Essential Summer Camping Tips

- 2022-10-04

Summer is the most popular camping season and with good reason. But the balmy nights and hot days can present their own unique challenges. Here are a few small things that can go a long way to making your summer camping experience that much better.

1. Keep The Bugs At Bay

There is nothing worse than mosquitoes and other pesky bugs pushing your patience buttons around camp. At night, make sure you limit your lighting to only what you need. Most insects aren’t as attracted to warm yellow light (or red) as they are brighter beams. For your campsite, consider the Yellow Light Cover by OSRAM . It clips onto your Front Runner 10” LED Light Bar and filters the LED light to yellow. In addition, make sure you are covered with insect repellent. There are various non-DEET products available and you could also burn citronella candles. However, in high-risk malaria areas, sleep under a mosquito net and go for a repellent with a high DEET percentage.

2. Keep Your Tent Cool

Keeping your tent cool is crucial during the height of summer. There are various strategies to do this efficiently. These include:

Make sure your tent is in shade for a high percentage of the day
Disassemble it
Open all the vents and doors to allow the circulation of cooler air and stop stuffiness. This is particularly useful with a roof top tent where there is (virtually) no risk of creepy crawlies sneaking in while it is open
Stock your tent with a portable, battery-run fan

3. Sleep Under a Sheet

Even the lightest summer weather-rated bags can get too warm leading to an uncomfortable sleep trap. If you know it’s going to be hot and humid, consider sleeping under a basic cotton sheet.

4. Have a Cold Shower Before Bed

There is a big body of research that suggests having a cold shower before bed helps relax the muscles and slow down your heart rate leading to better sleep. What we do know for sure is that you just ‘feel better’ after a cold shower at the end of a hot day. Our camp shower uses a submersible pump that simply plugs into your cigarette lighter. It features adjustable water flow and comes with a suction cup mounting bracket and shower holder. It can also be used together with the Rack Mount Shower Arm.

5. Keep Your Food Cold

Keeping your perishable goods fresh is a lot more challenging during summer. Also, what is an evening around the campfire without an ice-cold beverage? Not everyone is going to install an auxiliary battery system and run a fridge/freezer. For longer overland trips the Dometic CFX3 fridge features dual temperature compartments that can be set as both a fridge and freezer simultaneously. It features a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth app to remotely control and monitor temperature from anywhere in your vehicle.