Official Packing for a week on the trail - Overview

[skiboarder]

I think I just have to make me some drawers lie those.

 

[TurboMinivan]

Fwiw we rent fridges

So I recall. Indeed, just this afternoon I was perusing your site to see which models you rent. They are all too tall to fit into the designated area of my Jeep, so that idea is a no-go.

Thanks, though.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

So I recall. Indeed, just this afternoon I was perusing your site to see which models you rent. They are all too tall to fit into the designated area of my Jeep, so that idea is a no-go.

Thanks, though.

Gotcha. That is a tough one with fridges, they are all generally pretty tall.

 

[Cody]

Fridges are nice, but you can do week trips without one. Buy a good 5 day cooler, use frozen gallons of water, frozen water bottles, and blocks of ice. Pre-cook later week meals and freeze them, pack them at the bottom of a food tray in your cooler (tray keeps food out of cooler water). You can also use canned food for the last day or two. I've done 5-7 days without new ice a couple of times by starting the food packing/prepping a couple days in advance and being strategic about it.

 

[DAA]

I love having a fridge. One of the best equipment purchases ever. But, I was doing week long, ten day long, twelve day long trips without resupply for thirty years before I got a fridge. Nothing to it, really. Just have to pack different kinds of food, in a different way. But that's easy and it isn't like you can't eat really well on a trip without a fridge. Can't say that I ever suffered even one tiny bit for lack of a fridge. Fridge is just such a convenience and a luxury though, once you try one, you never want to go back.

- DAA

 

[ID Bronco]

I haven't searched this out and it's probably in another thread but how do you keep your battery up with the firdge? Or is it such low draw that you don't need to worry about it?

 

[TurboMinivan]

I haven't searched this out and it's probably in another thread but how do you keep your battery up with the firdge? Or is it such low draw that you don't need to worry about it?

Any of the "real" 12v freezer/fridges have extremely low amp draw. You can generally run one for 48 hours (or more) and still have enough cranking power to start your vehicle. If you would use one in a situation where you run your engine every day--or even every other day--there is absolutely nothing to fear.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Any of the "real" 12v freezer/fridges have extremely low amp draw. You can generally run one for 48 hours (or more) and still have enough cranking power to start your vehicle. If you would use one in a situation where you run your engine every day--or even every other day--there is absolutely nothing to fear.

Spot on, further more. Some of the premium units have low battery shot-offs that can be adjusted per your desired setting. So if it is on single battery, it will turn off the fridge (act as a cooler) long before you compromise a start. If your running the fridge on a deep cycle auxiliary system, you can let it run low enough that it shuts off to protect the electronics of the fridge.

 

[ID Bronco]

Any of the "real" 12v freezer/fridges have extremely low amp draw. You can generally run one for 48 hours (or more) and still have enough cranking power to start your vehicle. If you would use one in a situation where you run your engine every day--or even every other day--there is absolutely nothing to fear.

Spot on, further more. Some of the premium units have low battery shot-offs that can be adjusted per your desired setting. So if it is on single battery, it will turn off the fridge (act as a cooler) long before you compromise a start. If your running the fridge on a deep cycle auxiliary system, you can let it run low enough that it shuts off to protect the electronics of the fridge.

Thanks for the info! I figured you had a solution. Thanks

 

[mbryson]

Critiques are welcomed for my "new" setup as I'm headed for a 3 day trip on the trail in my "Jeep" in early July. The transition from day-trip rig to multi-day for three of us has been a wee bit challenging. More than I thought it would be. I'll report back how the setup works. As most of you know, I have a travel trailer so I'm a bit accustomed to having a bit of comfort. I realize I won't have a thermostat in my tent and I'll just have to deal with that. I'm packing for three of us and it all needs to fit in the confines of a YJ tub. Daunting indeed.

Jeep is equipped fairly well for trail duty. It's been on a few trails for a few years now. Tools, spare parts, etc. seem to have their place and better yet, I know where and what those are. Adding three days of shelter, food, drink and clothes for three people has proven fairly challenging but I've bought a few more compact things and have come up with repurposing other things I already have. I think it looks kind of butch to be honest, but my stuff will be dry.

