Down sizing

[EricG]

So I just realized while packing for an overnight camping trip that I could invade a small country with what I have. I have a 4 year old and a 14 month old 2 dogs and a wife. Driving an 03 Disco. I need to think about down sizing my gear.

What are folks using for sleeping I have a mat and bag others are on an air bed with blankets. When the kids get older I'm thinking each in a bag and a pad to make room in the tent.

I currently have a 2 burner stove cook set plates etc that I will keep plus a Dutch oven. A camping toilet that takes up too much room and a shelter for it. I'm thinking about getting one that folds up but the bucket is good for a sit and quiet time.

Add cloths dogs and food.....

How are folks with the same situation packing and carrying my goal is to be able to see out the back window. I have a rack but with 33's it's a long way up and a pain to load and un load.

Any one have any suggestions on how they lightened. The load and still have everything they need ?

Thanks
Eric

 

[Richietherocket]

Adventure trailer maybe? Taking the hounds always creates storage issues. Maybe some action packers or Bundu boxes for stackable storage. I have an FJC and space is really tight so we use the roof rack to its fullest

 

[VDBAZFJ]

I feel for you. I try to take only what I need. With a wife and 4 year old and my FJ, its packed when we go camping! I cant imagine with multiple children and pets! I even use a RTT. A trailer would be nice but then its something else to store and deal with. Maybe I should just take one pair of "choneys"?

 

[Ramjet]

I'm in the same boat. 1 kid and a dog for most trips. Just purchased (like an hour ago) a front runner rack for my FJ and I really hope that helps. I'm using 2 Zargas cases on top and 2 inside. Plus fuel and water on the rack with tent and camping equipment as well. Would love to see what you come up with.

 

[rcharrette]

"the junk show"!

We cal it our rolling junk show it doesn't matter if we are going for 2 days or 2 weeks, we seem to have the same amount of stuff, packed to the roof ( and on top).

 

[Falkon]

On my last camping trip, it was only 2 of the 4 in my family. No pets, but with gear, food, toys, firewood,my truck was bursting.

I knew we would need more room when the wife and other some come as well. So I bought a hitch mounted gear basket. I have not used it yet, but I can pack 6 medium sized tubs in it. Not bad for 100 duchets.

Easy access, can pop it off when not using.

- Chris

 

[EricG]

I went camping last night with wife kids and dogs. We were at a state park which wasn't my first choice and I like to. Be quiet and it turns out we are now that group no one wants to be beside of and we are now the people that constantly yell at their kids. My 4year old runs instead of walking so he spent most of the time face first in the dirt. Over night if any one moved the 14 month old cried and I have a dog that has a reverse cough that is basically a hack that echoed thru the camp ground followed by crying.

As far as storage you guys in FJ's have less space than I do. My issue with packing now will be sleeping items and fold up chairs. If I can find a box that would hold the chairs. I am going to start using at least on bin in the back for things I can fit odds and ends in it. Food storage is another issue seems I always have grocery bags shoved by the back window.

I am thinking a setof drawers that I can put all my kitchen items in one and food or something in the other that way I could get rid of at least one box and make better use of the other. As long as I keep everything below the top of the back seat the dogs are fine.

Next trip out I'll put my rack back on and see how that works out.

Eric

 

[Ramjet]

Eric, there are some Hardigg cases for sale in the Equipment section. You might find those could help you out. Good luck. Totally understand the camp ground thing as well.

 

[shmabs]

I can certainly relate, my son is 2 and it seems like we always over pack!

A few notes regarding your situation:

~I can understand the roof rack being tall, for that reason and others, I like to stick only lightweight "squishable" things up there. Our setup is a simple canvas bag lashed to the roof rack/platform with ratcheting, or cam-lock style tie down straps. You would be surprised how flat you can make sleeping bags, pads, clothes etc when you have a little mechanical advantage. Keeping it all in one big bag makes it easier to move, on my montero i would remove and install the whole bag loaded and then squish it down with the straps.

~Food: now that my son is a little older he eats pretty much what we do, and when it comes to food selection I'm always eyeing the size and shape of what we buy. An example of this is we no longer bring bread for sandwhiches, our vessel of choice for carrying meats, cheeses, peanut butter, jam etc is the timeless tortilla. Everything is built in burrito form. We have a nice set of rubbermaid food containers that are pretty space efficient; most of what we buy will get unpackaged and put into those. We also prep our food depending on trip length; so potatoes, onions, peppers etc all get sliced up before hand, eggs are cracked and put into a container right next to the ice block. Drinks are divided up into various nalgenes or similar containers, condiments are placed in small containers that vary in size based on trip length, when we tooks a step back and really looked at how much food we were bringing, it was amazing how much we over packed, and still do!!!

~Boxes: i just recently got away from our 8 gallon action packer and moved to a much more space efficient military box, its only slighty larger but can hold a lot more stuff because its perfectly square. It holds all of our kitchen gear except stove and griddle, and it usually has room for some dry or canned goods. Most of our dry food ends up packed in pelican cases. I just recently fell in love with our Kelty Binto hauler too, its square-ish, holds all of our clothes, diapers etc and is pretty easy to pack and use. We usually end up with one of the internal bags for us, and one for the offspring.

~Sleeping bags/mats: We just got rid of our kelty air mattress and have never looked back. I sleep on an rei 2.5, the wife on an rei 3.5 and the wee one gets a doubled up thermarest sleeping pad. Collectively, I would say they take up more room than the air mattress does when packed, but in our tent, the usuable floor space is much better, our tent is octagonal shaped, so the airmattress ate up a lot of room. We end up putting the 1/4 scale human between us, and we all have our own bag's, with a wool blanket thrown over top if its cold.

The single greatest thing that i was ever told in regards to figuring out how much to pack is this...

