Have you ever packed up your car, only to realise there isn’t enough room for half of the equipment? Well, we’re here to save your camping trips by breaking down our top packing tips to make sure that you don’t have to skimp out on what you take on your camping holiday.

Packing

The first thing we recommend is planning out what items you will need first when you arrive at your campsite, the most standard being the tent or camp chairs. Make sure that these are the last items to be packed so that they can be the first out when setting up your pitch.

Packing the hard square items at the bottom creates a useful base when packing up your car. Pack small items such as cutlery and tableware in square hard boxes (not cardboard) to ensure you don’t have small random items floating around your car, and then use these boxes as a base for packing. This also prevents things with a harder shell from getting damaged when trying to stack hard heavy boxes on top of them.

Use all the space available to you - If you aren’t using the back seats of your car, put them down for extra space. If there are only 2 people needing to use the backseats, put one seat down. Use leg room that isn’t in use also. All small pockets of space can be used as extra storage, especially for softer items.

When packing soft items such as clothes, be sure to pack them in soft bags, rather than bags with a shell. This is beneficial as it means they can be compacted to fit in easier. If packing in a hard-shell case, make sure to stack these at the bottom.

Vacuum packing soft items can also be an effective way to save space. When repacking once your holiday has ended, air bed pumps can be used in place of a vacuum if you don’t have access to one.

Finally, leave some smaller items till the end, and they can be slotted between gaps. This can also be done with soft items such as coats, blankets, and sleeping bags.

Roof Box

If camping is something that you do regularly, and it’s within your budget, we would recommend buying and installing a roof box for your car. They’re an effective way to add extra space to your vehicle, without having to lose seat space.

Time-management

Pack your car the day before you go away. Having more time to pack means that you can have a few tries to get everything positioned right, making you more likely to fit all your equipment in and ensuring a stress-free travel day!

Take a picture

Now, this may sound a bit odd, but once you are all packed up and everything is squared away nicely, take a picture so you know exactly how to put it all back after. This will save you so much time when exiting your campsite on your last day.