Here's what I've come up with so far.

Phase I: I started by simply wrapping my tent and sleeping pads in an old wool blanket that some of you have used to lay on in the snow while fixing your rig, fighting gasoline fires or just simply to keep thorns off your back while you try to identify what's wrong with your (or my) rig. While that seemed to solve a problem, I did have to relocate my "recovery" bag to the drivers side rear wheel hump. Not a big deal as it's in plain sight and I should be able to make the adjustment if those things are needed. I still needed a solution for secure storage for three sleeping bags. My original thought was to buy/find a canvas bag to put the sleeping bags (and pillows) in and strap them in place of the fourth passenger. Finding that bag then securing it in that position proved more trouble that it was worth. Additionally, I was quickly running out of space for three people's food and clothes that I still needed to find storage for.

Bad phone picture and poor photo composition but you get the idea. Stuff 50 lbs. of shit in a 5 lb. bag and hope for the best.

Not a bad solution but still not containing everything I think I "need". Wool blanket is a better protection that people think it is but it'll still get wet thereby getting my sleeping gear wet. I'm not a fan of cold nights and wet=cold. I've wanted to do this trip for probably 25 years so I don't want stupid stuff ruining it for me.

On to Phase II: I started geeking around my garage and travel trailer for some kind of solution to be able to store items or add to my tire carrier rack ala traditional Rubicon trail style (the cooler mounted on a rack above the spare tire). What I came up with is a bit unorthodox but seems to solve my problems quite well? Definitely looks funky if nothing else. :busted:

Got wood?

"butchness"---it's really not horrible, but definitely not a permanent solution

Completed project secured by ratchet straps. (thought about drilling holes through the bottom of tub but will likely still use the box for it's original purpose)

"brackets" that were "fabbed" (again, repurposing stuff I've pulled off my flatbed trailer and couldn't throw away--had to "fab" two tabs that would hang down from the channel so the bolt could be captured).

Crosstube was added to factory cage for a high lift jack (?) by a previous owner. So the box is supported by two 1/2" bolts and fully loaded it weighs about 50-60 lbs. It's not "easy" to throw up there, but even my old manness can put it up there without to much stress. Secured with ratchet straps. The box holds my tent, sleeping pads, bags and a tarp. Basically all my sleeping gear. Gets that stuff out of the interior of the Jeep and now I can secure clothes in knapsacks under the rear seat and foodish stuff through the seat cover backs and on the now abandoned passenger wheeltub. I have a soft cooler for drinks permanently mounted behind the seat. I've got another soft cooler I can mount to the passenger wheel tub to see if that's enough storage for food.

Last hurdle will be to find a way to store approx. 5 gallons of gasoline. I'm trying to find a cheapish solution to be able to mount that to my tire carrier swing. Thinking prefabbed gas can brackets for ATV or watercraft trailer that I can build a mount for on my tire carrier. I DO NOT want gas can in the "passenger compartment" (not really a compartment with it open like it will be). The Rotopax system is pretty cool and there's always the traditional Sceptre or Jerry type cans. For the few times I think I'll need to carry fuel, I don't really want to throw down for either solution.

Something simple and boring like the above will likely work fairly well for what I need it to.



Oh, here's my "cure" for the rattling foot of a highlift. I don't know how long term it is but it's WAY quieter than before. I drilled tapped for a 1/4" bolt to secure the foot to the upright of the highlift. Jeep is SO much quieter.

 

[sLcREX]

So how did your set up work out for you?

