Oshkosh camping list? (Planning for next year)

Looking for a recommended list of items to bring to OSH if one were to go
there to camp for four days.

All this excitement in this group year after year has taken its toll on me
so I am now in the beginning planning stages to fly there next year. My
thought is that if I begin to plan now (as in begin to buy the required
camping gear and schedule the time off), I will be ready come next July.

--
Peter

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Looking for a recommended list of items to bring to OSH if one were to go
there to camp for four days.

All this excitement in this group year after year has taken its toll on me
so I am now in the beginning planning stages to fly there next year. My
thought is that if I begin to plan now (as in begin to buy the required
camping gear and schedule the time off), I will be ready come next July.

--
Peter



How much weight/cube do you have to work with?

Will this be a one time camping event, or do you think you'll use the gear
for multiple trips to OSH?

The place to start is a good tent. SWMBO and I use a 2 person tent I use
for backpacking. It has adequate room for sleeping and the vestibules allow
for the storage of a lot of stuff under cover. One day I may upsize to a
3-4 person tent just to get more elbow room.

Beyond that, you need to figure out if you like foam mattresses, self
inflating mattresses (my favorite), air mattresses, or cots under you. My
thoughts are that some foams absorb water, which can be a bad thing. Cots
are big, and my back doesn't like air mattresses.

You need camp chairs. Something that is portable but comfortable. And a
cooler.

No need for sleeping bags. I'm far more comfortable using our old sheets and
blankets to get a more controllable layered effect. Sleeping bags have three
settings - zipped up (hot), partially open (most of you is hot, a slice is
cool), and fully open (no cover at all)...

The places not to cut corners are the tent and your sleeping pad/mattress.
Get these two items right and you'll sleep in comfort. Get 'em wrong and
you won't sleep at all.

KB

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..

snip

The places not to cut corners are the tent and your sleeping pad/mattress.
Get these two items right and you'll sleep in comfort. Get 'em wrong and
you won't sleep at all.

KB

One addendum: Make sure the tent has a full sized fly. That's the cover
that goes over the top of the tent. Ideally, the fly should either reach
the ground all the way around the tent, or at least come close. The
inexpensive tents you can buy at Wal-Mart frequently have a fly that is is
far too small and allows blowing rain to come in. It isn't any fun sitting
inside your tent getting rained on... ;-)

A second addendum: Aluminum tent poles are far superior to fiberglass.
First, they are usually sold with a better grade of tent and are sized
appropriately to keep the tent from leaning over too far in a windstorm.
Also, fiberglass poles seem to split a lot.

KB

In article ,
"Kyle Boatright" wrote:

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..

snip

The places not to cut corners are the tent and your sleeping pad/mattress.
Get these two items right and you'll sleep in comfort. Get 'em wrong and
you won't sleep at all.

KB

One addendum: Make sure the tent has a full sized fly. That's the cover
that goes over the top of the tent. Ideally, the fly should either reach
the ground all the way around the tent, or at least come close. The
inexpensive tents you can buy at Wal-Mart frequently have a fly that is is
far too small and allows blowing rain to come in. It isn't any fun sitting
inside your tent getting rained on... ;-)

A second addendum: Aluminum tent poles are far superior to fiberglass.
First, they are usually sold with a better grade of tent and are sized
appropriately to keep the tent from leaning over too far in a windstorm.
Also, fiberglass poles seem to split a lot.

Tents (ad adendum):
Replace the original tent stakes that come with the tent. Most tent pegs
are plastic or lightweight aluminum. Get 9- or 12-inch heavyweight
aluminum or steel tent pegs/stakes. Get double what the tent requires.
Also, purchase extra guy line. Once you get your tent set up as per the
directions, use the extra pegs and guys at each attach point on the rain
fly. Extra guy lines are the secret to secure the tent against strong
winds. And AirVenture usually has at least one storm during the week
with strong winds.

"john smith" wrote

Tents (ad adendum):
Replace the original tent stakes that come with the tent. Most tent pegs
are plastic or lightweight aluminum. Get 9- or 12-inch heavyweight
aluminum or steel tent pegs/stakes. Get double what the tent requires.
Also, purchase extra guy line. Once you get your tent set up as per the
directions, use the extra pegs and guys at each attach point on the rain
fly. Extra guy lines are the secret to secure the tent against strong
winds. And AirVenture usually has at least one storm during the week
with strong winds.

