MY TRAILER SETUP
I thought i'd include some info of the camping trailer setup i currently use. Most of my customers are buying or have a camping trailer, so this might be of interest. Many people buying trailers are 'new' to the camping game (and or camping trailer game), and there are just so many options available, many of them not practical, or just not worth the $$. It can get very confusing. This might give you a few ideas to help out.

Three years ago, i was like most people, and needed to buy my first camper. Even though i'd been dealing with camper trailer companies for a few years, and had seen them thousands of times at all the shows i do, once i came to buy, i really didn't know too much about them (apart from the kitchens :) it took me three to get it right.

My first trailer was a trackabout 4x4 tourer. It was a budget one, i didn't have much to spend. It worked great, beautiful tent, nice and light, but i soon realised it needed updating for me . (i'm a bit of a perfection nut, especially when camping. I always want the perfect setup.) I sold that , and then went for the top of the line model, with everything basically, including boatrack. Then i realised it was just way too heavy for me. I wanted a trailer that i can lift onto the ball hitch myself, and with two of us, can move it around a bit on flat ground. This was something i hadn't thought of. So i sold that also, and bought a middle of the range model, with some improvements that i wanted. I'm really happy with it now. (it's perfect :) here's is what i've got shown below.

PS When you are reading/looking at this, remember it's what is right for me. We mostly at this stage in our lives, with me, Kiyomi and my little boy Kaito, camp for 1 week and weekend trips within a few hours of Gloucester. I only really camp where i can have a fire, don't ever have power, and must have a tidy , organised camp. I've learnt running the business, talking to thousands of people about what they want, that camping is a very personal thing, and is a reflection of the persons character. Some people are organised, some are fussy, some like to rough it, some seem to be just in a mess :) Some people camp only in c/van pks with power, some only go bush. So this is what's right for us, there is a thousand variations, but you might pick up some tips that will suit what you do.
The trailer is a 7x4 offroad (not heavy duty offroad). It's around 850 kgs loaded, with a ball weight that i can lift. The tent is a 10 footer, 8 foot awning. For the awning i have canvas to close in both ends, and one return to the long pole. These i can put up for privacy/ weather protection.
Starting from the back RHS, i have a water pump, coming from a 80 ltr tank underneath. They have custom made ones now, just for trailers. 1/4' roto moulded plastic, very good. One thing i'm yet to do though, if i want to half fill a bucket of water, i have to pump it out with the hand pump. Not ideal. I need a small tap hooked up to the bottom of the tank, so i can just let it run out. This also lets you drain the tank when you need to. It will be on a strong hose, coming up to behind the mudflap somewhere.

The tyres i matched my truck. I wouldn't worry about this again. It adds a lot of cost, and if i sell the truck or trailer, it's all for nothing. I have a pump/ repair kit if i need it to repair tyres.

Two 4 kg gas bottles, one on each rear corner.

Extra 20 ltr jerry on the front. (know why they call them jerry cans?? Cause the germans had the best designed fuel cans in the desert conflicts in WW1, the 'jerry' fuel cans were highly prized by the British. Imagine filling a Sherman tank with 20 ltr jerry cans. If you had the shit ones, it would be a real pain in the arse. )		 Up front, just PVC pole carriers. Handy cause light, i can access both sides, i can split poles from spreader bars etc. Might add a third one though. Large toolbox. This one is about 5 hungee, but worth it. Strong enough to stand on, which i often do when packing up the tent. Lightweight. Struts to hold the lid up. Also i have a light in the lid. This is really bloody handy. If you're setting up in the dark, or hooking up etc. Definitely need one. A small fire extinguisher. The (pioneer) CD player in my last troopy caught fire one day. Set the dash on fire. Kids were in the car. Lucky dad had one in his ute. You couldn't have put the fire out without a fire extinguisher. I always carry one now, in both vehicles, trailer and boat. If you don't need it , one day someone else will. The 90 AH battery is on one side. See the external power sockets. The top one, i can connect a lead, say at a show, or at home charging it before i go away. This connects to a regular double power point inside. In to this i have a 8 amp battery charger pluged in, and wired to the battery. See below left. Hence charging the battery. The bottom one, i have cut out the guts of the socket, to form an opening. This is so if i want power inside the camper, i can plug a lead into the spare power point, and run it outside, thru this opening. (i got my sparky to wire these up for me. ) otherwise you have to run the lead over the top edge of the toolbox, which could cut into it.
I have a 500 w inverta, great for charging all sorts of things. Here i'm charging my spare hand held UHF. The inverta draws power out of the battery, via the front Anderson plug. (the same one that would connect to the back of the vehicle, to charge the battery whilst driving) My 80w solar panel will connect also with an Anderson plug, again via the front lead (shown in the next picture) to charge the battery also. This i've found is a great , simple flexible setup.

