Car camping with a small car

[QTPie]

I only have a Subaru WRX hatchback. My family and I are planning on going up to Beavers Bend. Does anyone else have a small car, how do you pack and do you ever have any issues?

[howl]

Re: Car camping with a small car

You can get a receiver hitch for those. Put your largest bulky items on a cargo carrier. You'd probably have $300 in the hitch and carrier. Sometimes the wiring harnesses for trailer lights are easy to do. If so you can get 4'x4' trailer from Harbor Freight pretty cheap.


Otherwise just think like you're going backpacking. The hard part isn't loading to go. It's loading to get back.

[Dust Devil]

Re: Car camping with a small car

I don't have a small car, but more information is needed. How many people in your family, what kind of gear are you taking along, how long you'll be gone, etc. Your Subaru doesn't have a lot of cargo room, so you may have to think out of the box (car). Possibly a small cargo trailer, which would require at least a trailer hitch and electric wiring for the lights. Or a roof rack and cargo box, which will affect your gas mileage. You may want to take a good look at the gear you are bringing along and determine what is actually necessary and what is nice to have. I tend to find I bring along a lot of things that I never end up using.

[bluestar99]

Re: Car camping with a small car

You don't really give us much info to go on, but lots of people camp in small cars. While in Yellowstone we had a Toyota Prius pull in next to us. The couple was in there late 70's at least. I heard a small air compressor going, and figured a tent was being setup while the wife filled air mattresses. Well as it turned out they were sleeping on the air mattresses in the back of a Prius! The old women crawled in and the old man shut the hatch. Then he forced his way in the back door and went to sleep. They were still in there when we left at 8AM the next morning.......Maybe I should have done a wellness check?

The night before was a family with 2 teenage kids. They had 2 tents that the kid flipped out like a frisbee, and they sprung open. Two in each tent and away they went.

[James.]

Re: Car camping with a small car

I only have a Subaru WRX hatchback. My family and I are planning on going up to Beavers Bend. Does anyone else have a small car, how do you pack and do you ever have any issues?

Hehehehe. I would wager to guess that we ALL have issues no matter what we drive. Somehow we manage to expand our gear to match the room we have. My suggestion to you would be the same as Dust Devil. Check your gear and decide what is necessary and what is handy. The bottom line is that you only need food, water and shelter. Everything else is a luxury.

And the necessities can be whittled down too...ie: sleep in your car and you don't need a tent. You can think of it this way. Backpackers go camping with everything they need stuffed into a pack. Surely you can fit all that and more in your car.

Or you can just buy a truck

[Mike]

Re: Car camping with a small car

I pack a canoe, dog, passenger, and all we need for camping. paddles, fishing poles and everything for a week into a tiny Honda Fit. The only smaller car is a Mini Cooper and that is not much smaller. If I do not use a car-top carrier, there is only enough room for one passenger, one dog, and the gear/food. I am pretty efficient. I don't think I could add another passenger, but with a car top carrier, I could have two passengers and the dog and all the gear.

It starts with packing like you are going backpacking. Minimize. Bring exactly what you need and not doubling up on stuff or packing a little extra just in case. There is a tendency to bring too many clothes and too much food. Realistically, you won't be changing clothes as often as you think. Bring poly clothes so they dry fast and you won't have to change clothes often. I wear the same pants and shirt for a week, only bringing extra underwear, swimming shorts that double as short pants, and a jacket, hat and gloves. Using poly clothes that you can wash and line dry fast is key. I even have poly underwear so I only need one spare pair. For emergency food, I pack a little extra flour, oatmeal, and dried beans - compact, shelf stable, filling, energy foods that I probably won't use, but just in case.

Then, you have to really plan your packing. Everything in the car has its place. Sleeping bags get stuffed under seats. Other stuff gets packed tightly into stackable plastic bins and stacked two high in the back. You might have to use the front seat for packing because there is extra space in the feet area. The passenger sits in the back - and a bit tight.

Get a car-top carrier. That will make all the difference in the world. A car-top carrier will carry just about as much as you can fit inside your car, so you don't have to squeeze everything into the car.

[Shortpants]

Re: Car camping with a small car

Our family of four currently uses a VW Jetta sedan for our camping adventures. I really pared down on our usual gear we bring when we had to switch to the smaller car. Make meal plans so you only bring the food and the kitchen utensils you will really use. Same with clothing and other gear. I am a list-maker to the extreme, so I have a master packing list that I go by, but may leave things on that list home if we won't need it for that particular trip. We also use a soft cartop carrier for bedding, air mattresses, pillows, towels and anything soft and lightweight. It really is amazing how much room that frees up inside the car! Bedding takes up a LOT of room! You also can find little spots in the car that perfectly fit some items... like our "just in case" small dome tent, backup small shade tent, long grill forks and fishing poles fit perfectly in the back window of the car, behind the headrests. The dishpan with all the kitchen stuff fits right behind the passenger seat on the floor, underneath our 2 year old's feet, I can fit another bag or two on top of it, and still plenty of room for DD's feet. Remember Tetris? Packing for camping in a small car is kinda like that... HAHAHA! Rest assured, it can be done!