When you are done camping and find yourself unpacking at home, make three piles:

1. we used this all the time/every day
2. we used this once in a while
3. we didn't use this at all

Everytime, try to eliminate pile number three.

Best of luck!

Mike

 

[rockwood]

Pick up a nice M416 or equivalent. Make a huge difference.

 

[Honu]

We had a trailer and sold it ?
While I miss it at camp don't miss towing it around

FJC 2 kids and a dog and used to a trailer meant we were used to comfy camping

Things we did yet still have a nice comfy camping setup
I still like cots 49 year old bones so have these alps cots that pack super small
Cots are nice when rocky etc..
Switched to Nemo air pads and big agnes down bags
The nemo pads were more comfy on the cots to us than any other pad that is the self inflating type and our pad bag and cot packs smaller than thicker self inflating pad setups downside expensive but worth it
Still have larger chairs like alps we like the comfort but still looking ? Maybe the kermit chairs our next downsizing thing

Our kitchen is based around snowpeak iGT packs small folds out big so we can eat and prep in comfort which is nice IMHO
Things that take up room we like
Propane fire ring but packs smaller than wood
Propane buddy heater happy kids and wife on cold mornings !
Extra prep table folding plastic one makes getting kids ready easier to lay out their stuff

Still working on cutting down things every trip we dont use
I love old fashioned safari style camping so still like to kinda camp large and comfy so we bring a lot

Having things pack into cases is nice easier to throw a few cases on the rig and we use the cases at camp

Have been debating about buying two pelican cube cases that can double up as seats for kids at the table

We still bring our pett toilet and shelter nice luxury to have

Also looking at a larger rig

 

[freedomrider]

In the past I always used a 2-burner Coleman stove and associated propane tankage (sometimes including 5 gal tank, distribution tree, etc.). I recently bought a one burner butane unit and think it's great; small, light, super fast to set up and take down, cheap (<$20), small butane canisters. You indicated wanting to keep the 2 burner stove but a butane one-burner option may be worth looking into for short excursions.

 

[achampagne]

I went for a LR3 with roof rack and a pop up trailer until my kiddo is a little older:

Breakdown:

2 80lb Labs(food and beds)
A 2yr old and all her gear(so much stuff!!!)
Wife and all her gear( A lot of stuff)
Myself and my daypack.

I camper or trailer will really make a difference in how much easier it is.

 

[EricG]

I like the stove and the tanks I can use with lanterns too.

QUOTE=freedomrider;1309060]In the past I always used a 2-burner Coleman stove and associated propane tankage (sometimes including 5 gal tank, distribution tree, etc.). I recently bought a one burner butane unit and think it's great; small, light, super fast to set up and take down, cheap (<$20), small butane canisters. You indicated wanting to keep the 2 burner stove but a butane one-burner option may be worth looking into for short excursions.[/QUOTE]

 

[Derek G]

I had the same problem of packing for every contingency for my wife and I and our 4 and 5 yr old daughters, until my wife and I took a week long trip on a motorcycle from Dallas to Yellowstone and had to put everything we needed for camping on the bike. What I learned from this experience is that it really comes down to the gear you buy, and what you may think are sacrifices on creature comforts, actually are not.

I LOVE MY DRY BAGS!! I have them in assorted sizes and they work great because they essentially are stuff sacks/vacuum bags. If I know it's going to be chilly at night, I throw all of our jackets, fleece, etc in a dry bag or two, smash it down, seal it and throw it on the roof rack. There is no worry of it getting wet and it is easy to access if I need it. That way if I don't need it the items stay on the roof, and stay dry. This theory works well for any item that may be needed but may not. Pelican cases are great for this and other dry goods that you wouldn't need to access very often. Rain gear is another good thing for a dry bag on the roof.

Instead of the large fold up chairs, we bought tri-pod chairs from REI that are about 18" long ($20). very compact, fit on the bike, and surprisingly comfortable. When we camp out of the truck now we just take those instead. The kids love them because they find them fun to sit in and very portable.

We use Kelty sleeping bags and Big Agnes air mattresses. We purchased these because they were the smallest combination in pack form and we needed every ounce of space on the bike.

Do you bring pillows? don't. We bring four pillow cases and put clothes, jackets, fleece, etc. in them to make pillows. It sounds like it may not be that comfortable but it is.

I've done the "3 pile" trick before and it works. I've found the biggest thing that I/we over pack is clothing. It's not a fashion show so two pants, two shirts and I'm good for a few days. The only thing I don't skimp on is underwear and especially clean socks.

I think the biggest thing you need to do is just re-asses your gear and packing habits and do just as the post implies, downsize. For example, I have an LED lantern that puts out just as much light as the big ones and it's about the size of salt shaker when packed up. Many people carry two big lanterns or more, one for the tent, for the cooking station, for the table. We have just the one lantern and also all have LED head lamps (which the kids love by the way). The dry bags go a long way, that in combination with consolidating gear by it's use and not by who's it is. As I mentioned in the example of all of the jackets or rain gear going in one dry bag. If it starts to rain, everyone doesn't have to scramble to their own personal bag to find their rain gear, it's all in one place for everyone. That way you can pack your roof rack and pack it with non essentials so you don't have to go up and down all day.

The next biggest challenge is water and food. Front Runner makes great water storage solutions. Food is such a personal preference that I won't go into what works for us as far as space, but camping is roughing it. Ranch style beans and hot dogs never killed anyone as far as I know. Combine that with some mac and cheese and you've got a gourmet dinner for star gazing and far as I'm concerned.

All being said, we are currently in the market for Adventure Trailers Horizon model and plan on using that as our ultimate set up to leave packed with our gear so that all we have to do is pack up food and clothes, hitch up the trailer and be gone.