Camping hacks

Campers are resourceful folk. An experienced camper carries a certain guile, some might call it street smarts, although 'outdoor smarts' might be more appropriate.

These are people who consciously forgo modern luxuries as they pit their wits against the elements. They are bound to pick up a thing or two along the way.

Ever since we first saw someone tie a glow stick to a tent zipper to help see in the dark, we have been endlessly intrigued and impressed by camping hacks. Camping hacks are life hacks for the wild and they really do help.

When you are in the great outdoors you don't have the common amenities, so these little camping tips and tricks help to help your camping experience to be an enjoyable one.

Forgot your pillow? We have a quick and easy camping hack that's got you covered. Take your sleeping bag out of its bag. Now you go in the sleeping bag, your clothes go in the supply bag. Hey presto, you have made yourself a pillow.  

Instead of bringing kitchen paper or tea towels, bring something that is practically made for the wild - microfiber. It's super absorbent and lightweight. It dries better than tea towels and won't perish easily like kitchen towels. You're welcome!

Packing soap can be annoying. It's wet, it's sticky and tends to ruin everything. That is why some Einsteins among us came up with single-use-soap. When you're at home, grab a bar of soap and cut it into thin slices using a vegetable peeler. Throw a few dozen mini strips into a zip lock bag and away you go. Use a fresh slice of soap every time. No mess, no fuss. 

If your smartphone somehow ended up in the lake, you could still save it. Remove the battery if you can and put everything in that bag of rice your vegan buddy brought. Leave it there a couple of days before you try to turn it back on. Fingers crossed!

To make your camping trips enjoyable for the whole family, you need to carefully plan how you will entertain the little ones. If your kids run out of fun ideas of their own and your cries of “just go and play!” stop working, you’ll have a mutiny on your hands.

Make your next camping trip a guaranteed fun experience by putting together a bad weather/boredom buster box beforehand. Pack it full of craft items, board games, and books you know your kids will enjoy.

You can also pack the items and tools you need to create the aforementioned DIY camping gadgets. This will undoubtedly stop the kids from moping around inside the tent if the weather turns bad.

If the weather is boring you to death as well, you can pretend like you came up with these camping hacks and ideas right there on the spot. The younger, more gullible members of the family will be beyond impressed and you’ll get a good kick out of it.

There are no quick and easy camping hacks and tricks to cool yourself when you’re hanging around in a tent on a hot summer’s night.

But if the heat starts driving you really crazy, perhaps there’s one other thing you could try. Of all the camping hacks and tricks you’ll find, none of them are as cool as this one.

Grab some ice, a battery-powered fan, and the largest styrofoam cooler you can find. Cut a hole near the handle of the cooler, on a short side of the lid. It should be an inch smaller than the fan.

Make vent holes on the opposite side of the cooler. They should be three inches from the bottom. The combined size of the vent holes shouldn’t be bigger than the fan hole.

Fill the cooler with ice blocks. The larger the blocks, the longer they will hold. Set the fan so that it blows air into the hole. Secure it with some duct tape. When you turn it on, chilled air will run out of the vent holes.

That’s it, you have air conditioning at the camp! It may not seem like much, but it’s a life-saver in unbearable temperatures.

Dryer Lint Firestarter

Extending the use of the cardboard toilet paper roll, you can also use it to start the campfire. Insert some dryer lint into the tube and watch the fire go up like crazy.

Nesting Ware is the Way

If you’re an RV camping enthusiast, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. Nesting ware is the type of plates and bowls that fit inside one another. You’ll need to save as much space as possible when you’re camping, so you want to have plastic nesting ware with you at all times.

Use hand sanitizer to start a germ-free fire in a pinch.

 Add bacon to your s’mores (you can thank me later!)

Want a change from the classic campfire treat? Add a little cooked bacon and you will be enjoying a mouth-watering variation on the traditional treat. Don’t forget to pack the roasting sticks and smores ingredients!

Thread a pool noodle onto slides for visibility and cushion.

Avoid the headache you get from banging your head on low-hanging structures. It’s easy to walk into the sharp corner of a slide out of taller rigs (especially A class motorhomes and fifth wheel trailers). Cut a foam pool noodle to the length you want to cushion, then, slice it down the side to create an opening. Slide the noodle over the edge of the slide. It’s best to choose a bright colored noodle that is visible during daytime and nighttime hours.

Disconnect your RV batteries when parked in storage to avoid parasitic draw.

You can camp almost anywhere if you have healthy RV batteries. But often times RV electrical systems will have small parasitic draws, things like the clock on your radio for example, that will slowly but surely drain your batteries down to nothing. For optimal performance and maximum life expectancy out of your batteries, practice this tip. When Your RV is not in use, simply disconnect your batteries from your RV electrical system. The batteries will last much longer, fully charged, and you should have plenty of juice for that next weekend trip!

DIY Tank Cleaner

You surely don’t want to mess with your toilet when you have to travel with it! But, toilets are a hassle to clean and the reek seems to be a real headache in a small place like an RV or camper. Well, this DIY solution is one of the most effective RV hacks for cleaning up your dirty old holding tanks. Before you set out on your next day on the road, pick up a bag or two of ice. Pour the ice down your toilet, into your holding tank, and head out on the road. The agitation of the ice cubes moving around while you drive will scrub the inside of your holding tank walls and break up any junk.  The easy part is, the ice will melt, and you simply "dump" away. This trick will leave your tank as clean as a whistle.

Getting Better Wi-Fi Signal

This is one of the camper hacks that every social media and internet-addicted camper will welcome with open arms. Lots of campsite gives access to Wi-Fi, but you won’t get a good signal at every spot. Your RV is one of the worst problems. You are often times sitting inside of a tin can. Reception doesn't travel well through objects, especially metal ones like RV's are often made of. But a Wifi reception booster (which is nothing more than a $20 fix) will help this problem and enhance the signal.