Time savers

[tryagain]

Hi,

looking to minimise set up and pack up times and wondering what tips/techniques/shortcuts people have, a few things I have taken from other people include. 

• Leaving the annex roof attached and just folding it back on top of the main one at pack up.
• Not putting camping chairs back in their bags
• Just removing the bottom legs of the kids bunks to fold them flat and store them on the mattress as opposed to totally dismantling them. (were about to do away with them before this)
• Going from a Coleman HWOD to a plumbed RedTrack/Joolca style set up
• Contemplating going for a smev/cramer style stove to avoid stove set up/pack up

I have a soft floor but sure tips for any types would also be appreciated by others.

[Bird]

buy a jayco etc..

[xcvator]

Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs 

[tryagain]

buy a jayco etc..

From a lot of posts I have read and seeing my parents set up theirs there isn't all that much difference between a well set up soft floor and a Jayco especially it your talking for a family of 6, sure an Expanda might be quicker but so is a cabin/motel room.

[AdrianLR]

For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.

[Green rv]

Last camp i did i took the family and a mate

quickest setup and pack up ever

he was like the campsite equivalent of a deckhand

G'd him up before hand and told him to bring his own swag, clothes,fishing gear and xxxx, everything else was provided.

 
Adam

[tryagain]

Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs 

I am guessing time saved is proportional to how hard the ground is, with sand having a negative influence. 

[Hewy54]

I find that being organised is the best time saver. The things you need in an easily accessible place. Each person to know their job. A great deal of time is taken up with chairs tables kitchen gear etc. Makes little difference if it is a soft floor , Jayco or hardfloor. We found that set up was the easy bit - pack up can take longer. A place for everything and put it away when you have used it.
Always found that we were quicker to set up our old softfloor than our friends in the Jayco.

[tryagain]

For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.

It can save time as there are no "little helpers" which can impede productivity.

[Spada]

Train the rest of the family to put crap away when they finish using it.

It's amazing how much stuff gets taken out over the duration of the stay, but just gets dumped in a corner or under the camper until it's pack-up time 

[Footy Shorts Shane]

but just gets dumped under the camper until it's pack-up time 

I hate that and my kids are notorious for it 

[AdrianLR]

I hate that and my kids are notorious for it 

Under the camper.........what luxury........I can only dream that it's under the camper vaguely near it is good enough ain't it?

[GeoffA]

Under the camper.........what luxury........I can only dream that it's under the camper vaguely near it is good enough ain't it?

...usually somewhere you need to walk, like a doorway....

[Muckinhell]

after t is all cleaned up etc, ill pack up all but 1 light just in case during the night and anything esle that wont be needed get stored away etc while still enjoying a drink or 2. do your table whip downs and kitchen tidy up especially and try and opt for cereal last morning and the like. all clothes of the lines and towls etc packed away. also helps just in case there is a storm on the last night.

[theins]

For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.

X2

[Desert lover]

If we have had the annex up we take it down and pack it back into the camper the afternoon before departure. Similarly with the annex flooring and any other gear we will not be using overnight.   The next morning the electrics are dismantled and packed, clothes bags packed into the vehicle, chairs/table packed into their carry bags and into the camper.  In all I think it is about developing a system with each person knowing their tasks and doing them in the order that makes for a fast pack up...once the camper has been swept out and the inner poles dropped and placed on the bed it is only a matter of pulling the pegs, fold down the camper, throw on the storm cover and then pack the last bits and pieces such as pegs and tarp from under the camper into the toolbox.   Have a think about how you go about setting up and then reverse the process.  Works for us and we can pack up in about 30 mins.   We did it in less than that (although not as neatly... basically threw everything in) when a mass evacuation of a camp ground was ordered as a fire approached. I learned the value of a neat and well ordered camp site and a systematic pack up that day!

[GeoffA]

We don't bother with the C-Gear mat any more. Saves a good deal of time, and we don't miss it.

[tryagain]

We don't bother with the C-Gear mat any more. Saves a good deal of time, and we don't miss it.

C-Gear mat??

[GeoffA]

C-Gear mat??

Mesh/shade-cloth type of ground sheet under the awning.

[tryagain]

If we have had the annex up we take it down and pack it back into the camper the afternoon before departure. Similarly with the annex flooring and any other gear we will not be using overnight.   The next morning the electrics are dismantled and packed, clothes bags packed into the vehicle, chairs/table packed into their carry bags and into the camper.  In all I think it is about developing a system with each person knowing their tasks and doing them in the order that makes for a fast pack up...once the camper has been swept out and the inner poles dropped and placed on the bed it is only a matter of pulling the pegs, fold down the camper, throw on the storm cover and then pack the last bits and pieces such as pegs and tarp from under the camper into the toolbox.   Have a think about how you go about setting up and then reverse the process.  Works for us and we can pack up in about 30 mins.   We did it in less than that (although not as neatly... basically threw everything in) when a mass evacuation of a camp ground was ordered as a fire approached. I learned the value of a neat and well ordered camp site and a systematic pack up that day!

30 mins is pretty impressive the one and only pack up so far was about 3 1/2hrs but that was the 1st time with 3 little ones 3,5&7 and an 8 month pregnant wife so should be able to improve on that by quite a bit

[tryagain]

Mesh/shade-cloth type of ground sheet under the awning.

that would have been my guess but weren't sure.

[oldmate]

for us, I will generally start packing up in the morning while others are still sleeping and I am having my morning coffees..  When we did our trip this year, we could be on the rd within the hour of waking up.  That's coffee, breakfast, pack up, hook up, gone. 
But it is all depended on how much crap you have out. The best way is for everything to have a place, when it has finished being used, out it back in its place. Then you don't have to do it later.  Works for us..  Type of camper or set up doesn't really matter, it the accessories that you take that do.

Example, normally I take the camper everywhere, as it has everything in it and it keeps the wife happy. Weekend before last we did a boys weekend, took my son, and the tent. Did it real simple, 2 camp chairs, 1 stove a pan, Billy's, and gazebo.  When packing up to leave, I was packed and ready to hit the road, before both my mates who took their campers.

[theins]

Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs 

seriously???

[Bird]

seriously???

Yep... works awesome.

[tk421]

For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.

X3 - we leave enough out for a quick cereal breakfast. You can skip the washing up then too if in a real rush.

And send the little helpers off to play somewhere whilst packing up

My wife and I have set jobs that we do in the same routine and everything goes back in the same place