enough ... so researched in roof boxes or trailors (having neither a tow bar or roof bars etc) finally decided on a trailor, it cost 340.00 for a towbar (professionally fitted) a 4 x 3 trailor with electric boards and a cover. He even got us a number plate done too for free!!! I thought reasonable (im sure i will be told different on here) Anyway, all the tent bits went in it, leaving just pillows and food in the car, it was great!!! My first time towing too, it all went well thankfully. The beauty of the trailor is i can use it outside of camping ie boot sales or dump trips. And when the kids dont come with us, we use the back seats of the car and can drive a little faster ...
But wait till next year, im sure i will buy a larger car or a roofbox ....
I came home on Sunday last still feeling I took too much, actually. (See list at top of page.) My least favourite part of any trip is the setting up and repacking, and I`m not going to be happy till I get it under one hour at each end, which would include getting out the car.
I work very hard on modularising our packing in such a way that things like emergency gear and spare stuff like batteries, gas cylinders and extra pegs all live in the same bag ...this means if you end up not needing any of it that trip, you didn`t even have to unzip that bag, just take it out the car and then put it back in at the end. (Why do I take this bag at all? Well, because when you need stuff from it, you REALLY need it!) And I don`t take anything that involves much setting up, with the honorable exception of the table, the chairs and the old beanstalk. I do occasionaly toy with trying out a self inflating mat for myself again (the kids already have them) but am pretty sure my deteriorating back wouldn`t cope.
So it boils down to reducing the food, the clothes and the leisure extras. For normal weekends I have one medium sized coolbox and a largish coolbag (for non-chilled foodstuffs, like the teabags, pasta and sauce.) I`ve got a bad habit of taking another bag of extra snacks and such though, so that can go!
Clothes? I always take enough for the correct number of days plus one extra (for weekend trips) then...the kids live in the same pair of dirty shorts for three days. So less clothes from now on.....going to buy smaller holdalls.
And they usually get to take their school backpack each for books and toys and tapes...then they spend their days running around outside. Even on our recent five week trip they hardly touched their toys, except for the tapes and pencils/notebooks! So I have found them two much smaller backpacks.
I hate excess "stuff" with a passion......comes from my lightweight camping days, when I had to lug it all up hills in my bike panniers. You really know the difference between essential and optional kit then.
Feeling slightly better at having to use two cars for our week long trips now.
Have 1 Zafira with all passenger seats down packed up to headrests with OH and 1 child. Then other car with me, full boot and other 2 kids with toys.
Going tomorrow and OH and I have barely slept the last few nights trying to remember everything (even with newly typed up camping list). Also worry how we will fit everything in safely lol!
Is this camping thing supposed to be relaxing??
Gawdsakes, how long is that lot going to take you to unpack and set up? Four/five hours? More?
We did have a boot crisis this year and I got so worked up packing the car that I am not going camping next year without a roofbox!! We knew we needed one this year but hubbys company car has been ordered, old one has gone back and we are using a hire car, a VW Passat estate. Thought the estate would be fine but no ... the boot was definately smaller than the Mondeo. I ended up packing car, unpacking it, reducing clothes, extras etc, re-packing car and still had to leave beach stuff, coolbox and a few other bits of groceries etc at home!! It was even worse coming home!! The only person who had any leg room was the husband because he was driving and a 6 hour journey to look forward to!!!
Did contemplate the trailer but I think we go down the roofbox route first!
Cor Blimey! To the person with 3 kids and 2 cars! I have a zafira with a roofbox and 5 kids and partner and we only took that car! I already posted on here as to what we took with us but 2 cars and 3 kids seems a little excessive in my opinion! I must admit that when we go again as a full family we will take 2 cars but that is down to a real lack of space and comfort in the car and also possibly having overloaded the roofbox!
we have the picasso take all back seats out half fill the car the other half for our newfoundland dog lol hard top trailer with thule roof basket on top and roof bars on car also and still stuggle lol denise
We have a VW Touran and 3 children - we are getting a roof box - it was a nightmare getting it all in and we didnt even take everything with us (left our coolbox and table at home as we were staying close to my parents)
Trailer is a no no for us, we have no where to store it
I must admit, I don`t like the 3-D jigsaw that`s packing the car because once again, it takes excessive amounts of time to do it. That`s the only reason I`m considering a trailer....also, we might be getting two canoes, so we need the roof of the car to carry them and that would mean we needed a hard top trailer for the bikes.
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: Full Boot Crisis!