 

[jeeper]

I would like a little direction. We camp plenty, and try to get out often. I have not slept in a tent for 15 years or so, and my children have never. We are accustom to large campers, and my wife packs everything she can. We are deffinately over prepared, always. We have our prepared 'lists' that we use religiously. We have been dabbling in expidition trails, but are greatly limited as we have a 1 day limit in our jeep (as it doesn't tow a 10k lb gooser very well) and obviously the trailer is overkill and would not fair well on trails.
We have a WJ, no roof rack or bumper storage. 3 children, one in diapers. I am willing to buy a good tent to get us started. When we have previously purchased camping equipment size or weight has not been an issue. Just our sleeping gear and a cooler would nearly fill the cargo area of the jeep.
I built a 6x10 trailer (basic utility trailer, open sided angle iron) a while ago that would be very capable of most trails our WJ can handle, but that would not prevent dust or rain well.
How would my family transition from 36' trailer and crew cab diesel into a simple WJ jeep without dropping some serious coin up front on all new gear, bags, racks, etc? 2-3 day trips are most typical for us, but 5 days are not uncommon.
Is it possible to pack for 5 people in a single vehicle?

 

[mbryson]

So how did your set up work out for you?

It worked out quite well. I'd need to do a few more trips to refine what I'd never use out of the camping gear but I'm not sure what that would be at this point.

between this picture and the picture below, this is about as good of shots as I have of how "loaded" my Jeep became.

The Trasharoo turned out to be very handy even though I didn't use it heavily until the last day on this trip. Having discarded foodstuffs and other items in the Trasharoo that you'd not like to pack in your passenger compartment area was quite nice. For under $60, a Trasharoo is a no brainer in my opinion.

Here's as good of photos of my camp setup as I was able to take.

In my (now dead) Eureka Timberline 4 tent we had three of us (myself, Eric (13) and Lyndsay (8)). We all had as compact of a sleeping bag as I could scrounge up, sleeping pads (Blackpine brand?---they are a memory foam/air hybrid---I'm not an air fan, but really like these pads) and some cool compact pillows (sleeping pads and pillows (WAY worth the space they take up) were sourced from The X-Nation in Bountiful at Colonial Square (567 West 2600 South) for sleeping. I packed a single bag for all of our clothes and left other stuff in the tow rig (that we'd want/need at a motel on the way home). Food turned out to be challenging and took up a TON of space. We took WAY more food than necessary (never a bad thing to bring extra but we might have hit triple what we needed) and used some of it due to some of fix-it issues on the trail. (I'll call that good planning )

My Jeep is probably a bit on the overpacked side for recovery gear, tools, parts and similar (tarp, bungi-cords, nylon rope, insect repellant, emergency hat, ponchos, etc.) but I just went with my usual stuff for day trips (ran out of electrical fuses) that fits well and has a place where I (and my kids) know where it is. My normal JP cooler was used for drinks, I packed an additional hard cooler full of frozen water bottles, and an additional hard side 18 quart cooler with some lunch type stuff. We also each packed a Geiger rig type backpack with some personal items and water in that (I used to call those CamelBacks, but since they are TOTALLY ANTI-MOTORIZED ACCESS THEY CAN KISS MY ASS) and those were strapped or bungi-corded in strategic locations around the cage in the Jeep.

My point with the above is to illustrate that I bet you already have the bulk of what you need in your possession to camp out of the WJ. You will need to make sure you have shelters (my kids LOVE to sleep in some hammocks that we bought them---they kill my back to lay in them for to long and I doubt I'd be able to walk if I tried to sleep overnight in one?) and sleeping pads for a comfortable night.

If I were to camp out of this rig often, I'd want to add another leaf to my rear pack. They showed some fatigue after being loaded heavier than normal and insisting on running Soup Bowl and Little Sluice (I traveled a LONG ways to run that trail and waited a long time to do it). I'll be reworking my suspension a wee bit, but am not sure I want to change much as it's a great rig for what it's designed for and works well.

 

[Kevin B.]