Strongly agree with the tent stuff. Extra lines are key!

If you are going to keep some food and drink (which I like, so you can eat a
light snack, rather than going for a big meal) and I gotta' have my drinks,
then you should consider a "pimp my cooler." For those not in the know,
that is where you take a decent water tight cooler, then take at least two
inch thick construction Styrofoam, and make a box around the cooler, and a
lid, so you have a cooler in a home-made cooler. Optional protection for
the Styrofoam can be light plywood (is any of it really light?) or a roll of
duct tape covering the foam.

You can extend ice life an extra day or two, at least, and that will save a
lot of time, money and energy from being spent on getting ice.

If you are going to carry loose stuff, carry it in some roughneck, or
Tupperware type of waterproof storage boxes. That way, you can sit stuff
out where it might get wet, and not have to worry. Some tents get wet
inside, and you can keep your clothes dry, in the dry boxes, too.

I have lots of electrical gadgets I need to keep charged, so I take a couple
gel cell 7 Ahr batteries made into a pack, to charge all of my stuff. You
can take those down to the shower, and with a capable charger, get a pretty
good charge on it, while you shower. I feel safer with a couple of
batteries and a charger sitting out, rather than a cell phone, airband
radio, music radio, digital camera, laptop, ect, all sitting outside the
shower, charging.
--
Jim in NC

I have lots of electrical gadgets I need to keep charged, so I take a
couple gel cell 7 Ahr batteries made into a pack, to charge all of my
stuff.

Or you can just bring a small generator like we did, space and weight allowing.

The small 900w one that I brought served us well, only weighs about 40#, is compact...and had more then enough juice (with plenty to spare) to charge 2 laptops, 2 cellphones, a couple of digital camera batteries, and other assorted electronic goodies.

--
Mark
http://www.oshawapilot.ca
RPASEL, Canada

Morgans wrote:
"john smith" wrote
Also, purchase extra guy line. Once you get your tent set up as per the
directions, use the extra pegs and guys at each attach point on the rain
fly.

Depending on the layout of the campsite, it might also be a good idea to
tie some ribbons onto the guy lines for visibility. The hardware store
sells wide yellow tape with "CAUTION" printed on it and narrow pink tape
with no printing; cutting some 1' (30cm) pieces and tying one or two onto
each guy line helps keep people from tripping over them.

Optional protection for the Styrofoam can be light plywood (is any of
it really light?) or a roll of duct tape covering the foam.

I *like* this idea. Some of the foam insulation board has a foil facing
on one side, which won't provide too much protection from dents but will
help keep your pimp-my-cooler from shedding little foam spheres all over
the place.

If you are going to carry loose stuff, carry it in some roughneck, or
Tupperware type of waterproof storage boxes.

In the US, Home Depot is having a sale on storage stuff; some of it
doesn't appear to be that cheap to me, but the shoebox-sized containers
are $1.29 each right now.

Don't forget a roll of duct tape. Every air mattress has as its goal in
life to spring a leak.

I have lots of electrical gadgets I need to keep charged, so I take a
couple gel cell 7 Ahr batteries made into a pack, to charge all of my
stuff.

I've done this before and it works well. That particular size is about
$15-$20 each at your local electronics distributor (*NOT* Radio Shack)
or from a mail-order place like Mouser or Digi-Key. That size comes
with both 3/16" and 1/4" push-on terminals; get the 1/4" terminals if
you can as the mating connectors are much easier to find. Put a
reasonable automotive fuse of 10 to 20 A on the output of the battery.

To charge them, the best way is to use a 120 V charger that is made for
it. Charging them from a 12 V vehicle electrical system also works; put
a diode rated at least 3 A and 50 PIV (1N5400 series) between the
vehicle and the gel-cell to keep the gel-cell from discharging into the
vehicle when the engine is at idle or shut down. Clearly it's probably
a bad idea to charge them this way while you're camping next to the
plane, but hooking them up for the flight to the campsite will get a
pretty good charge into them by the time you get there.

