MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: McGirr on May 02, 2012, 05:18:42 PM
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Slowly getting the gear ready for the Cape and I am surprised how much gear I seem to take !!
The necessities being spares for both car and camper plus recovery gear is standard and beer but I seem to carry so much extras for luxuries now.
Generator , 2 fridges ( used to take eskies ) , a cooktop plus oven with hot plates, more pots and pans than before, more cutlery, shower and toilet tent plus toilet and shower ( for the women of course) , more lights such as led strips and led portable lights, frypan , toaster , kettle ( when staying at powered sites ) , more fishing gear ( worst fisherman out but need to look good ), more fancy food than before etc
I suppose with new items coming on the market to make camping easier and more comfortable the list grows to replace out dated items and I could do with out a lot of these things but once you have them it's very hard to go back. Especially when some one turns up at a camp site with something you have not got and you can't wait to get home and buy it.
Yes JK I am getting older and probably need these but any more extras and I will have a 3 star accomodation rating on my camper.
Don't start me on all these incredible campers now on the market that are like palaces !! Just jealous ...
Mark
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Going off the subject title - YES.
but then some people take microwave ovens, rear projection TV's, screens, lounges, the works...
why they leave home or dont just drive the car to a motel baffles me.
now to sit down with some popcorn.
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When I built my outfit up if I could get it in aluminium or plastic then I got it and even then would hold an item in my hands, feel the weight and go Naahhh
Amazing how many kilo's you save. still managed a comfy rig though
I did draw the line at cutlery, stuck with s/s
How about separating the minimum needs for a cape trip from the whole kit, look at that and if there's weight/space to be pared off without too much $$.
After that look at the luxuries and decide if they really are relevant for such a trip
Will that work? you'll have more beer room at least
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Ofcourse we do , we shouldnt but its so much fun depoying it all :cheers:
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But maybe I might need it???????
Sounds like my shed.
Boy scout, be prepaired.
And more bourbon :cheers:
Rod....
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if its non essential, and its not used after 3 trips it goes..........
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I thought I carried a lot of stuff.
Then I camped with jk and yogi.
I don't think I carry a lot of stuff anymore.
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G'day Mark ,
I question this each time we go anyway.
I'm happy to have buggar all in my kit, but with SWMBO + 3 billy lids, sometimes it would be easier to slip a couple of I beams, a couple of double axles under the house and drag it up the road.
Life is getting to complicated
:cheers:
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Story of our life ;D. I reckon if you had to Put a figure on it would be around 40%
Especially food
:cheers: BD
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Especially food
To right, this would allow more room for Beer
:cheers:
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I resemble that remark ;D .......remember guys a happy wife is a happy life :cheers: , if I make sure the love of my life wants for nothing then I get to go camping more often ;D
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In short, YES.......
Weight kills hence more failures with suspension etc.....I guess, something we are all guilty off......
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I resemble that remark ;D .......remember guys a happy wife is a happy life :cheers: , if I make sure the love of my life wants for nothing then I get to go camping more often ;D
You've got it worked out jk...........
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Mark - yogi reckons you can't carry enough beer :cheers: which helps supply other camps who have run out 8)
Over the years since owning the Trackabout we have become more organised and cutting out a lot of crap. Toys still get packed ;D
Amanda
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On our 4 month trip we carried about the same amount of gear as a weeeknd trip, (food not included) Compared to most we travel very light.
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but then some people take microwave ovens, rear projection TV's, screens, lounges, the works...
now to sit down with some popcorn.
Thanks Lost, now I know where the line in the sand is to qualify as GLAMPING :cup:
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On big trips I carry more spares and tools than on short trips but it still seems to take up the same amount of room .... Lol
yogi
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On our 4 month trip we carried about the same amount of gear as a weeeknd trip, (food not included) Compared to most we travel very light.
x2
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It's not about weight, it's about room. If you don't have any room left, then you are taking too much. Take food for a week and then help the local areas you go through by spending in them (not just fuel). As for "in case I get a powered site" stuff ... leave it at home. The No Power way still works around electricity and besides ... you are camping after all. Luxuries should be things like washing your hair if you can spare the water and a very comfortable chair.
I think you boys use the Happy Wife Happy Life thing a bit too much (no offense intended). You are making yourselves carry more and more stuff simply to keep the peace. I love bush camping and think taking electrical appliances just plain silly (with the exception of a laptop for photo downloads) ... it's Bush Camping ... not moving to the bush for awhile before moving back home. I know that given the chance, the girls would really love to "rough it" as long as they had a comfy bed and chair ... the rest is simply a modern mental mishap called retail marketing must have's. Simple camping makes you enjoy the comforts at home that little bit more. I don't think I'd change my mind on that even if I was married with kids.
