We are currently on our fourth month of car camping. We converted our SUV into a camper van and have been traveling all throughout North America. 🚙 It may sound charming, but it is also extremely challenging. What made it easier for us was planning out our space properly, keeping ourselves organized and having some essential overlanding gear on hand. We’re going to reveal the most crucial items we carried with us on our road trip. Here is your checklist for the best car camping gear we could find!
Keep in mind, this is by no means an exhaustive list. It is simply the things we were either thrilled to have with us, or items we purchased along the way. We actually packed a LOT more gear with us. Perhaps we can cover it all in another overlanding post. 🤔
Are you an expert overlander? What are your most essential pieces of car camping gear? Let us know in the comments below!
Your Essential Item Checklist for Car Camping Gear
For Extra Space and Storage
Napier Truck Camper or SUV Tent
This item is at the top of our list because it is the most essential piece of car camping gear we take with us on our road trips.
Napier Outdoors elevates your car camping trip to the next level with their truck camper and SUV tents. We look forward to our campsites where we are able to set up and get the much-needed space we crave. Although our SUV has been set up perfectly inside and our bed is super comfortable, we still love to have the extra space that this 7-foot tent provides us.
We use Napier’s Backroadz SUV Tent and it fits our camper like a glove. It is a breeze to set up and has much better quality and durability than any other tent we have owned. What we love most about our SUV tent is that it allows us to sleep on our crazy comfortable car bed while giving us a 10′ x 10′ space to spread out our gear, get changed in, hang out when it’s raining etc.
If you are interested in a Napier tent, head over to their website. They make choosing the best tent for your camper vehicle easy.
Bonus: A tree is planted with every Backroadz Tent purchase through its partnership with ‘Trees for the Future’.
Under Bed Storage Bins
This was the perfect storage solution for our clothes. We made a bed frame for our mattress which allowed us to store lots of gear underneath our bed. These 6-inch high x 4 feet long storage bins slid perfectly under the bed and we could access them from the back hatch. They stored more than enough clothing for 4 months of travel.
Thule Cargo Box
We could not have done a long term road trip without our Thule cargo box. We were able to bring so much extra car camping gear with us this way. Items were stored up top if we did not use them daily. This consisted mostly of our camping and backpacking gear.
With all our big, bulky gear up top, it left our car storage much neater and made everything more accessible.
For Power
DC Car Power Inverter
This was probably our most used item. Because we didn’t have a solar setup or a power station, we relied on our car battery to charge our gear. Anytime we were driving, we had all of our gadgets plugged into the DC power inverter.
Our Foval Inverter was perfect. If you will be relying on your car’s battery as well, look for an inverter like this one. It provides you with multiple USB ports and an AC port so you can charge your phones, cameras and laptops all at the same time.
Jackery 500W Portable Power Station
Alas, this is one of the items on our list that we actually don’t own. It is at the top of our wish list as it will take our camper van game to the next level. If you want to get off the grid, a Jackery portable power station will allow you to get there.
We have been looking at the Jackery Explorer 500. This powerhouse offers innovative lithium energy and the ability to hook up to solar panels. No need for separate inverters, charge controllers, fuses and loose wires, this power station puts it all into one sleek package. The 500W system holds enough power to charge your smartphones, laptops, cameras, drones, and even mini-fridges!
High Temperature Resistant Solar Panel
Of course, to be truly off-grid, you are going to need a solar panel. Many of the companies that make power stations will also sell a compatible solar panel system.
If you are currently on the market for a solar panel there are some things to keep in mind.
At first glance, a flexible or foldable solar panel may appeal to you because they are super portable and versatile. If that is what you need on your camper, then go for it. Just know that flexible solar panels do not have as long of a life as a rigid solar panel. They are not as durable and they do not dissipate heat very well, leaving them vulnerable to damage.
If you are looking into a rigid or glass solar panel, you may want to avoid fixating it onto your camper. It is a huge benefit to have a panel that is not permanently adhered to your camper so you can remove it and set it up anywhere to easily aim it toward the sun. That being said, you will also want a solar panel that is high temperature resistant, so you can attach it to the top of your camper van to charge up while you drive.
For a Comfortable Sleep
Sleep Mask
Having our eyes shielded from the light was extremely important for a good night’s sleep. There were a few reasons for this.
Since we were traveling through the summer, the sun started to come up around 6 am. We weren’t always ready to wake up that early. The sleep mask allowed us to sleep through the sunrise.
We also often parked under street lights for safety purposes. This type of light stays on all night so a sleep mask was necessary.
Having an eye mask on allows you to take your attention off of whatever is going on outside. If you have any anxiety around sleeping in a vehicle, you will tend to watch what’s going on around you. This distracts you from getting to sleep and staying asleep. Having a mask on helps you to forget about the outside world.
Earplugs
Pretty self-explanatory. This cheap piece of gear blocks outside noises like traffic and people to allow you to sleep soundly.
Sleep Sound App
There are tons of apps you can download onto your phone that will play you sleep sounds at night. White noise, a fan, the ocean waves. All of this ambient noise makes you calm and blocks out the outside noises.
I use Sleep Sounds. It’s free and comes with tons of sound options.
For Green and Responsible Overland Travel
Simple Modern Travel Mug
Avoid having disposable coffee cups fill up your camper van or truck. It seems very convenient to grab a coffee while driving past endless coffee joints. Unfortunately, these containers wind up polluting the land and sea and take centuries to degrade.
We always travel with a reusable travel mug, whether on a day trip or a month-long road trip. Coffee shops are happy to fill these mugs up for you. We love the Simple Modern Travel Mug mostly because they are super cool looking and come in tons of unique colours. But the added bonus with these is that they keep your coffee hot much longer than a disposable cup and they are spill-proof! The perfect solution for life on the road.
Hydro Flask Water Bottle
And keep those plastic bottles out of your camper too. Water bottles pollute the land, cost you unnecessary amounts of money, and it is difficult to properly recycle them while on the road.
Always carry a reusable water bottle with you while overlanding. We choose the best, Hydro Flask. BPA free, insulated and has a handy straw style lid.
Reusable Shopping Bag
If you are not careful, plastic bags will pile up on you while on your road trip. These single-use plastic bags are one of the worst pollutants to date because they are ubiquitous and take centuries to break down.
This is an easy fix. Make sure to stock multiple reusable bags in your overland vehicle. They take up no room when they are folded down and are easy to grab anytime you go into a convenience store, grocery store or local market.
Bamboo Reusable Paper Towel
Another road trip temptation is to carry around packs of wet wipes and napkins. These products are super handy, but create a ton of waste.
Luckily, we are in an age where there are tons of green alternatives for single-use products. If you are looking to replace wet wipes, try Bamboo Reusable Paper Towels. They work even better than a traditional paper towel, and each sheet can be washed and reused up to 85 times! Just think of all the waste saved from this one switch alone.
Recycling Bin
Proper waste management is very problematic on the road.
Consider finding a low profile recycling system that can fit in your overland vehicle or camper van. We went as simple as possible and stored our recyclables in a reusable bag and emptied it any time we saw a recycling bin.
If you are looking for something a little more sturdy and clean looking, try The DRIVE Bin. It also has a lid you can close to help keep smells from escaping into your tiny home on wheels.
Or, if you have space, consider a stackable recycling bin system like the Suncast Hopper Bins to keep things super clean and organized.
You can also check out Fuel For The Sole’s other overland related posts here:
- Which Camper Vehicle is Best for You: A Van, Bus or RV?
- Why You Should Consider Overland Camper Travel
- 15 Green Tips on Responsible Overland Travel
- 10 of the Best Budget Sleeping Bags
Gear To Keep You Cool in a Camper
Homemade Air Conditioner
Okay sure, you can buy a small portable air conditioning unit for your camper van or truck. But why not try something a lot cheaper that draws much less energy?
Our first night in Utah was so hot that we almost buckled and got a hotel room. Instead, we toughed it out and the next day we made our own homemade air conditioner.
How to Make a Homemade Air Conditioner for Your Camper Van or Truck
Parts You Will Need:
- 1 small lunch-size cooler
- 1 white PVC pipe 2-3 feet long
- 1 white PVC 90° elbow
- 1 white PVC reducing coupling
- 1 5-Inch computer cooling fan
- 1 bag of ice
Construction Directions:
- Trace the shape of your computer fan onto the lid of one side of your cooler. Using a jigsaw, cut out the shape you traced.
- Place the computer fan over the hole you made. Make sure the fan is pointing downward into the cooler. You want the direction of the wind to move into the cooler so the air circulates over the cold ice. Secure the fan to the lid with screws. (We placed a rigid piece of cardboard in between the fan and lid to help secure it and seal any gaps – see picture).
- Trace the shape of your white PVC pipe onto the other side of the cooler lid. Using a jigsaw, cut out the shape you traced.
- Attach the white PVC reducing coupling onto the long PVC pipe, using the coupling to secure the pipe into the hole you created on the cooler lid.
- Attach the 90° elbow onto the top of the long PVC pipe.
- Place a bag of ice in the cooler, turn the fan on, and your cool air will be coming out of the top of your pipe.
Rechargeable or USB Powered Fan
We have been using USB fans every night in our camper van. When the temperatures aren’t ridiculously high, these fans offer enough relief for a comfortable sleep without any need for air conditioning.
The OPOLAR Rechargeable Fan is perfect for overlanding. These small and portable fans can be charged through your solar system or through a wall charge whenever you have access to hydro. They hold their power and give you up to 13 hours of working time. These fans even come with an LED light.
Install Bug Mesh
We were kept quite comfortable many nights by simply opening up our windows. But there is one problem here – bugs.
We came up with an extremely simple solution. We bought some mesh screen material and cut it to fit over the top of our sunroof. The screen was secured to our vehicle with Gorilla Tape. An easy, cheap and effective solution.
Gear To Keep You Warm in a Camper
Insulated Blanket
Our road trip has taken us through nightly temperatures of -3°C to 30°C (26°F to 86°F). Although we needed ways to cool down plenty of nights, we were never too cold. And all we had was a warm blanket.
For most road trips, a heater will not be necessary. Consider finding a quality blanket to keep you warm at night. This will save you the money and the power needed for a space heater.
We think the Sorison Camping Blanket is the ideal solution for your camper van or camping trip. It is insulated with an atomicloft microfiber that provides extreme warmth, comfort and softness. It is also the perfect size for a camper van – over 6.5 feet long and 4.5 feet wide – not too big, not too small. Our favourite part is that it comes with a stuff sack with shoulder straps so you can take your blanket with you anywhere you go. And it’s waterproof and sand-proof! It is the perfect all-in-one solution to save space in your camper. Multi-purpose items like this are very necessary when you have limited space.
A quality blanket may be all you need to keep yourself warm at night. Think about the temperatures you will be in and make a decision from there.
Mr. Heater – The Best Car Camping Heater
If you are traveling in negative temperatures or at higher elevations, you may need to consider a heater for your camper.
The most popular heater in the overlanding world is Mr. Heater. There’s a good reason for that. This propane heater is perfect for heating up spaces up to 450 square feet, is approved for indoor use, is clean-burning, and has an auto shut-off if tipped over, if the pilot light goes out, or if detects low oxygen levels.
How To Stay Safe in Your Camper
Weapon
If you are taking a budget overland trip like us, you are likely going to be parking in some less than ideal areas. We parked on side streets, at Walmarts and Cracker Barrels, at rest areas and at truck stops. Although we have had zero safety concerns on our road trip, we did feel a bit unsafe a few nights.
Having some type of weapon on hand will help to keep you calm and allow you to defend yourself if someone does decide to mess with your camper.