See the stone guard below/ above. This is a must i think, even if you're getting an on roader. Plus it must be structural so that you can use it to push the trailer around. Cause you will use it, and if not ridged, it will bend . next time you go to the Birdsville races, (you should go, it's brilliant) have a look how many 4wd's with trailers have broken back windscreens.

Nother thing to fill in this little bit of space, i carry a canvas bag in the toolbox with some dry firewood from home. Sometimes you just can't get any, or it will be soaked if it's wet. 		See the Anderson plug. (just a heavy duty universal 12 v plug) this was running the inverta.

So, there is 3 ways to charge the battery. 240 v lead, solar panel and whilst driving thru andsn'plug. To access power, thru 12 volt plugs inside / outside trailer, and thru 12v --> 240 v inverta.

I had an offroad hitch on my last trailer, but went back to the ball coupling. Saves $300. I found the offroad hitch a pain to hook up. The ball just drops straight on. Also the handle on the top of the hitch, is what you use to move it around. Without that, it's very hard to get hold of the trailer. We go full on offroading, the ball hitch works fine.

Try and get a good swingup jockeywheel. This one is great, see the 45 deg angle on the bottom of the pole, this can make the wheel and handle lock upright when driving. Othewise they will hang down and you will eventually catch it on something.
The drawbar needs to be about 1800 long.

See how the handbrake (definitely worth getting) is set low on the drawbar. My last trailer, it was set on top. I was always tripping over it as you step over the drawbar when it's connected to your vehicle. This is much better. (sometimes you have to put the trailer into a campsite drawbar first, where you can't just drive in cause of other camps, trees etc. Then you have to push it in. If it's on a bit of a slope, like it was for us one day, it's very hard to stop it without a handbrake. Plus it's pease of mind at night that it's not going to run away on you) a handbrake, hence plus brakes will add around 1000, but it's worth it if you can afford it. 		See the bike rack, and stone guard, are attached with U bolts. This is great, as you often want to juggle things around on the draw bar. (keep in mind the stone guard MUST be back far enough so you can almost jack-knife the trailer, without it hitting the back of the car) i've had to move both the bike rack and stone guard on my last trailer, and they were welded on! Very tricky to fix.

Another thing, make sure you can open the back door of your vehicle without hitting the hitch. My troopy door used to clip the top of the last 'offroad hitch' I had. It was a massive pain in the arse. Cause then you can't get to anything in your draw systems in the back.
I have a door on the drawbar side also. With a lot of things in the toolbox, and often the vehicle parked at the front, i found it a pain always having to walk around to get things. This door still doubles as a window, so it's no different, but i think very handy. Also then you have the option of having a drawbar awning. I think this is a good idea, if you are camping for extended times. It would make the tent a lot cooler, and it's space that is on your campsite and you are paying for, but without the shade it wouldn't get used so much. Also, it's great to run a lead inside through the bottom corner of the door, for whatever reason. I want the spare on the tailgate for a few reasons. One, it helps balance the trailer, taking weight off the front. Two , it frees up a lot of room on the front for other things. Some trailer companies just have way too much stuff on the front drawbar. On the tailgate it's out of the way. The trailer though must have a strong tailgate, not many are built strong enough.

See the PVC cover on top. I have added 100 mm extra height. It's the best place to store tables, our stretcher, ladder, awning canvas etc. Plus don't forget your doonas/pillows will take up room and add bulk. You don't want the cover to be super tight to put on. If it's flapping a bit, you can put a rope over the middle.
Only a small thing, but it can make a big difference. I make sure all my poles have a threaded spigot. That's the bit that pokes out thru the canvas. Most poles have a smooth spigot. A bit of wind and the rope will pull off these fairly easily, whereas they won't on the threaded one. Also , if you need to , you can put a wing nut on top, which i always do, as again, if the wind lifts the awning up, it will stop the pole falling out.

