The snow is thawing, grass is growing, and camping season is upon us!
With numerous trial & errors and hundreds of hours under our belt in car camping, we’ve got you covered on what you should consider if you are new to car camping:
1. Location
You’ve got the flexibility of your own wheels at your fingertips! But if you are starting out with ground zero and have no idea where you should go, we’d recommend looking up some National Parks. National Parks are preserved and cared for with visitors in mind and have activities, trails, and even backroads you can take with a 4x4 vehicle if you’re feeling something a bit more frisky! That said, many of them get busy during the full summer season so if you are planning to stay within campsites (not on dispersed car camping grounds), we’d recommend you check out the reservations in advance and plan accordingly. Some of our favorites include Moab, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the list goes on.. With our move to Colorado, some of the more local areas have made it to the top of our list so feel free to check it out here!
2. Sleeping
The most obvious questions you may have are - how do I get a full, flat surface to sleep on and where do I put my things? If you’ve thrown your mattress or sleeping bag in the back of your car and tried to get a good night’s sleep, you’ll realize right then and there that the back of your car is most likely uneven, has grooves, or headspace that falls right into your wheel well. The next thing you notice is that you’ll have to move all of your gear to the front or the outside of your car every time you need to hit the hay. Thankfully, At Hele Outdoors, we make the world's most modular sleeping platform that’s designed to fit in most SUVs/Trucks/Vans. The Hele Box not only allows you to have a full 6ft of flat sleeping platform, but allows you to store all your gear underneath the platform in its carrying case so that you don’t need to deal with the hassle of moving your things in/out and around your vehicle every night.
3. Gear
Keep it simple - you have limited space in your car and you want to maximize your space and storage alike! That said, here is a lit of our must haves on your car camping trip:
- Elevated sleeping platform
- Quality cooler
- Recovery gear (tow rope, tire patch kit, air compressor, tool box)
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Gear case / storage
To keep everything organized for maximum storage and easy access, find a box or a case that is compartmentalized so you can easily divvy up your gear (food, clothes, cooking, etc.). Fun fact: the carrying case that the Hele Box comes in actually doubles as a storage case! - Food / water
Lastly, think of the activities you want to plan on your camp trip. Maybe you want to relax in nature and plan on taking a short trail up the mountain or sitting by the fire most of the time. Maybe you want to be fishing most of your day, then get cozy and read a book. Whatever it may be, we hope you enjoy your car camping trip and this list gets you up to speed on where to begin!
To see a more detailed list, check out our Ultimate Car Camping Checklist.