23-07-2013, 11:08 AM
Just a quick guide for those who have never camped at a meet or a show before. Camping meets range from a few members in a back garden to 60+ of us at FCS.
First up you'll want to know why you should camp rather than staying in a hotel. Well there's a few reasons, If you have camping gear or can borrow it then its cheaper for a start. Its just as comfy as a hotel if you get a decent air bed, you can drink as much as you like with the rest of the club and not have to worry about getting back to the hotel and finally 95-100% of the club camps at meets so you'll get to hang out with the rest of us which mainly involves laughing till it hurts and talking about 306s in a friendly chilled environment.
Just make sure your empties go in a bin.
So now you know you want to camp what are the essentials? Well technically there isn't anything you actually need. If your happy eating food that dosen't need cooking then that solves that and some idiots people will sleep outside without a tent or even a sleeping bag if the weather is nice.
It is possible to get a double air bed and sleeping bag in the back of a 306 estate and possibly a normal 306 too but its a PITA to get in and out of and also steams the windows up a treat especially if you have to close the boot.
Anyway, you will probably want a tent and a sleeping bag, Tesco value stuff is fine if its warm and dry but if its looking like raining you'll want to spend a few quid on a tent, preferably something with an inner and outer tent as they tend to be more waterproof. As for tent sizing they are in "man" and a man is an average size person lying down on the floor of the tent, the more "man" the tent is the more people will fit but beware of this as they are only an average person size and this doesn't give you any space for luggage. A good rule of thumb is that you want twice the "man" of people who are actually gonna use the tent i.e. if you and the missus are camping then a 3 or 4 man tent will be a good size.
Sleeping bags are rated in seasons. 1 season is summer only. 2 season is late spring - early autumn. 3 season is probably what you'll want and is spring-autumn. 4 season is for hardcore people who camp in the freezing cold. you can get double sleeping bags which are awesome if you like to not have your legs tied together all night. The main thing you'll want if you want comfort though is an air bed, these are a lifesaver, properly comfortable and key to a good nights sleep.
Next up on the things youll want list is something to cook on. Gas stoves like the one below cost less than a tenner and you can get a kettle for it outta pound land which gives you a world of cups of tea, pot noodles, cuppa soup and porridge but you can also be smart, yes you could buy a saucepan and cook pretty much anything on it but if you put a couple of tent pegs across you can stand a tin can over the heat. hold it with pliers and stir with a clean tent peg and that way you can cook anything that comes in a tin. All day breakfast, chilli, hot dogs, beans, veg, rice pudding (mmmmmmmm).
Next cooking option is a BBQ. A pile of red hot coal with a grille over it to cook on. These can reach the best part of 1000*C so do a real good job of killing germs and stuff. Don't use the disposable ones, they are terrible, never really get hot enough, don't really last long enough and are just a recipe for terrible food and food poisoning. The usual thing to cook on a BBQ is sausages and burgers but steak and kebab also works. you can get reall creative on a BBQ if it has different height shelves (for different heat) and you have some tin foil. Genuinely you can do Pizza, Garlic Bread, baked potatoes and a whole load more.
You don't want to cook on a BBQ while it has flames as you'll end up with food black on the outside and pink on the inside.
![[Image: attachment.php?thumbnail=9028]](http://306oc.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?thumbnail=9028)
You need to wait till the coals have gone white and glowing red as thats when its properly hot. Don't worry if the flames come back after you've started, it'll just be fat dripping and catching fire.
Finally don't forget some cheese and sauce for your food.
Other things you might want
A torch
A pillow
A chair to sit on
A small table
Club gazebo
Cool box for beer
The golden rules.
Put your rubbish in a bag/bin.
If you wake up in the morning still pissed get someone else to drive your car.
Have fun.
Probably loads I've missed, oh well, its a start.
First up you'll want to know why you should camp rather than staying in a hotel. Well there's a few reasons, If you have camping gear or can borrow it then its cheaper for a start. Its just as comfy as a hotel if you get a decent air bed, you can drink as much as you like with the rest of the club and not have to worry about getting back to the hotel and finally 95-100% of the club camps at meets so you'll get to hang out with the rest of us which mainly involves laughing till it hurts and talking about 306s in a friendly chilled environment.
Just make sure your empties go in a bin.
So now you know you want to camp what are the essentials? Well technically there isn't anything you actually need. If your happy eating food that dosen't need cooking then that solves that and some idiots people will sleep outside without a tent or even a sleeping bag if the weather is nice.
It is possible to get a double air bed and sleeping bag in the back of a 306 estate and possibly a normal 306 too but its a PITA to get in and out of and also steams the windows up a treat especially if you have to close the boot.
Anyway, you will probably want a tent and a sleeping bag, Tesco value stuff is fine if its warm and dry but if its looking like raining you'll want to spend a few quid on a tent, preferably something with an inner and outer tent as they tend to be more waterproof. As for tent sizing they are in "man" and a man is an average size person lying down on the floor of the tent, the more "man" the tent is the more people will fit but beware of this as they are only an average person size and this doesn't give you any space for luggage. A good rule of thumb is that you want twice the "man" of people who are actually gonna use the tent i.e. if you and the missus are camping then a 3 or 4 man tent will be a good size.
Sleeping bags are rated in seasons. 1 season is summer only. 2 season is late spring - early autumn. 3 season is probably what you'll want and is spring-autumn. 4 season is for hardcore people who camp in the freezing cold. you can get double sleeping bags which are awesome if you like to not have your legs tied together all night. The main thing you'll want if you want comfort though is an air bed, these are a lifesaver, properly comfortable and key to a good nights sleep.
Next up on the things youll want list is something to cook on. Gas stoves like the one below cost less than a tenner and you can get a kettle for it outta pound land which gives you a world of cups of tea, pot noodles, cuppa soup and porridge but you can also be smart, yes you could buy a saucepan and cook pretty much anything on it but if you put a couple of tent pegs across you can stand a tin can over the heat. hold it with pliers and stir with a clean tent peg and that way you can cook anything that comes in a tin. All day breakfast, chilli, hot dogs, beans, veg, rice pudding (mmmmmmmm).
Next cooking option is a BBQ. A pile of red hot coal with a grille over it to cook on. These can reach the best part of 1000*C so do a real good job of killing germs and stuff. Don't use the disposable ones, they are terrible, never really get hot enough, don't really last long enough and are just a recipe for terrible food and food poisoning. The usual thing to cook on a BBQ is sausages and burgers but steak and kebab also works. you can get reall creative on a BBQ if it has different height shelves (for different heat) and you have some tin foil. Genuinely you can do Pizza, Garlic Bread, baked potatoes and a whole load more.
You don't want to cook on a BBQ while it has flames as you'll end up with food black on the outside and pink on the inside.
You need to wait till the coals have gone white and glowing red as thats when its properly hot. Don't worry if the flames come back after you've started, it'll just be fat dripping and catching fire.
Finally don't forget some cheese and sauce for your food.
Other things you might want
A torch
A pillow
A chair to sit on
A small table
Club gazebo
Cool box for beer
The golden rules.
Put your rubbish in a bag/bin.
If you wake up in the morning still pissed get someone else to drive your car.
Have fun.
Probably loads I've missed, oh well, its a start.