Book Now6 Useful Tips For Storing Camping Gear
Let’s face it, not everyone can go camping as much as they would like to. Camping trips take planning and a bit of free time. Of course, they’re always worth it – but what can you do with your camping gear in the meantime?
Storing camping gear is a bit of an art. It’s all pretty robust, but there’s still a trick to storing camping gear correctly. So before you load it up and head to your self storage unit, have a look at our 6 tips for storing camping gear.
#1 Storing camping gear will be much easier if you organise it into sturdy plastic containers
The first step for both storing and using your camping gear is to get some sturdy plastic containers. These will be your best friends, whether you’re storing camping gear, or using it on a weekend away. It’s absolutely vital that you categorise your camping gear, and put it away into at least two boxes. That way, it’s ready to go when you need it, and it’s safe while in storage!
#2 It’s important to defend against pests when storing camping gear like tents and mattresses
Pests can get at any camping gear. But they especially love tents and mattresses. So why is that? We can only guess, but we reckon it’s because they offer plenty of dark, soft spaces when they’re rolled up in storage. And the last thing you want is to unroll your tent at a pristine campsite and discover that it’s full of ant or cockroaches!
Our advice: get a nice secure bag for your tent and mattress. You don’t have to use it when you head away for your next trip, but it will be very handy for storing your camping gear.
#3 If you’re storing camping gear made of metal, think about rust – here are some tips to prevent it!
A lot of camping gear is metal – think of billies, camp ovens, grill plates, and camp stoves. Metal is great for camping gear too. It’s robust, durable, and it is fantastic for cooking over a camp fire. But it can rust if it’s not stored properly. And nothing will add a metallic taste to your food more than a rusty camp oven! That’s why we recommend cleaning your metal utensils gently and wiping them out with some paper towel. This will preserve the outer layer more than harsh steel wool, and therefore lessen the likelihood of rust. But that’s not all – the last step is to take some paper towel and apply a fine layer of vegetable oil over the metal. When stored like that, your metal camp gear will store like a dream!
#4 Make sure all water containers are completely empty when storing camping gear!
Even when you empty out the water containers, there’s normally a splash left swilling around the bottom. Surely that won’t be a problem, right? Maybe not always, but it can stagnate if it’s left for long enough. And if you have even a small amount of stagnant water left in your container when you fill it up next time, it can taint your water supply. It’s best not to take the risk – we suggest thoroughly draining all water containers before storing your camping gear.
#5 Before you store your camping gear, give all your kitchen utensils a thorough wash
Just like stagnant water, small food particles will only get worse over time! So even if you’ve washed your kitchen utensils well at camp, we recommend giving them a going over at home too. If you put them through the dishwasher before storing your camping gear, they’ll be nice and fresh for next time.
#6 If you’re storing camping gear after a beach trip, take some time to get rid of all the sand!
Sand: it is great at the beach, but not so nice at home. It also has a lot of salt caught within it. That means that an abundance of sand through your camping gear can actually rust some of it over time. It’s also very annoying! So before storing camping gear, we suggest giving it all a good shakedown to get rid of that leftover sand.