With the end of the camping season upon us it is very important that you clean all of your camping gear and equipment before putting it away. Some of the things that you need to pay the most attention to is your tent and sleeping gear, your coolers and any food preparation gear.

Lets start with your tent:

One of the most common problems that I see with tents is that some people will not properly dry their tent out after a camping trip where it has rained. Even when it doesn’t rain, moisture can seep up through the ground leaving the bottom of your tent damp. Storing a tent that is damp or wet will cause mold to set in and eat away at your tents fabric.

This is specially true for canvas tents where large sections can rot away in as little as one week. So make sure that you dry your tent out very good before packing it away for the winter.

While mold won’t eat away at you cooler it is always a good idea to clean them out and dry them before putting them away. This will keep you from having scrub them out at the last minute when you go to use them next time.

The same goes for all of your food preparation gear including your camp stove. It only takes a few minutes to clean out the bottom of the stove and this will help prevent rust from setting in and ruining your stove after just a few years.

So take a little extra time this year and make sure that your camping gear is clean and dry before putting it away. You will be glad you did.

Everything is booked and you’re ready to head out to one of the top Eurocamp family holidays camps. But have you packed all the essential equipment? There is nothing more frustrating than setting up your tent o discover that you haven’t brought the essential equipment that you need.

Apart from the obvious, such as the tent, what else is essential for you to bring on your camping holiday? You should always remember to bring very warm sleeping bags. The temperature will drop through the night so it is a good idea to choose a warm, camping bag to make sure you don’t catch cold or anything worse. If you do not intend to sleep on an airbed, then make sure that you pack a ground sheet. This protects you from the damp soaking into your sleeping back and giving you a restless sleep.

Don’t forget the lights. You may want to bring some touch lights with you to light up your tent at night, trying to find what you want in the pitch black night can be frustrating. A few of these little lights can light up the whole of your tent. Alternatively a torch would suffice.

If you are planning on making the most of your trip don’t forget the disposable barbecues. Usually the highlight of most peoples trip, it is important you have something to cook on. There is no need to waste money on something more expensive than a disposable barbecue. What you cook on it is entirely up to the family but the usually advice would be not to bring any meat with you. The chances are that there is a good, cheap local butcher or supermarket where you will be able to purchase all your barbecue food, such as, burgers, sausages and chicken.

One of the most important things to bring on your camping trip would be an open mind. Camping is a completely different kind of holiday experience that will allow you to explore the country in a more open way. Let the sense of escapism take you over and then you will truly start to enjoy your camping holiday.