Camping is one of the best ways to disconnect from the rest of the world and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Camping without electricity is very rewarding in the end but takes proper preparation to make sure you understand and have everything you need for a successful camping trip. This guide will provide you some of the best tips when it comes to camping without electricity.
1. Food Without Electricity
Keeping your meals and snacks simple while you camp will be very important since you won’t have basic cooking utilities like a microwave, oven, and refrigerator. I recommend and prefer to have a simple breakfast and lunch and a properly cooked dinner. For example yogurt and granola for breakfast, a basic sandwich for lunch, and chili for dinner, with snacks like bars,chips,nuts. This layout works great because it reduces your time spent cooking and cleaning, giving you more time to enjoy your trip and do what you want. To make it easier on yourself you will want to prepare meals the best you can before you start your camping trip. Doing the cooking prior will make it simple when camping, allowing you to eat better meals that you would never be able to cook without electricity.
Having a good quality cooler and camping cooking equipment is also essential especially if you are without electricity for a long period of time. Planning out your meals while packing your cooler makes it easier to keep coming up meals very accessible and keeping future meals cool until ready to eat. Having the proper cooking equipment will let you cook over the fire and open up your options to the food you eat. Campfire cooking is necessary if you want to eat a warm meal.
If you are prepared with quality coolers and equipment along with planned out meals you will be able to still enjoy good meals and spend less time cooking and cleaning when on your trip. Eating good balanced meals will keep spirits high and give great energy when camping.
2. Battery Powered Devices
Your best friend when camping will be battery powered devices. You can have both regular batteries or rechargeable battery packs as each of them will have separate uses and benefits for your trip. Regular batteries are a great way to power small devices and keep them powered for a significant period of time. Regular batteries work great for things like flashlights, walkie talkies, fans, and more.
Battery packs are great ways to recharge or even power small to medium sized devices. In recent years we have come a long way in the advancement of battery packs now making them a very reliable and common tool to use when camping. You will want to ensure that they are fully charged prior to leaving for your trip since you will have no way of recharging them unless you have a solar panel battery pack. Solar battery packs can be very useful if you only have one battery pack and many different things to charge. All you have to do is place it out in the sun when it it sunny and the battery back will slowly recharge throughout the day .The most common uses for them are to recharge smaller things like smart phones, tablets, cameras, Bluetooth speakers and more.
3. Sleeping Tips
Knowing the weather will make it so you can prepare and know what to expect when packing for your trip. If it is going to be cold you will have to prepare very differently than if it will be very hot, especially when deciding what to bring for your sleeping arrangement.
How to heat a tent without electricity is very common and import question that should be known for a comfortable sleep when out camping. Winter weather when camping will require the proper clothing and bedding to make sure you are comfortable when sleeping. Having a well insulated sleeping bad that is rated for the cold will have a significant impact on your sleep. Since you won’t have electricity for a space heater or other warming options make sure to bring a lot of blankets and warm clothes. You can always take off clothing and layers so it is recommended to bring more than you think you will need if you have the space. One of my favorite options is to heat up rocks on the campfire and put them in your sleeping bags. Rocks retain heat very well and can provide your warmth for a significant amount of time. When doing this be careful not to overheat the rocks and burn yourself. Having multiple people in one tent can also be a great way to heat a tent without electricity as there will be a significant amount of body heat that will be trap in a small area with you.
If the weather is expected to be hot you may have few options to keep yourself cool when sleeping. You will want to bring a lighter sleeping bag or even just a blanket or two for seeping. You will also want to find a shady spot to set up your tent so the sun isn’t heating up your tent all day long. Another great option is to bring a battery powered fan. This will cool your tent very well by replacing the warm air in your tent with cooler refreshing air all throughout the night.
4. Bathroom
Going to the bathroom in the woods may not be preferred but may be needed. Toilet paper, wipes, and hand sanitizer are often forgotten when packing for camping but are just as important as everything else. When picking a good spot to go to the bathroom in the woods make sure to be at least 200 feet from any water or trails. Bring the proper supplies with you like toilet paper, wipes, hand sanitizer, and a small shovel or something to dig with. You will want to dig a hole about 6-8 inches deep and then you are ready to go. Once you are done wipe up and make sure to trash your toilet paper or wipes in a bag you brought with you as you should not be leaving it behind. Cover your hole up with the original dirt and finally wash your hands. Peeing in the woods isn’t quite as hard but still consider where you are doing it and what you will need.
