MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: tryagain on November 09, 2015, 01:19:15 PM
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Hi,
looking to minimise set up and pack up times and wondering what tips/techniques/shortcuts people have, a few things I have taken from other people include.
- Leaving the annex roof attached and just folding it back on top of the main one at pack up.
- Not putting camping chairs back in their bags
- Just removing the bottom legs of the kids bunks to fold them flat and store them on the mattress as opposed to totally dismantling them. (were about to do away with them before this)
- Going from a Coleman HWOD to a plumbed RedTrack/Joolca style set up
- Contemplating going for a smev/cramer style stove to avoid stove set up/pack up
I have a soft floor but sure tips for any types would also be appreciated by others.
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buy a jayco etc..
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Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs :laugh:
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buy a jayco etc..
From a lot of posts I have read and seeing my parents set up theirs there isn't all that much difference between a well set up soft floor and a Jayco especially it your talking for a family of 6, sure an Expanda might be quicker but so is a cabin/motel room.
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For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.
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Last camp i did i took the family and a mate
quickest setup and pack up ever
he was like the campsite equivalent of a deckhand
G'd him up before hand and told him to bring his own swag, clothes,fishing gear and xxxx, everything else was provided.
:cheers:
Adam
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Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs :laugh:
I am guessing time saved is proportional to how hard the ground is, with sand having a negative influence.
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I find that being organised is the best time saver. The things you need in an easily accessible place. Each person to know their job. A great deal of time is taken up with chairs tables kitchen gear etc. Makes little difference if it is a soft floor , Jayco or hardfloor. We found that set up was the easy bit - pack up can take longer. A place for everything and put it away when you have used it.
Always found that we were quicker to set up our old softfloor than our friends in the Jayco.
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For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.
It can save time as there are no "little helpers" which can impede productivity.
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Train the rest of the family to put crap away when they finish using it.
It's amazing how much stuff gets taken out over the duration of the stay, but just gets dumped in a corner or under the camper until it's pack-up time >:(
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but just gets dumped under the camper until it's pack-up time >:(
I hate that and my kids are notorious for it >:(
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I hate that and my kids are notorious for it >:(
Under the camper.........what luxury........I can only dream that it's under the camper :) vaguely near it is good enough ain't it?
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Under the camper.........what luxury........I can only dream that it's under the camper :) vaguely near it is good enough ain't it?
...usually somewhere you need to walk, like a doorway....
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after t is all cleaned up etc, ill pack up all but 1 light just in case during the night and anything esle that wont be needed get stored away etc while still enjoying a drink or 2. do your table whip downs and kitchen tidy up especially and try and opt for cereal last morning and the like. all clothes of the lines and towls etc packed away. also helps just in case there is a storm on the last night.
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For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.
X2
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If we have had the annex up we take it down and pack it back into the camper the afternoon before departure. Similarly with the annex flooring and any other gear we will not be using overnight. The next morning the electrics are dismantled and packed, clothes bags packed into the vehicle, chairs/table packed into their carry bags and into the camper. In all I think it is about developing a system with each person knowing their tasks and doing them in the order that makes for a fast pack up...once the camper has been swept out and the inner poles dropped and placed on the bed it is only a matter of pulling the pegs, fold down the camper, throw on the storm cover and then pack the last bits and pieces such as pegs and tarp from under the camper into the toolbox. Have a think about how you go about setting up and then reverse the process. Works for us and we can pack up in about 30 mins. We did it in less than that (although not as neatly... basically threw everything in) when a mass evacuation of a camp ground was ordered as a fire approached. I learned the value of a neat and well ordered camp site and a systematic pack up that day!
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We don't bother with the C-Gear mat any more. Saves a good deal of time, and we don't miss it.
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We don't bother with the C-Gear mat any more. Saves a good deal of time, and we don't miss it.
C-Gear mat??
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C-Gear mat??
Mesh/shade-cloth type of ground sheet under the awning.
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If we have had the annex up we take it down and pack it back into the camper the afternoon before departure. Similarly with the annex flooring and any other gear we will not be using overnight. The next morning the electrics are dismantled and packed, clothes bags packed into the vehicle, chairs/table packed into their carry bags and into the camper. In all I think it is about developing a system with each person knowing their tasks and doing them in the order that makes for a fast pack up...once the camper has been swept out and the inner poles dropped and placed on the bed it is only a matter of pulling the pegs, fold down the camper, throw on the storm cover and then pack the last bits and pieces such as pegs and tarp from under the camper into the toolbox. Have a think about how you go about setting up and then reverse the process. Works for us and we can pack up in about 30 mins. We did it in less than that (although not as neatly... basically threw everything in) when a mass evacuation of a camp ground was ordered as a fire approached. I learned the value of a neat and well ordered camp site and a systematic pack up that day!
