Tent camping for the first time...eeekkk..lots of questions!

[2goofycampers]

If we bought the pop up wouldn't we still need most of the stuff we will for tent camping?

You won't need sleeping bags, air mattress, tarps, frig, storage bins, heater or possibly fans.

 

[imthatgirl]

You won't need sleeping bags, air mattress, tarps, frig, storage bins, heater or possibly fans.

Maybe it's because I'm new...but why not? Wouldn't we still need tarps for anything left outside? Storage bins for anything we're bringing(I would think everything has to be put in something?).
I wasn't buying fans, heaters or a refrigerator.

I wouldn't need the tent or mattresses....but I'm not buying them anyway. The only thing I could see that I'm buying that I wouldn't need are 2 sleeping bags, which would probably cost me $60 total. I'm not sure that $60 would be a great down payment on a vehicle.

 

[soccerbabies]

One more thing to think about is to make sure you start up your vehicle a couple of times if you are not going to use it to go to the parks. We found out the hard way that opening doors to the car every day and charging up cell phones will run the battery down and we didn't know it until the day we left and the battery was dead. Disney was wonderful about helping us out, but it was still a pain.

 

[mkoerner]

Add to the list:
BUG SPRAY BUG SPRAY!!
In our experience, the farther south we go, the nastier the bugs get. What's that all about?
Not sure if it was said, but:
a heavy duty extension cord
an empty tub for washing pots
dish soap
charcoal
extra ziplock bags
trash bags
table cloth
extra towels (never know when things will get wet)
hammer
extra stakes (you can get these at WalMart)
matches (in a ziplock bag)
playing cards, board games
I agree with a separate cooler for drinks. The keeping the cooler closed concept always seems to be lost on the kids!

 

[Kgano]

The one must for our family is a portable potty in the tent I am not walking to the comfort station every time my kids have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.(I have been known to use it also). Little things make all the difference in camping.
Make sure you do a camping dry run close to home. Keep a list of all the things that you will find out that you need. I constantly am adding to my list every time we go!
Good luck with your planning! Camping at the Fort is awesome!

 

[imthatgirl]

The one must for our family is a portable potty in the tent I am not walking to the comfort station every time my kids have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.(I have been known to use it also). Little things make all the difference in camping.
Make sure you do a camping dry run close to home. Keep a list of all the things that you will find out that you need. I constantly am adding to my list every time we go!
Good luck with your planning! Camping at the Fort is awesome!

My husband and I have been back and forth on this one. My kids are 11,7 and 5 so too old for using a toilet in front of other. If we get this we'll need a privacy tent. So I'm not sure it makes sense for the first trip.

But....here is the question we had....what do you do with the , ummm...waste? Do you just bag it and throw it away? Do you take it and flush it then throw the bag away? I was thinking even if we only use it for pee breaks, it still seems unsanitary.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I opened the Target ad this morning and immediately thought of you.

Sterlite plastic tubs and storage carts are on sale. The large tub they advertised is $5, and the storage cart $10. Also, Off bug spray (the heavy duty camping kind) and citronella candles are on sale. And, raised air matresses by Embark. The raised queen advertised is $35. It's not the highest quality, but if you're looking to move to a pop-up, anyway, this might be a good starter.

 

[UMADDBG]

Remember you will have electricity. Bring a power strip and extension cords. You can bring your coffee pot, electric skillet, toaster and the like, set up your screen house over the picnic table. Don't forget some folding chairs.

 

[Pstecker]

I would also consider bringing some kind of lighting, like rope lights for the screen in area, so you can have lights at your campsite at night. The woods get pretty dark at night with no lighting. Also a timer would be great for having them come on for you when you get back from the parks as well.

Our first camping trip at the fort will be in Dec. We did a test run July 4th weekend and thankfully we all loved it. So i'd definitely recommend doing that as well. It also gave me invaluable practice on setting things up as well as figuring out if i really needed xyz or if i should get xyz. This board did a great job of setting me up for a great camping trip, you're in good hands!

 

[imthatgirl]

I opened the Target ad this morning and immediately thought of you.

Sterlite plastic tubs and storage carts are on sale. The large tub they advertised is $5, and the storage cart $10. Also, Off bug spray (the heavy duty camping kind) and citronella candles are on sale. And, raised air matresses by Embark. The raised queen advertised is $35. It's not the highest quality, but if you're looking to move to a pop-up, anyway, this might be a good starter.

Wow, thanks!! I guess I'm heading to target today!

 

[SunshineCamper]

Yes, another vote for a separate cooler for drinks.

You need bike helmets for the kids 16 yrs. old and under. Its a law here. Bike pump too.

Coffee maker if you drink coffee-a coleman stove for making eggs, heating water for doing dishes, glad containers or ziploc bags for placing butter or anything that would get soggy in the cooler.

Trash bags
utility table (for cooking and preparing food)
Walmart has a canopy/tent-EZ-Up that you can attach a screen and wind breaker to-we have one and love it. We eat under it.
Tarps-never have too many
Aim n Flame-instead of matches
Clorox wipes for cleaning the cooking area
baby wipes for hands or hand sanitizer-quick hand washing
lantern for picnic table and one for the sleep tent
air mattress pump with many D batteries-the pump will save you time.
tablecloth for picnic table
bug spray
skewers -Walmart 4 pk. $1.88 for smores
can opener-the most forgotten item
scissors-I always end up needing them
duct tape
mallet
ant killer spray-its FL
paper towels-at least 2 rolls
dish towel, soap and sponges-you can throw a sponge away before leaving
crock pot-I'm a huge fan (set up before going to the parks and come back to dinner)
outside rope lights not only to decorate but to see at night.
blanket on the air mattress to keep warm at night

 

[imthatgirl]

This is all so very helpful! All of these ideas, my head is spinning, lol.

