Camping/RV Hints, Tips, Tricks, etc..

[cricket2]

Rub a bar of soap on the outside of your pans when you are going to cook over an open fire. The black scorching from the fire will come off with little effort.

[tweetygale]

A few years ago I found the product of press and seal. Most of our food is in coolers, due to the icebox in the pop up only holds so much. I was always struggling keeping things like hamburger, bacon, and anything in a bowl from getting water in it.

I use press and seal to help out now. To give you a idea of what I am talking about, I take and tear off a piece of press and seal long enough to cover lets just say my pound of bacon. I put that down on the counter and take the bacon out of the package. I place it on that sheet and then take off another sheet of press and seal. I put that over the top and seal all around the edges. Not once since I started to do this has water from melting ice ruined my bacon. It allows me to make hamburger patties ahead of time, and keep them dry. The nice thing is if you do not use all of the item you have, you can reseal it after you open it. Then when done, throw it away.

It works well to cover a dish or a container you have put food items in as well in the cooler.

[dianen]

We do a fair bit of "tenting" aside from living in the camper all summer....We really go wild when we go..miles from anywhere in nothern ontario...solar lights make great lights at night for that midnight pee...also for inside the tent...and they are free...no batteries..They are also good nightlights in the trailer, when we are not hooked up to hydro.

[bobrussell]

here's a real basic one, most have figured it out but some of the 'new to camping' may not have yet.

"the more stuff you drag out and set up when you get there, the more you'll have to pick up and put up the day you leave" (kiss: keep it simple stupid)

murphy's rv law-it'll rain the day your packing up even if it hasn't rained the whole trip.

[csinns]

Wow lots of great ideas really like that solar light idea

We have a good size section of indoor/ outdoor carpet we lay outside the door to keep shoes on ,,, keeps the inside much cleaner. also I always have a fair amount of rope and a throwing weight ,,handy to use to suspend the Coleman lantern up high, makes a better lit site when its up high and when its time for lights out its a simple matter of lowering it to shut down.
of course it does mean you need trees to throw the rope over high limbs but we have lots here in Nova Scotia

[racegrrl7665]

I agree with Kiteri - LED lights are awesome! An Led Flashlight is an essential part of our camping gear, as it gives off tons of light, is lightweight, and doesn't need batteries.

[jackw]

I always bring a cordless drill with socket to raise and lower my stabilizers. A lot easier than hand crank. I also carry latex gloves (or nitrile) and hand sanitizer for my visits to the dump station.

We also carry a small grate to put on the campground fire pits. Its cleaner and the bars are closer together so your dinner does not fall through.

Great Idea for a forum post.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by jackw

I always bring a cordless drill with socket to raise and lower my stabilizers. A lot easier than hand crank.

I also do this as using the hand crank will wear you out if it is hot.

[racecple]

My wife and i use a divided(tackle box) for medical first aide.It had areas for everything.And we can tell fast what we need to restock.We only use the stretch able bandaides as kids are tough on them LOL.It holds everything from bug spray,cremes,lotions,ETC.And you can get them as big as you need.Also find them at any yardsale or used good store.Also look for the plastic roller tool boxes as we use them for (Chuck Boxes)Top holds utensiles and front doors open to show dry goods.

[tweetygale]

For tent camping always have a tarp under the tent and one available for over the top in case it rains. Another tip, at all possible keep the shoes out of the camper or tent. It minimizes the amount of dirt tracked in and less clean up.

Plastic totes has become my friend. I keep all the dry goods in them and allows me to keep them outside. It keeps the wet out and the animals.

Eggs I put in other containers because the egg containers can become soggy in the cooler and that leads to issues. Zipploc bags keep food from becomming soggy in a cooler as well.

I hope all of this helps.

[Thepinkpaisley]

I have been devouring all this info as I am going on my first camping trip this weekend. My husband and his brother are experienced outdoorsmen but I'm not. So this has been such helpfull information.

[Nomad Rebel]

I always make sure I have a can of WD40 or RP7, a roll of duct tape and a box of different sized fuses in my kit before I head off on my camping trips.

[artmart]

I agree with Tweetygale that Ziplocs be used for keeping items in a cooler and away from the melting ice. Other brands (like Glad) don't seal as well and water will eventually seep in. Ziplocs tend to be more expensive but that's because THEY WORK where others don't. Do make sure the lock is zipped all the way.

The press-and-seal is a great idea but hard to reuse. Ziplocs are reusable.

[larr-bear]

Get an air mattress & bring sheets, blanket and your pillow. Much better than a sleeping bag.

[artmart]

If the weather is cold, sleeping bags are much better at keeping your body heat inside than blankets and sheets. When sleeping under primitive conditions the best way to stay warm is to use your own body heat.

It also depends on what kind of camping you are doing. I use thick self inflating thermarest pads and a rectangular sleeping bag since they pack much better. If it's gonna be cold, then I use a lower temp rated mummy type bag. Colder still? Add socks and light or medium weight polypropylene undergarments. Whatever the case, keep the warmer stuff and your flashlight close by just in case you wake up during the night for that unexpected nature call. It does happen and if you have to hunt for this stuff when you gotta go, you'll be miserable!