30 mins is pretty impressive the one and only pack up so far was about 3 1/2hrs but that was the 1st time with 3 little ones 3,5&7 and an 8 month pregnant wife so should be able to improve on that by quite a bit
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Mesh/shade-cloth type of ground sheet under the awning.
that would have been my guess but weren't sure.
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for us, I will generally start packing up in the morning while others are still sleeping and I am having my morning coffees.. When we did our trip this year, we could be on the rd within the hour of waking up. That's coffee, breakfast, pack up, hook up, gone.
But it is all depended on how much crap you have out. The best way is for everything to have a place, when it has finished being used, out it back in its place. Then you don't have to do it later. Works for us.. Type of camper or set up doesn't really matter, it the accessories that you take that do.
Example, normally I take the camper everywhere, as it has everything in it and it keeps the wife happy. Weekend before last we did a boys weekend, took my son, and the tent. Did it real simple, 2 camp chairs, 1 stove a pan, Billy's, and gazebo. When packing up to leave, I was packed and ready to hit the road, before both my mates who took their campers.
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Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs :laugh:
seriously???
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seriously???
Yep... works awesome.
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For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.
X3 - we leave enough out for a quick cereal breakfast. You can skip the washing up then too if in a real rush.
And send the little helpers off to play somewhere whilst packing up
My wife and I have set jobs that we do in the same routine and everything goes back in the same place
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seriously???
Have heard it mentioned but I'm yet to see it in real life.......
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Get off MySwag :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ like that will happen ??? ??? :cup: :cheers:
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30 mins is pretty impressive the one and only pack up so far was about 3 1/2hrs but that was the 1st time with 3 little ones 3,5&7 and an 8 month pregnant wife so should be able to improve on that by quite a bit
At 3 1/2 hours I'm assuming you are not doing too many over nighters.
With our soft floor and young kids, only 2 we had it pretty fined tuned........although it was just a 6' tent (small) no awning kitchen etc
I cringe at the amount of canvass and poles on modern campers.
The less you take away the less gets taken out which means less to pack up.
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30 mins is pretty impressive the one and only pack up so far was about 3 1/2hrs
Did you stop and cook breakfast in the middle and shower all the kids and chat politics with the surrounding campers ???
even without much help from my kids I can do it in <1 hr inc chatting and yelling at kids - much quicker in the rain....
Have heard it mentioned but I'm yet to see it in real life.......
Keith (xcavator) used them at Knockwood on our gathering yonks ago... I would only suggest useful in hard ground - sand they would be useless.
I'd suggest trying them at home next time you get home from a trip and setup the trailer to clean out / dry out etc.
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I hate that and my kids are notorious for it >:(
X2
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One valuable lesson I learned on the weekend was to not cook a big bacon and egg breakfast on the BBQ on the morning you are leaving. The amount of cleaning and washing up after cooking for a couple of families was horrendous, especially when it started raining not long after and I still had to pack everything up by myself. From now on for me it is cereal only and the bowls can have a simple rinse in clean water.
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For pack up, spend a bit of time the night before you're leaving to do a tidy up. Put away anything that isn't required the next morning e.g. surfboards, weber, whatever. Doesn't save time overall but reduces stress in the morning when everyone's keen to get moving.
X4 – Slowly packing up late afternoon/night before with a beer in hand as I find it pretty relaxing as it’s normally cool and your not rushing to get barges/set timetables etc. We normally like to get an early start home on the day we leave and it gives us time when we get home to unpack/wash/clean, so we always make out last night’s dinner easy and either use bread rolls as plates or plastic plates which can go thrown away. Then for Breakfast it’s cereal which has already been premade in bowls with sealable lids or it’s bought at the local bakery.
Fresh clothes/toiletries have their own bag, but all other clothes are packed in bags and put in the corner (they go in last to as used to fill in spots) all cooking gear is also packed away and depending on weather annex is also folded back onto the roof.
I have a old tarp which I put next to the 4WD in the morning to keep items clean and all bags/boxes get put on this. That way I can also work out what goes where.
For me nothing worse when packing up in the middle of the day when everything is hot.
We also often go with another family, so once we arrive at camp we send the wives/kids down to the beach for a swim while myself and the other husband work as a team putting up/pulling down both trailers. Working with another guy who knows how it works makes the process so much faster.
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Use a battery drill and coach screws instead of tent pegs :laugh:
Or use "peggypegs" and a GOOD battery drill .....
