This Minimalist Car Camping checklist was originally written in 2008 following a ten day tour of England with a tiny car. This is how to travel when you want to take a camping trip but still keep things pretty light weight. “Minimalist car camping” is particularly great if you’re changing locations every day or every other day. You don’t want a mass of stuff to have to pack and unpack all the time.
The other bonus to Minimalist Car Camping is that it makes it easy to just GET OUT THERE. I recommend buying a couple plastic bins with lids, and have most of your kit pre-prepped – store all your gear in such a way so that you can efficiently load up the car and go. Think of it as a Car Camping Go Bag. Make it easy for yourself to take an impromptu adventure at the drop of a hat!
This list is not too dissimilar from what I’d take wild camping (see my wild camping checklist). There are just a few bonus extras (e.g. folding chairs) that are easy to pack, add that extra level of comfort, and are well worth taking if you have a car.
Pro tip: If you want to really pimp your minimalist car camping and make your setup even easier, consider a hard shell roof top tent for your car which takes 15-30 seconds to setup, way faster than any standalone tent and also pretty neat! Check these out over on overlandjunction.com: 6 Best Hard Shell Roof Top Tents (2022)
Download your printable Minimalist Car Camping Checklist here: PDF | WORD
Minimalist Car Camping Checklist
Cooking Supplies
- Knife
- Pots and pans
- Cup
- Plates
- Cutting board
- Veggie peeler
- Cutlery
- Baggies
- Wet wipes
- Sponge and soap for washing up
- Dish towels
- Camp stove
- Gas for camp stove
- Lighter
- Trash bags
Clothing
- Waterproof Jacket
- Thermal underwear
- Wool socks (plus spares)
- Bathing suit
- Towel
- Warm hat, gloves, scarf
- Warm fleece / midlayer
- Underwear
- Sunhat
- Hiking Boots
- Shoes for camp
- Gaiters
Camping Gear
- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Air mattress
Campsite Accoutrements
- Folding chairs
- Picnic blanket (preferably with a waterproof bottom)
Personal Items
- Toilet Paper
- Tissues
- Sunglasses
- First aid kit
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Nail clippers
- Lip balm
- Face wash
- Hand/body soap
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Vitamins
- Medication
- Diary/pen
- Reading material
Electronics
- Mobile phone
- Headlamp / flashlight
- Battery pack for charging USB devices
- Spare batteries for flashlights, etc
Extra stuff for off-campsite activities
- Daypack
- GPS and extra batteries (or mobile phone with a battery pack)
- Water bottle or hydration pack
- Travel guides / walking books
- OS Maps
Car Stuff
- Sat Nav
- Road atlas
Download the Minimalist Car Camping Checklist here: PDF | WORD
If you spot any omissions, or have any suggestions for other must-have items in your Minimalist Car Camping kit, please let me know in the comments!
MSR Pocket Rocket Campstove Review
As you know the person don’t want a mass of stuff to have to pack and unpack all the time. you have to create alist tha minimalist camping gears, these things you mentioned really light weigh and you can pack an unpack daily or next day and move to another place for camping again. cheers.
Hi.you have left off items to protect environment when needing toilet..for example trowel, badges to take away loo paper, or a portable toilet bucket with liners and sawdust coir or cat litter.. so you can bag and bin later