Camping on $150

[Mark72]

A place like this helps to keep costs down

http://tinyurl.com/ywfupn (click on photo tour)

By taking things from around home that were going to be used for meals etc. anyway (teardrop included). Take along the horse shoes cornhole or whatever outdoor games you may have. I think I could keep a weekend of relaxing and enjoyment down around the $50 mark pretty easily. Bear in mind this place is close to home and everything you need besides food and shelter is supplied free of charge.

Mark

[Miriam C.]

Camping on Shoal Creek in Tipton Ford MO. $6 primative with shower and $13 with electric if you have airconditioner. Yes it can be done really cheap. Kansas even has camping at Kansas fishing lakes that are less than $10 a night and Kansas Mined land is free camping in most areas. Missouri has less to offer in the area of free camping.

[Gaelen]

all of this, plus the ultralight build thread, has got me thinking...

I've always wanted to camp light. My tow vehicle is rated to tow 2000 lbs without modifications--but I don't have trailer brakes, and I have 65K on the S10, and it's paid for, so I'd like the camping I do to respect the truck's age and tow capacity. That's why I was really looking at keeping my trailer as light as possible.

I kept some things from my tenting days, but I gave a lot of stuff away when I cleaned house a couple years ago and figured I'd never be able to camp on my own again. So I need to replace some things...and I still need to keep my load light.

I could throw a lot of money at brand new ultralight equipment...or I could exercise my inner cheapskate and outfit the trailer with the lightest and least possible equipment both to save weight and reduce 'stuff.' Because 'stuff' is what makes camping expensive, and makes it harder to do things spur of the moment (too much to pack/unpack)

So now I'm looking at keeping my load down. Thinking, thinking, thinking.

I've already ditched my 35# original issue EZup in favor of an ABOgear tripod tent to shade the galley and rear of the trailer, and a Kelty carport to shade the side door. Together, with a tarp thrown in, they come in around 22 lbs...a full 13 lbs less than the EZup.

So part of my quest will now be to travel light and pack light.
Fingers crossed.

[jml79]

Ok, Me and the wife have just done a weekend on crown land (free camping in canada for canadians) and it was way less than $150. I already had some of the stuff but I took a cooler that I bought for around $30, and airmatress with pump for $27 (walmart is great), bedding from home, a single burner butane stove $19 can of butane $7 a tarp $9 and the coolest little tin pot/bowl gadget ever $8 and 2 kfs's $4 ea. thats $104 for everything. We borrowed a tent from a neighbor and cooked lots of canned stuff by the fire that we scavanged wood for and ate sandwiches etc. My car is a deisel VW so $10 gets me about 140 miles range and that leaves $36 if you need to buy the tent. I started by borrowing everything from family and buying one or 2 items everytime i go camping. I do have a sleeping bag for me but we didn't need it. Another good thing is that bottled water seems alot cheaper here, at least cheaper than in florida so about $3 for a flat of 24 bottles. or about $1 for a gallon jug. It probably helps that both of us are military and we have real different ideas about what roughing it really is.

[SamR]

This brings me back to my college days. I used to go for a weekend for $25-a lot. And one of the highlights of my trips was dinner. I always splurged camping and took a couple ribeyes ($10 of my budget). I had a Ford Ranger with a shell so I used the cushions off the couch and my regular bedding in the back. No stove? No problem. I used one of the racks out of my oven balanced over a few good sized rocks and gathered firewood. A pan and spoon from the kitchen to saute my mushrooms and onions (there's another $1.50). The ribeye either lay balanced precariously on the rack or got speared on a freshly cut stick. I live in Montana and rarely camped in developed sites. The shovel was a permanent part of the truck and the tp came from the bathroom. A couple old milk cartons full of home made ice doubled as water and the fire bucket. River water was just fine with me if I ran out. A couple slices of bread out of the bag at home toasted up fine on my rack for breakfast while the eggs I stole from the kitchen cooked in the pan. Pan washed fine in the river-no soap. What else do you really need? Hiking boots and sweatshirts from the closet. Like most of life's endeavers its more about determination than budget.

[57plymouth]

I dunno, I use the same gear I've always had.