Another thing, many trailers come with a ladder that only leans up against the bedbase, ie it won't just stand up like a small ladder. This is fine, but the first thing i realised when i used my camper the first time, is i couldn't reach the zip on the awning, couldn't reach the pole to put the ropes on etc. The awning can be 10 ' high. A small ladder is the handiest thing. So i bought a small ladder from bunnings for $30. Works much better. This is a good example of the sort of things you just don't realise until you actually use a trailer. If you're really keen to get a good trailer, try to borrow or hire one for a weekend first. You'll learn stuff in a few hours putting it up and setting up, that you'll never pick up from a hundred camping shows. 		I also use spreader bars , 4 coming out from the tent, and three between the poles, only if i'm camped for more than one night. They take a few extra minutes to put up, but keep everything looking straight. This will also help prevent water pooling in the canvas. If you get a shower of rain say overnight, the weight can very quickly collapse and bend your poles. Also, have another look at the top photo on this side. See how the ropes can come straight down. This is because the spreader bars are holding the awning out, you just need to hold it down. This is the big advantage with spreader bars. People are always tripping over ropes, so it makes it a lot neater and safer. Also you can easily get closer to the edge of a camp site, if it's a bit crowded, without having to allow a few meters for guy ropes to go out.
Another really important thing. See the PVC cover. This one is fully zipped on, with a large Velcro flap covering the front and back. You really must have this if you're going on dirt roads at all, many of the cheaper trailers have just bungee cord strapping it down. You can't protect from the dust this way. This has a lift up bedbase, but i never use it , only for photos of my kitchens. Mostly the trailer is covered in dust or mud. If you're standing on the RHS of this trailer, you have to lean right over the side of the trailer to get anything. And you still can't reach over the kitchen to the storage box anyway, without climbing in. Plus they are often very heavy to lift up, not many companies get the struts right. The pull out storage box is much easier. see DRIFTA STORAGE BOX for more details on this.
Here is another shot of the pvc cover on another trailer. See the zipper and Velcro used to dust seal. Also , the upright padbolt locks the tailgate open. This is important, especially with tailgate kitchens. These are rebound springs, with greasable shackles. Simple and does the job. If you break one of these, you're overloaded or going too fast. If you want to you can carry a spare say you're going to Birdsville or somewhere. If you're thinking of getting trailing arm or independant suspension, be sure it's a respected company. I've seen smaller trailer companies try to copy this, without the engineering background to understand it and the suspension has failed, something you really don't want.
I use a DPOR kitchen, a storage box next to it and a DFSD (front storage draws). You can see them in the photo 2 up on the rhs, with the bedbase lifted up. I've always used either the DPOS or DPOR, i love the return benchspace. I've got also a SDSB (small drifta storage box ) the little one under the bench. It doesn't fit in the package deal because of the front drawers, but i can put it in the back of the car, or the storage box. It's a great dry food box. The water is hooked up to the tank on the trailer, with just a bit of tube. My fridge is hooked up to a rear 12 v plug, running from the trailer battery. Inside i've got a double stretcher. This works great for us. Kaito sleeps underneath, and we can put our bags on top. We have a canvas bag each, and one that is for linen/towels etc. Candy canvas make beautiful bags, these ones have a zip that goes round three sides like a suitcase. They are so much easier to get into than one with the straight zip down the middle. this keeps it really neat and organised inside the camper.
We have a DFSD , one its a great set of drawers for clothes, small items etc, and two, it is the best bedside table. This is probably i think the handiest thing of all, and what definitely Kiyomi likes the best. Another small thing, i had a bit of Velcro sewn in under the door. (This sort of thing you can only get when they make the trailer, it's very hard to do after) a door mat sticks to this and stops it sliding around all over the place. (bit pedantic maybe?? Dunno, told you i like to be organised and neat and i'm a perfection nut)
Here's two things i've recently done, something i've been thinking about for a while. I love to read at night, i've always got about a dozen books i'm half way thru. It's so much more comfortable being able to sit up in bed, something you can't do against a canvas wall. So i made this fold up backrest. It folds down under the mattress when packing up the camper (just lift the mattress out of the way) there is these 12 v lights that come out from behind it, with flexible stands so you can put them exactly where you want. This was really good to use, almost too good to be camping. I was so happy with it. See how it goes, i might put these of the website see if i can sell a few.

