The Ultimate Car Camping Setup – with Links!

Camping is one of my absolute favorite activities to do. It allows you to unplug, get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and reconnect with nature. I’ve loved camping for years, and have acquired a lot of really nice gear over time. However, as I have gotten older, I have looked for ways to make camping even more comfortable. So I’ve turned my car into the ultimate cozy camping setup, perfect for two people and a dog!

The Basics of Car Camping

Tired of bending over and crawling into a tent? Yeah, me too… but I still want to camp! While both tent and car camping are wonderful, I am becoming partial to one as I get older. In rainy, windy, and snowy conditions, I will always choose car camping over tent camping due to the comfort, warmth, and protection from the elements. I’ve been in a few too many windstorms that have uprooted tent stakes and kept me up all night, and now I’m a die-hard car camping convert.

I didn’t always prefer to car camp though. I used to get excited about buying flashy tent gear and sleeping pads, bags, and more. Now that I’m older, actively trying to save money AND my lower back, car camping has become my new favorite method of camping.

How is car camping different from tent camping?

It’s simple! Tent camping is what you typically think of when you think about going camping. You set up a tent, unfold or blow up a camping mattress, and slip your body into a sleeping bag for the night. With car camping, you’re just sleeping in your car! And there are so many products on the market to make car camping super comfy.

Why camp in your car?

For years I’ve been dreaming of traveling around the country visiting US National Parks in a camper van. That is a goal that requires a lot of money saving and planning, and we are excited to begin traveling full time in a camper soon (be sure to follow the blog to watch our camper life journey unfold over the next year). Until then, car camping has given us a budget-friendly version of the van life experience we are aiming for.

Is it OK to sleep in your car at a campsite?

Car camping inside your vehicle is allowed in National Parks and many campgrounds around the country, as long as you are in a designated camping area with a proper reservation. Sleeping in your vehicle at trailheads or along the side of the road is illegal in National Parks and may not be allowed at many other popular trailheads. Some parks may have different restrictions, so make sure you read the rules and regulations when you make a campground reservation. Most questions about front country camping can be answered on the National Park Services website.

However, you can always stealth camp and do some boondocking in non-designated campgrounds, as long as the local laws allow for it. Stealth camping means sleeping in your vehicle without drawing attention to yourself. You can do this in remote, wild areas and urban areas alike, but be wary of laws. If you do this type of camping in more populated areas, then you might get you woken up in the middle of the night by a knock on your window from local law enforcement.

Boondocking, also known as dispersed camping or wild camping, means you’re camping in an area with no amenities, no hookups, and no services. You might be on public or BLM land (like the Alabama Hills) or in even more remote areas where boondocking is allowed. With boondocking, you just want to make sure you have all of the supplies you need to stay safe in case of an emergency, since you will be so far from people and safety!

How much does a vehicle camping setup cost?

We spent a total of $350 on all of our car camping essentials, which includes rooftop storage. This also includes some optional luxury items, so it’s possible to have an even cheaper setup! Some of the basics we recommend are a cozy air mattress for the back of your car, window covers for privacy, bug nets to keep windows open, and rooftop storage for gear.

What are the best cars for car camping?

The best vehicles for car camping have back seats that fold completely flat, so that your mattress can lay on top without uncomfortable bumps or weird angles. Hatchback cars and SUVs are often perfect for this. I’ve car-camped in a 2010 Toyota Prius, and more recently a 2020 Subaru Forrester. Both have had backseats that lay completely flat, perfect for outfitting the car with all of my car camping gear!

Cars that are AWD or 4WD are perfect for car camping, especially if you plan to do some off-roading or find more remote areas for boondocking. A car that’s good on gas will also help you save some money on the road, because gas prices are astronomical in many parts of the country. Regardless of the kind of car you drive, you can find a way to make just about any car work with the right car camping equipment!

Ten Items to Build a Beginner Car Camping Setup

We’ve listed out all nine items we’ve purchased for our epic car camping setup! In addition to the items below, you’ll of course need to bring a pillow, some heavy-duty blankets, or sleeping bags. You’ll also need to bring everything else you need for camping, like your kitchen setup, some comfortable chairs, coolers, and other safety items, but I’ll save that for another blog post.

Some of the links below may be affiliate links, which means if you purchase a product through our link, we get a small percentage kicked back to us which helps us keep this blog running! 

1. SUV Air Mattress 

This air mattress is comfortable and big enough for two adults to sleep on. I love that it comes with its own pump that connects to your car’s cigarette lighter. It takes just a few minutes to blow up and it’s quite comfy! KMZ is another brand available on Amazon around the same price. These mattresses fold down to fit in a small bag, so they’re easily portable and won’t take up much space when you pack your car full of gear!

2. Windshield Sunshades

Sunshades are great for keeping your car cool on a hot, sunny day, but they’re also great privacy screens for nighttime!