5. RV Camping Without Electricity
If you have a camper camping without an electricity and water hook up isn’t ideal but sometimes required depending on where you are camping. Some RVs are better equipped than others for camping without a hook up but the general idea is still the same. You will want to conserve as much electricity as you have for the more important things. When camping without electric and water hook up most campers still have access to a 12 volt battery but will still be very limited on what that can power. It can usually power lights, water pumps, and refrigerators. To ensure you don’t run out your battery limit the use of lights and water to only use them when they are required. Some RVs will have gas powered generators which can provide energy for most things. Be sure to know how much you can run your generator with the amount of gas you have.
6. Water
Water is a necessity when camping and it will be used for a lot more than just drinking. When packing water you will need to make sure you have enough to keep everyone hydrated and for cooking and cleaning. After you have figured that out depending on how much space you have left it you may want to bring excess water for washing hands showering and more.
There are many different ways to pack water depending on your preference. You can pack a lot of water bottles, gallons of water, or my favorite is 5 gallon water jugs. 5 gallon jugs allows everyone to fill up their personal water bottles whenever they want and allow you to use them to rinse off your hands or other things. If bringing a lot of bottled water makes sure to bring enough, sometimes it is hard to tell exactly how much water you have. Freezing individual bottled water and keeping it in your cooler is a great way to keep food cool and then when it melts gives you extra cold water.
7. Campfire Importance
Building a campfire can provide so many different benefits and uses when camping without electricity. The ability to provide warmth and light at night makes it one of the most important tools to have. It allows you to stay up as late as you want since you have to worry very little about not being able to see in the dark. Along with that it gives off a lot of heat so as the sun goes down and it begins to get colder you can keep warm with many other people at once. It is a great way to relax at night after a long day and socialize with friends and family.
Cooking with your fire is one of the few ways to enjoy and eat a warm meal without electricity. It gives you a lot more freedom when it comes down to what you can eat. With the ability to cook you can bring meats and other cooled food that needs to be cooked. You can also boil water for cooking or drinking if necessary.
Campfires also provide protection from bugs. The smoke that is created from the fire is a great deterrent to get rid of the bugs and protect yourself from bug bites.
8. Start the Car
If you don’t have something like a battery pack and you need to charge a small device like your phone, using the car battery is another option. Most cars have a 12 volt car lighter meaning you will need to have the proper adaptor if you want to use a USB. I recommend to only use this method if necessary and do so sparingly. With to much use you can easily kill your car battery meaning your car will no longer start until that battery is recharged.
Some great uses for this would be a motorized car pump to blow up things like air mattresses and tubes. It can also charge phones, battery packs, and other small devices. The bigger devices you charge the more power will be taken from your car and the battery power will slowly be reduced. This is a great option if you need a little charge for quick use of a device but i wouldn’t use it for much more.
9. Camping Grill
If you don’t have easy meals to cook over a fire a camping grill can make cooking without electricity a lot simpler. These are different types of portable camping grills that use different fuel sources. Each of them has their positives and negatives so in the end it is what you’re most comfortable using.
The first is a charcoal/wood heated grill. To use this you will still need to have a fire as it will use the coals created by your fire to heat up the food. You will want to have the campfire going quite a while before you’re ready to cook so your coals are hot enough to cook with. Most designs weather go over the campfire or require you to scoop hot coals into it. This type of portable gill reduces some of the inconsistency of cooking over a fire but can still be difficult as it’s hard to judge temperature. People who use this generally enjoy the extra taste that the coals give off. Even though it can take longer than the other opinion lifelong campers find cooking like this nostalgic and a back bone of preparing camping food.
A propane/gas power portable grill is the most common type and my personal favorite to cook with. Most designs have a very simple set up and are very similar to regular grills. Some require a lighter or match to start but the newer ones even have push button ignition making it easy for everyone. You are able to easily control the heat which reduces most of the problems people come across when cooking at a campsite. It allows you to cook in a hurry since you don’t need to wait for anything to heat up. Most make and models are very easy to travel with as they are designed to collapse when not in use. Small propane tanks are recommended when using this type of grill because they are very small and easy to travel with when camping. Plan out how much you plan to use a grill so you can bring the proper amount of propane with you. I generally go through 2 bottles of propane per trip but bring 3 to be safe. On average a 16 Oz tank will last me between 1.5 to 2 hours of cooking.
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