Stocking/Furnishing a New Camper

1.Bedding - I get cheap sheets at wally world and a cheap comforter.
2.Chairs - I have 2 director style folding chairs. $20 each at HF with coupon.
3.Dishes - I use paper plates. Toss in campfire when done. I do have a Corelle set in camper but only used a couple times.
4.RV mat - I bought cheap 6' x 12' indoor/outdoor green grass look for outside. Cheap door rug inside to set shoes on. Shoes come off in my camper. Shake it out and fold up to transport. Hose it off when get home.
5.Cooler - no need for me. Everything I need cooled fits in fridge or freezer. Friends of mine use a small dorm fridge outside TT for cold drinks etc.
6. You didn't mention it but you need tools to eat with, knives, fork, spoon. I bought a nice set of silverware at a yard sale. Plastic stuff don't last long.
7.Cookware - I bought a reasonably priced set from Camping World. All pots, pans have a non stick coating and easy to clean.
8. Deck of cards, puzzle, crossword, Sudoku books, reading materials.

DaDubs wrote:
We have a big trailer that we have put on a permanent camp site and haven't moved it for several years. The last couple years, I have missed moving around, so I have been taking the family tenting again in between visits to our trailer. In hopes of cutting down set up and break down times, I decided to purchase a small a-frame trailer to bounce around this year. I have one fully furnished trailer that we have been adding stuff to for many years, but now I have to start again.

My Big question is: If you had to start compiling stuff all over again what are your favourites? Keep in mind that I need to be as light as possible and don't have much storage in the A-frame.

1. Bedding? Would you get a cheap comforter? Or a nicer puffy blanket, like a Rumpl?

2. Best Chairs?

3. Dishes? Corelle or cheap plastic?

4. RV mat?

5. Best cooler? The fridge is really small in this thing.

6 Anything Else?

I see you are in SK. The only things I know about that are what I learned on the Corner Gas TV show. But my choices here in Michigan, USA, are:
1) choose your own blanket. What I want, and what my wife wants, are entirely different things.
2) I have Timberline chairs with solid arms. I can push myself up on the arms. Maybe not necessary for the younger crowd.
3) I love my Corelle dishes. You can't hardly kill them! but we do use a lot of paper plates too.
4) We are big fans of the RV mat. Use it all the time. Sweeps off easily. Keeps the inside of the RV much cleaner.
5) We have a Coleman electric cooler with a cheap aftermarket AC adapter that I bought off Amazon. It works great and no need for buying ice. This assumes you are camping where electric is available.
6) entirely up to you and your fellow campers!

When we bought our first TT in 2016 we bought a bunch of stuff we thought we'd need or enjoy using. We have used the trailer many times in all sorts of situations. The two things that almost never got used were the outdoor rug (RV mat?) and the strings of lights we thought would be so nice.

Important things to us were a good outdoor charcoal grill (the small square Weber. There are only two of us), which can be used to have a small wood fire to give the semblance of a campfire where there is no fire ring. Also, the right chairs, and a small collapsible table. We like the upright chairs with the collapsible side table (Costco has a good version, probably Walmart too). We also have one of the "anti-gravity" type for serious lounging.

We've been on long and short trips, mostly long ones. We wanted to have "nice dishes", etc, like at home, but we ended up using paper plates almost all the time. Found a size and type we liked and stuck with them.

We are an older couple; if you're a family doing short camping trips our choices may not make sense for you.

Some people can't wake up until they have coffee.

If that is you make sure that you have a great coffee maker around.

So excited for you! Heres to many fun future trips.

We have always put some money in our bedding.
Go with your personal preferences.

For Dishes... Go with plastic or paper.
My exception to this is we always have large ceramic restaurant
style coffee mugs.

I'm redoing a 1975 camper and it does not have a Refrigerator.

For Coolers check the internet for head to head comparisons
On the major brands. Yeti is great, but you can buy a good many
Marine grade Igloo Coolers for less money.
The Marine grade Coolers generally have metal hinges.
I checked the ice test. I bought a large chest for my wife and I.
I also have a smaller chest just for drinks.

We like to camp during the week. It ain't crowded.
Unless you are camped way out in the woods, there is likely
a Walmart or Convenience Store within a few miles.
I carry some frozen meats in water tight containers that will thaw in a couple of days. If you go the route of an ice chest, check the internet for tips to make em hold food longer. Example... I now cut heavy duty cardboard and put it over my ice.
I cut up a exercise mat to fit my chest, and it goes over the containers of food.
Helps keep the temps a little lower, and the ice last longer.
Lastly a wet beach towel over the chest keeps the temps lower too.
I get 2-3 days out of a couple of bags of ice.

Chairs... I'm a big guy, so I have larger chairs. Get what you want.
Sit in em at Bass Pro, Walmart, Camping World or their new affiliate
Gander RV and Outdoors.

Consider buying a Fly type tent to go with your RV.
I set up my Griddle and cooking items on a table out of the elements.

Ruthlessly go thru the items you actually use camping.
Every year I seem to eliminate a few more items.

RV Mats... We stopped using them a number of years ago.
Mine was always wet or muddy... Too much trouble.
Instead we keep a broom just inside the door.

Now that you have heard what others are doing, decide how you want to go
and do it your own way. Have a good time. Your way.

6. Anything else?

Something that's not been mentioned that we recently did.

Any plastic that falls off or can break?? Buy spares now as it can take months (personal experience) to retrieve that OEM part.

3 months in...one tail light lens fell off. Not stocked at CW. Never received from them after 8 weeks as working with the manufacturer is total chaos. Found a few at a small rural RV repair shop.

Small lens cover for the interior LED lights was cracked and fell off. Ordered through CW in early Feb and they'll finally be here in April. Yeah, it's like that.

So we purchased a few extras of each and keep in a drawer. I'm sure we'll find other things to keep spares of.

Happy camping!

I recommended that you go camping in your yard the first time so you can see what sorts of things you want to bring and what you can leave at home. Then plan your first couple of trips close to home.

Sorry all I said corelle dished should not be used in a microwave. I checked again and it is melamine dishes that should not be used in the microwave. We wanted them at first because they were not glass but the warning about the microwave steered us off them.

Why not just take the same stuff you take tent camping and add when you figure that “Wouldn’t it be nice to have.....” ?

1. Bedding? Would you get a cheap comforter? Or a nicer puffy blanket, like a Rumpl?
-sleeping bags


2. Best Chairs?
-walmart specials mine were 2 for 25 CAD with a few spares for guests. kids have small character chairs

3. Dishes? Corelle or cheap plastic?
-we have a basic set of plastic that never gets used. we use paper and burn them for minimal waste/cleanup

4. RV mat?
-I have one but wouldn't if space was limited. never when we tent camped

5. Best cooler? The fridge is really small in this thing.
- whatever has the rating and size you needed. a colemen 6 day is what I use most because I got a good deal. nothing crazy. if you always have electricity a coolatron is convenient or a bar fridge.

6 Anything Else?
rope
duct tape
fire grade
fire cooking tools
cast iron pan
a large pot
tin foil
(I use foil pans and paper plates most, a single pot and pan and a spatula and some pokers and tongs is all I usually make for dishes to clean)
salt/pepper/spices
paper towel
zip locks
garbage bags
tent pegs
hatchet (doubles as a hammer)
small shovel
leveling boards
chocks
a large pot
portable speaker
lantern
flashlights
matches
paper/fire starter/lighter fluid
dollar store table cloth is nice to have
soap
rag/sponge
water bucket

probably a million other things (I have a hoard in the camper that never gets used because I MIGHT need it one day)

good luck. have fun