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Essential items for first time camping meet

When we meet august weekend, I ll look at your fridge n power set up. It should be one time spend
 
Go slow on buying things, and borrow when you can to try first. What works for someone else may not turn out to be your preferred option but you'll get lots of ideas from what other people are using at the club meetings. Some of us have far too much kit that we don't use!
 
Raj get yourself some new batteries have a search round for Optima or such like get the truck sorted so you can get there and not worry about getting back home charge up old ones for the weekend fridge power sorted I can let you and your family have the use of my tent which is a Campmor dome type tent it can sleep four on the floor get yourself some mattresses and sleeping bags look at APB Trading Mountain Warehouse and others a few fleece type blankets will up the comfort rating in the sleeping bags and bring some pillows from home let us know about the tent
 
Steve Thank you very much. Now I have tent. Just today morning I ordered a inflatable quencha airseconds 4.1 tent. I was looking for vango, zempfire inflatable tents most of them are out of stock.
this was on offer at 299£ with pump and I found UK reviews so ordered this.
 
With batteries, can I get it fitted anywhere? Or do I have to go to a battery specialist? RAC told they can’t check two batteries n so they charged only one battery n started car but told two batteries is complicated system.
 
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Well I am not sure that your local greengrocer or hairdresser will actually stock batteries so you might have to begin with a battery specialist .... :icon-rolleyes: :lol: but the RAC saying they can't check two batteries is frankly ridiculous. Complicated? No more complicated than a pocket torch with two batteries in it. Unlike the 80 series which is 12v running but 24v start. If you take the numbers off the batteries that are under the bonnet and search in Google you'll find replacements. That's the place to start just so you know what sort of prices you're facing. I would not recommend putting any kind of special battery under there simply due to the need to charge them differently. Stick with standard issue. If there are tow of them and they're in parallel then you've a huge capacity to begin with more than capable of running a fridge overnight for example. Batteries just need to be unclamped, the terminals undone and the new batteries dropping in. You don't need anyone to do that for you Raj. If battery megastore comes up in your searches, they are well worth considering. Good prices and service. The issue with twin battery set ups like this is once one batter starts to fail, it essentially acts as a resistor and places extra load on the other battery causing that to fail too. Best to replace in pairs. But in truth, you really don't need two batteries in the first place. It might look and sound cool, but it's one of those annoying Toyota-isms that caught a lot of us out.
 
I feel having a good camping set up will cost as much as the car :) further the time needed to select each product n the planning… after looking at all your cars, I am bit scared :)

Seriously Raj. You need next to I nothing. You can survive on very little. fridge is handy but not a must for a couple of days. When we went to the pub meet I didnt come in the camper. I used trevs fridge for the small things that were better cool.
 
Karl is right of course, but my advice is really being given based on someone wanting a set up rather than simply popping over for the weekend and managing best they can. All you really need is some way of sleeping comfortably and on that basis you could book a hotel. In which case you could come over in a Ford Fiesta. Or come on a push bike. This discussion really is about the various merits of the basic elements of a set up. I'd see a fridge as pretty essential but that's because I like to cook and have cold tonic in my gin. Doesn't make it necessary for everyone. But if you DO want a fridge to keep your special stuff cool then .......

Do you need an awning? No, but if you did want one .....

Do you need a water tank? No but if you did .......

See the idea? We can't tell you what to have, but we can help you if you tell us what you need (like, want)

Etc etc.
 
Yes after discussions here now I am getting more clarity. Thank you. For now I got a tent, for this weekend yes I ll manage with minimum and a new battery atleast. It’s 7 year old battery. I was waiting to get it changed at IR Cradock when I send car there for check-up but changing battery is simple, I ll get it changed.

Ideally the set-up I have in mind is simple and all essentials should come in my boot. At max I ll have a roof rack for regular personal luggage and spare tyre. If needed I ll take off last row seats to make more space. From outside car looks like stock one but has off-road capability if needed and camping set up as well. It’s a stealth beast :)
 
I have 4 of the blooming things now and I keep looking at others. It's addictive.
like torches & knives ? i sense a business opportunity here , a sort of rehab for those afflicted by mancaveitis .Don't get me wrong , i'm not being judgemental , harm reduction is the goal .
 
How do we know? Because if they were in series your car would be 24v wouldn't it. And it's not.
 
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Raj, for a weekend, two to three days, i freeze a dozen 500ml drinking water bottles in my freezer at home, the ones that you buy from any supermarket, put them in a decent cool box , i have a large coleman cooler box , then i put them and all my necessary supplies (mostly beer with a few food items). in the box together and all usually stay very cold for the entire weekend. The benefit is you also have cold water when you need it.
Buying any type of fridge for off-road use is very specific and takes a lot of research and usually is very expensive. Experience tells me that buying any item for off-roading is benefitted by sharing your requirements with the likes of the crowd that will be at this weekend.
 
In the last year or so compressor fridges seem to be have been heading the same way as diesel heaters with more and more decent Chinese examples around for a couple of hundred quid rather than a grand. I haven't used any myself but I'm sure some of them would serve you well on occasional camping trips.
 
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Actually I got a chinese cooler as a gift a while ago but when I tried to fit the plug into my other cars 12 volt plug, it felt as if it was scraping the inside of plug so I only used it about 2 times. Another friend borrowed it couple of times and I finally dumped in scrap yard as its filling up my garage space. Then I didnt think I would buy land cruiser so soon and was more concerned that I might spoil electrics in my other car. Otherwise it worked well in keeping my stuff cool when I used.
 
Finally got some basic essentials a tent, air bed, sleep bag, chairs, lantern, power bank. Today ll get a small stove from nearest shop n end my shopping list. I ll see others n get further items later. Two batteries are also in the car as backup
 
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