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Welcome to the saite Nat:

1) How/where do we store our clothes whilst camping to keep them dry if wet weather ?  We keep clean unworn clothes in a holdall and wet or worn stuff in a bin bag in the boot of the car/
2)Can you recomend an electric cool box at all ? Needs to be quite roomy for milks/butter/bacon/ham etc.  We use a Sibir fridge which can run off either electric hookup or gas.
3)Can you recomend a stove/grill - one or two gas rings ?  Alot of people are opting for the small single burner stoves that run off a gas canister, I think Sunncamp do one and they cost aroung £15 to £20.
4)Can anyone recomend any good sleeping bags for adults and children to ensure we're not caught out if it gets a bit nippy.  A sleeping bag is a personal thing although any good outdoor store will carry loads of variety but you want one that will suit your type of camping.
5)Are the self inflating camping mattresses worth the money ? Do you think kids would be happy enough of the standard roll up mats ?  Roll up mats are ok for the odd night away but for longer trips I'd seriosly think about getting some air beds and just put the camping mats either under the airbeds or between the airbed and the sleeping bag to insulate from the cold.
6) My youngest son is 18 months do you think he'll be warm enough in PJ's, fleecey sleepsuit and then in a baby grow bag ?  He should be but you might want to think about investing in some sort of camp heater, again I think Sunncamp do one that runs off the little gas canisters the same as the cooker.
7)Can you recomend a place to get decent quality/ priced electric leads ?  Any good outdoor store should be able to give you good advice and and make the right recommendation for you but my advice wouold always be to buy a reputable brand.
Will be investing in the Pett toilet system for sure!
Thanks in advance I am sure I will think of many more over the coming weeks!!!!!!!

Quote: Originally posted by nitnat on 19/4/2006

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2)Can you recomend an electric cool box at all ? Needs to be quite roomy for milks/butter/bacon/ham etc

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we bought a combicool fridge last year - best thing we've ever bought for camping, runs off gas, electric and car cigarette lighter!!  So perfect for every occasion.

Bit expensive (£150) but well worth the money.

my little uns the same age as yours and she is plenty warm enough in pjs her fleecy sleepsuit and sleeping bag especially if cuddled up between me and OH

I agree with the comment on sleeping bags about being personal choice if I knew beforehand how restricting 'mummy' bags are I wouldnt have one, very claustraphobic if u like to stretch out! But OH loves his so does my eldest daughter, having said that they are warm and toastie, cant remember the make tho sorry may be coleman

emma

1) Holdalls in bedroom or storage pod. Wet coats in car and dirty clothes in bin liners in car.

2) Combicool or Sibir. Knock spots off mere electric coolers every time.

3) Most models are pretty similar. Nice to have a three sided windshield model though.

4) Vango and Coleman are both good brands and do a range of adult and junior bags. I prefer a square end bag (Vango Astral) but kids do better in mummy bags IMHO because less dead air space to heat up. My kids both have Vango Nitestars. Look at the different weifhts...buy at least 2-3 season for UK camping.  And if you want to zip two adult bags together get a right and left handed zip pair...make sure your zip matches the side of the bed you normally sleep on!

5) My personal opinion is self inflating mats for kids, nice Coleman Double Comfort airbed for adults! Cheap camping mats will be OK for a night or two, but you`ll want to upgrade after the first trip.

5) I don`t think a baby gro-bag is warm enough for an 18 month old, sorry. Get him a good quality Vango/Coleman Junior bag and tie a bit of string round the unused section below his feet so he doesn`t wriggle down too far.  There is also a Vango Baby bag, but unless your son is very small this won`t be useful.

6) You mean an EHU...electric hook up? Go to a reputable camping store, either in person or online. DO NOT BUY the cheaper death traps sold on Ebay.

Hi

Clothes - We use those checked shopping bags (really cheap) for clean clothes and have a space in the inner tent. Dirty clothes go in one of those £1 pop up washing basket things. Wet things have to be dryed or will go moldy. Many sites have washing machines - really handy when you have kids.

Electric Cool Box - have never used one have normal cool box

Stove - Due to lack of space in car and me not liking connecting gas bottles I have 2 butane burners

Sleeping bags - middle of the range Vangos

Inflatable matresses - definately

Keeping kids warm - not sure about toddlers, but my 13 year old is miserable when she is cold - just got her a new sleeping bag and she has a fleece blanket. Have thought about fleece liners when we go to Scotland (but not sure at the moment)

EHU - Just bought my first one from Go Outdoors (coventry) has 3 sockets and was £55

Happy camping

Kidsmadhouse

Just re read your posting

Don't leave it until your break in August to try out your tent have a weekend away to iron out any problems. Its amazing how many ideas and little tips you come up with when you are away to resolve problems - note them down to prepare for your longer break.

