What to take

Cowboy7307 · Senior Member

What to take

Smokeydk · Guru

A shower tent and porta potty for the lady.....is essential.....

depending on what you going to do.........watch TV etc......or lighting......you will require 12 volt

cheapest way is buying a 1900 purple jumpstarter from Supercheap Auto.... they are 38amphour..can recharge from your vehicle cig lighter while travelling.....lots of LED lights available too...from $7 running 3 AAA batteries..or get plugin..12 volt lights running off Jumpstarter...

if you go to Bunnings or Mtre 10....you can buy those Hills 7 lt weed sprayers...remove the nozzle and replace with a garden hose trigger nozzle.....fill with warm water pressure pump it up and you have a shower

theres lots of ways you can camp cheap......they are only couple examples

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Guess it comes down to what you feel you need for a liveable life whilst camped in the bush.

Whats different when camping in the bush compared to a Caravan Park.

Basically no 240v, no amenities block, no camp kitchen, no street lighting, and no rubbish disposal.

If you need to have your van lights working, TV, microwave, computer running, power to charge your phone/camera batteries etc etc then as you have no 12v setup you will need a genny. Otherwise, purchase a lantern for light (battery, gas, or dual fuel), a couple of torches, and away you go.

Re the porta potty, many of the Camps Books listed sites have some sort of toilet, however some Long Drop Loos can be a little off putting. So a shower/toilet tent for the porta potty may be in order.

Note: "Smokey" posted as I was typing and agree with his comments

Esmeralda · Guru

I thought I would do without a porta potty but it only took a couple of minus nights when I was in Canberra to make me change my mind. Also thought it would give me more options when free camping - only the shower (as mentioned by Smokey above) and a portable shower tent to go as I already have the battery.

villatranquilla · Guru

Really depends on how many nights free camping you want and how simple you want to keep it

A coleman rechargeable light is good - can be charged via car or 240v - will last about 8 hrs - also use booklights for reading, and a battery headlamp is also a must as it leaves the hands free if cooking on a camp fire- portapotti for us girls - and minimum of 60 lts of water should see you OK for a few days

-- Edited by villatranquilla on Wednesday 22nd of June 2011 01:48:36 PM

Happywanderer · The Master

Definitely need a Portapotti. I only use mine once bed made up and to cold to get out of van to use the long drop which I won't use in the dark anyway, Spiders, bugs etc.
Not all free camps have the toilets supplied, quite a lot only have trees and a table under shelter.
They have those headlamps at Switched on Electronics here in Echuca for 9.95 at the moment.
You can also get an inverter that plugs in to ciggie lighter for charging things but its a modified, not pure sine wave. Would be good as a back up.
A portable gas cooker with the gas cans is a great investment if you don't have a lot of power in the freecamping situation.

Nicholstones · Guru

Why does everyone reckon that porta-pottys are only for 'the girls'? In our household John would go overnight 5 times as often as I do. Don't tell me that you all think its acceptable for the blokes to just pee wherever they like. Why would you want to camp out in the bush then turn it all into one giant toilet?

Esmeralda · Guru

I agree Wendy, too many guys think the world is their toilet.