Car Camping for Beginners

When planning a road trip, one of the most important questions is “Where do I stay on a road trip?”

As you know, the options are almost endless. The beauty of road trips is that you don’t have to choose just one. Some of our favorite trips have been some combination of camping, backpacking, glamping, and Airbnb.

When it comes to accommodations, you have a virtual smorgasbord of options. In this series, we will cover each one in depth. Then, choose which one or combination suits you best.

Let’s start with road trip car camping.

The Difference Between Car Camping and RV Camping

#vanlife is a growing trend across social media. It seems a new generation has discovered the old freedom once known only to a small community of retirees.

However, you don’t need to own a special vehicle to sleep under the open sky. And you may find that you don’t have to wait until your 401k matures to answer the call of the open road.

While much of this article will apply equally to RV travel, the focus is on car and tent camping in its various forms. Look for a rundown on RVing and Overlanding in a future post.

And don’t worry if you aren’t the rugged outdoorsy type. You may be surprised at all of the options where you can find yourself sleeping comfortably under the stars.

Some of these options may not appeal to you now. But hopefully this post will help you to appreciate the reason why someone else would choose this kind of accommodation. 

If pitching a tent and cooking for yourself are too big of a leap, keep reading for advice on transitional camping. (Check out glamping and tentalows for example)

Believe it or not, camping can be even more luxurious than some of the most posh spas you have ever seen. But I digress. We will get to that soon enough. 

Distinguishing Road Trip Car Camping From Backpacking

Similarly, there is a lot of cross-over between car camping and backpacking. And certainly, the two can combine into an amazing trip.

However, by starting off with car camping we can induct the uninitiated to the world of camping without the overwhelm of specialty equipment. Car camping is generally a good introduction to camping. Plus it transitions nicely into back country camping.

As mentioned before, the best road trips include several options in accommodations. Car camping is a great way to explore the outdoors while saving some money. In later posts we will show you where you can spend the extra savings if you should choose to splurge.

Later on we will deep dive into both RV travel and backpacking. 

 For now, let’s get started on the everything you need to know about car camping.

Camping for Beginners – The Essentials

I decided to start with car camping as this is probably the most accessible to the majority. Most already have a car, or at least they plan on renting one. 

And this tends to have a lower entry point from the financial standpoint. Backpacking takes specialty equipment that sacrifices size, weight, or creature comforts depending on your ambition level.

Car camping is the middle ground between roughing it in the backcountry and the plentitude of comforts from an RV. As mentioned, we will discuss the pros and cons of each in future articles. 

Using your car as a basecamp and sherpa can also be a gateway to taking the adventure to the next level. Whether that is backpacking or opting for more amenities. 

So, once you have settled on a destination, it’s time to pick out a place to pitch your tent. Whether you are looking for a campground as your destination or one just for a night or two on your way there, you will want to find a place to stay. 

Car Camping in Campgrounds – A Beginner’s Guide

One of the most satisfying sounds in the world is the crunch of pea gravel beneath your hiking boots. 

Especially after a long day behind the wheel. The hum of the highway and the whistling of the wind are the welcome consonance of the road.

But when you pull off of the highway and into the campground, all of that is drowned by the gentle quiet of the woods.

And then you finally step out of the car, and stretch the miles off. One of the first sounds to welcome you to tranquility is made by your own foot. 

With the satisfying grind of gravel beneath your hiking boots, each step becomes the percussion of an unwinding soundtrack. As you scurry off to the bathroom.

The only question remains is, Where do you want to camp?

Of course, there are names synonymous with campgrounds. Each may have a different appeal. 

For example, campgrounds like KOA or Jellystone cater to families. They offer a lot more activities that kids might like.

From arcades to waterparks, they try to bridge a gap by exposing a new generation to some good old fun.

Others are designed more for RV’s that offer amenities like utility hookups.

The drawback for both of these is that they tend to get crowded. And loud. 

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Yogi Berra

If that’s not your gig, no problem. There are plenty of other places you can camp. Below are some links to more information on where to camp, where to get permits, and other helpful information. 

If you would like an aggregated list of all of these, see our list of recommended apps that simplifies the search process. 

There are a variety of styles of car camping. At most of the national and state parks you can choose between designated camping sites that you can drive or walk to. Or you can discover dispersed camping where you can pitch your tent in the great wide open, usually for free.

So, whatever your style of camping, there is something for everyone. But as you can see, there are a ton of resources to comb through.

 Fortunately, there’s an app for that. 

The following apps have been designed to curate a lot of this information for you. From gas prices, traffic, to camp sites, these are the best ones to help you plan and execute your trip successfully. 

 Or to see what is around you in case you want to be spontaneous. 

There are other camping apps available, but with mixed reviews. Later we will have a roundup with a comparison of the most popular ones.

However, I wanted to include these apps as part of the overall road trip experience. Honestly, besides the obvious usefulness as a trip planner, these apps make excellent inspiration boards. 

But where they really shine is for finding last minute places to stay. The value of which can’t

be overstated.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of available apps. However, based on reviews and personal experience we feel comfortable recommending these.