(both these are now available for sale. The bootlined front shelf, I have made as a standalone unit with it's own legs, so it will fit any camper. Click here for details.. )		 Now here is another new idea, one that i just really love. It's very easy to build, but quiet tricky to fit. I've got a bootlined shelf on some tent pole material stands. These go down into the trailer. (because ive got the front drawers, i have a 80 mm gap between the drawers and the front of the trailer, this is because of the hinged door. ) this was perfect to take the poles. So, this shelf can simply drop down onto the mattress to pack up the camper. Then just lift it up to whatever height you want, for a great handy shelf. I never get to watch much tele or movies at home, so it's luxury to sometimes at a show, or camping to be able to watch a dvd on the laptop. But where to put it? Well that's why i thought of this idea. I have all our family photos on the laptop also, camping at night is a great time to put it on slideshow and look at em all, something you never seem to get the time to do at home.


A tip on brakes. If your trailer is over a certain weight, it must have brakes. If it's around 700 + kgs, you should consider it if you can afford it... one extra advantage with brakes is you have the handbrake, which is very handy when your trailer is unhooked (got a sloped driveway?? ). There are two types basically. Overrider and electric. Overrider brakes work by the momentum of the trailer pushing forward onto your vehicle, which activates the trailer brakes. Electric brakes you have to get a brake controller on your vehicle.. (although I have seen some trailers now in qld with the controller on the trailer itself, which can be a good idea, say if you want to swap between vehicles) as soon as you touch your brake pedal, the brakes are activated (this can be adjusted - the amount they come on)

Now, a bloke bought a kitchen the other day was telling me.... he was in a state forest with his family in the car. It was wet.. he was towing a camper ... going down a hill, round a corner on a wet, slippery road.. many of you will be in this situation.. he had overrider brakes.. as he put the brakes on, the trailer has to push forward on the vehicle to be activated, but if it's slippery, basically the car will be pushed forward the car tyres will slip and the brakes won't activate.. which is what happened in this case.. his car was pushed off the road and ended up upside down in a ditch.. no one was hurt, but this is not the situation you want to be in with your family... if he had electric brakes it wouldn't have happened, because as soon as he touched the brakes, the trailer would have started pulling up, even before the car itself.. so the trailer is basically braking independant of the vehicle, instead of relying on the vehicle...

So, I reckon elec is better for this reason (also, with overrider, every time you back up, you have to get out and flip over a small catch, otherwise, as you back, you'll activate the brakes.. then often next time you take off (I always did) you'll forget to flip it back over, hence the brakes won't be working at all) if the trailer you get comes with overrider, you just need to be aware of how it works.. get the blokes selling it to you to explain this.. then you can take it a bit easy in the wet... if you're not sure about this, ask the question on a camper/4wd forum, you'll get hundreds of 'experts' to tell you whats best.. :)



Here are some more photos from the last trip - a place called sandon, near broomes head, nth nsw.
This is why I like to have a trailer we can move around ourselves. You can't back the trailer in here. on top of the canvas, under the pvc cover, is a great place to store lots of things... I have here the awning, table, grass matt, stretcher, chairs, ladder. I recently bought a piece of auto carpet, that I put down first, so nothing rubs thru into the canvas.. this also then goes down on the floor inside the camper.
the front drawers make it easy to pack things up before you go away.. See here the hitch, how with the 45 degree angle on the jockey wheel, you can lock it upright, the handle also.. this is very handy, getting them up out of the way.
See the light, it's very useful and lights up the whole rear area. We take our mountain bikes now that Kaito is big enough (7).. it's great camping with bikes, being able to explore around a bit. We went up to yamba for a day on this trip, took the bikes on the roof of the troopy, and rode around the foreshore on the bike paths.. was an awesome family day.. Whoops.. if you get a gut feeling something is wrong with your trailer , always pull up.. I heard a funny noise, thought wonder what that was, so backed up, and it was my front drawers (DFSD) rolling onto the road and hitting a stump. It was a very rough road, and I was flat out like normal. (Ask graham from offroad systems what it's like to go 4wding with me:) the T-bar latch on the front access door came open. I never would have thought these latches could work open. I always keep it locked now. Lucky it was made tough. Gave it a dust off, chucked it back in, no worries..
See how handy the bench space is.. and that's only cooking for three. I don't know how people get on cooking and preparing meals with no bench space.. See how easy the washing up is.. you have space for dirty dishes on the left, wash up in the middle , and drain them on the return bench.. without this sequence of space, like on many steel kitchens where you have a sink right next to a stove and no bench space around it, it's very impractical.
Here's another shot of the external plugs.. the green one is a 15 amp that is simply connected to a standard power point.. then a battery charger is plugged into this.. the battery charger is connected permanently to the battery.. the white lead is being used here to power my laptop. The external socket with the middle cut out is just so you can get the lead out of the toolbox without running it over the top. Kaito's first fish! A little bream.. we were out on the sandbank, he'd just said to me "this is not working dad!" when bang! he hooked up, and pulled it all the way in.. now he's always telling me he's one up on me, cause I haven't caught one.
If you're just planning on camping at a c'van park on the coast, an on road or light offroad is perfect. But keep in mind, if you want to travel outback at all, the roads are extremely punishing on trailers. Anything that is not made or designed correctly will break off or break down. Guaranteed. For example, you know the rear stabilisers, cheaper trailers have a bit of box tube that slides to the ground and some have a bolt that needs to be done up to hold it. On gravel roads, they will work loose, and fall to the ground, which then rips the back corner out of the trailer.

