John Morrow
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Looks soooooo gooood. I hate to admit it. Man, I don't eat that well at home! Am I remembering right, did you take a Pacific Ocean fishing trip a while back?
John
Your car camping cooking setup
- Thread starter Outdoors24
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Looks soooooo gooood. I hate to admit it. Man, I don't eat that well at home! Am I remembering right, did you take a Pacific Ocean fishing trip a while back?
John
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6.5 foot
Not really. We went to Alaska last summer and technically did spend an afternoon on a boat fishing, but there was no catching.
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5S, nope- I don't know, but I will look it up. This morning I was thinking we need a "Marie Kondo" approach for the car camping cooking set up. But it sounds like you have some good ideas, so yes, pls, some photos next time!
Outdoors24
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I have a Yeti cooler and have enjoyed it. It has done well on road trips. I also know someone who has the RTIC brand of cooler and liked it as well.
@Nick I have something similar looking to a Partner Stove. I think it's a Brunton Stove. I got at a yard sale a few years ago. Your pictures reminded me that I need to actually try using it.
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Kullaberg63
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I’m fully against any camping creeping close in comfort to home life.
Car camping is just a small step up from backpacking on my trips: cooler, better mattress, more TP.
Car camping is just a small step up from backpacking on my trips: cooler, better mattress, more TP.
Wyatt Carson
Desert Vagabond
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Cooksets...
We use many of the same backpacking items for car camping as we have learned that less is more there as well. I got rid of all my cast iron. This Black Forest cake backed in a titanium pot on a canister stove. Girlfriend wants them no other way now. They are that good.
Double boiler, two nesting ti pots with both lids too,
We can make gourmet soups and stews in the ti pots, no problem and real chocolate pudding with eggs, cream and backers chocolate too.
For pancakes, chicken or burgers a good skillet with a lid is perfect and we found a stainless skillet that works but we have our eyes on the Jetboil Summit Skillet for its ceramic, nonstick coating and thicker bottom and overal stock which is essential for any real skillet. This would be bast for any bread, egg or cheese creations and we love making pizza out there. An 8” skillet is perfect for two people. When the price comes down I’m getting it me.
We can keep block ice for more than five days in our kid Rubbermaid ice chest if we sit in on the back seat, put a closed cell mat around it from back to top and over the front with a towel wrapped up both sides and held by a single strap.
Now we will default to a big honking tent, Helinox cots and chairs with a great REI folding table for the amazing comforts but we try to keep everything to a low roar.
We use many of the same backpacking items for car camping as we have learned that less is more there as well. I got rid of all my cast iron. This Black Forest cake backed in a titanium pot on a canister stove. Girlfriend wants them no other way now. They are that good.
Double boiler, two nesting ti pots with both lids too,
We can make gourmet soups and stews in the ti pots, no problem and real chocolate pudding with eggs, cream and backers chocolate too.
For pancakes, chicken or burgers a good skillet with a lid is perfect and we found a stainless skillet that works but we have our eyes on the Jetboil Summit Skillet for its ceramic, nonstick coating and thicker bottom and overal stock which is essential for any real skillet. This would be bast for any bread, egg or cheese creations and we love making pizza out there. An 8” skillet is perfect for two people. When the price comes down I’m getting it me.
We can keep block ice for more than five days in our kid Rubbermaid ice chest if we sit in on the back seat, put a closed cell mat around it from back to top and over the front with a towel wrapped up both sides and held by a single strap.
Now we will default to a big honking tent, Helinox cots and chairs with a great REI folding table for the amazing comforts but we try to keep everything to a low roar.
Yvonne
I lava it!!!
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- Jan 19, 2012
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I car camp most of the time and love to have my grill, bigger pots for cooking.
I do not like any of the backpacking meals because most do not taste really well and have way too much salt in it.
For car camping, I usually have everything from wine glasses to several pots and pans and I usually cook real dinner.
I use my tabletop grill plus my backpacking stove and then have an additional box where all the kitchen utensils, plates, glasses, and other stuff is
I do not like any of the backpacking meals because most do not taste really well and have way too much salt in it.
For car camping, I usually have everything from wine glasses to several pots and pans and I usually cook real dinner.
I use my tabletop grill plus my backpacking stove and then have an additional box where all the kitchen utensils, plates, glasses, and other stuff is
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Great tips and ideas, everyone! Thanks for sharing.
