Expedition Trailer ~ Our Gear
I'm so excited to finally share with y'all our gear! We have camped so many ways in different terrains and weather throughout the years, this post will focus on our expedition trailer. As of writing this post, it is 18 months old and has been on many trips from lake camping to crawling in the mountains.
Camping In the Expedition Trailer
I absolutely love camping in our little trailer. It has all the conveniences that are imortant to me, but is also simple and sleek enough to fit anywhere we want it to go and keep us from doing too much packing and unpacking (which can take away from a trip). What gear do we have to keep a seamless process?
Kitchen
- GCI Camp Kitchen
- Yukon Cooler
- Hitorhike Camping Table
- Camco 'Life Is Better at The Campsite' Mat
- Pro Venture Waterproof Rain Fly
- GSI Pot & Pans
- GSI Enamel Plates & Bowls
- Pioneer Woman Kitchen Essentials
- Iron Skillet 9&sometimes a dutch oven)
- Kitchen Cleaning Kit
- Metal Spice Rack with Magnetic Spice Jars
- Magnetic Knife Bar
- Battery Operated Mini Twinkle Lights
- Luminar Outdoor Pop Up Lantern
Privy Tents
- Joolca 2 Room Shower Tent
- Magellan Utility Tent
- SereneLife Outdoor Portable Toilet
- Mr. Heater Basecamp Water Heater
Tools
- Milwaukee Drill
- Milwaukee Bit Box
- Milwaukee Sawzall
- Hatchet
- Hammer
- Shovel
- Basic Kit of Auto Tools
- Milwaukee Impact
- Matt's Off Road Recovery Rope
- CO2 Tank
- Tire Deflator/Inflator
- Lugnut Spline
Sleeping Cabin
- Farmhouse Mail Sorter Organizer
- Pilot Max Essential Oil Diffuser
- Hooks for Bike Packs
- ExPed Megamat Duo
- 2 Sets Full Size Sheets
- Duvet
- Boot Mat
OK, that is the basic list of gear, but what do I love about each item? This isn't the complete camping list, for that download your camping checklist now! Ok y'all, here we go.......
The Kitchen:
GCI Camp Kitchen
This is the one I am currently using. I had a camp kitchen I loved my parents bought me from Cabela's, but when we went to pack for a trip it died and I had to order one ASAP. Amazon one day delivery to the rescue. So, I ended up with this one after years of loving my Cabela one. I really do like it, I am glad since it was such a quick purchase. It folds up easily and it isn't heavy for me to lift in the back of our trailer. The table has a built in sink, shelving, a lantern holder, etc. It is the perfect size for us.
Yukon Cooler
We have purchased different Yeti style coolers. We had bought Yeti, Ozark Trails, Yukon, and Kodi Coolers. So far my favorite is my Yukon coolers from Bucee's. My beach cooler is the Kodi cooler from HEB that has heady duty beach wheels for the sand, but in our expedition trailer the Yukon 45 fits perfectly in our camp kitchen, and the Yukon 110 fits great under the bikes on the front of the trailer. I bring both when the kids are with us, but I only bring our Yeti and the Yukon 45 when it's just the 2 of us.
I do a lot of prep cooking and prep before our trips, it makes the trips relaxing. We like to have packed food on the road. We aren't too big on eating fast food on the road. I usually pack us protein boxes or roast beef sandwiches for the trip, beef jerky, boiled eggs, snack cheese. granola, and I always make chocolate chip cookies.
Hitorhike Camping Table
This camping table works perfectly as a small coffee table, but I think I'm going to add the medium size to our kitchen. The kitchen area is so light, and I would like a table just a smidge bigger. But I still recommend the small size! It is easy to clean, and it is perfect for a day trips off-roading. It is also good for a side table next to our Kelty chair.
Camco Mat
I like to keep the kitchen area ground clean. This mat is easy to set up and pack and very easy to keep clean. Best part, it's cute! I got mine cheaper on amazon, but I can't find it now. Here it is at another website, just twice the price that I paid. :(
Pro Venture Waterproof Rain Fly
Ryan has used this over the camp kitchen when it is raining. We plan on installing a 270 awning, but until then this works great. It is lightweight, so I will keep it in the trailer for other uses even after we add the awning. We have used it to cover our chair so we can still enjoy a campfire in the rain too.
GSI Pot & Pans
These have held up so well! We bought them after we built the trailer for trips we wanted to be more lightweight. We love cooing in our iron skillets and dutch ovens, but sometimes an easier low-key trip is the way to go when we are planning on a lot of hiking and off roading. The clean well, cook evenly, and pack up small.
GSI Enamel Plates & Bowls
We bought these at the same time as the pots and pans. I love keeping a simple kitchen. Some people would say they just want paper so they can throw it away, but I love cleaning and organizing, and it is way less trash for us to pack out. We have our trips we get paper to keep things easy (liek a lake trip when I know I will be on my paddleboard more than at the campsite). Besides that, this is all we use.
Pioneer Woman Kitchen Essentials
OK, I agree, this might seem a little extra, but I love for things to be pretty even if they are rugged off road contraptions. This has worked out perfectly! One day the ceramic utensil holder might break, but I wrap it in a kitchen towel when we travel, so far not even any chips! This gives me most of my basics so I'm not packing stuff in and out of the house. I added a pioneer woman paring knife and regular chopping knife, a can opener, a wine opener, tongs, a metal spatula, etc. So far, I haven't been without anything I've needed.
Iron Skillet & Dutch Ovens
I use only lodge. I have had other skillets through the years and they are not made as well. Cabela's dutch ovens aren't too bad, as long as you don't have too much direct heat you're ok. I like to cook and bake with coals and over a campfire, so I stick with lodge to be on the safe side. I keep a set of welding gloves and my iron brushes like this one.