Two things i have also found out. I sell kitchens to a lot of people who make their own trailer. One thing they all say is that there is a lot more involved than they thought, and many definitely wouldn't do it again. The reason is there is just so much frigging around, it ends up costing much more than you think, and you end up with something that if you made it again, it would be much better, but you are stuck with what you have made. And the resale value is a lot less if you want to sell it. I really believe, you are much better off , for all the weekends you lose trying to build it, you'd be better spending your time camping, and your money buying a factory built camper.

Even small things, for example on my first trailer, trying to save money, i thought i'd hook up the battery myself. Sounds easy. It ended up taking me most of my weekend, and i didn't have the right bits to do it properly, so i had to dodgy it up a bit. It ended up being a bit of a mess. I had to have a few goes later on fixing it up, and i'm lucky that i have a shed where you can build anything. It didn't work right, as i couldn't charge the battery when i was driving, so it went flat one time when i had half a day's driving to charge it a bit. A wire pulled out of a joiner, i had to keep twitching it up. Never got around to soldering it properly. When i went to sell it, it looked bad.

On my next trailer, i paid the $300 extra to have it done. It was a perfect job, very strong, all the right bits, had an Anderson plug. I would have saved $100 doing it myself, but i can tell you the hassle and my weekend are worth a bloody lot more than a hundred bucks. So it you're thinking of doing it yourself, sure , go for it, but have a good think if you are really going to save anything, and that you'll actually end up with something that you're (and your wife ) happy with.

