Whether I'm going out Jeepin' just for the day, or on a weekend excursion, I like to make sure I have everything I need for a safe, enjoyable ride.  As a result, I've put together a Packing List for Campin' n Jeepin' Trips.  BTW, just in case you've already stumbled across my We Be Campin! page and are thinking, "this guy doesn't camp, he's city folk"! . . . the kind of ampin' I'm referring to on this page, is tent campin, which I recently started getting back into.  Granted, the great majority of our weekend outings are spent in the motor home, with the Jeep in tow.  But sometimes, there's a rare opportunity to drive out to a very remote site, set up a real camp, and drive back in the following day.  That being said . . .

I keep a lot of this stuff (especially my camping gear, extra tools, fluids, spare parts, etc) packed and stored in my garage.  That way, I can just throw the pre-packed containers in the Jeep and go.  My storage container of choice is the Action Packer® by Rubbermaid®; those black plastic storage containers with the gray tops and red locking latches on each side.  They fit very nicely, in various configurations, either on my rear seat or on my trail rack.  They're relatively waterproof, so I don't have to worry about my stuff getting wet while strapped to the rack, or if left out in the rain overnight at the camp site.  I can also secure them with small pad locks to keep the campground critters from stealing my groceries!

I have two 8-gallon containers and two 15.5-gallon containers.   I keep one of the 8-gallon containers packed with extra tools, fluids, spare parts, etc.  I call this my Boonie Box, because it contains a bunch of useful stuff in the event I get stuck way out in the (you've got it), the boonies!   (btw, I can't take credit for the term; I stole it from the article, "The Essential Boonie Box" by Wendel C. Green, Aug '97 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine).  Okay, so in the other 8-gallon container, we pack our camping pantry and trail munchies.  Or for longer camping weekends, we may use one of the 15.5-gallon containers for this purpose.   I usually use the other 15.5-gallon container for all of our personal stuff, such as clothes, toiletries, camera, extra film, trail maps, etc. 

Depending on who's coming with me and how long we will be out, I use a variety of packing configurations.   There are three of us, including our teenage son, Stephen.  Although he sometimes brings a friend along.  The pictures on my trail rack page shows the Jeep loaded for a one-day ride.  The rack is packed with one 15.5-gallon container (munchies, change of clothes, extra drinking water, trail maps, and other miscellaneous "stuff"), one 8-gallon container (the Boonie Box), and a medium-size ice chest in between. 

Before your next trail ride, try printing out this page and checking off each item as you pack for your trip.   I guarantee that you will forget much less stuff than if you try to pack from memory each time you go out. There are blank spaces provided at the end of each section for you to add additional items.

Packing List for Campin' n Jeepin' Trips

    Beer & wine for consumption after the trail ride & back at camp only!!   

Note: Since I originally created this "Before The Ride" page and associated lists, we've upgraded our accommodations to a Class C motor home!   Instead of hitching up the tent camper to the Jeep, we now hitch the Jeep up to the Camper.   However, we still take much of the same stuff (just more of it, since we now have a lot more room)!  I have additional checklists and packing lists on my new We Be Campin' ! page.