Here are our thoughts:
* Totally agree with Nick and Dennis on block ice. We make our blocks in both rectangular and square pyrex dishes. Pop out the blocks and use them to line the bottom of your cooler. We also make our own cubed ice : some in regular-sized ice cube trays and some in mini-cube trays. We use the regular-sized cubes to fill in around our food and the mini-cubes to fill in any remaining pockets of air.
* We use Yeti-knock-off coolers. The brand we went with is Canyon Coolers. Superb customer service. 40% cheaper than Yeti. Always pre-chill your cooler by placing a sacrificial bag of ice in the cooler the day before you plan to load it up. We take out the sacrificial bag, use towels to soak up any water, and put that bag back in the freezer to use again before the next camping trip.
* We pre-make a fair amount of our dinners. For example, when I make a batch of chili I always make extra for camping. We then vacuum-seal single servings and freeze them after placing the sealed bags on a rimmed baking sheet (so that they freeze flat). We then pull that meal from the cooler when we get back to camp after hiking to get it thawing. Then place the bag in a pot of boiling water to re-heat. Stews, pasta sauce, Asian meals, preferably any dish that has a liquid/sauce component (for better heat transfer) is good. And I try to get as many veggies as possible in the meal so it's a one-dish, healthy affair. We then use the "boiling water" for cleanup or keep it for the next night's dinner. Cleanup is a breeze and the frozen food acts as "ice" until consumed.
* With the above system we can be out for a full week without needing a grocery store or additional ice. Having said all that.....I still think "what if we had just bit the bullet and ponied up for an electric fridge and solar power in the first place". Back when we bought the coolers there was a larger price difference (ice cooler versus electric fridge), solar panels were rather expensive, and I don't think the fridges were as efficient. Definitely worth consideration now.
* Completely agree with regehr on the prepared "salad in a bag", especially the cabbage-based ones as they seem to keep longer. We dump the contents into a gallon-size ziplock baggie, seal it, and rotate-and-shake to get the salad dressing dispersed. No tongs or bowl to clean up.
* Have tried these produce bags to keep veggies and fruits fresh for longer, but can't really say that they made much of a difference. Produce Bags
* For a stove we have the traditional green Coleman, two-burner stove that has taken a fair amount of abuse and has never failed us. We also have a Baby Coleman Grill that works quite well for just the two of us. Those campstoves that Nick recommended, though, look really nice.
* As far as pots and pans go we travel with only one square, flat non-stick pan; one big-ish pot (for boiling water for evening dinners and heating water for showers); and an old-fashioned percolator. Actually, we've taken to using the Starbuck's instant coffee "sticks" so the percolator has pretty much become a smaller vessel for boiling water.
* As far as organization goes, not too long ago I found some great, see-through bins at Michael's that I'm very happy with - Clear Bins with Lids. They come in a variety of sizes, the lids really lock into place, and I've yet to find any of that fine, orange Utah sand inside so they seem to be rather air-tight. For utensils and less bulky items we use these slimmer cases - Slim Cases. We never have to dig through a bin to find something and they keep us organized.
* We use two white, plastic tables that you can find at Walmart and Costco. Try to find the ones that have a lower-profile table top (less weight). We can easily get by with one, but like the extra counter space of two. One downside is that I just can't seem to scrub out some of the dirt so they look permanently dirty. If I had to do it over again I think I'd look into aluminum tables. Another thing...Blake affixed (using screws) "loops" of webbing to the underside of the white tables from which we hang kitchen towels.
* For Blake's poached eggs we use these - Egg Poacher. All you have to clean are these "capsules" and you can use the hot water from the pot for cleaning breakfast dishes. Speaking of eggs and breakfast.....To reduce greasy cleanup and, therefore, water consumption, we pre-cook bacon or bring along those pre-cooked breakfast sausages. Wrap them in foil and pop into the mini-grill (above) or place in a pan over the cookstove to reheat. We like this inexpensive toaster. Toaster If we want a quick breakfast we pack ziplock baggies with a single serving size of instant oatmeal (with brown sugar, walnuts, some dried milk, etc. mixed in). Just add hot water and you can even eat out of the baggie.
* Some friends gave us a great tip...Spray-rinse your soapy dishes with a spray-bottle filled with water and a tiny amount of Clorox. Uses less water than traditional rinsing. Another tip from them is to bring an empty laundry detergent bottle (the kind with a plunger-spout and lays on it side) filled with water and a very small amount of soap for quick hand-cleaning.