If you want to buy one all made up, this is basically what those "jump
starter in a box" things are. If you don't plan to use the jump-start
function, you could remove the heavy cables and save a little weight.

One advantage to the batteries over the motor-generator (besides the
obvious one of total silence) is that if you stow the batteries in an
accessible spot in the plane, and your electrical system quits, you
can plug the handheld air-band radio (and GPS if you have one) into
the batteries and keep on truckin'. I know the radio and GPS will
have their own batteries, but it does provide a backup and/or extended
run time. If you go someplace where shore power doesn't exist, a solar
cell will also let you charge the batteries during the day.

Matt Roberds

Kyle Boatright wrote:

How much weight/cube do you have to work with?

Good question: I would fly a Bonanza V35 with perhaps one other person (an
aviation buddy, as the wife would not go), so there would be about 250
pounds of available luggage weight.

Will this be a one time camping event, or do you think you'll use the gear
for multiple trips to OSH?

Hopefully multiple.

Your suggestions are exactly the type I need. Thanks.

--
Peter

In article ,
"Peter R." wrote:

Looking for a recommended list of items to bring to OSH if one were to go
there to camp for four days.

All this excitement in this group year after year has taken its toll on me
so I am now in the beginning planning stages to fly there next year. My
thought is that if I begin to plan now (as in begin to buy the required
camping gear and schedule the time off), I will be ready come next July.

Will you be camping by yourself or with others?

This year I went by myself. The only things I used we
- two-man tent
- down comforter, lightweight
- fleece sleeping bag
- Thermorest sleeping pad
- cooler
- small backpack
- 3-liter Camelbak hydration bladder
- 1-liter Nalgene bottle

This year I bought all my meals off the airport. I spent less than $100
on food for the five days I was there.
I camp on the North Forty and have ready access to the off-airport
sources. If you are camping south of the N40, you will have to plan your
day to shop or bring everything with you. I have learned that I have
more room in the airplane going and coming if I only pack what I need
for camping and purchase the consumables when I get to AirVenture.

Camping with the family:

Camping equipment:
- two-man tent (1)
- three-man tent (1)
- fleece sleeping bags (4)
- lightweight down comforters (4)
- propane stove w/propane tank (1)
- 5-gallon stainless steel pot w/lid (1)
- Rubbermaid 2.5 gal dishpans (2)
- 12-inch skillet (1)
- cleaning scrubbers (2)
- fluorescent lanterns (2)
- collapsable table (1)
- collabsable chairs (4)
- synthetic chamois (4)

Remember, consumables can be purchased when you get there. Paper
napkins, plates and cups, plastic knife/fork/spoons, dish soap, aluminum
foil.

I shop for dinner at the Pick N Save grocery store every afternoon. I
cook on the grill just as I do at home. Chicken breasts, salmon, fillet
mingon, frozen vegetables, rolls, mashed potatos or rice. I get ice
every evening.

Renting a bicycle from Goodwill the last two years makes getting around
much easier, but I didn't lose any weight this year as I have in the
past from all the walking.

Personal Clothing:
- broad brimmed hat
- sunglasses
- raingear (jacket/pants)
- nylon hiking pants w/zip-off legs
- polyester t-shirt
- synthetic lightweight hiking socks
- lightweight trailrunning shoes
- fleece pullover/zip up jacket
- polyester boxer briefs
- cotton sleeping shorts
- cotton tshirt
- flip-flop shower shoes

This is all you need for one week. None of the synthetic clothing will
hold water. Take it in the shower with you and wash it when you get your
shower. Wring it out, hang it to dry. If damp, put it on, your body heat
will have it dry in a short time.

john smith wrote:

Will you be camping by yourself or with others?

Probably one other person although I am looking for a bigger tent to
accommodate my family of five (or at least my three boys when they are old
enough to be able to join me).

This year I went by myself. The only things I used we
- two-man tent

A lot of excellent suggestions about tent types, but no recommendations of
actual tent brands that are both strong and waterproof.

What tent brands work at OSH and what brands should I avoid?

--
Peter