Kidsmadhouse

As for the stove - I'd personally recommend a twin burner running via a hose & regulator off a refillable gas bottle, or having 2 single burner stoves. It's much easier having two burners than one, especially if you do any meals where you need to do separate rice, pasta or similar, or if you want to boil the kettle whilst you are cooking.

Incidentally, if you must have your toast at breakfast, no need to bother with the more expensive stoves with a grill, just get a cheap (about £4-£5) folding toaster (NOT the pyramid one!!!) which you use over any stove - they work brilliantly & fold flat when not in use.

I agree about the windshield(s) - need to shield the stove in even the seemingly calmest of conditions, otherwise takes ages for kettle to boil.

Re-keeping clothes dry - we have everything in one or two holdall's (depending on length of holiday). All clean clothes stay zipped up in them until needed - keeps 'em dry. Dirties/grotties are just bundled into plastic carrier bags, and carried home that way, ready for bunging in the wash. And personal preference but we take enough for our whole holiday as we don't want to mess about with washing whilst we are away - got better things to do with our time!

As you are new to EHU, just bear in mind when using one that there is a limit to the amount of current you can draw on a site without tripping out the circuit breaker. So consider this when choosing what you are going to take with you to plug in and when using more than one appliance at a time.

Sorry, didn`t quite read your query about cookers right. I would say to go for a twin burner with gas bottle, either CampingGaz or red propane. (I prefer CampingGaz...easier to find in France where we go a lot.) Get the right regulator for the gas you buy. The little single burners are okay for weekend trips when you`re not going to cook much, but for a family get something a bit larger. Argos catalogue do a fair range.

I second that about the grill. Don`t bother.

Quote: Originally posted by nitnat on 19/4/2006

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Well we've just bought our first tent for our first camping trip in August - I am finding heaps of information reading this site, but could do with a few answers to some questions. Apologies if they're daft, but as I said we're new to this!!

1) How/where do we store our clothes whilst camping to keep them dry if wet weather ?We each keep ours in our own separate holdalls in the tent. Wet coats etc get dumped in the car until its stopped raining and we can dry them off outside.
2)Can you recomend an electric cool box at all ? Needs to be quite roomy for milks/butter/bacon/ham etc I wouldn't bother with an electric cool box: either go the whole hog and buy an electric fridge or get a good quality cool box
3)Can you recomend a stove/grill - one or two gas rings ? As others have said, don't bother with a grill as they tend to be less effective. The fold flat toasters (not pyramid style) are good though. We use two of the single burner 'Bright Spark' type cartridge cookers as they do an excellent job and I got soooo fed up of lugging a gas bottle about for the traditional sort, but if you are OK about the gas bottle then get a two burner stove, possibly with a wind/fat shield.
4)Can anyone recomend any good sleeping bags for adults and children to ensure we're not caught out if it gets a bit nippy. Get the best you can. A good night's sleep is so important for everybody, and if you buy cheap bags you will just end up filling the car with endless blankets, duvets, rugs etc to top them up.
5)Are the self inflating camping mattresses worth the money ? Do you think kids would be happy enough of the standard roll up mats ? Basic roll mats for the kids and either a thermarest (my preference) or an airbed for yourselves.
6) My youngest son is 18 months do you think he'll be warm enough in PJ's, fleecey sleepsuit and then in a baby grow bag ? No idea!
7)Can you recomend a place to get decent quality/ priced electric leads ? I have seen people talking about a very keenly priced but SAFE electric hook up lead on sale at Waudby's.
Will be investing in the Pett toilet system for sure! We have a Pett toilet and it is fab: compact to transport and very convenient to, er, deal with, but it is more expensive in terms of running costs than the normal portapotti types. MT
Thanks in advance I am sure I will think of many more over the coming weeks!!!!!!!

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well i was also going to reply to your questions but most of my points ahve been covered. well done everyone

foxy

Hi and welcome to the world of camping.

I see you have received lots of really good advice and pointers which I am sure will help you and your family.

As well as the equitment side, I think the suggestion of trying camping out for a short break first is a really good idea. Think about maybe going to a camp site that is close to home i.e. 10 - 20 miles away. If it is a complete disastor you can pack up and go home. I would suggest a two night weekend mini break. It is amazing what you can learn from this and it will certainily help you in planing for your camping holiday in the summer.

Good luck and we hope that you enjoy the geat outdoors as much as we all do here on this website.

Welcome to more enjoyable holidays!

Regarding getting clothes dry while camping it is difficult, we tend to put them over the car seats, as soon as the sun comes out in summer this tends to be the quickest area to dry them, just don't put underwear in view!

We have an old Camping Gaz double ring stove with a grill, plenty good enough to cook a family of fours meal,  think they are still selling them in Argos for aroud £50, the gas bottle tends to last three weeks.

Don't bother with sleeping bags for adults, its like torture not being able to move an inch in them, we sent ours back to the store and now use a fitted sheet and low tog duvet, loads more room and still warm, the duvet doesn't use any more room in the car than two adult sleeping bags if rolled up.