@pixiedust32.....you say you used a window unit AC? Do you mean just any old window unit? Hoe exactly do you set this up in a tent? We figured we would portable one because it can be placed in the tent, but it's bigger then our window units so much less convenient. Bringing a small one would be so much easier.

 

[angelmom27]

wow you posted the same exact thing i was going to. I am planning a spring break camping trip with just me and the kids in March.

I too was thinking about the portable potty thing. Since i will have 7 kids ranging in age from 13-1. So if one of them needs to go potty I really dont want to have to wake everyone up to take one kid. I am getting some really cool ideas. We are going to be buying the kids camping supplies for their christmas presents. We want to cut back on toys.

But I can say that living in Fl that yes be prepared for either cold or hot weather. This past feb. the weather was still pretty cold. So just watch the weather channel to get an idea just so you are prepared. Also my sister use to tent camp at FW all the time and use the small window AC unit too. Not too sure if you would need it during that time of the yr here though. I did see some really nice portable heater fans at walmart yesterday. I am just going to invest in a couple of nice fans. But if we start to make it an annual thing I would probably get the AC unit too. Hope you guys have a fun trip.

 

[imthatgirl]

Thanks for the pictures!! Lots of great ideas in there!!!

 

[PixieDust32]

You're welcome! Just have fun, we always do, our kids are teenagers but they still love the camping experience.

 

[heidijanesmith]

This set up was at the beach last year, but we do the same at Disney, my DH made a big box like a power strip so we plug our cell charges and everything..

You can see the power strip box my Husband made under the table, let me know if you would like him to make you one, or he can tell you guys how to make it.

We had other bins that are not showing in this pictures, you can place them under the table.

We take our little TV and the box to pick up the local channels, you pick most of the national channels or a small DVD player to watch movies at night, if you have energy left or on you off days from the park.

We love camping My Flat grill and waffle maker are not showin in these pics from some reason.

We got a new stove because that one was way to old, works great but it was getting ugly pss besides I wanted a new one

I'll post pics of our sleeping tent too, if you don't mind.

Please post more pics

I love your kitchen area, the fan hooked up to the canopy rigging is genius! We are camping locally in a couple weeks and it looks to be HOT....I am going to try hooking our fan up like you guys did.

 

[Cindy F]

......5-We bring two tents, one cabin style and one dome. This gives us plenty of space for the adults and kids. My favorite cabin style tent has a "C" door, so you can just open and close it with out zipping all the time. It has also stayed dry during thunderstorms with hail!http://www.basspro.com/Coleman-Vaca...uct/10210452/-1765729?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

HOLY COW! $300 for a tent? And you still have to buy all the other gear? Geez.....our popup was only $750 and has an awning, 2 queen beds, twin bed, shower, indoor/outdoor table, indoor/outdoor stove, and fridge.

Since you said you were planning on buying a popup anyway, maybe you could pick up a cheap used one then if you like it, you could trade up and if not- just sell it. Someone offered us $2500 for ours awhile back and like I said, we only paid $750 for it.

 

[imthatgirl]

HOLY COW! $300 for a tent? And you still have to buy all the other gear? Geez.....our popup was only $750 and has an awning, 2 queen beds, twin bed, shower, indoor/outdoor table, indoor/outdoor stove, and fridge.

Since you said you were planning on buying a popup anyway, maybe you could pick up a cheap used one then if you like it, you could trade up and if not- just sell it. Someone offered us $2500 for ours awhile back and like I said, we only paid $750 for it.

You bought it used though. I've looked and even used I didn't see one for under $1700.It's not like there are people everywhere willing to sell pop ups for $750. I don't plan to spend anywhere near $1700 on equipment anyway.

We also don't plan to buy a pop up for years. We aren't taking this trip and then buying one right after, kwim? I also figure we'll still use the tent with the pop up, and we'll already have it.

 

[Cindy F]

You bought it used though. I've looked and even used I didn't see one for under $1700.It's not like there are people everywhere willing to sell pop ups for $750. I don't plan to spend anywhere near $1700 on equipment anyway.

We also don't plan to buy a pop up for years. We aren't taking this trip and then buying one right after, kwim? I also figure we'll still use the tent with the pop up, and we'll already have it.

OOhh, I get it now. I thought you meant you were trying out the tent first and if you liked it, you were going to go out and buy the pop up. Duh, I can be a little slow!

I just put an ad in Craig's List stating what I was looking for and a nice couple whose children had gone off to college emailed me and wanted to sell. They never advertised it, they were just looking for a family that would take care of it to sell it to, they were extremely nice. When ya'll are ready, maybe you can try that? Who knows it worked once, it could work again!

Have a great time, I'm sure you'll love the Fort!

 

[Cindy F]

We only paid $160.00 for our tent a couple years ago, and had used it I don't know how many times, its big and never had any problems, I think $350.00 for a tent is too much.

I always said I was too much of a wimp to tent camp but I have seen some tent set ups at the Fort that are bigger and more elaborate than a lot of travel trailers. I think I could do that type of tent camping at the Fort!

I started looking around at some tents online and there are some over a thousand dollars