We love dispersed camping or boondocking. This means there are no services (i.e. toilets) and likely it is a drive to get to the nearest store. Because of this, it’s important we remember what to pack and take with us so we don’t have to cut our trip short. There’s nothing worse than rolling up to the perfect spot only to find you’ve forgotten something important.
Since we are not full-time vanlifers and because our build is in progress, we don’t leave most supplies in the van permanently. Fortunately Alex and I try and organize ourselves so we can grab what we need quickly and store it in a space saving manner.
The best piece of storage equipment to keep us organized are clear totes. We keep totes for cups/bowls/plates/utensils/spices/gloves, another houses our dry goods, yet another keeps our hammock and games stored, and we also have one to keep things like a hammer, ax, bungee cords, rope, trash bags, etc.
We also look for items that can nest inside each other. We have our small coffee cups that are like this as well as our camping pots and pans.
Our Coleman propane camp stove is another item we don’t leave home without. Its compact size is nice and allows us to set it on top of a spare tote or our table. Just be careful you have something underneath so you don’t inadvertently melt anything!
Another critical item is water….both for us and our two pups Clyde and Ovi. We like to use large portable blue water containers so we’re not using a ton of plastic water bottles. We fill them up before we go – nice and simple! The spout makes it easy to fill up pots, dog bowls, or coffee pots and easy to wash hands and dishes.
A camp rug is another must have for us. We lay it out in front of the slider door we go in and out of. It helps to keep the van cleaner because we can kick off our shoes before entering or at the very least, wipe them off before hopping in. You can easily sweep it off at camp and hose it down when you get home. The dogs also like to use it as a place to lay on sometimes.
Don’t forget a shovel. This is a multiple use item you’ll be glad you brought with you! We are able to store ours on the Sherpa we have on the back of our van so we don’t have to put it inside. We use it to throw dirt on our campfire, dig us out if we get stuck someplace, and to dig a hole to be used for a “bathroom” before we had a toilet (100-200 feet away from water).
Speaking of our toilet, we love ours. It’s a Laveo dry flush that Alex “locks in” with bungee cords until we reach our destination. Let me just tell you…..I love this thing. It’s so nice not to have to head outside in the middle of the night to pee. Not to mention it’s much more comfortable than squatting! One of the things we’re starting to use with the toilet is bio gel. This allows us to get more than 1 use per flush without odors. Simply sprinkle some after you pee and it turns it to solid gel….magic!
Alex also puts bungees in different places so we can put little bags to hold things like our headlamps or cell phones when we go to sleep. It also works great to hang an iPad from when we watch movies at night!
We have a platform type “bed” that we use to sleep on for now. We have a 6″ foam pad, blankets, and our sleeping bags that go on top – it’s actually quite comfortable! Because it’s built as a platform, we are able to store things underneath without taking space away from the pups when we are traveling to our destination.
We also bring repurposed table clothes that work great as curtains. I hang them up right behind our bed and on the window of our sliding door. They’re inexpensive and prevent people from seeing inside the van so gives us our privacy if we’re camping with others. We also love our screen that we attach to the frame of the slider door opening. We get a nice cross breeze without letting bugs in. There are a variety you can buy that are expensive but we found ours on Amazon – it’s made for your sliding glass door in your home so is a little long but you can easily hem it up and it’s well worth the cost savings.
We also bring wood with us if we aren’t sure there is a supply of dead fall in the area we will be. If there is a good supply of wood we can use, we have our little cart that comes in handy when hauling it back to camp. Clyde also might need to use it if we go on long walks – he can’t walk as far as he used to when he was younger. Be sure when you build a fire that you do so in a firepit that has already been made out of large rocks or bring your own fire ring like we do if there aren’t a lot of large rocks around (designated fire rings can sometimes be found in various camp spots too).
We also have a suitcase generator that fits nicely in the storage box attached to our Sherpa on the back of our van. While we always have our generator, it works nicely with some of the “extra” things we might choose to bring. Sometimes if we’re going to be gone for awhile, we’ll bring our small microwave so we can have popcorn or microwavable meals when we don’t feel like cooking. It plugs in and runs off the generator. If we are going to be in an area with trails to ride our bikes on, we bring those too. Since they’re power mountain bikes, we can easily charge the batteries off the generator if we need to as well.
Another extra we might bring is Alex’s kayak. He enjoys fishing and we almost always camp near water so it is perfect for him to use. It slides nicely underneath the bed and will be even easier to haul once our van is completely built out.
Those are just a few of the things we have found that make our lives easier when we’re out enjoying nature. Each time we go out, we think of different things to bring, different and better ways to pack things, and creative solutions for storage. It’s also been nice because we know better how we will have our van built out.
Wherever you go and however you choose to camp, be sure to pack out what you pack in and leave the area better than you found it. Always be sure your campfire is completely out and walk the area to check that you’ve collected all trash and your supplies. We want to be able to keep these places as beautiful for ourselves and others to enjoy now and in the future so it’s important to take care of the area.
What are some items you can’t live without when getting out in the beautiful outdoors? Drop us a comment and let us know!
EDIT: Due to so many requests, we have made our camping checklist available on our Free Downloads page!