3. Full Privacy Car Window Sunshades

Take it a step further by buying sunshades for all of your car windows. We like to add these shades to every window for full privacy at night, so that nobody can peek into our car. This gives the car more of that “tent camping” feel, too, so that we feel totally separated from the outside. Make sure you buy shades that fit the make and model of your car!

4. Car Window Bug Shades

We prefer to leave the back seat windows open to allow some airflow into the car at night, especially in warmer temperatures. But warmer temperature camping often means a lot more bugs, so we use these mesh bug shades on our passenger doors to keep out bugs but allow for airflow and privacy.

5. Magnetic Car sunroof breathable sun shade 

Our SUV has a moon roof, so we also bought a magnetic breathable sun shade for the roof. It allows for air flow for warmer camping trips while keeping the bugs out. This particular item is fitted for a sun roof so if you have a moon roof, just open it about halfway to match the size of the sun shade.

6. Camping LED Fan with Light  

This LED fan with light has become one of our favorite products that we use on every camping trip. We prefer to sleep with a noisemaker, so we wanted to add a fan to our car camping setup. This fan provides the perfect level of white noise to help us fall asleep faster. This rechargeable fan also functions as a light and battery charger. We turn the light on once we’re tucked into bed in the car at night. We charge all of our devices using the battery. When it’s fully charged, the fan’s battery can charge one device for 120 hours, or 2 devices for 40 hours. The battery life depends on how much of the light and fan you use in addition to charging items. We’ve found that a fully charged fan can last us a full weekend-long trip for 2 people, with more battery life to spare!

7. S-biner 

The worst thing to happen while car camping is keeping your doors open so long that your car battery dies! So, we’ve found a way to trick our car into thinking it’s locked so that the interior lights turn off. You can shove an S-biner into the locking mechanism of your trunk’s door to trick your trunk into thinking it is closed while it’s still open. Here’s a helpful video that my partner, Meg, put together to show how this works! 

8. Camping String Lights

We love creating a cozy vibe not just inside our car, but outside, too! We drape these string lights from our car to a picnic table or pole to add more light around our campsite. When you’re done using them, they just retract back into itself, so you can neatly wind them up so they don’t get tangled. Headlamps also help us navigate our space when it’s dark out, but it’s nice to have these cool twinkle lights to make ourselves feel more “at home.”

9. Car Tailgate Mosquito net for SUV 

We typically keep our trunk open during the day (with the S-biner shoved into the locking mechanism so we don’t kill the battery). But we want to make sure that bugs aren’t making our cozy setup their home for the night! So we bought a car tailgate mosquito net so we can keep our trunk open all day. On warm camping nights, we sleep with the trunk open and the net zipped shut to allow for more airflow. The net we purchased is no longer available, so we found this net that also has privacy curtains. This allows it to be fully zipped up to block out light from outside. 

10. Rooftop Storage Bag

We are obsessed with our rooftop storage bag. It fits SO much stuff! We load it with four camp chairs, sleeping bags, several boxes of gear, blankets, tents, and so much more. It hold an impressive amount of gear on the roof, freeing up our trunk space and back seat. We’ve taken our bag on at least half a dozen trips so far and it’s held up well. So for the low price, it’s certainly worth the purchase. It is a soft storage bag, though, so it’s less durable than hard storage, but you do not need a roof rack for this type of rooftop storage, so it works with just about any car or SUV.

Some campgrounds require that all food and scented items be stored in a bear locker at the campground or campsite. This storage bag is great for road trips or keeping all of your loose items in one place while you’re asleep.

How to Plan a Car Camping Trip

Now that you know all of the equipment you need to comfortably car camp, it’s time to plan a trip! Here are some of my favorite resources to use to start planning:

• Recreation.gov: Find National Parks and wilderness areas to reserve campsites all over the country! A National Parks Pass may be needed to enter some of these areas.
• iOverlander: This website is typically used by people who live on the road long-term or full-time. Lots of people in the van life community rely on iOverlander to find places to camp, including places to stealth camp, like in a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. If you’re traveling long distances over a longer period of time, this is a good tool to use!
• BLM Land: BLM land is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, mostly in the western United States. BLM land is protected and often used for recreational purposes. You can find maps on their website to look for recreation areas with dispersed camping opportunities. One of my favorite BLM lands to camp on is in the Alabama Hills in California!
• Roadtrippers: Both my partner and I have used this website to plan our cross-country road trips when we each moved across the country! I used this website to find places to stay, things to do, sights to see, and so much more.

Car Camping Tips & Tricks

• Crack open windows on both sides of the car to create a cross-breeze to avoid moisture buildup in the car.
• If your trunk has a rubber or plastic trunk liner, take it out and place in on the ground in the back of your car. Place your shoes or camp slippers here, so you can take shoes off without tracking dirt into your car.
• For minimalist dining, opt for dehydrated meals, like our favorites from Peak Refuel, so you can limit the amount of kitchen equipment you take on a camping trip.
• Leave your sun roof open and uncovered on clear nights so you can stargaze while laying in your car!