Checklist for Camping

If you're a first time camper, there's a campers check list of must have thing's you're going to have to buy before you hit the road. Weather you're traveling with a tent, or a trailer there's basic supplies every camper needs make the best of their vacation.

For beginners most of the suggested camping checklist gear is available at your local Canadian Tire, Wal-mart, Sears or other large retail stores that carry outdoor sporting products. If you're looking for more specific products for your trip, specialty outdoor stores such as Bass Pro Shop, Sail or MEC have a large variety of products for everyone's needs.

Depending on the Camping season your camping checkilist can be quite different. Winter tent camping can be a bit more of an adventure for experienced campers, who have invested in more expensive and weather proof tents and camping gear.  Your winter camping checklist will often requires more quality brand name equipment that can with stand the cold season and keep you warm. The summer is the best time to start tent camping, summer tent camping weather is much more pleasant during the night and day. 

The kind of car you have is going to determine how much, and what size of equipment you can bring. It's important to know the towing capacity of your vehicle if you're going to pull a trailer. Most people start out tent camping, because it's usually the cheapest way to start out camping.  So lets talk about the camping checklist you'll need to get ready for your trip!

Camping Check List:
-Tent - they come in all colours and capacity sizes ranging from 1 to 10 people. 
  Pick the one that best suits you're camping plans & budget.
-Sleeping Bag - Choose one that will keep you warm through out the whole season (May - October). Different sleeping bags offer different levels of warmth.
-Cooler 
-Camping Lantern 
-Flashlight
-First aid kit
-Foldable Chairs
-Axe (appropriate size for chopping blocks of wood)
-Matches & Lighter 
-Rope
-Tarpaulin(polyethylene) -something big enough to hang over your tent to create shade and shelter from rain using rope

-Campers Stove & appropriate fuel (unless you plan on doing all your meals over the fire!)
-Water container
-Cooking utensils
-Cutlery/plates/bowls/pots/pans
-Table cloth & table cloth clamps  
-Pocket knife (multi tool)
-Bug spray, don't forget the bug spray!

Other things to consider for your camping checklist which can make tent camping a little more comfortable and enjoyable:
-air beds (though piling a few blankets under your sleeping bag can do the job!)
-screen house - great for keeping flies and misquotes off the picnic table, you and your food. 
-games (badminton, bocce ball, cards etc)
-marshmallows 

Don't forget to pack extra outdoor camping essentials for a great day at the beach, on a boat or for taking a hike on a trail. Other things to add to your camping checklist can include towels, beach blankets, hiking shoes, sunscreen lotion & anything else to get you through the days.

Tent Trailer Camping

If you’ve been an experienced tent camper for years and want to invest in camping more than the next thing on your camping checklist is a Tent Trailer.

When purchasing a tent trailer your camping checklist is going to require some big changes, but the basic camping checklist will still be important to bring with you every time. The first thing to consider is the towing capacity of your vehicle, and what kind of Tent trailer you want and can tow.

Keep in mind if you enjoy camping, you might want to start thinking about your future car a year or two ahead before you make a vehicle change. If you want to upgrade from tent camping to Trailer camping your car is not only going to have to fit everything on your ‘camping checklist’, but also have the power to tow a camping trailer behind your vehicle.
If you own a mini van or a small SUV, a tent trailer or small travel trailer weighing less than 3000 LB is something you might want to consider purchasing. Your vehicle must match the towing specifications of the tent trailer you dream of having one day.
Mini vans and small SUVs have a towing capacity around 3500 lb so they can accommodate pulling all kind of tent trailer and small travel trailers. Any RV dealers will advise you what kind of equipment applies to your car and your tent trailer. If you’re not sure you can ask your car dealer for exact specifications.
If you are switching from tent to a tent trailer you’re going to need a tent trailer checklist to help you adjust to your new way of camping.
For safety reasons, a proper hitch and proper towing equipment like weight distribution hitch and sway control are essential, talk to your car dealer or tent trailer dealer for more info. You’ll also have to add a set of towing mirrors to your camping checklist, it will make your trip easier and safer.
You may consider to buying a solar panel to charge your trailer battery so you can camp in the park without using hydro camping sites.
Not all tent trailer are equipped with a toilet ,so buying a portable one is worth it. A portable toilet in your camping travel trailer can be very handy at night, especially if you have small kids. Portable toilets for camping are available at stores such as Canadian Tire and in every RV dealer store.
Most Tent trailers and travel trailers are equipped with an optional gas furnace, but they can be noisy. If you do not want to be woken up in the middle of the night by your tent trailers furnace buying a small electric heater is a great option. Look for a quiet one with a thermostat so you can adjust the temperature, some include a remote control to make things easier. Heaters for a tent trailer must be with a fan, oil based heaters will not do the job.
Don’t forget the wheel chock for your tent trailer, this slides under your trailer tires when you are parking your travel trailer at the camp site. It’s essential for your tent trailer when camping unless you want to chase your trailer down a slope after unhooking it from your vehicle.

Have a look at the Tent camping checklist above for many of the essential camping gear you’re going to have to bring with you no matter what kind of tent or camping trailer you have.

For more information about what to pack read the Camping Checklist here

 

Travel Trailer Camping

If you want to go camping in a travel trailer,  you’re going to need a larger car such as an SUV or a pickup truck. If you already have the larger vehicle you’re already likely in the market looking to buy a travel trailer for camping. Travel trailer’s today offer all kinds of comfort with a full bathroom, shower, separate sleeping areas, televisions, and even a fire place. Many travel trailer’s offer a slide out option, so the trailer expands and has a larger floor plan with extra couches, bunk beds to accommodate all your family and friends. 