I would like a little direction. We camp plenty, and try to get out often. I have not slept in a tent for 15 years or so, and my children have never. We are accustom to large campers, and my wife packs everything she can. We are deffinately over prepared, always. We have our prepared 'lists' that we use religiously. We have been dabbling in expidition trails, but are greatly limited as we have a 1 day limit in our jeep (as it doesn't tow a 10k lb gooser very well) and obviously the trailer is overkill and would not fair well on trails.
We have a WJ, no roof rack or bumper storage. 3 children, one in diapers. I am willing to buy a good tent to get us started. When we have previously purchased camping equipment size or weight has not been an issue. Just our sleeping gear and a cooler would nearly fill the cargo area of the jeep.
I built a 6x10 trailer (basic utility trailer, open sided angle iron) a while ago that would be very capable of most trails our WJ can handle, but that would not prevent dust or rain well.
How would my family transition from 36' trailer and crew cab diesel into a simple WJ jeep without dropping some serious coin up front on all new gear, bags, racks, etc? 2-3 day trips are most typical for us, but 5 days are not uncommon.
Is it possible to pack for 5 people in a single vehicle?

I think you can pack for five people as long as you're willing to waterproof/dustproof your trailer. That could be as simple as a vinyl cargo bag in the bed - http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-07203-...UTF8&qid=1375705986&sr=8-1&keywords=cargo+bag

You'll want a tent first - do you have children old enough to sleep in their own tent? I'm not a fan of the giant family size tents, I think they weigh too much, take up too much space, and make really great sails. I've been through a couple, and I won't own one again. A pair of three person backpacking tents would work much better and be much more packable, if the kids are old enough. I'd go for cheapies to get you started, just so you're not out several hundred bucks when your wife decides she's going back to the trailer. Better tents will be lighter, more weather resistant, and pack smaller, and cost a lot more.

Sleeping arrangements - air mattresses are $20, and you can bring your own blankets and pillows from home. Check out Recreation Outlet on State for these cool little fleece sleeping bag liners, my wife loves hers. You'll eventually want to transition into sleeping bags and ground pads, because they're lighter, smaller, and warmer. But you don't have to do that right away. Put all three kids on the same air mattress if you can, they'll be warmer.

Kitchen - if you're willing to do food prep at home, you won't need much. Get a small 2 burner propane stove, bring pots and pans and dishes from home (or scrounge the DI if your wife won't let you raid the kitchen cupboards). Learn to cook over coals, you can do a lot with hot dog forks and pie irons. Again, transition into a proper camp kitchen as you go once you've got a feel for it. Be ruthless in holding yourself to one cooler, the smaller the better. It'll help if you prep food at home, it'll pack smaller and cook easier and won't be as hard to clean up after. Freeze the stuff you're going to eat night three or beyond in Ziplocs, and thaw in warm water before cooking. Frozen food in your cooler is better than watery ice in your cooler - I like to freeze water bottles and use just one block of ice. Steve likes to put dry ice on the bottom and cover it in cubes. Experiment and find out what works for you.

Weather prep - here is where I would not skimp, because you won't have the trailer to retreat to. Plastic ponchos and a set of rain paints for everybody are good insurance against a rain storm, and fleece coats and wool hats will keep cold-blooded wives and children from freezing at night. Your cheapy tents aren't likely to be very water resistant, so several blue tarps and some stakes can keep them dry while you wait out the storm in the Jeep. It may go without saying, but don't forget to have a backpack or two with emergency supplies in case you get stuck or broken and have to hike out.

There you've got shelter, warmth, and hot food. Everything else is optional - you don't need giant camp chairs or the kids bikes, you don't need a change of clean clothes every single day, you don't need a popup awning or a camp shower. All that is nice to have, but it's also nice to have a small sleek camp that only takes 15 minutes to pack in the morning, too.

 

[Hardcastle]

It's helpful to see and read about others "zen of packing". I feel like I have a pretty good but simple solution. I want my Tacoma to remain 100% streetable and still fulfill home depot/scout camp duty so I don't plan on modifying it too much. My camping gear consists of a series of organized bins. Kitchen bin, food bin, tools/recovery gear, sleeping and tent gear, etc. I can go from not headed anywhere for the weekend to 100% ready to go within an hour (i've timed it on several occasions and i very rarely forget anything)

If I could give a tip to anybody it would be use nerdy Google docs to help with your packing process. I have packing lists including meal ideas and grocery lists ready to go. Access them from your phone on your way home from work, get all your supplies without worrying about forgetting anything. You can add packing lists or modify existing based on what type of trip your headed on. Car camping, backpacking, motorcycle, etc. Just something to think about. It's really helped me get a streamlined process down and it might help you.

