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Hello all,

I have read many posts on here in my search for bargain kit as I am starting from scratch and don't plan on roughing it, so i thought i'd better register and let you all know what I found... and to say thanks for all the great advice. Its a costly business but compared with hiring a static, it should pay for itself after 2 weeks away..brill !

Tent - Read loads & loads of advice on here and used this site as reference. I got a Coleman Salt Lake from Field & Trek for 175 (delivered!). Thats a massive tent for not much cash. Not put it up yet (trial run tonight). Its a bit heavy due to the steel poles but I don't plan on lugging it far from the car anyway..

Tent Carpet - hmm, these are expensive aren't they, so i took some advice from you lot and got 4 picnic rugs from Tesco and will gaffer then together. The Tesco ones are better for my tent as the are 150 x 175, so 4 will make a carpet 3m x 3.5m.. and they are plain colours too (none of that nasty highland checked stuff)

Cooker - Got a Gelert double & grill from eBay for £38.50 delivered. Not much cheaper than going into town to get a Campingaz one, but i think it looks nicer. If anyone is thinking of getting one, they are seconds and have some pock marks on the stainless but since it is stainless, it comes off with a bit of scrubbing.

Gas - Am going for propane and have (more advice from here) been to the local skip and they have one for me but I have to wait til the site manager is away on Saturday to pick it up..

Roof Rack..I searched and searched and it seemed the best option was to hire roof bars and a box (theres a place in Stone that hires them and advertises on eBay).. but then I found a Paddy Hopkirk roofrack in the local rag for £30 so ive got that now..i think the wind noise will drive me insane driving down the motorway though..

Electric Hook Up.. got a named brand.. had to really, no messing wiv electric. its just not worth it...however, i bought from a site that didn't include VAT in the prices, so i'm a bit miffed now... bah ! !

Airbeds & Pump - Tesco

Sleeping Bags - nope.. got some extra large vacuum storage bags (i think i got that tip from on here somewhere) and are taking duvets ..ahhh, much nicer !

Tables & Chairs - Woolworths DO have the cheap folding tables in store still, they're only out of stock for buying off t'internet

Coolbox/Fridge - hmmm, another area of dispute. I've seen mini cooler fridges on Ebuyer for £34, but i don't think there's an option to run them in chest mode, so not very efficient, but they do come ready for mains. and I've read that some of the electric coolboxes can be a bit noisy. So, for our first week away (next week) we will be using a regular coolbox and using the site freezer & shop regularly. (and we will be freezing the milk before we go, another top tip from these boards)

that about covers the main stuff. Once again, many thanks for all the advice you never knew you gave.

Cheers.. Spiff

"Tent Carpet - hmm, these are expensive aren't they, so i took some advice from you lot and got 4 picnic rugs from Tesco and will gaffer then together. The Tesco ones are better for my tent as the are 150 x 175, so 4 will make a carpet 3m x 3.5m.. and they are plain colours too (none of that nasty highland checked stuff)"

keep them separate = easier to shake out clean and then more flexible in use and easier to pack away IMO

nasty highland check doesn't show the dirt as much as plain ;)

What I suggest is that you buy some things in bits, spud peeler one week, can opener the next, that way you don't notice the cost and don't have to fork out a huge sum.
It is the same with out camping food - I always take cans with us, so I buy a couple of bits every week, that way I only have to buy fresh before we go away, and a few tins and maybe a pack of special biscuits.

Quote: Originally posted by Moonseeker on 16/7/2008

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- I always take cans with us, so I buy a couple of bits every week, that way I only have to buy fresh before we go away,

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Same here, also we always use UHT milk, so you do not need to keep that chilled until it is opened. & its a lot cheaper now than fresh milk

Oooh, cheap picnic rugs - note to self, check out tesco!

I agree - there's some great info here that can save you wads of cash and it sounds like you're putting it to good use. Wish I'd found the forum sooner!

have you joined your local freecycle group? I have picked up a few bits from there, including this week a bike rack for when we go camping and theres no room in the back for kids bikes

you have to offer once in order to post a waned ad but camping stuff comes up frequently anyway.

you can find your local group here www.freecycle.org