Whether you’re trying to make the most of your road trips, stay warmer during off season, or feel more secure on a solo adventure, car camping is a delightful blend of outdoor adventure and convenience, offering a fantastic way to connect with nature without sacrificing comfort. In this blog, you’ll find all my favorite car camping gear and why I recommend each item!

P.S. this blog contains affiliate links. If you shop the links in this blog, I’ll get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support! Check out all my favorite car camping gear here.

PS! Download a customizable printable car camping checklist here!

Thule Rooftop Box

Make road trips and car camping more comfortable, convenient and enjoyable when you free up the space in your car by moving your gear to the Thule Force XT L roof box. The Thule rooftop box was a game changer for me on road trips and car camping trips because the lock box keeps your gear safe and gives it you significantly more storage (& ability to sleep in your car!)

Check out the Thule rooftop box here!

Luno Air Mattress

Looking to sleep in your car during your car camping adventure? The Luno Air Mattress is an inflatable mattress that’s custom-shaped to fit perfectly into the back of your car. This car camping mattress is for anyone looking to upgrade their sleep set up in the back of their car. If you are thinking about going on road trips and want an easier, safer and more comfortable way to camp, Luno makes it possible. If you plan to sleep in your car, I also suggest getting these window covers that allow you to roll down your windows while keeping the bugs out.

Check out the Luno mattress here!

Car Camping Tent + Sleeping Pad

If you’re not looking to sleep in your car, you’ll need a car camping tent. I highly recommend the REI Half Dome 3 person as a spacious car camping tent. If this is the option you go with, I also recommend getting a comfortable sleeping pad like this one. If you’re camping in colder weather, you can protect yourself from the elements with these foam sleeping pads under your blow up mattress.

Check out the REI Half Dome 3 Tent here!
Check out the Exped 2 Person Sleeping Pad here!

Sleeping Bag

Whether you’re sleeping in your car or camping in a tent, a sleeping bag is a necessary piece of gear! My boyfriend and I both have the REI Magma sleeping bags. I opted for the 15 degree bag because I tend to run a little colder (most women do) and wanted a bag I could use in off season. My boyfriend has the 30 degree bag because he tends to run a little warmer.

Check out my favorite women’s sleeping bag here!
Check out his favorite men’s sleeping bag here!

A Good Cooler

A good cooler is super important on a car camping trip to keep your food and drinks cold and fresh. I love the Yeti 45 Tundra because of its ability to keep everything cold for multiple days. I also love that the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has certified the Tundra 45 as a bear-resistant food container when used with 2 padlocks, meaning you can safely leave your cooler outside (and not have to worry about it fitting in a bear box!)

Check out my favorite cooler here!

Stove

When car camping, I like to bring two stove options. The first is the JetBoil Minimo. I use this for boiling water quickly for coffee, ramen, tea, or oatmeal. The Jetboil is small, convenient, and quick and is easy to use when I just need hot water. The second car camping stove I bring is a two burner stove like the Eureka Ignite. I use this when I’m making bigger meals, like dinner or a hearty breakfast.

Check out the Jetboil Minimo here!
Check out the Eureka Ignite 2 Burner here!

Pots and Pans

Doesn’t food just taste better outside? I love cooking outdoors but storing pots and pans was always so clunky. Until I found this amazing pot & pan set that has removable handles! This makes storing your pots & pans so much easier. I bring a few different sizes of pots and at least one pan on every trip.

Check out these amazing pots & pans with removable handles here!

Car Camping Kitchen Set

Car camping kitchen set should include: knives, a cutting board, biodegradable camp suds, cooking utensils, a wash bin, a sponge, a colander, a can opener, spices, and lighters. You should also bring extra trash bags, ziplock baggies, foil, and extra Tupperware. I like to store all my kitchen items in a smaller bin, like this one.

Camp Table

If you’re camping at a campsite, you’re likely to have a picnic table at your site. If you plan on dispersed camping (camping outside of an established campsite), having a camp table is super important. I love this camp table because it’s collapsible so it’s easy to store, but it’s very easy to set up and it’s very stable.

Check out my favorite camp table here!

Camp Chairs

Having small camp chairs is great for sitting around the campfire, but oftentimes camp chairs can take up a lot of space. These camp chairs are really compact, lightweight, and easy to set up. These camp chairs are also a fraction of the price of other lightweight, compact camp chairs.

Check out my favorite camp chairs here!

Water Storage & Water Filter

Whenever you’re car camping, you’ll need water for drinking, doing dishes, cooking, and putting out a campfire. I recommend having at least 3 gallons of water on you, plus a way to filter more (or access to a place where you can purchase more water). I like to bring this reusable 5 gallon water jug and love having this attachment facet to make it easier to get drinking and cooking water. For a water filter, I highly recommend investing in this zero gravity filter. You simply fill up the dirty water bag and hang it. Then gravity does its thing and filters 2L per minute.

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