Camping - Educate me please

So the long and the short of it is I'm interested in camping as a cheaper alternative to manage holidays.

I've never been camping before, much less on my own with the kid(s).

What do I need to know? Is it really cheaper than a cabin type holiday once you account for all the inital outlays? I assume a tent would be involved, how do I know what size? material? will I be able to set it up on my own without help? :lol: Would my regular car be able to manage with the stuff we need? I don't own a trailer.

How do you pick camp sites? How do you secure your valuables (not that we would have many, mostly just money)? Food, what do you do food wise? etc.

Please educate me. Any tips and advice you could give a full fledged newbie would be great. :D

I would invest in what's called a '30 second tent' I'm pretty sure it's manufactured by OzTent.. They are hardy and strong in any weather, quite roomy and only take 30 seconds to put up :)

There are camping grounds everywhere! depends on whether you want to go camping in the bush or by the beach you can find a camping ground to suit your needs :)

A lot of the camping grounds have toilets/showers etc so that's a big plus!

Yes, there is an initial outlay. Looking around it is cheaper than what it was 10 years ago. We can get a similar tent to our current one for half the price!

Is it really cheaper than a cabin type holiday once you account for all the inital outlays? I would think so. Talking to some people we met our last camping trip (they are 4wd club members) Once set up all it costs them is fuel and food. Food in one way does not really count, as they would be eating anyway.
I suppose. Work out where you would be staying at and how often over the next 3 years. Then add up the cost of a basic camping kit, plus any site fees. * Compare the two.
*There are free camping spots, but just be aware if they easy to get to, they can get busy and attract some tools.

I assume a tent would be involved, how do I know what size? material? will I be able to set it up on my own without help?
As already said, check out the 30 second tents. More expensive, but may be worth it in your situation. Places like BCF often have videos playing of these. If not youtube.

Would my regular car be able to manage with the stuff we need? I don't own a trailer.
Your car will limit where you can go or go at certain times of year. You may be limited to the more easy to get to sites.
Really depends on what you buy and how long for. The longer you are away, the bigger the esky etc.

How do you pick camp sites?
Ask around locals who already camp. Camping/4wd forums. Wikicamps app


How do you secure your valuables (not that we would have many, mostly just money)?
Lock in the glove box of the car mostly. People seem to be pretty trusting at camp sites, just zip up and go (I am not so trusting at a caravan park site). Depending on the number of zips on your tent, you could padlock if you are leaving for a lengthy time.

Food, what do you do food wise? etc.
Food plan, plus some extras for snacks and just incase you have to stay an extra night. The extra a foods types that don't need to be in the esky
Pack your esky with the food you will use last at the bottom.
Don't forget water depending on the site.

Depends how often you go. But I guess the joy is, once the initial outlay is made, you can pretty much go as often as you like without it costing anything.
If you aren't going to go more than once a year, I personally wouldn't bother investing unless you just really want to camp. If you want to go away a few times a year, then yes, camping is great. We can decide to leave at the last minute and decide to cancel too, if the weather turns nasty. We free camp a lot.
30 second tents are expensive and honestly, it's still easier with two people!
Would you consider hiring a camper trailer? Just to try it all out. Then you don't need a separate cooker, mattress, washing bowl blah blah. And then you can see if you like camping.

We have made lots of lovely friends camping. You can't help but meet the neighbours. And if there are kids involved, they just gravitate towards each other and make instant camping friends.

About to sound stupid, but what is free camping? What does it entail?

I'm thinking that I would like to try and take us in each of the school holidays to *somewhere* where we can explore actual things if that makes sense. And perhaps do a few weekends to no where in particular during school term. Just to give us some time away to reconnect and relax at the same time.

I don't have a tow bar for a trailer, but I could potentially borrow a mates car who does. :thinking:

I had a look on BCF, there is so much stuff! :O What are the bare essentials that we would need? I would look at doing small trips at first and build up to longer ones. TBH we would probably do it in the back yard first and foremost lol!

Thanks heaps for your replies, this information is invaluable. :D

If you stay on caravan park camp sites - you don't even need all the cooking stuff - most have camp kitchens you can use (and often they are empty because most people have their own gear).

We camped with just a Hyundai Getz and a very small tent - when we were back packing (DH and I) - we had just an esky and a saucepan. This was pre-kids but I could do it again now like that also.

Now with two adults in the car (a corolla) plus two car seats - we would struggle to take just tent, bedding, stretcher beds etc and no cooking gear, but without DH (sometimes he hasn't come or has come on the train due to work etc) that front seat gives alot more space so manage ok, so really depends on how many you have in the car. (We haven't had to take cooking gear etc as have only gone to join my parents who have all of that stuff)

Do you know anyone with a tent you can borrow? We just borrowed a friends when we needed one. Will get one at some point, but I seem to have a fair few friends who camp who would love me to borrow their gear :-)

Tent
Sleeping bags
Something to sleep on (stretcher, bed roll)
Or just go for a swag for each of you
Something to cook on. You can get 2 or 3 burner cookers for a reasonable price. Get a stand or a table to go on. We have a Gas mate 3 burner and it is pretty good
Gas bottle to go with cooker, swap and go ones are fine
Chairs. Depends on your weight and what features,how much these cost. Less than $10 at Bunnings for pretty basic ones. $100+ for super duper, hold a sumo ones
Esky aka ice box- go for a good brand, not the actual Esky ones. One of those thicker ones, they keep the cold better and you can actually sit on them without killing them.
Check out Techiice. Good ice bricks or just freeze plastic bottles of water (doubles as drinking water if you need it)
Cooking equipment you maybe able to raid from your kitchen, but you will probably need a stove top kettle.
Water containers incase you need to take your own.