Kitchen Cleaning Kit
I touched on part of this a second ago, I love my brushes! I also have lodge cast iron scrapers. I keep dish soap, baking soda, vinegar, and clorox wipes. Most of the time I make my homemade clorox wipes, but I love the smell of Scentiva Pacific Breeze & Cononut dish soap and clorox wipes. When we go on trips it's my little thing. I have a telescoping broom I bought from Grove (it was on sale!!) and the Coghlan's pop-up camping trash can. It collapses and zips. It says it is for 35 gallon trash bags, but it has clips inside to hold bags and it zips, so I use 13 gallon bags like regular. If you have messy people that will drop stuff outside of the trash bag or be lazy letting it overflow, I'd do the 35 gallon. I like using the 13 gallon because if we run somewhere for a little bit or want to do a short hike, I can just zip it up and go.
Metal Spice Rack with Magnetic Spice Jars
For some this wouldn't be a good idea because your spices might get old or clump, but we use our trailer a lot. Not just for our adventures, but visiting family and one-night quick local trips. (Those times when its raining and you won't be able to work, you just want to go make a fire in the woods.) For those that would use it enough like us, this has worked great! We bought a piece of metal from our local welding store and i bought the magnetic spice jars off of amazon.
Magnetic Knife Bar
I love having this in the kitchen! It keeps everything nice and tidy. It is really strong, so far I haven't had a knife fall, and we have crawled this trailer in some crazy places into the Silverton/Ouray area and around Telluride.
Battery Operated Mini Twinkle Lights
This is absolutely not a necessity, but these are nice because they aren't bright. I can see if I walk over to the kitchen and there is a cute ambiance around our trailer. I have used these since we bought the trailer with the same batteries!
Luminar Outdoor Pop Up Lantern
This little light is the cat's meow. They are super easy and the batteries last forever! They are very bright, so we have one inside the camp kitchen (hung up with a hook screw) and one inside the cabin. I keep a couple extra in the front storage compartment too in case someone with us needs one.
Privy Tents:
Joolca 2 Room Shower Tent
We bought ours off Facebook Marketplace, but this is the exact one we bought. We love having a wet room and a dry room. I am so glad to not have to dry off and get dressed in a room that is soaking wet from shower. It is extremely easy to set up and has a bunch of organization. If you are like me, that is big! It has pockets for bottles, towel hooks, an opening for your shower pump for your hot water heater, 2 different hooks for you shower head, and a laundry bag.
Magellan Utility Tent
This one room privy tent is our bathroom tent. We used to have 2 and the other was was used for our shower. Now we just bring this one for our portable toilet room. It works great and is easy to set up. I have plastic containers that I pack in the front compartment so the TP doesn't get wet on the ground. I keep toilet paper, wet wipes, sanitizing wipes, a small trash can, and a small hand broom in the tent with our portable toilet.
SereneLife Outdoor Portable Toilet
This has been a game changer. This, the 2-room privy. and the water heater. This is so easy to use, clean, and set up. We put RV treatment in it, use regular toilet paper, and have had not issues with smell etc. One thing we have learned, keep the lid closed, pump your water, then open the valve to 'flush' the toilet. Especially when you are in altitude; this makes a big difference in keeping it clean and easy.
Mr. Heater Basecamp Water Heater
The last one was a game changer, this item I will never go without again. I absolutely love it and it has worked in every terrain and environment. We were worried about the altitude, but we haven't had any issues with it! It stays super hot and has better water pressure than our bumper pull camper did. When the water is really cold, we would prime it just a little by putting the shower head nozzle into the bucket and letting it run back into itself for a couple minutes. We don't always have to do this, but when the water is really cold it allows us to still have really hot showers instead of warm ones.
It will last consistently for 40 minutes without charging. When we are off roading we will plug it in and it has always stayed charged for us, by ourselves and when we have the kids with us too!
Tools:
- Milwaukee Drill
- Milwaukee Bit Box
- Milwaukee Sawzall
- Hatchet
- Hammer
- Shovel
- Basic Kit of Auto Tools
- Milwaukee Impact
- Matt's Off Road Recovery Rope
- CO2 Tank
- Tire Deflator/Inflator
- Lugnut Spline
Sleeping Cabin:
Farmhouse Mail Sorter Organizer
I like things to be organized. This helps a lot with the misc stuff you'd normally put on your nightstand. It has key hooks, a place for our phones, and I use the chalk for things we want to remember or stuff we need to pickup in town.
Pilot Max Essential Oil Diffuser
I never go without my oils to sleep at night. My Fire Wife Blend is a must. This diffuser charges nicely and lasts a long time. I like that it charges with USB-C so we can charge it on the go. We will use this in the car while we are driving too. I like to diffuse peppermint or a respiratory blend when we are traveling.
Hooks for Bike Packs
Next to the door we have some simple hooks that our bikepacks and helmets hang on. It is a perfect drop spot for them, we can put them up out of the weather without having to get into the trailer.
ExPed Megamat Duo
Best sleep ever! There is nothing I hate more than going to camp, looking forward to a good nights sleep, and waking up to a flat air mattress. This feels like our mattress at home, it is easy to inflate and deflate, and full size bedding fits perfectly. We usually keep it inflated because it stays in the trailer 99% of the time.
2 Sets Full Size Sheets
Duvet
Boot Mat
We have about 2 feet at the end of our bed, so this is our big coat and extra shoe storage. We keep our biking and hiking shoes down there on a boot mat. It works perfectly, and this boot mat keeps the cabin clean! ;)
Don't miss 'We Built an Expedition Trailer' and the YouTube videos of how we did it!