Yes, we did get a luxurious camper. But if we had to sell Rover tomorrow, I'd miss it of course, but I could easily go back to basic tent camping with no issues ... stuff's all stored and ready to use.
Kit_e
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if its non essential, and its not used after 3 trips it goes..........
x2, but if i didnt use it i have a good hard think about it after every trip. Plus it helps when you only have a small short wheel base 4wd with no cargo space behind the rear seat and probably the worst towing capacity on the market... you HAVE to get good at packing for camping... ;)
Cheers
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I thought I carried a lot of stuff.
Then I camped with jk and yogi.
I don't think I carry a lot of stuff anymore.
I love seeing what every one brings, it's part of the fun in meeting people like we did you guys last year. Had a great night chatting about this and that and what's important to bring. The thing is JK knows what he may need and he really does use it - very impressed I was. And I'm like you Symon, after that trip, I also don't think I take too much ;D
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It's not about weight, it's about room. If you don't have any room left, then you are taking too much. Take food for a week and then help the local areas you go through by spending in them (not just fuel). As for "in case I get a powered site" stuff ... leave it at home. The No Power way still works around electricity and besides ... you are camping after all. Luxuries should be things like washing your hair if you can spare the water and a very comfortable chair.
I think you boys use the Happy Wife Happy Life thing a bit too much (no offense intended). You are making yourselves carry more and more stuff simply to keep the peace. I love bush camping and think taking electrical appliances just plain silly (with the exception of a laptop for photo downloads) ... it's Bush Camping ... not moving to the bush for awhile before moving back home. I know that given the chance, the girls would really love to "rough it" as long as they had a comfy bed and chair ... the rest is simply a modern mental mishap called retail marketing must have's. Simple camping makes you enjoy the comforts at home that little bit more. I don't think I'd change my mind on that even if I was married with kids.
Yes, we did get a luxurious camper. But if we had to sell Rover tomorrow, I'd miss it of course, but I could easily go back to basic tent camping with no issues ... stuff's all stored and ready to use.
Kit_e
X2
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I dunno how you wagon owners do it. My ute is always loaded to the hilt. So is the trailer.
Shane.
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I thought I carried a lot of stuff.
Then I camped with jk and yogi.
I don't think I carry a lot of stuff anymore.
Yogi's beer alone is more than what we carry ;D
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G'day Mark ,
I question this each time we go anyway.
I'm happy to have buggar all in my kit, but with SWMBO + 3 billy lids, sometimes it would be easier to slip a couple of I beams, a couple of double axles under the house and drag it up the road.
Life is getting to complicated
:cheers:
When I go camping i am happy with my swag, chair, esky and all cooking/lighting/everything else requirments fit in an old metal tool box not much bigger than a 60l eksy. :cheers:
Go away with SWMBO + 4 ratbags its an overflowing 6x4' trailer. Addmittingly it is usually in a tad more comfort 8). Also I find that most of my friends end up using half our kit cause they knew "I would bring it" so they dont. Down side is I am usually the last one set up and packed up >:(
When we were down to 2 choices of CT, one we looked at had completly enclosed lock boxs around the outside & I started to think gee I could put that in there and this there. That frightned me, I was already putting in stuff just cause there was a hole vacant & we hadnt even decided which trailer we were buying yet. :police:
We are currently trying to find a balance inbetween luxurious camping and reasonable camping.
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We take more than needed on the fishing trip, but don't have anything overloaded. We spread the gear across 3-4 utes, with light crates (one man can put them on without trouble) and don't quite pack them to the top.
I'm now starting to see that we actually camp quite lightly compared to some of the people around here though :cheers:
The only over-packing we really do is on the fishing and cooking gear. We have around 3x the amount of billies that get used and with the new rules around 40x too many lines (all without hooks).
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We are currently trying to find a balance in between luxurious camping and reasonable camping.
It's a fine Line.
???
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We are in our 2nd week living on the road and have culled the gear a fair bit.
My spare electrical bits got raped for the essentials.
The wife culled her cast iron cooking gear. The kids ate not best interested in their box of toys so it might be going too.
We brought our 40kg ridgeback for security and the wife tells it to shut up every time it barks , which is the whole reason we brought the dog I thought.
So we may have to get rid of her !
Actually no we can't cos she does great cooking and helps look after the kids ;)
We have a 160kg motorbike on the back of trailer and it may have to go as towing up hills is hard sometimes.
Other than the essentials we have already in kitchen we use everything else.
I think we pack pretty light for living on the road.
Sent from my brain using my fingers.