We have camping gear which friends borrow. Table, chairs etc. We are happy to lend out stuff. Helps people get started, without having to outlay for 100% of stuff while they got going. And especially because kids grow like weeds :)

We got awesome kids camping chairs from Kathmandu. $7 each! Better quality than Bunnings but we had to wait for super special day.

We get a lot from Aussie disposals. And we research on the net too.

We got a yellow techni ice cheap because it was a second. It was not damaged internally - just malformed in one teeny tiny spot on the outside. No one would notice. They guarantee it's performance.

Our first camping trip in Aus was one a farm of a friend. A big bush block. We had to dig a hole, if you know what I mean. But other than that it was good fun.

Don't get a cheap 'use at home' air bed. They are cold. Oh so cold. A proper 4x4 mattress or stretcher.

Free camping. There are thousands of little spots (some busy, some quiet) all over the place in National Parks etc, that are free (or absurdly cheap). Some have toilets and showers. Some have nothing.

We have an app called Wikicamps, we also have Camps Australia book. Both great resources for places to go and things to see. Lets you know cost -if any, facilities, sights, reviews etc

I replied in the camping thread :)

I also want to point out that I have a station wagon, my friend has a sedan. We usually go camping together & have enough room.
Her partner also has a 4wd, so we have that as well (if he comes & depending where we're going) & we all pile in when my car goes as far as it can. Beach camping etc. But there are still plenty of places to go in a regular car.

Free sites usually have no facilities. Sometimes there'll be composting/long drop toilets, maybe even a cold shower in beach areas, but don't expect it.

Always carry garbage bags & prepare to take your rubbish with you at free sites. They don't usually have bins either. There are national park sites though. You might pay a few $$ for access, but they usually have toilets & bins. Maybe $5-$10. No animals allowed.

Best little quote my kids have learned with bush camping - take only photos, leave only footprints :)

Do you have any families / friends that you could go along with for a couple of times?

I didn't go camping until I got married, and then when we had the kids we bought a camper trailer - so it's our long term holiday plan.

So we had a lot of camping friends so we tagged along with them a couple of times and we eventually got our own feel for it.

Initial outlay is a bit - but BCF has lots of sales. Kmart has also got a range of products and you can layby.

I also buy throughout the year too, things that I will need while camping so that I'm not making a huge outlay before a trip.

We did a three week camping trip round central QLD in our Corolla. We took sleeping gear, cooking gear, chairs, shelter, pram and cloth nappies. Only one kid, but it's definitely possible without a trailer. We have a station wagon now, so we can take two kegs of beer and the second kid in addition. And a balance bike.

We have a 4 person tent. Setting up your basic dome tent is not difficult. I've been doing it for 15 years, but I still think it's pretty easy. Ours is just a basic tent with a vestibule (area covered by the waterproof bit but with no floor.

We sleep on self inflating mattresses lined up along the floor. We've been going since DD1 was 11 weeks old, so we had to consider safe sleeping. We go parent-kid-parent-kid and it seems to work. As they get bigger wel'll think of something else.

I reckon our initial outlay would be about $1000. In addition to tent, sleeping bags and mats, we have a folding table and little fuel stove. And four camp chairs.

My current method of campsite picking is to type the name of the campground and tap it into Google Images.

We got most of our original camping gear from Kmart. We bought minimal and have added to it over the years. Our first trip we had a tent, air mattress (yep, cold to sleep on especially when our trip was in June in Melbourne!), sleeping bags, esky and gas cooker.

Once you start, you'll see things that other campers have and see how they can work for you. We now have a caravan but it's full of all our camping stuff. We still use the gas cookers to cook outside.

If you're going to caravan parks, they are mostly well equipped with great camp kitchens. Free camping, you'll need everything. We're taking our tent and free camping at Christmas in places with no power, no showers and long drop toilets. We've got an auxiliary battery for the car to run our Waco cooler and we're going to buy solar shower bags.

Ray's is great for looking at tents set up - you can walk into them which I find handy as you can decide what height you need, and we bounce between them and BCF to see who is cheaper for things. But Kmart is pretty good for camping gear too.

Wow! Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. This helps immensely.

TwoDarlingGirls - unfortunately no we don't really have anyone that we could tag along with. Though I work with a lady who is a scouts co-ordinator, so I might pick her brain for a while as I know she has gone camping with the Scouts. So she might be able to at least point me in the right direction if nothing else.

Clover - I had a google of national parks last night and there is one near us that even has hot showers :lol: winning! So after the backyard, that will most likely be our next point, so that we still have the safety of not being too far from home should it all go pear shaped.

I'm thinking there might be a road trip in this to BCF and Kmart. I've had a quick look at their websites so I have an idea about what I'm looking at so won't seem totally daft.

I'm excited and terrified at the same time. :D

Also, another great way to get started is to camp at a family friendly festival where you can buy food. One less thing to organise!

Don't forget that people are willing to help. Campers are generally nice people. Our first trip in our pop up caravan had the jockey wheel collapse when we took it off the car on arrival and we ended up with a handful of blokes right there to give us a hand to lift it back up. Don't be afraid to ask for help, sometimes the advice of other campers is awesome.

Hopefully you get some great help from your work mate! I went camping in a scout ground last year and they were very well equipped!