* I know this has nothing whatsoever to do with cooking, but we can't say enough positive things about our Helio shower. Helio Shower I read that one of you is trying to get your spouse into camping and this might break down one more barrier. If it's cold or windy we string up a tarp as a wind-break and shower away. Makes all the difference after a hot-n-sweaty hike. We use a simple water siphon like this one (Siphon) to easily get heated water from our big pot into the shower bag.
* I'll shut up now!
Here are our thoughts:
* Totally agree with Nick and Dennis on block ice. We make our blocks in both rectangular and square pyrex dishes. Pop out the blocks and use them to line the bottom of your cooler. We also make our own cubed ice : some in regular-sized ice cube trays and some in mini-cube trays. We use the regular-sized cubes to fill in around our food and the mini-cubes to fill in any remaining pockets of air.
* We use Yeti-knock-off coolers. The brand we went with is Canyon Coolers. Superb customer service. 40% cheaper than Yeti. Always pre-chill your cooler by placing a sacrificial bag of ice in the cooler the day before you plan to load it up. We take out the sacrificial bag, use towels to soak up any water, and put that bag back in the freezer to use again before the next camping trip.
* We pre-make a fair amount of our dinners. For example, when I make a batch of chili I always make extra for camping. We then vacuum-seal single servings and freeze them after placing the sealed bags on a rimmed baking sheet (so that they freeze flat). We then pull that meal from the cooler when we get back to camp after hiking to get it thawing. Then place the bag in a pot of boiling water to re-heat. Stews, pasta sauce, Asian meals, preferably any dish that has a liquid/sauce component (for better heat transfer) is good. And I try to get as many veggies as possible in the meal so it's a one-dish, healthy affair. We then use the "boiling water" for cleanup or keep it for the next night's dinner. Cleanup is a breeze and the frozen food acts as "ice" until consumed.
* With the above system we can be out for a full week without needing a grocery store or additional ice. Having said all that.....I still think "what if we had just bit the bullet and ponied up for an electric fridge and solar power in the first place". Back when we bought the coolers there was a larger price difference (ice cooler versus electric fridge), solar panels were rather expensive, and I don't think the fridges were as efficient. Definitely worth consideration now.
* Completely agree with regehr on the prepared "salad in a bag", especially the cabbage-based ones as they seem to keep longer. We dump the contents into a gallon-size ziplock baggie, seal it, and rotate-and-shake to get the salad dressing dispersed. No tongs or bowl to clean up.
* Have tried these produce bags to keep veggies and fruits fresh for longer, but can't really say that they made much of a difference. Produce Bags
* For a stove we have the traditional green Coleman, two-burner stove that has taken a fair amount of abuse and has never failed us. We also have a Baby Coleman Grill that works quite well for just the two of us. Those campstoves that Nick recommended, though, look really nice.
* As far as pots and pans go we travel with only one square, flat non-stick pan; one big-ish pot (for boiling water for evening dinners and heating water for showers); and an old-fashioned percolator. Actually, we've taken to using the Starbuck's instant coffee "sticks" so the percolator has pretty much become a smaller vessel for boiling water.
* As far as organization goes, not too long ago I found some great, see-through bins at Michael's that I'm very happy with - Clear Bins with Lids. They come in a variety of sizes, the lids really lock into place, and I've yet to find any of that fine, orange Utah sand inside so they seem to be rather air-tight. For utensils and less bulky items we use these slimmer cases - Slim Cases. We never have to dig through a bin to find something and they keep us organized.
* We use two white, plastic tables that you can find at Walmart and Costco. Try to find the ones that have a lower-profile table top (less weight). We can easily get by with one, but like the extra counter space of two. One downside is that I just can't seem to scrub out some of the dirt so they look permanently dirty. If I had to do it over again I think I'd look into aluminum tables. Another thing...Blake affixed (using screws) "loops" of webbing to the underside of the white tables from which we hang kitchen towels.
* For Blake's poached eggs we use these - Egg Poacher. All you have to clean are these "capsules" and you can use the hot water from the pot for cleaning breakfast dishes. Speaking of eggs and breakfast.....To reduce greasy cleanup and, therefore, water consumption, we pre-cook bacon or bring along those pre-cooked breakfast sausages. Wrap them in foil and pop into the mini-grill (above) or place in a pan over the cookstove to reheat. We like this inexpensive toaster. Toaster If we want a quick breakfast we pack ziplock baggies with a single serving size of instant oatmeal (with brown sugar, walnuts, some dried milk, etc. mixed in). Just add hot water and you can even eat out of the baggie.