 

[Rot Box]

I would like a little direction. We camp plenty, and try to get out often. I have not slept in a tent for 15 years or so, and my children have never.
We have a WJ, no roof rack or bumper storage. 3 children, one in diapers. I am willing to buy a good tent to get us started. When we have previously purchased camping equipment size or weight has not been an issue.

Just our sleeping gear and a cooler would nearly fill the cargo area of the jeep.

Is it possible to pack for 5 people in a single vehicle?

That's a tight fit but I think it's doable. I sometimes have 2 adults, two small kids (one in diapers) and two large dogs on our outings in the Land Cruiser. There is a lot of storage area below the younger kids feet so that's nice. I really hate to toot this horn---:-\ (probably belongs in the other thread) but consider forking out the cash for a roof top tent. In your situation I think it would be a huge benefit.

-You have a built in mattress so you guys can sleep comfortably and you don't have to figure out where to store the sleeping pads/air mattress.
-You can travel with your sleeping bags and blankets stored inside of it. Depending on the type 4 sleeping bags alone take up a LOT of room.
-If nothing else your kids will think it's fun.
-Setup is easy so you can focus on other things. This is really nice when arriving late to a campsite on an empty stomach.

If that's not an option I think it would be time to go for the roof rack Keep us posted I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with.

 

[Kevin B.]

You will need to make sure you have shelters (my kids LOVE to sleep in some hammocks that we bought them---they kill my back to lay in them for to long and I doubt I'd be able to walk if I tried to sleep overnight in one?) and sleeping pads for a comfortable night.

If you don't mind me saying, your hammock might be too small for you. I've been hammocking for about a year now, and the 11 foot sling I just built is the first one I've been able to get mostly flat in. An adjustable ridgeline might help you adjust the way the hammock hangs too.

 

[mbryson]

If you don't mind me saying, your hammock might be too small for you. I've been hammocking for about a year now, and the 11 foot sling I just built is the first one I've been able to get mostly flat in. An adjustable ridgeline might help you adjust the way the hammock hangs too.

Good info. Let's make another thread about sizing your hammock? I'll get it started if you'd comment with specifics?

 

[dieslcruisrhead]

One quick point that might not have been directly made but seems to be implied. this is an important tip that is commonly used with white water rafters who have to pack for a week or two: more smaller bags (appropriately labelled, etc) is better than less bigger bags. And just as things like ipod cords etc were segmented, the same goes for things like this.

My favorite bag is a Mountainsmith bag called the Modular Hauler. They sell is in 3 and 4 section comparments. I'll also pull 1 or 2 sections and load it with misc stuff I may or may not use, like a folding bowsaw at the bottom, then use those cubes elsewhere in the car. I'll often put a piece of duct tape on each section highlighting what's in each one for that trip. For example "fishing stuff" , sleeping bag, pad, and others in another cube.

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/5-tools-tidy-car-10000001572395/page4.html

 

[dieslcruisrhead]

other hopefully helpful tip is sleeping pads and sleeping utensils. Here in the desert with so little rain (and/or seldom camping if its going to rain) I use down bags. I have three. A -30 for severe winter. Often overkill. Then a 20 bag for good fall camping that collapses into something about the size of 2 loafs of vread. Used probably 60-70% of the time. then a 40 bag that I use for summer and light fall that packs to about 1 loaf of bread.

Key with sleeping pads in my opinion (and I own a ton, maybe 10 total between my wife and I) is that sleeping pads are completely way too large after I discovered small, lightweight air-based pads. They are also cheaper (seldom over $100) and I have had some that colapse to the size of a set of ski goggles in a pouch or so. If I want an insulated one (aka cold) then I use one called a Nemo Astro.

Both bags, a camp pillow, and the air pad fit into a single mountainsmith compartment (in the link above).

Not sure if it helps, but I completely agree about the "less is more" approach...