Equipment Outfitters

As an alternative to staying in a ready-erected tent, it is possible to hire the tent and other equipment before setting off from home. This has the advantage that you are not tied to staying at a particular campsite and it also disciplines first-time campers into cutting down on the amount of baggage that they take with them.

Considering the huge packing problems that the beginner faces, he might wonder exactly where the advantage of the latter lies, but it is an odd fact that above a certain basic level the family’s comfort and happiness on holiday do not increase in proportion to the weight of paraphernalia that has been dragged along.

Given a spare cubic metre of space, some businessmen would even try to take along a dictating machine and a filing cabinet on the offchance that they might find time to send Miss Carstairs a few letters to type.

But they are much better off without such worries — just as their wives are better off when no one can expect them to conjure up a seven-course dinner on a two-burner stove.

The factor which clearly limits the amount of baggage that can be taken is the form of transport that the holidaymaker is going to use. For most campers this means that the limits are set by the size of the family car. If only two people are travelling, the problems are not so acute because virtually the whole of the back seat area can be filled with gear as well as the car’s boot, but if all the seats are occupied then there is a real need to economise on weight as well as bulk. Some of the largest frame tents weigh over 6okg/ 1321b and occupy three lumpy valises, so clearly the owner of a mini should avoid hiring one of these, otherwise he might have to leave his passengers behind.

Full up inside

The first principle when planning what to take on holiday is to try and carry only as much equipment as can be packed into the boot, but if necessary a few safe items can be stowed in the passenger compartment. The tent’s groundsheet, for instance, can be folded flat and placed on the floor under the front passenger’s feet and the tent itself can be rolled up and wedged into the footwell between the rear passengers; or, with the sharp-pointed tent pegs removed, it can serve as quite a comfortable armrest provided that it is not liable to fly around when the driver brakes suddenly.

When the boot is being packed, some effort should be made to place heavy objects close to the car’s axle so that they do not affect the ride or the steering balance. Items that are going to be needed first should also be packed last so that they can be reached easily.

Unfortunately, the sack containing the tentpoles is often quite a cumbersome object, over a metre（I.I yd) long and about 3o cm (II in) in diameter, so the tendency is to hide it away at the bottom of the boot. This causes some upheaval on arrival at the campsite because the frame is usually the first part of the tent that needs to be erected.

For carrying small expendable items such as packets of food, cardboard cartons obtained free from the local supermarket are perfectly adequate. They are lighter than proper suitcases or holdalls, and when they are empty they can be put to use as waste baskets and later thrown away. A single tall carton can also serve as a container for all the family’s shoes, sandals and walking boots, which otherwise can never be found in pairs when they are stuffed into odd corners of the car.

More room on top

If boot-space is inadequate even after efforts have been made to economise, additional baggage can be carried on a roof rack. Items carried in this way, however, should be reasonably light and streamlined and they should be secured against wind and rain, and against falling off or being stolen. At motorway cruising speed the head-on force of the airstream is considerable, so objects that are large and square at the front will actually hold the car back and raise petrol consumption. If the expenditure is justified, special moulded cases are available for fitting onto a car roof; or there are strong bags made of waterproof fabric which also cut down wind resistance. More simply, the ground sheet of the tent can be wrapped around everything and tied securely, although there is a definite risk of tearing if the job is not done carefully.

Another one behind

Finally, for large families — or for people who cannot help being too big for their boots ! — there is the possibility of towing a camping trailer. Since this adds to the length of the car it makes ferry-crossings more expensive and there are speed restrictions that have to be complied with in some countries. But small trailers are not difficult to tow and are invaluable for transporting more than one tent or, for instance, a couple of folding canoes. For storing at home they can be stood on end so that they do not take up too much garage space.

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