This stuff is all leftover from my Boy Scout days, and I'm 31, so you know it's well used...

Slumberjack 0degree mummy bag
RidgeRest 3/4 length pad
Philmont issue pup tent
One aluminum bowl for eating
One stainless cup for drinking
One US Army spoon for eating and cooking
One two quart aluminum pot for cooking
Two one quart water bottles
Camp Trails external frame pack
Water purifier tablets
50' parachute cord
Waterproof pancho that covers the pack as well
Locking single blade pocket knife
Flint and steel striker
mini maglite and spare batteries
medical tape

That's all I've camped with for years but now I'm planning to build a teardrop. What's come over me?

[57plymouth]

Oh yeah, clothes as well.

[bobhenry]

[57plymouth]

A red X?

[Gaelen]

whew...57plymouth, that's a relief about the clothes.

I have been gathering stuff and weighing things since I've had the trailer at my house for the last two weeks.

The Sunspot comes in just a hair over 500lbs. All of the interior has already been stripped out and rebuilt, so no cushions, cupboards, banquettes or table, no refrigerator or built in stove/sink/water tank either. It's kind of like a cargo trailer with really nice paneling at this point.

And what I've put in (some old, some new) so far hasn't topped 100 lbs yet--cot, ultralight sleeping bag, pillow, daypack with five days of clothes, folding camp table, single burner propane stove, 1 small bottle of propane, first aid kit, extra pair of duck shoes, sweatshirt, raingear and three battery operated LED lights. My kitchen kit without the 11" DO is the single heaviest thing so far at around 15 lbs, and the DO adds another 10 lbs. ... but I'm sure I can pare that down a bit. Food and water for two dogs, along with my food also have a 'budget' of no more than 50 lbs--I'll never hit that unless I need to bring water for all of us for the whole trip, and I usually don't. Ultimately, I'd like to keep the total load of camping supplies (not counting things like the dog crates, which live in the truck anyway) under 250 lbs.

I figure that if I can be ruthless about what 'things' get shelf space in my tiny kitchen, then I should be able to be equally ruthless about what 'things' get space in my tiny trailer.

[jeepr]

I One US Army spoon for eating and cooking
50' parachute cord

Two best things the military ever invented..

[bobhenry]

A red X?

I guess once again I goofed up. It was a real pretty 57 belveder.

[57plymouth]

A red X?

I guess once again I goofed up. It was a real pretty 57 belveder.

Why not my car on the high banks at Charlotte Motor Speedway!

http://bacooper.myphotoalbum.com/view_p ... harlotte_2

[RiffRaff]

Tent - easy enough to borrow, from a choice of several people
Cooking - hotplate from Sally Anne - $10 or Sterno cans, or even a penny stove http://www.metacafe.com/watch/839102/co ... ure_stove/
Pots and pans - Sally Anne again - $10
If the site has power an electric frypan, instead of the hotplate and pots, works good - from the workshop (don't ask) $0
Dishes and flatware - plastic stuff from the Dollar store- dishes, plastic flatware, two dishpans - $5
Bedding - Two "flannelet" sheets - from the winter closet - I just picked up two fleece sleeping bags for $4 each
Air bed and pump - $30-$50 (if I sleep on the ground I'll be in no shape to go to work when i get back ) I could get one from my stepdaughter so really it's $0
Food - gotta eat anyhow home or at camp - all canned or dry so no cooler or ice $0
Water - 2L pop bottles, milk jug, bottled water bottle, what ever $0
Camp site - provincial park $16.50 day with power $12.50 with out ( handicap rate ) and there is about 6 within 75 klicks
Gas - $20 - $40
Fire wood - whats the point of going with out a good camp fire - $15
The Provincial parks supply picnic tables - some where to sit

[Bad-Dawg]

I don't see the $150.00 as anything but reasonable. As for sleeping bags, I gave up on those after I got married 8^)

For tent camping I have a 6" thick foam mattress from an old Commander motorhome (free). I cover that with a queen sized mattress pad and sheet, and then another sheet and a thick blanket. Two if its cooollldddd!!!

It's way more comfortable than an air mattress and sleeping bags.