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Hello all,

We have just bought an Eiger 6 berth, 3 bed tent. The spec's are below. I had a rather romantic idea of just taking some bottles of water and the barbie with us for our 4 day camping trip this weekend.  However having read a bit more on this site I now realise that I A) don't have enough stuff and B) have no idea what I'm doing!!! Can you give me some advice on the sort of 'minimum' thing's we'd need.  I thought all we would need for the tent would be sleeping bags/airbeds - would you agree or do we need something between us and the floor to avoid damp? Also if we took one of those small gas rings to brew a cuppa in the morning do you think the barbie will cover everything else? We're on a very tight budget but I think I'm about to go and panic buy the contents of Millets! Any advice gratefully accepted for this newbie!

6 berth tent

3 Bedrooms

190T Polyester Flysheet

1500PU Rating

Poly cotton Inners with Double Zipped Fly Screens Doors

Fibre Glass Poles

Taped Seams

Vents To Bedroom Pods With Flyscreens

Complete with

Guy Ropes

Pegs

And  Carry Bag

we use self inflating camping mats and sleeping bags on top and take proper pillows

we used old double duvets under our mats as its mighty chilly at night in april despite fantastic weather forecast next weekend

warmth wise, take pletnty of layers for night, tights under pjs, wear a hat ,i wear gloves but i am fussy, extra blankets etc, my kids have those fleece all in one suits, i wear jogging bottoms & hoody over my pjs

we don't use electric, i just take a big cool bag with freezer blocks in to keep milk etc cooler,

most things can be bbq'd and take loads of fresh fruit  and salad, bread rolls, no cooking required then ,

simple meals that cook in one pan, eg thick soups, tuna pasta, stir frys, fry up (yum)

i also love pot noodles, chavvy but warming haha

some form of table is good, and a chairs, as your back will knack if u crawl about all weekend

this site is great tips

theres a list somewhere of things not to forget

Hi, welcome to the site, yes, I think you'll need a bit more than a barbi and bottles of water. 

Airbeds, coleman comfort are the favourites, you don't neccesarily have to have sleeping bags, you can take your duvets from home to cut your intial costs if you have room, some lay them on the back seat and let the kids sit on them. But I agree you need something on top of the airbed, the picnic rugs with plastic or foil backing placed under a fitted sheet (About £5 from woolies, tesco, wilkinsons, poundstretcher) are great for insulating and stopping condensation forming under your sleeping bag, making puddles on the airbed. You could also use fleece blankets. A layer of anything, blanket, rug or foam roll mats, under the airbed will also help, if you are going while the weather is still cold even if its only newspapers.

Also on a warm day, as the evening draws in, get a warm fleece on BEFORE you start to feel chilly, once you've got cold it's very hard to warm up. Spare socks.

You will need a light, torch or lantern.

Maybe a table and a definitely a couple of chairs, it's not nice sitting on the ground all evening. You can get folding chairs from the supermarkets for less than a fiver each if you can't borrow some.

Take cutlery and crockery from home, and a saucepan and frying pan,just in case the barbie won't light if its too wet,  bacon n eggs , sarnies and tins of soup as standbys. washing up bowl, matches, corkscrew.

A bucket to wee in at night,  specially if you have kids.

We take fleece underblankets to put on our airbeds under the sleeping bag it stops the cold

dont forget your torches or lantern

we only take a gas ring and bbq when we go for a weekend if you put your mind to it you can cook loads

You`ll also find a bucket handy you can carry you dirty pots in it to be washed