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The other alternative for a relaxing packup (if there is such a thing), is not to camp where you have to be out by a set time. After all, it's not a race to see who has the fastest packup time. So long as nothing gets forgotten, and it is easy for when you do get back home- eg all the dirty washing in one place to just dump in the laundry once home. And as much cleaned up as possible, so you don't have to revisit it once you are home.
My preference is not to have to start packup the night before, as it means the holiday is over (mentally!). Leisurely breakfast and then hit it!!
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One thing we always plan on is to run down all our stuff to the day of leaving. Make sure food is nearly finished at the end of the time. Drinks are finished as much as possible. Then much of the stuff brought can just be chucked in a bin bag, or bins somewhere reducing what has to be packed up. Then eskies can be used to cram clothing bags into, or pillows, or whatever comes to hand.
Always the day before leaving we start prepacking gear away to reduce stuff on the day.
My plan is to lay everything out on a clean bit of ground and from looking at that, work out what can fit easily and quickly where. I have become quite adept at packing lots of gear.
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My preference is not to have to start packup the night before, as it means the holiday is over (mentally!). Leisurely breakfast and then hit it!!
Depends how far you have to travel. If you have a 10 hr drive in front of you then no time for a "Leisurely breakfast"..
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Did you stop and cook breakfast in the middle and shower all the kids and chat politics with the surrounding campers ???
Was the first pack up for the camper trailer, 3 1/2 included 2-3 feeding times for the kiddies, camping stove, Coleman HWOD bunks, toilet and toilet tent etc etc etc, My wife was only a few weeks short of dropping a ten pound bub so wasn't able to help much. I would expect to be able to get it down to about an hour with a few refinements and some practice.
even without much help from my kids I can do it in <1 hr inc chatting and yelling at kids - much quicker in the rain....
Your kids must be older to actually be of assistance as opposed to hinder productivity
At 3 1/2 hours I'm assuming you are not doing too many over nighters.
Not with 4 little kids, its more hassle than its worth, leaving them at home and taking the swag is a different story.
With our soft floor and young kids, only 2 we had it pretty fined tuned........although it was just a 6' tent (small) no awning kitchen etc
I cringe at the amount of canvass and poles on modern campers.
The less you take away the less gets taken out which means less to pack up.
Organising what you have well and not taking excess is what I think the major factors are.
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x 4 for in tiding up the night before. Bring the awning down the night before. Also helps if there's some dew around as the awning doesn't need to be bought out to dry if you needed to pack up damp.
if you've got a camp shower get everyone through earlier so it dries out and pack up
Pack up the kids chairs they used for 10 mins
Pack up anything you're not needing for the last night's dinner or breaky and have a simple cereal breakfast.
Sometimes an extra 15 minutes packing items when others have gone to bed is easier (additional lights, etc)
Don't sneak around too quietly in the morning. Make enough noise, without being a prick, that you're crew doesn't plan for their only sleep in on moving day.
Give your little slaves helpers some tasks as it's not all your responsibility. They'll soon learn there's a place for everything.
Perhaps don't leave the last night to smash a few extra cans down then finish the bottle of port and stay up late around the fire. It makes the packup painfull and the drive even longer. And you don't want to blow numbers.
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Also on the theme of preparing stuff the day/afternoon/night before...if possible, and you have room on the campsite, re-hitch the tow vehicle...makes for a quiet and quick getaway.
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30 mins is pretty impressive the one and only pack up so far was about 3 1/2hrs but that was the 1st time with 3 little ones 3,5&7 and an 8 month pregnant wife so should be able to improve on that by quite a bit
Yeah. You will. We've halved our pack up time as we've learnt what works and doesn't. We are packing up a camper and oztent, 2 inflatable mattresses and a portacot and can get it done in under an hour without rushing and now my wife can help.
Went to Fraser a whole ago with an oztent and tag along and gazebo. It took just under 3 hours because we had a 6 month old who refused to be alone, so I had to do all the packing.
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Generally -- we decided to ditch as much as possible plates and cutlery and drinkware and anything requiring washing up -- in favour of using disposable stuff...
We can get that stuff wholesale/through work; and as its just the 2 of us on 2-4 day trips - its affordable....
Using all disposable makes such a huge difference to time savings throughout the trip... You can even get the biodegradable fiberboard plates etc... that you wash up after use - straight onto the fire!
On lambshank; or nusi breanie; or casarol nights etc.... these dinners come straight out of the Shuttle Chief - served in those aliminium foil type containers that are often used for bbq chickens etc.... These will cost about 0.30 - 0.50ea; but imo still worth it - because you can just crush and bin them when done.... No using precious water resources (free camp) to "degrease" plasticware...
The other thing I do on the night before departure is to hook up the van to the tug; including safety chains; testing the electrics etc ...