4 Options For Road Trip Car Camping

The best way to describe car camping is to break it down into 4 different types:

1. In your car – exactly what is sounds like
2. Tent camping – not including RV
3. Near your car – aka basecamp
4. On your car – …you’ll see

1. Camping In Your Car

First off, let’s differentiate sleeping in your car from camping in your car. One is a great way to enhance your road trip and be one of the memories you hold onto forever.

The other is at times a necessary evil that you will not quickly forget either.

Sleeping in your car is defined as simply pulling over and laying the seat back for a quick rest.

If you hate a good night’s sleep and have always wanted to know what it will feel like to wake up every morning when you are 80+ years old, try sleeping in your car for a night.

Seriously, I have rolled a car and slept in a car. I felt roughly the same afterward.

Generally, this is only a good idea if you need to catch some z’s for a few hours. It is a much better idea than driving tired. Or avoiding some shady characters at a city park that may or may not allow camping anyway. (Remind me to tell you about that time in Maui.) But a worse idea than most anything else. 

However, if you must sleep in your car there are limitless options.

Parking lots, truck stops, and rest areas all come to mind. However, some are better than others.

 Of all of the places that we have slept in the car, we have reluctantly settled on Walmart parking lots as the choice with the least drawbacks. 

First of all, the culture. Walmart at night is a side of Americana rarely glimpsed anywhere else. 

Just like a rest area, you have 24 hour bathrooms and snacks. But the security cameras in the Wally World parking lots deter most of the serial killers you encounter at rest stops. 

However, there is a better alternative. While pulling off for a few hours technically isn’t camping, there are accessories for actually extending the use of your car into a tent. 

Camping in your car is defined as adding an accessory to turn your car into a temporary RV.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this, depending on the model of vehicle that you have and your ambition.

For example, sleeping in the bed of a truck can be as simple as putting a sleeping mat down. Or, you can add a camper shell and build a full kitchen inside.

The same goes for an SUV. The bigger ones can be slept in by folding down some seats. Or some custom modifications can expand the use of your cargo space into a comfortable fort.

Then there is the cargo tent. These tents attach to a truck or SUV to extend the living space of your vehicle.

The pros of camping in your car:

• You have access to all of the amenities of your car. Plug-ins, air conditioning, heat, and lights.
• You can sleep off of the ground. This is especially beneficial in cooler camping conditions.
• You gain extra space. By combining, your living space is bigger than both your tent or your vehicle.

The cons of camping in your car:

• You can easily run down the battery if you are depending on your car’s accessories.
• Your car becomes immobile until you dismantle the whole thing.

3. Camping Near Your Car

Camping near your car can be as simple as traditional camping. It’s what your parents learned from your grandparents:

Drive to a campsite. Pull out the tent and all of the camping equipment. Set up your tent. Light a campfire.

The pros of camping near your car are:

• You can still use your car without dismantling your tent.
• You can bring more creature comforts than sleeping in your car or backpacking.
• More easily accessible than backpacking.
• You don’t need anything fancy. Even the cheapest tent from Target will do the trick. 

The cons of camping near your car are:

• You lack the accessories like heat and power from your car.
• Generally you are sleeping on the ground as opposed to camping in your car.
• You can’t explore nearly as far as backpacking.

Alternatively, camping near your car can blow away almost everything you know about camping.

• Space – You can pack out your trunk, or cargo space without giving up valuable real estate for sleeping.
• When camping on rocky ground, you will have a flat surface to sleep on.
• A way to bring your car into the “camping with vehicle” conversation.

In reality, it’s the hermit crab of the RV world. I can imagine a mixer with a bunch of sea creatures. The other crabs think that hermits are just trying to get attention. But the snails recognize it as pretentiousness.

The cons of sleeping on your car, truck, or SUV:

• The set up and tear down is usually a little more work than a standard tent. 
• As with other tents attached to vehicles, your car is stationary until you break down the tent.
• You become the target of lightening, mountain goats, and other camper’s jokes.

Ready to hit the road?

So there you have it. A brief primer on road trip car camping.

As you can imagine, we have only touched briefly on each of these forms of road trip car camping. There are dozens of ways that we could cover this subject, but hopefully this gets you started on planning your own road trip.

If you’re ready to gear up, you’ll need something to keep the food cool. Check out our guide to budget coolers, where you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for a decent camping cooler.

Or splurge on a camping fridge. Here is our complete overview of the best camping fridges for all styles of camping. We don’t just pick the best camping fridge, we explain the difference to help you choose for yourself.

And of course, you can’t camp without coffee. Here are all of the ways to make coffee while camping – a full baker’s dozen to make camp coffee.

If car camping doesn’t appeal to you, look for future articles in this series. Coming soon:

• Backpacking
• RV/Overlanding
• Vacation Rentals
• Hotels/motels

In the meantime, check out our post on the 7 Best Road Trips in America (When We Get Back To Traveling) for a little inspiration.

Your Turn!

I hope you find some useful information from this article. The intention is to make planning your own camping trip as seamless as possible.

But if there are any questions we left unanswered, please let us know. You can leave a comment or feel free to send an email.

Speaking of questions, have you seen the 5 Frequently Asked Questions To Consider When Planning a Road Trip?

Where is your favorite place to stay on a road trip?

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The road begins where the driveway ends. We’ll see you on it!

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