Hilux 4x4

 

Booking.com

Advise to the new 4x4 campers.
http://www.alib.co.za/

OK. - So you got your Hilux, your rooftop tent, and everything necessary for the vehicle, most of which you don’t really need – but to late you have paid for it.

Now comes the next step buying the camping gear. This can be a “VERY EXPENSIVE” step if you do not “hou kop”. Head for the camper suppliers and the sales guys rub there hands in glee – “Here comes another sucker.”

Before you set foot in any ‘Outdoor Centre’ or ‘Camping Shop’ think carefully what you need. Think! What is the difference to living at home to camping?

Lets go through the basics:
1. Bedding: You can buy expensive down sleeping bags or take your sheets and duvet that you use at home. If camping in sub-zero temperatures you will also need that warm fluffy blanket that you have in the linen cupboard.

2. Clothing: No discussion needed, what ever you decide to take it is too much; especially the ladies. Be prepared for wet conditions. Camping is fun when it is dry but lousy if it rains. Buy a 3-man dome tent, which you can use if it rains; at least it is a shelter to sit in and eat in.

3. The kitchen: In spite of what the camping salesman shows you, everything you need you have at home.

4. Camping furniture: Once again most of what you need you have at home; folding table and chairs, a gas cooker, pots and pans, etc, A word of advice: avoid plastic chairs if you are going to camp in very cold conditions. Plastic gets brittle in the cold and easily breaks.

Before you rush off and spend mega bucks do a few short camping trips and see how it goes, then decide what you need. Camping should be easy and fun with ‘easy’ been the operative word. If it takes more than 30 minutes to set up, or break camp, you are doing it all wrong.

If you are the ‘sometimes’ weekend camper you do not need 12v fridges, sand ladders, winches, jerry cans and all the paraphernalia that the 4x4 magazines tell you are necessities. However if you are a new camper deciding on an extended overland trip get advise on what you really need; anything else is extra weight and a waste of money.