* Some friends gave us a great tip...Spray-rinse your soapy dishes with a spray-bottle filled with water and a tiny amount of Clorox. Uses less water than traditional rinsing. Another tip from them is to bring an empty laundry detergent bottle (the kind with a plunger-spout and lays on it side) filled with water and a very small amount of soap for quick hand-cleaning.
* I know this has nothing whatsoever to do with cooking, but we can't say enough positive things about our Helio shower. Helio Shower I read that one of you is trying to get your spouse into camping and this might break down one more barrier. If it's cold or windy we string up a tarp as a wind-break and shower away. Makes all the difference after a hot-n-sweaty hike. We use a simple water siphon like this one (Siphon) to easily get heated water from our big pot into the shower bag.
* I'll shut up now!
I started with WW 2 footlockers for most of my supplies . I have now started using Plano plastic storage boxes . The footlockers were great but got heavy over time because you can load them up with things you will never use . Cook setup is just a 3 burner Coleman propane stove , a Coleman 4 person dining set . Don’t usually get real in depth with food , mostly canned items . 5 gallon water jug , I have a yeti cooler and it does good , but we camp around 7000’ in forest so it isn’t real hot. All the camp grounds I go to have a solid picnic table. After a few days if we have a hunkering for a certain food we will run into town about 30 mins and grab it . We usually wait for the drive home though . We spend our days fishing and hiking so we keep the food thing simple so when we get back to camp it’s quick and easy to get dinner going . We have bear boxes here as well so everything goes from the truck straight to the bear box. The bear box also doubles as a counter to place the stove and water jug on
Last edited:
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Thanks for the tip about Food for the Sole. My husband usually hates freeze dried meals but we need to figure out lightweight food for a few upcoming trips and have been doing some taste testing. These are great - thank you again!* Nope- regular cooler, but we go in late fall/winter, so it's less of an issue. (What is an issue is finding fresh produce in the areas we go).
* I think you have an excellent chance of getting her into backpacking by trying car camping first. We have never been closer to getting a backpack.
* IME the food desire/interest changes in the wilderness/outdoors when you are surrounded by a sunset or sunrise, the moon, the stars, a campfire- your wife might surprise you. I eat some food in the wilderness, which I would never eat at home, like chicken ramen noodles for breakfast, ha. In contrast I have no desire to eat my normal cold breakfast. The "Food for the Sole" bags have A LOT more taste than many other brands we tried. We are still trying to re-create the taste of those first 2 freeze dried meals at home
ramblinman
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- Aug 26, 2014
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Thanks for the tip on Food for the Sole. I've been looking for a good dehydrator cookbook and that seems like the ticket.
I'm curious what methods you all have for cleaning dishes while car camping. From the little research I've done online, using a washtub or two seems like the best approach. The backcountry method for doing dishes is not particularly efficient or fun when you have more than a few dishes to clean.
I'm curious what methods you all have for cleaning dishes while car camping. From the little research I've done online, using a washtub or two seems like the best approach. The backcountry method for doing dishes is not particularly efficient or fun when you have more than a few dishes to clean.
Yvonne
I lava it!!!
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I have a collapsible sink/tub, which is pretty awesome. It has a handle, so if I camp in a developed campground with a cleaning station, I can carry all my dishes there and clean them.
ust FlexWare Sink - 8.5L | REI Co-op
Outdoor convenience in a light compact package, the ust 8.5L FlexWare Sink makes washing the camp dishes quick and easy.
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For car camping clean up, we heated water on the stove, poured it into one washtub, added soap, washed in that tub using cloth or sponge, then rinsed in the second "clean" washtub. Anything really dirty/greasy got wiped before going in the soapy washtub. Lots of cloths/towels were really helpful to dry the dishes or - my preferred method - lay on a table so the dishes/pots could air dry. Having two same size washtubs (~12 Qt) saves storage space when traveling or not in use.
IntrepidXJ
ADVENTR
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- Jan 17, 2012
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Just use a Jetboil....but I do love the fridge in the back of the Jeep for cold drinks anytime.
mike_offerman
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Just noticed that the fire pit is on sale for the next 3.5 hours for 40% off.
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Killer deal!
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regehr
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Every now and then someone will put one on KSL not realizing what they have. I bought a 4 burner on there last year for $100. Re-sold it to finance my 2 burner.