[Bigdog57]

Re: Car camping with a small car

Choosing the gear wisely can help. The single bulkiest item is the sleeping bag. Unless the temps are really cold, I prefer a blanket - takes much less space. Also, two smaller dome tents will take less space in the car than one big cabin tent. If the car has a roof rack, put the awning shelter and camp chairs in their stuff bags up there.
I have been motorcycle camping for years, and it teaches you to minimize the gear to maximize the fun!

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Car camping with a small car

I don't have a small car, but more information is needed. How many people in your family, what kind of gear are you taking along, how long you'll be gone, etc. Your Subaru doesn't have a lot of cargo room, so you may have to think out of the box (car). Possibly a small cargo trailer, which would require at least a trailer hitch and electric wiring for the lights. Or a roof rack and cargo box, which will affect your gas mileage. You may want to take a good look at the gear you are bringing along and determine what is actually necessary and what is nice to have. I tend to find I bring along a lot of things that I never end up using.

What he said.

I'm off on a 4 day, 2 person trip this weekend. Using 1 cooler (didn't think I thought that wuz possible did ya?:he, 1 tent structure as opposed to 3, leaving the camp kitchen at home and will "survive" with only a Weber Go Anywhere and fire pit to cook on. Yeah I could have just taken the collapsible fire pit and ditched the Weber but think I've the space this trip. A small picnic suitcase will hold the table and cookware as usual. Switching from a 12" CI skillet to a 6-8". One other pot coming which will be a 2.5 qt.

Cutting down the size of the first aid kit from a large toiletry bag to a mini version that's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The accident prone kiddos aren't coming so this One weekend bag will hold the clothing for both adults. 2 folding bikes and we should be good to go.

The man thinks we should take the cots instead of the queen air mattress and stand but not sure that setup will really cut down on space since we'll need double the bedding. I'll figure it out before packup time I hope. I'm sure I'm be hemmed in by stuff as is the normal lot of the passenger/navigator.

Renting a Mazda3 hatchback this trip

Looking forward to hearing more on this from ya, QTPie.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Car camping with a small car

Choosing the gear wisely can help. The single bulkiest item is the sleeping bag. Unless the temps are really cold, I prefer a blanket - takes much less space. Also, two smaller dome tents will take less space in the car than one big cabin tent. If the car has a roof rack, put the awning shelter and camp chairs in their stuff bags up there.
I have been motorcycle camping for years, and it teaches you to minimize the gear to maximize the fun!

You can also open sleeping bags and lay them over seats and sit on em. Depending on the car's interior layout you might be able to fit items like clothing bags in the back seat's wells between the axle and still have space for feet.

[James.]

Re: Car camping with a small car

Another option, albeit not the best one, would be to take 2 cars.

[Denni2]

Re: Car camping with a small car

We use compression bags for bedding. Sleeping bags, sheets, and pillows all gets compressed in a very small bundle. I have also been down sizing what I take. The less stuff we have makes loading and unloading more pleasant. More time to relax.

[sunnymw]

Re: Car camping with a small car

When we take the whole family, we have to take the truck. When it's just us, we can pack what WE need into my little Honda.

Keep in mind, I have 3 kids in car seats in the back, so that takes up MOST of the interior room if we were to try and take my car. I cannot fit ALL the things into my trunk.

This is the only shot I've got for some reason. Hm.


Four bikes, five helmets, five bags of clothing, two tents, two coolers, one dry goods bin, one misc camping stuff bin (lanterns, etc), fire pit thing, small table, air mattress, yoga mats for kids, ..... it adds up. Oh, and the canoe plus five life jackets.


ETA: Before bikes.




So, all that to say... We need more information.

Biggest one being, how many people do you have in your back seat? (And are they still in seats that take up more room)?

[a65hoosier]

Re: Car camping with a small car

Without knowing the size of your family and their ages, or the length of your trip, there is a way you can figure this out ahead of your trip. You put all the camping things you think you want and need (and that is everyone and every thing you plan on taking with you) and take a trial run packing the Subaru all up and see if it all fits. You would be amazed how you can "fit" things in your cars spaces and those things you can truly go without (we still overpack food and clothes...after many camping trips). If it does all go in the Subaru, Yea!! You're all set. If it doesn't......then you have quite a few options to either make the cargo smaller or make the container bigger as our fellow campers have posted above (I'd add rent a minivan or suv?).

[a65hoosier]

Re: Car camping with a small car

We use compression bags for bedding. Sleeping bags, sheets, and pillows all gets compressed in a very small bundle. I have also been down sizing what I take. The less stuff we have makes loading and unloading more pleasant. More time to relax.

Yes. This is a huge benefit.