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I don't carry anything in the jeep, maybe some pillows, bag or 2 of clothes or kids toys or some fruit & food we buy on the way. Everything goes into the camper trailer and even with the 250cc motorcycle on the front my camper is usually about 700kg's. It's taken 15 years of camping experience to get it down this much. You've really got to get away on plenty of trips to work out what you need and what you can change to save weight.
The major weight savers were getting rid of cast iron gear, swapping steel storage for aluminium or canvas bags, aluminium tent poles, only carrying food and water required etc. The motorcycle weighs 68kg's.
(http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/jeeps_photo/Camping/bikerack5.jpg)
cheers
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So we may have to get rid of her !
Sent from my brain using my fingers.
Poor Lil ... will you miss her? ;D Do NOT get rid of your furry family member because it barks ... once it gets used to things she will settle down. Big move for the family ... ALL the family. Some just take a little longer to adjust.
I have a story about how good a dog can be when travelling ... Picutre Me ... a single girl travelling with her dog. Past the '5 ways' few hundred k's south of Katherine NT. Aborigines all lined up across road ... forcing single girl with dog to stop. Aborigine approached car ... went to lean in window asking "U give lift to pub" (I'm guess meaning all 6 or 8 of his brothers) ... dog objected loudly across single girls lap and had to grab before dog went out window ... I said "Dog says No" ... line of aborigines parted ... girl drove away.
Sent from my brain using my fingers.
Classic ... might steal that! Thanks for the laugh.
Kit_e
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x2, but if i didnt use it i have a good hard think about it after every trip. Plus it helps when you only have a small short wheel base 4wd with no cargo space behind the rear seat and probably the worst towing capacity on the market... you HAVE to get good at packing for camping... ;)
Cheers
I found out the fun you can have when you take a small car on a camping trip. This was us for our 2 week honeymoon in Tassie last November. Took the wife's work car as we didnt have to pay for fuel. Took me about 3 days to sort the packing/unpacking, but once everything found a home it was very good. We took almost everything with us we would normally pack in the Paj, including the engel, the awning and our self inflating mattress (which fitted peferctly between my headrest and the rear window).
The only things left behind were spare pajero parts (didnt need them), stove stand and camping spares/backups (plates/bowls/mugs, second gas stove, trangia etc).
If you have the space you use it. If you dont have the space you start becoming very clever with how you use it (like getting the wineries to send your cases home because you cant fit them in the car lol.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/awbeattie81/458379_10150675245927006_683102005_9027802_2070659343_o.jpg)
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YES!
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I agree with the status quo here. Yes, generally we take too much.
I'm always torn between "It's gonna take more fuel to tow that" and "Better looking at it than looking for it". It's a real problem for me because my camper is a converted slide-on unit on top of a high side trailer. Around about double the usual storage volume as a "standard" side fold camper :-[
At the same time, there's camping: "a relaxing break sitting around in beautiful places eating, drinking and being merry" where you know you're going to want a few mod cons.
And then there's camping: "roughing it in mother nature with a swag, a billy and a little food and water" where it's not so much about the campsite as the adventures/activities of camping.
Well, that's JMHO.
Cheers!
Jono.
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Yes, we definately take too much, but why not camp in style. The Nespresso machine is a must, add one to your list!!
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Not any more. Over all the stuff a family of 5 manage to cram in. I stand there looking at all the camping gear we have gathered over the years on the racks taking up room. We either caravan or swag it now. Thinking about selling porta pot, coleman water heater. Two tents.............
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YEah we take way too much..........but I seem to use some of it when I dont think I will and others stuff I dont when I think I will have to...........
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Don't worry Kit_e, Boo ain't going anywhere!!! It's just the growling all the time at other dogs gets wearing. She's a wicked dog to take away...loves being in the car, lives swimming, runs beside either bike (pedal or motor), great with the kids, well behaved, entertaining...
As for me, I know I won't be shoved out just yet...my first crack at camp oven brownies were pretty popular ;)
Lil :)
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I have been reading this thread with a smile, we take far too much stuff camping or glamping, but every time i have managed to sneak something back to the shed, you know what we need it, and im in the dog house. I try and it is only try, but everything has to have two uses. Sometimes it works, others......
Cheers Justin
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You need to get out of town if you only have 3 star camping! :angel:
I will only camp in the million star camp ground! :cheers:
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Nespresso machine is a must
no its not.
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no its not.
haha classic understatement :cup:
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I was thinking about this while I was cleaning my shed today......similarly to the post, I couldn't believe how much junk was in my shed and stuff that I might 'one day use'. Well I ended up clearing out the whole shed bare. I then only put back things that I need or use regularly. I was amazed at how much crap was left on the lawn that did not 'make the cut'. In the name of sanity - this is all in the trailer now ready to go to the local salvage yard and rubbish tip tomorrow.
