"Camping in the car? Are you nuts?"
People have been asking me this ever since I first started doing this in 2007. Hey! Why not? Its a lot of fun once you get into the zone and its a lot cheaper too! I did a 22-day Ladakh circuit solo for under 10K (minus fuel). The only place I actually used a hotel was in Leh town.
Listing down the iten from my last such car-camping trip - an 8-day trip in late-2015 to Spiti. Hope this helps you plan your own!
Modus-operandi on this trip was similar to the previous, longer (28-days) solo-Ladakh circuit earlier that year but with some key changes.
The rear 2 seats are removed prior to a trip leaving the frame behind. The seat frame doubles up as a support for the hinged wooden plank that goes on top to act as the bed for sleeping. Boxes containing supplies fit snugly under the frame.
Carried Groceries from Delhi, but this time used stock Tropicool iceboxes to carry them. On my first car-camping trip to Ladakh trip 2 years prior, had carried a a carton of 12x1L bottles and the grocery items were also in cardboard cartons. The boxes disintegrated completely by Day 4 and created a mighty mess for me to clean up in Leh.
6 of these boxes fit perfectly into the rear bay and were more than enough for supplies for 2 of us for 10 odd-days.
Instead of buying a carton of 1L water-bottles, carried 2x5L cans with a cheap dispenser purchased off ebay. Worked perfectly. Replenished locally enroute.
Breakfast was either cornflakes with cold milk (carried in tetrapaks) or poha (Recipe). Lunch was procured locally from dhaba's enroute. Dinner was always barbequed meat, usually chicken. Meat procured locally, cut and marinated at butchers place and cooked later on the home-made BBQ in the evening. Went wonderfully with my evening Rum! Kerala style dried beef jerky was a wonderful high-protein snack and usually the first thing on a trip to get over! Mainly because it gets used for everything - snacking between meals, accompaniment to drinks or even as a substitute for papad/achar when having regular meals. A bit of a challenge to make in the cities though. Fruit's were procured locally as available and they served as a useful backup snack to have on the go.
Electric Kettle onboard did yeoman duty throughout all trips. Heating water for poha, morning & evening tea/coffee and so on. Seriously: most useful tool for car-camping. Getting a good electric kettle should be the first step in preparing for car-camping! :)
I did not have an air mattress then. Carried two rajai's from Delhi - one of which was laid out to serve as a mattress, the other to pull over. Comfortable for one, cozy for 2! ;)
Note: borrowed a friends air-mattress to test-drive that idea. Very limited headroom. Also, it can get pretty dusty inside during the days drive. So its a good idea to keep all your groceries covered well. The razai's were carried in the zip-bags they came in and were put back every morning so they stayed dust-free. Its a good idea to air the razai's in the sun every 3 days or so. On most road-trips, i do this once in 3 days - I have a 3 day ride+1 day halt/buffer day concept while touring.
A Gypsy can typically carry enough supplies for an 8 day trip for 2 people. Which is not too bad, since we can always replenish in small towns enroute. Typical circuit: Delhi-Leh. restock. 6/8 day great lakes circuit, back to Leh to restock and head to Hundar, restock at Kargil 4 days, and then zip to Delhi!
Car camping can be a lot of fun. I have friends who have come under my evil influence and attempted car camping only to fall in love with it! One friend did this with his wife in his Ertiga.
I hope this post encourages you to try it out! Happy camping! :)
People have been asking me this ever since I first started doing this in 2007. Hey! Why not? Its a lot of fun once you get into the zone and its a lot cheaper too! I did a 22-day Ladakh circuit solo for under 10K (minus fuel). The only place I actually used a hotel was in Leh town.
Listing down the iten from my last such car-camping trip - an 8-day trip in late-2015 to Spiti. Hope this helps you plan your own!
 |
| September 2015 Spiti |
Modus-operandi on this trip was similar to the previous, longer (28-days) solo-Ladakh circuit earlier that year but with some key changes.
The rear 2 seats are removed prior to a trip leaving the frame behind. The seat frame doubles up as a support for the hinged wooden plank that goes on top to act as the bed for sleeping. Boxes containing supplies fit snugly under the frame.
6 of these boxes fit perfectly into the rear bay and were more than enough for supplies for 2 of us for 10 odd-days.
Instead of buying a carton of 1L water-bottles, carried 2x5L cans with a cheap dispenser purchased off ebay. Worked perfectly. Replenished locally enroute.
Breakfast was either cornflakes with cold milk (carried in tetrapaks) or poha (Recipe). Lunch was procured locally from dhaba's enroute. Dinner was always barbequed meat, usually chicken. Meat procured locally, cut and marinated at butchers place and cooked later on the home-made BBQ in the evening. Went wonderfully with my evening Rum! Kerala style dried beef jerky was a wonderful high-protein snack and usually the first thing on a trip to get over! Mainly because it gets used for everything - snacking between meals, accompaniment to drinks or even as a substitute for papad/achar when having regular meals. A bit of a challenge to make in the cities though. Fruit's were procured locally as available and they served as a useful backup snack to have on the go.
Electric Kettle onboard did yeoman duty throughout all trips. Heating water for poha, morning & evening tea/coffee and so on. Seriously: most useful tool for car-camping. Getting a good electric kettle should be the first step in preparing for car-camping! :)
I did not have an air mattress then. Carried two rajai's from Delhi - one of which was laid out to serve as a mattress, the other to pull over. Comfortable for one, cozy for 2! ;)
Note: borrowed a friends air-mattress to test-drive that idea. Very limited headroom. Also, it can get pretty dusty inside during the days drive. So its a good idea to keep all your groceries covered well. The razai's were carried in the zip-bags they came in and were put back every morning so they stayed dust-free. Its a good idea to air the razai's in the sun every 3 days or so. On most road-trips, i do this once in 3 days - I have a 3 day ride+1 day halt/buffer day concept while touring.
A Gypsy can typically carry enough supplies for an 8 day trip for 2 people. Which is not too bad, since we can always replenish in small towns enroute. Typical circuit: Delhi-Leh. restock. 6/8 day great lakes circuit, back to Leh to restock and head to Hundar, restock at Kargil 4 days, and then zip to Delhi!
Car camping can be a lot of fun. I have friends who have come under my evil influence and attempted car camping only to fall in love with it! One friend did this with his wife in his Ertiga.
I hope this post encourages you to try it out! Happy camping! :)
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