Shake&Bake BB
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Generally -- we decided to ditch as much as possible plates and cutlery and drinkware and anything requiring washing up -- in favour of using disposable stuff...
We can get that stuff wholesale/through work; and as its just the 2 of us on 2-4 day trips - its affordable....
Using all disposable makes such a huge difference to time savings throughout the trip...
I agree with this.. washing up while camping sucks.. just chuck it all in the fire - gone.
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I agree with this.. washing up while camping sucks.. just chuck it all in the fire - gone.
I agree also.......that's why I married a dishwasher 35 yrs ago !! ;D ( she doesn't read forums )
I think a lot of people need to reasses what stuff they take camping.
The less stressful the packup is, the more times you are likely to go away.
Maybe we should have a thread with peoples fully setup pictures......then some may see others pics and think, holy crap, why have we got so much stuff....or the other way round, and say holy crap, look at all that crap so and so has taken camping ???
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I think a lot of people need to reasses what stuff they take camping.
1100000ty% correct...
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Maybe we should have a thread with peoples fully setup pictures......then some may see others pics and think, holy crap, why have we got so much stuff....or the other way round, and say holy crap, look at all that crap so and so has taken camping ???
Always when I am out camping I take good note of how people set up their camper and gear etc. Just noting what they have, where it goes, how much there is. How useful it is.
Get myself lots of ideas that way.
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Having an organised camper where everything has a place has really helped us reduce setup/packup with our soft-floor camper trailer.
We used to throw everything randomly into the trailer then have to pull everything out onto grass at the site cause we couldn't access the inside of the trailer once the tent was set up - storage tubs, bags, sleeping gear, chairs, ropes/pegs etc.
Nowadays, we have a more organised pack where everything has a place in the camper/ute and we have a routine...and we've learnt a ton from others on this forum.
Tips we've learnt from others.
-Have the bed already set up with sheets/doona/pillows. Easy as. Every camping trip, take a spare sheet set and prior to packing up, change the sheets & whatever else for washing. That way, you have a clean bed ready for the next time you go camping.
-Pack stuff that you use in the tent....on the bed. ie ladder, table, sleeping bags, portable cot or stretchers etc. If it fits under the cover, brilliant. We also store all the interior tent poles on the bed wrapped in a tarp.
Things we are doing to our camper.
-We had too much wasted space in our tailgate kitchen so removed the sink & created an extension for extra bench space with a spot for a removable tap and drawer for washing. We are also re-fitting the inside of it with drawers that will suit our needs.
-Currently building a pullout storage box/drawer (similar to the Drifta products) that will store pantry, cooking gear, camping chairs and whatever else so we can access stuff easily whilst the tent is set up. No longer have to pull everything out first which will save us a ton of time in setup.
-Build a little trolley for our waeco to sit on so it can be easily moved around the campsite once taken off the back of the ute. It doesn't fit in the trailer so this will give us less back ache. Short-term solution at least anyway.
Plenty of people on here who have inspired us to do our own tweaks or have suggested something that we had never thought of. That or chatting with other campers.
Good luck with yours!
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I agree also.......that's why I married a dishwasher 35 yrs ago !! ;D ( she doesn't read forums )
I think a lot of people need to reasses what stuff they take camping.
The less stressful the packup is, the more times you are likely to go away.
Maybe we should have a thread with peoples fully setup pictures......then some may see others pics and think, holy crap, why have we got so much stuff....or the other way round, and say holy crap, look at all that crap so and so has taken camping ???
choke,choke, x2
Now I know you won't believe me but I have a camper for sale, and I know it's not cheap, BUT, our setup time for this camper for an over night stop was about 15 minutes, I kid you not, pack up time was a bit longer, 25 to 30 minutes max, but a lot of that time was yacking to other campers, a big part of that is a quality camper, the other part is being properly organised, a couple of people have expressed surprise at using an electric screw driver and coach screws instead of tent pegs, I'll tell you right now swmbo will undo 10 coach screws from hard ground while you're still stuffing around getting 1 tent peg out, in the mean time I've packed up inside the camper,dropped the tent, and we're ready to fold it over the trailer and put the cover on (and that's the hardest bit)
forgot to mention , it's a soft floor rear fold that folds out to about 18 feet long in total
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Now I know you won't believe me but I have a camper for sale.....
....and it's a fine unit too. I like it a lot...... :cup:
We find it's not so much about how much gear we take, it's more about how much we set up. We take plenty of stuff, but it doesn't all get used every time. Different locations/weather/terrain/length of stay will dictate how and what gets deployed. Having it all fairly well organised and easily accessable makes a huge difference to time and frustration levels.
When travelling, we try not to unhitch. It's amazing how tedious it can become.
:cheers: