Put your Camping tips here

chachi · Post by **chachi** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:27 am

yessss, those are the ones. i eat those all the time, camping or not.

IFBwax · Post by **IFBwax** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:22 am

Can you get those at trader joe's?

covelo · Post by **covelo** » Thu May 10, 2007 10:19 am

IFBwax wrote:Can you get those at trader joe's?

Yes, but they're often out of the Jaipur vegetables (at least here in SF). Last year I did an overnight camping trip to Half Dome and they were excellent backpacking food too. Lots of envious stares from fellow campers trying to force down $6 dehydrated astronaut food from REI.

Tex33M · Post by **Tex33M** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:22 am

I have a friend wo lets his solar shower ride in the luggage rack on his Vanagon. He says it doesn't blow out when full and when they get to a campsite at the end of the day, water is nice and warm for showers.

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:31 am

IFB Wax...FWIW the rivi's have snaps right behind the mirror and on the curtains....should be a piece of cake to add some.

That's weird though...no snaps???

Since Westy78 wont pipe up I'll give away his secrets.....if you have the bus depot awning don't attach it to the raingutter with the clamps it comes with...go buy 3 or so spring clamps and just clamp the pole to the gutter....he hasn't had any problems even with gusty winds. I just bought some clamps so I will try his trick this weekend.

chachi · Post by **chachi** » Thu May 10, 2007 12:30 pm

covelo wrote:Yes, but they're often out of the Jaipur vegetables (at least here in SF). Last year I did an overnight camping trip to Half Dome and they were excellent backpacking food too. Lots of envious stares from fellow campers trying to force down $6 dehydrated astronaut food from REI.

haha, totally.

and yeah, TJ's has them, or at least they used to. last time i was there they had some other brand, basically the same thing though and IIRC a little cheaper.

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Thu May 10, 2007 12:40 pm

PDXpaulie wrote:not exactly revolutionary, but we bring a small 2-person tent we call "the shed". takes up about as much space as a loaf of bread when stored. When we want/need to drive somewhere, everything is hidden from view and not in-bus. Gives us more space at night too.
I like this thread. I'll be referencing it for sure before the next trip. Thanks for the great ideas.

I would say it is revolutionary. Used 2 man tents should be on the cheap to get too.

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:45 pm

Sylvester wrote:
spiffy wrote:For the Riviera's remove the 12 volt cooler and attach three stackable wire baskets to the bootom of the cabinet and put doors on the front....that way you have a nice little pantry and I prefer using a regular cooler anyways.
Got a picture of that?

Here ya' go:

LiveonJG · Post by **LiveonJG** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:00 pm

Hey Spiff,
Suppose you could shove anything else in there? Does any of your food end up tasting like rusty lug wrench? That certainly is maximizing your space.
-John

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:09 pm

LiveonJG wrote:Hey Spiff,
Suppose you could shove anything else in there? Does any of your food end up tasting like rusty lug wrench? That certainly is maximizing your space.
-John

(smart ass) we just packed up to leave in the morning so we have all the munchies ready to go....and yes, we are packed to the gills.

Somehow the lug wrench ends up tasting like an everything bagle though...go figure?

And hey, wait a minute...where do you westy folk store your dry goods for a trip?

And I KNOW most westy owners I know end up using their cooler as a liquor cabinet....

77_Bus_Girl · Post by **77_Bus_Girl** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:27 pm

spiffy wrote: And hey, wait a minute...where do you westy folk store your dry goods for a trip?

And I KNOW most westy owners I know end up using their cooler as a liquor cabinet....

I keep any cans and snacky foods in the cabinet above the z-bed. It's an odd shape, so mostly foods that are oddly shaped goes in there. (bread, chips, etc) I bring along a second cooler (other than the one built in) so I can bring LOTS of ice. A block goes in the bottom, and if there happens (?) to be beer in the icebox, cubes get sprinkled over them.

I've got little peel and stick hooks on the trim above the sink where I hang the pots when I'm stopped.

Speaking of the sink, I took out my sink and tank in favour of more room. I made a removable cutting board to fit in the hole - also allows for easy access to the stuff in the back.

For water, I picked up a pump that attaches to the top of one of those big water cooler jugs. It's super convenient - can be left on the picnic table. AND it can be carried to the water source if you bus is for some reason unable to move (under a million ropes and tarps...)

Birdibus · Post by **Birdibus** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:06 pm

IFBwax wrote:It always sags in the middle.

For my Westfalia's front curtain, I fashioned two small hooks from some flat metal. I shaped the pieces tapered and bent at one end, and made a small screw hole at the wide end. I inserted them underneath the center clips that holds the sun visor, using the original screw. I then sewed loops into the top of the curtains to hook them up.

When I resewed a new front curtain, I made the front curtain 2 separate pieces overlapping in the front center. I use the hooks to hold the upper corner of each curtain. No more sag!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For my transporter, I made curtains from sunbrella fabric. They are straight, no gathering at the top. I used existing screw holes (holding trim pieces) to mount snaps to the bus body. The side curtains are long, covering both side windows with one snap at each end and one in the middle. I placed the snaps on the double-folded top hem of the curtain in such a way that I have to stretch the fabric tight to fit the snaps. This prevents sagging.

LiveonJG · Post by **LiveonJG** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:22 pm

spiffy wrote:
LiveonJG wrote:Hey Spiff,
Suppose you could shove anything else in there? Does any of your food end up tasting like rusty lug wrench? That certainly is maximizing your space.
-John

(smart ass) we just packed up to leave in the morning so we have all the munchies ready to go....and yes, we are packed to the gills.

Somehow the lug wrench ends up tasting like an everything bagel though...go figure?

And hey, wait a minute...where do you westy folk store your dry goods for a trip?

And I KNOW most westy owners I know end up using their cooler as a liquor cabinet....

The onboard cooler is for brew. Otherwise I bring two addl. coolers with lots of ice. Meat, cheese, yogurt, fruits, veggies, non-alcoholic beverages, and Jager are what you'll find in there. We tend to not bring much by way of dry goods, so what we do gets stuffed where ever it can fit. My cabinets are full of tools, bedding, towels, parts, dishes, books, and tp (Don't ever forget the tp!), so not much room for anything else.

My basic philosophy camping is: Keep it simple. Cook as much on the grill as I can. Generally dry goods and Baby Webber don't make good friends.
-John

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Fri May 11, 2007 9:23 am

I'm the same way, less is more. Just bring plenty of green and plenty of suds. Zen camping. Every time I go with others, it's always funny to sit and have a beer while they set up for the next couple hours! (you know who you are, guilt implied)
My wife is from the "more is more" camp. I always threaten to put wheels under the house and drag it with us.

static · Post by **static** » Fri May 11, 2007 9:51 am

hambone wrote: Every time I go with others, it's always funny to sit and have a beer while they set up for the next couple hours! (you know who you are, guilt implied)

Hey! That's me that you're talking about!

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Put your Camping tips here