Keep in mind that the towing capacity of your vehicle is an important key factor in choosing a travel trailer To pull a travel trailer with your vehicle you‘re going to need to purchase a proper hitch with weight distribution and sway control. The Equalizer Hitch weight distribution is a great choice because it has sway control built in and allows you to back up your vehicle evenly without readjusting anything on you’re your hitch, trailer or vehicle.

If you’re backing up with a regular hitch that has chain weight distribution you must disable the sway control bar before you back up or you will destroy the sway control.
Your towing hitch and weight distribution hitch specification must be appropriate with the weight of the trailer you going to tow. It’s very important that your vehicle is matched with your travel trailer weight, if in doubt ask your car dealer and your RV dealer. Your safety and safety of your family shouldn’t be compromised, so good quality towing equipment is worth the extra cost.
 
The larger your travel trailer, the less space you might have on the actual camping site so plan ahead and make your reservation in advance. Down the road you may discover that you need some additional equipment to make camping in your travel trailer  more enjoyable . RV dealer and many stores like Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart and many others offers many additional equipment and products to keep your trailer in good shape all year around.

Click here for more info about what to bring with you from your Camping Checklist

Buying a Camping Trailer

The cheapest way to start camping is with a tent.  Depending on the type of camping equipment you want to buy, it can cost a few hundred dollars to buy a new tent and the necessary things mentioned in the camping checklist before.

When you start to thinking of buying a pop-up trailer or travel trailer there's a few thing to consider before you make a final decision.

Your vehicle towing capacity determinate the maximum weight of a camping trailer you can buy. For the safety reason the weight of the trailer should never exceeds your vehicle towing capacity, in fact you should always stay below it. Keep in mind that that you are going to load your camping trailer with some extra stuff and that can add a extra weight to your trailer.

If you're open minded about what kind of trailer you want to buy, the best bet it to visit an RV show. 

With every kind of the camping trailer on display is a very good place to explore all your options, and gather all necessary information before you make a final decision on what kind of camping trailer to buy.

Another thing to consider is a storage. Depends of the size of the camping trailer you may not be able to park it on your driveway.   Some municipalities prohibit it at all ,and you will need a storage parking space for your camping trailer for the winter season.

Trailer insurance is another thing a camping trailer owner must to have.

Your car insurance agent will offer you insurance for your camping trailer or you may contact insurance specializing in camping trailer insurance.

Before you put your camping trailer away for the winter time do not forget to winterize it. You can do it for yourself or any RV dealer can do it for you(forgetting it can be costly).

For more information about what to get for your camping checklist click here

Where to Go Camping in Ontario

Camping season may seem like its still a while away, but now is the time to start planing. Veteran campers have likely already made their summer plans but if you're new to the summer activity you might be confused where to begin your planing. For many, camping is an unforgettable experience. The scenery, wildlife, fishing, canoeing, lakes, spectacular landscape, and night skies away from the city are often worth the drive.

The first thing to consider is where you want to go. There's many private parks in Ontario, but most of them are seasonal trailer parks with limited spaces for occasional campers. A good choice is an Ontario Provincial Park and there's is many reason why.

There's many provincial parks in Ontario  with a variety different environments and resources for different types of camper with the smallest tent to the largest trailers. Provincial parks accommodate a lot of people every year and have many resources available to make your trip an enjoyable one for you, your friends and family. Provincial Parks are set up and maintained by the park keepers and provide each site with a picnic table and a fire pit. For an additional fee parks also give you the choice of electric or non electric site. While most parks are surrounded by nature trails (ranging from short distance, to all day excursion ) and beautiful lakes for your enjoyment, they also offer equipment rentals such as canoes, kayaks, bicycles, fishing and camping equipment. Most importantly provincial parks provide a great sense of security, they are supervised by park staff 24/7.

There's 329 Provincial Parks in Ontario, so just about every level of camper can find what they're looking for when deciding where to go. If you're looking to get away for the weekend, you'll likely want to choose a park that isn't too far of a drive from home, but if you're considering a longer getaway, for a week or two, it's worth the longer drives to parks located in norther Ontario.

The big question is where to go? Likely one of the most popular park with visitors from all over the world is Algonquin Provincial Park. Located east of Huntsville ,ON. Algonquin has 12 separate parks most located along the 56km stretch of Highway 60. With a beautiful variety of nature trails, historic museums, Visitor Centre, camping environments, wildlife and thousand of lakes, you have an endless list of things to do and see. The only way to explore the interior of the park is by canoe.

Another great park is Killbear Provincial Park. Paradise for swimming, boating and fishing. The sandy beaches are beautiful surrounded by rocky shorelines. It's worth heading over here for the spectacular Georgian Bay sunset.

Grundy Lake Provincial Park located short driving distance from Sudbury or Parry Sound ON has a motor boat restriction, which makes it a perfect and quiet getaway for relaxing on the beach, canoing, fishing (if you can find the spot) while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

I've mentioned only a few parks, but with over 300 to choose from it comes down to what you want. Once you travel around to different parks, you'll quickly discover which ones are your favourite that you'll want to go back to year after year.

With the growing popularity to go camping, there's a great demand so you must plan ahead and make your reservation months in advance. The summer season (from July to September) is very popular, and the best camping spots in the most popular parks  are often booked in advance.It's never to early to book your spots,  especially when you can reserve 5 months in advance. Do not wait, It's time to prepare for your trip.  So plan ahead! Grab an Ontario Parks booklet from any Tourist Information Centre or visit www.OntarioParks.com for more information.