Paul
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I used to camping with what I carried.
Then I got a girlfriend and a car, so then it became what I could fit in the car
Then I got married and a fridge, so it was what I could fit in the Suzuki Sierra with the wife, fridge and 2 dogs stacked on top of it all.
The along came kids and the Sierra morphed into a wagon for a while, which was stacked to the roof, minus the dogs.
Now I take the 2 kids camping, the wife* and the dog stay at home and the gear I have takes up most of the back of the ute ??? ??? ???
Dad always said that Fred's 1st law of housekeeping; Junk expands to fit the space available. With that in mind I can go for a week happily with what I can fit on the bike. (Personal hygiene may suffer though.)
God help us if I ever get a truck!
*she would contemplate camping if I could fit in the coffee machine.
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Ha ha Paul you're gona regret that decision
I know I always do when I have a cleanout
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To answer the original post................NO.
We have a glamper (jayco hawk) so everything has a home and jeez it fits a lot in there.
However, I don't take anything that I don't use.
Over the years we have culled and worked out what we need and what is just excess.
We have had the camper for three years and spent more weekends in it than we have at home, so its getting a workout.
If we didn't have our comforts and pleasures, we would simply stay home.
So No we don't take more than we need because what we take is getting us out there. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Perspective plays a big part too.
I hear all too often "we never had a nintendo ds as a kid, we looked out the window"
Yeah sure thats great, but when I was a kid we only got away every now and then. I take my kids at least every second weekend.
So yes I let them play their DS when we travel. Only so many times spotting a roo is exciting even to me.
And OK I agree we didnt have inner spring mattresses growing up camping, we had a floor. No DVD's or ipods either.
My kids have pretty much everything, but before you mock me........................... >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D
Consider how you are reading this thread.
My dad didnt have the internet. There were no forums. There was no online banter. If you wanted to fight someone you had to go down to the pub and insult his sister, not ask a question in the electrical section............. ;D ;D ;D
Times change as does life.
Yes we take a lot. Yes we have a lot. Yes we expect a lot.
But I'm stting by a fire on weekends, my kids are asleep from exploring wombat holes and walking, riding, swimming and collected firewood.
Tales are told and life is enjoyed.
Did I take too much gear? No way. It was what got me here and will get me here next weekend.
Brian
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Consider how you are reading this thread.
My dad didnt have the internet. There were no forums. There was no online banter. If you wanted to fight someone you had to go down to the pub and insult his sister, not ask a question in the electrical section............
Am i missing something?
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I always take the Gen
Honda Eu2000i to run,
Kettle,
Toaster,
Heater
TV,
Laptop,
Ctek,
Bread machine.
I find being comfortable when camping is great, it makes the missus want to do it more often.
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I always take the Gen
Honda Eu2000i to run,
Kettle,
Toaster,
Heater
TV,
Laptop,
Ctek,
Bread machine.
I find being comfortable when camping is great, it makes the missus want to do it more often.
And they coughed at me taking the Nespresso.... way to camp mystq! Do it in style
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I always take the Gen
Honda Eu2000i to run,
Kettle,
Toaster,
Heater
TV,
Laptop,
Ctek,
Bread machine.
I find being comfortable when camping is great, it makes the missus want to do it more often.
And they coughed at me taking the Nespresso.... way to camp mystq! Do it in style
That comment just cracked me up. :cup:
I think we've taken a heater once because we had a powered site included in the $5pppd at a scout camp in the boonies and we remembered to throw in an extention cord.
I can't say we've ever been uncomfortable without the entire house & contents though. We don't pitch house in one place long enough ... and I reckon this is the whole reason people take so much stuff ... in one place for one week or more.
I'd be interested to know:
Can anyone admit to taking all this gear for an overnight stop or weekender?
Or is the house & contents for a longer stay?
Kit_e
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I'd be interested to know:
Can anyone admit to taking all this gear for an overnight stop or weekender?
Kit_e
Yep I take all of this gear even for a overnight stay, it all stays in the van 8)
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For me, the luxuries are for a stay in one place for a length of time.
In 2010 we drove from Perth to Tassie and back staying a different place every night and beleive me it was necesities only; No Nespresso, no recliner chairs, no BBQ. I even remover the Jayco's roofrack for wind resistance, not that it made much difference.
Having said that, if you are staying put in one place, why not do it in luxury!!
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For me it is the simplicity of not having "stuff" around me except a cold drink, a good book and a comfy chair. That my 10 year old can entertain himself without electronics. And the old boy (hubby) is also entertained ????
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