Anyway, that'll do me. Whadayareckon. Hope you got some good pedantic tips from it. Luke
.....Well guess what, now I've done it again and sold/bought another one... here is the new improvements...
I wanted some boat racks, so decided for the "tradesman" style, which is basically a frame front and back. It's not tilting, so you have to lift of say the canoe to open the tent, but a lot simpler cheaper and lighter. And I can take the rack itself off if I'm not using it, so again, a saving on weight. Most other things were the same as all listed in pages above.
This was something I wanted to do for a while, and works great.. most trailers have a tap/pump at the back corner, but to wash your hands, you're wasting a lot of water spilt on the ground. I wanted a tub to wash in, but not sitting on the ground. So I made this frame up that the tub sits in. It's just some ½ inch flat bar, folded to the right size, with two long bolts welded on, that stick into the trailer like shown. This stores in my toolbox, behind the battery box. This tub stores in the toolbox also. Inside it is a small bag with different hoses/ fittings etc. The bag goes on top of the wheel arch, and the tub sits in the frame.. it works great, and was really handy. You can pump straight into it from the handpump, or use the the elec pump I also had fitted.
Now, one thing also I found really handy... say we spent 4 days camping in the bush on the river. Then moved to the coast near port Macquarie for a few days. My water tank was empty, so I wanted to fill it. I found a tap in a small park at cresent head. I could fill up my jerry can, but have you ever tried to tip it into those water tank fillers?? You can't really do it. You can siphon it, but that takes ages, while you hold it there above the filler. I've tried a funnel, but someone has to hold it for you, and Kiyomi will be sitting in the truck reading a magazine. So, normally the elec pump itself will suck out of the water tank. So, I cut a t - piece into this line, and put a short hose with a garden spray fitting on it, and a in line shutoff valve. (you can see it in the photo above ) So , I can basically, turn off the line to the water tank, and suck thru this short hose. Hence, if I connect a longer hose to it, I can suck out from the jerry can, and pump that water wherever I want, in this case into the water tank filler. So I'm filling the tank with the pump itself. This worked great, you just need some garden fittings and a few short hoses. This sort of flexibility , same with the electrical setup I have, is really handy out bush.
See here the elec pump. I have hooked up a short hose with a spray nozzle on the end, which you can then use for anything, hose down something, wash your hands/feet, have a quick shower/rinse, fill a bucket , anything.. when I get home I can turn it on and quickly empty the tank.
Here's me solar panel, connected to the Anderson plug near the hitch. It's a 40 watter, which will put out near 2 amps in good sun, enough to nearly run my fridge. I have two 100 amp hour batteries now, so plenty of power. Where to put the fridge is a common problem.
When travelling, mine just chucks in the back of the troopy. I don't worry about a fridge slide. Because, when I'm not camping, it's a drama to have to take it out all the time. And when we're camping, the fridge really needs to stay with the kitchen. What's the point of having it in the vehicle. Kiyomi wants it within two steps of the kitchen, so that makes the decision for me. It's a bit heavy, but the two of us just lift it out and sit it here. It's in the shade, next to the power outlet at the back of the trailer.
Some people e-mail me, wanting to put the fridge in the trailer.. you can do this , but there's no way I would.. most fridges are too high anyway to fit it. The back of a trailer can get dusty/ and is probably the roughest part when travelling, not really the ideal place for the fridge. The other thing it stuffs up your storage space, as it has to go length ways, you end up with hard to reach space behind it etc. To use it you have to have it on a slide, it just complicated things, and is not worth it. A well known trailer company years ago wanted me to build pull out trailer kitchens for them that included a fridge. I told them why I thought it wasn't practical, so wouldn't do it. They ended up with a $2500 steel job. I lost a lot of business, but I won't build stuff that doesn't work. If you want a fridge you don't have to lift around, leave it in the car, or buy a caravan :)
Here is my hot water shower system. I've tried all the different types, twine vehicle mounted, primus instant gas, now I have this caravan one. I have it sitting on a gal fence picket. I haven't found a hot water system that you can properly/ easily adjust the water temperature on. It will generally either scald you or be cold, and you waste most of the limited water you have trying to get it right. This type of system, you need gas, 12 v power and a water source/ pump. What I have found with the different systems, it's much better to turn it up to full heat, and simply pump the water back into the drum you are using. Once you have the right temp, generally just feels like too hot to touch, (it will lose a lot of heat from the shower head to you, so you need it a bit hotter than you think) turn off the gas. You then have a hot jerry full of water, to use on and off as you need. (I always use a clear 20 ltr. That way you can see how much you are using. Kiyomi is allowed to use 15 ltrs, me and Kaito get the dregs. This is plenty of water , if you turn it off as you go,ie, get wet, turn off, soap up, turn on wash off etc. ) if it's heating hot water as you go, every time you turn off, it's too much trouble to get going again, hence you waste a lot of water. You simply can't have a continuous shower in the bush, otherwise you would use just way too much. And you can't carry enough water in the bush for a shower, even if you limit to 20 ltrs. Basically , my rule is, if you're camping at a spot with water, say a river, tank, bore etc, I'll carry one jerry for Kiyomi a day. If there is no water around, then bad luck.
For short trips, it's way too much trouble setting this system up, again , with gas, 12 v , pump etc, it's a pain. So for short trips, I simply use now a canvas bucket with a shower nozzle screwed in the end. You can buy them anywhere. It holds about 10 ltrs, and with two billies of hot water tipped in, this does the job fine. It's a good example of how keeping things simple, will often end up at the end of day, much better. The shower bucket is $20 opposed to 3-4 hundred. Takes only a minute to set up. Takes up no space when packed away.
Keep in mind the reason you're going camping is to relax and enjoy yourselves. If you're not well organised, you'll do neither. I think that's the key, being as organised as you can, that suits what you want to do. But getting organised is not something that you can get right straight away. One thing I do, is every camping trip, just try to get one or two things better for next time. It might be something small, but your next trip will be better by that small amount. I have a list I always use, that I save on word. It started from when I did all the camping shows around the country. I had to have a list, cause to forget something was a disaster, there was so much I had to take. Camping is a bit the same. You can never remember everything, but to forget small things is a real pain in the arse. Especially if you have your wife along, cause you are responsible for everything, and anything that goes wrong you are in trouble. Ie, you can have a perfect camp, in a perfect spot, but if I forget the mozzie coil, and Kiyomi gets bitten, then I'm in deep S. So, I have one list for tent camping, 4WD camping, boat camping, 4wd day trips, mates 4wd trip , as each I need to take different things. Ie, on a 4wd trip with graham from offroad systems, I only need a swag and a carback kitchen, but also a chainsaw , axe etc. When packing up to go away, I have the list in a folder, and I can literally tick off each thing I need as I get it out or pack it. At the bottom of the list I have written "diesel, gas, batteries, water" as a reminder that when travelling out bush, you need to think of these things every day. Then I have a heap of blank space with the heading "next time".. when I'm camping, I always take my list, it always sits on the dash of my truck. Every time I think of something I need , or missed , or need to fix up, I write it here... see when you get home, it's fresh in your mind what you need to fix up. But you never do, cause you're back into work, busy from being away etc, so don't get time to do it. Then , next time you go, you've forgotten what you needed to do.. hence the list. A few days before I go, I always get my list out, see what I need to do, add anything to it on word, print it out and there you go. Sort out what I need to do, and it's done.. I'd be stuffed without the list.. I'll see if I can put a link up so you can print it out, and modify it to suit yourself, or simply write one up yourself..
Link to my camping list.
Then , you can spend more time relaxing, and less time getting winged to :)