There are many choices for weapons. We kept it simple (and cheap) and purchased a wasp spray with a 20-foot reach. This stuff is just as effective as pepper spray. We kept it in our side door for easy reach.
Dash Cam
Having a dashcam for your camper van or truck is akin to having a security camera on your house.
The CHORTAU Dual Dash Cam
Love the outdoors? Of course you do! While you’re here, check out our other outdoor posts:
- ‘How to Get in Shape for Hiking’
- ‘The Essential Backpacking Packing List’
- ‘The Ultimate Camping Packing List – With FREE Printable’
- ‘Healthy Food Ideas for Hiking’
- ‘Your Day Hiking Essentials Packing List’
For Privacy
Sun Shade for Front Window
An old classic: the sun shade. We used this for privacy and for temperature control. We love multi-purpose items. It helps to keep our car camping gear to a minimum.
Keep this in your camper and put it up before bed every night. It prevents people from being able to see in your car with the hope to decrease their temptation to break in. And it helps to keep security guards and cops eyes off of you.
Static Cling for Camper Window Covers
There are tons of privacy options for camper window covers. We thought a lot about what to use and decided static cling was the best for us.
We wanted to avoid putting up curtains mostly because we didn’t want to draw attention to our vehicle. Because our car only had a dark tint on the windows, no one had any clue that someone was sleeping inside. It kept our camper extra stealthy.
We also avoided the popular Reflectix material that many overlanders use. We found the look of this material to be too obvious as well and would ‘give us away’. And we didn’t want to have to put up and take down these window covers every day.
So we went with GILA 5% Static Cling Window Tint. The 5% blackout tint was dark enough that you could not see in the car at night. Not even a little bit. And because they were attached to the window, we didn’t have to put them on and take them off every night. This system was extremely simple. We could drive with the film on our windows and were even able to roll the windows down with them on. And because it is a static film rather than a permanent tint, we could remove it easily and reapply if we ever needed to.
For Your Car Camping Kitchen
Foldable Table
Find yourself a lightweight, foldable table that can be easily stored and taken out to cook and eat on. We chose the Coleman Pack-Away Portable Kitchen because of its space-saving design and ease of setup.
Camping Stove
Having a camping stove while overlanding and road-tripping saves your budget. It can be easy to fall into a ‘fast food vortex’ while on a road trip. Avoid the temptation! Pack quick-cook options like eggs, meats and veggies to cook yourself up some quick, healthy meals on your camping stove.
We love our Outbound Camping Stove because of its durability and portability. We have owned it for years and have never had an issue with it.
Lifetime Cooler – The Best Car Camping Cooler!
We heard about the Lifetime Cooler through overlanding Facebook groups.
Essentially, it’s a Yeti. But it comes at a fraction of the cost. It works just as effectively and maintained our ice for about 5 days.
We took a risk by having a cooler instead of a fridge. Since we didn’t have a power station, we didn’t have any excess power and therefore a fridge was out of the question.
We were happy to have this cooler that kept our food cold and safe. And replacing the ice every 5 days wasn’t a big deal at all (especially when you find free ice at any hotel 😉).
Consider adding this budget cooler to your car camping gear.
Miscellaneous Items
Toiletry Bag
Having a compact toiletry bag with all your bathroom essentials is so handy to have. You’ll be able to store it away easily. And when you find a restroom to use, it’s simple to grab one bag that has everything you need in it. Buy the right toiletry bag and your items will be perfectly organized.
Journal
Keeping a journal nearby is a fantastic idea for any traveler, but especially for a travel blogger! We keep ours right in our glove box. We use it to keep track of finances, take notes of where we parked each night, special landmarks we found. Anything you found memorable and do not want to forget.
What do you pack on your road trips? Do you tend to pack lots of luxury items when you are going camping? 🏕️ Tell us all about your car camping gear in the comments below!
Love this post? Share it on Pinterest!
*This post may contain affiliate links that help to keep this blog running. Read our disclosure for more information.