PS, another good tip. When packing up, your missus will be tired, maybe fed up, cranky etc. I always keep an emergency can of UDL , hidden down the bottom of the fridge. I give it Kiyomi once we start packing up, and it works like magic, she chills out, sits in the car again and reads a magazine. Just where I want her while I sort things out.. saves an argument all the way home that can last all week :)
This is another addition I have made to the new trailer... my uncle rob gave me the idea, and I think it's a beauty... the full awning is fairly big, and takes a bit to set up, you have to get on a ladder and zip it on, which can be awkward, then put up 4 poles, I use then 4 spreader bars coming out from the tent, and three spreader bars between these.. then peg it all down.. if you're staying for the weekend, then this is fine.. but what about if you are travelling, and just want a quick overnight stop.. you really don't want to do all this.. but, if you don't put the awning up, then you'll be having breakfast in the hot sun, or it might be raining. So this awning can be simply zipped on without using a ladder, and then a quick two or three poles, you have some basic cover for at night / in the morning when you need it.. it's small enough also that you can leave it on, if you'll be using it again the next night... also, I have a zip on the drawbar side of the tent, so this can then be used if I'm set up for a few days, on the drawbar side, providing some extra shade to the tent .....


camping on broughton island
Another thing you need is a biji barbi. A mate of mine tony from hillston makes them.. he's a real bushy and a great character. The good thing about the biji is you can easily lift it out of the fire to muck around with your food, because of the long handle.

Also they are great to use at home. Instead of having a gas barby, we have a 'biji barby'. It's so much more fun, especially for the kids.. you dont' need a big fire (many people camping generally have way too big a fire, it doesn't need to be too big. And you can't cook on a huge fire.) All kids are fascinated by fire, and they love to be able to poke it with a stick, chuck little leaves/ sticks on etc. You're better off letting kids play / learn about fire when you're around. I think it's important for them to learn about fires. Otherwise someday they are bound to try themselves anyway. And there is a bit in it, getting a good fire going, and keeping it going.. I've been camping with a lot of blokes who have no idea how to light/cook etc on a fire.. that's the good thing about the biji, it gives you a good excuse to have a little fire, just in the backyard.. you can get them from tony's website www.biji-barbi.com.au , or I have always some here...they are $125..(if you do get one, make sure you get the canvas bag to put them in) they make a great birthday / Christmas present also, not too expensive, but somthing they will have forever and can get some really good use out of...

This is tony. He is a champion...