I'm going camping this weekend for the first time in literally decades. I realize that's not much notice, but I didn't know until this weekend that I was going to overnight it rather than drive home at night.

It's an organized event at a San Diego County park, and well over 2000 people will be there, along with merchants, food vendors, water supplies, etc. It's a short drive to "civilization", and another 30 minutes or so to my home.

I was planning to drive home to sleep, but this weekend I was offered the use of a tent. Although I won't even see it before I get there, the owner will be in the immediate area and I don't anticipate major problems with it. Worst case, I can fall back on the "drive home for the night" plan.

I have a sleeping bag, and I'm going to pick up a cheap tarp for its utility. (I don't know what kind of floor the tent has, but I assume it has one.) Should I pick up some kind of ground pad, too? I haven't slept on the ground in decades. What do you all recommend that's cheap and easily available?

One of these should do the trick if your car camping.

http://www.rei.com/product/778150

If you want a good night's sleep then you're definitely going to need something under you. (do you know what the likely night temps are and what your sleeping bag is rated for?)

REI rents gear, too.

If this is the one and only night, or two, you expect to be camping in the next decade then I wouldn't spend much on a pad. I'd first ask friends and family if anyone has any kind of a Thermarest pad, Aerobed, egg crate foam or even the cheapest air mattress -- that you can borrow.

Alternatively: Wal-Mart or some other cheap box or surplus store for a super cheap air mattress (you have duct tape in the car?).

If it were me and we're talking about just one weekend, then I'd take an extra sleeping bag to put under or a bed spread - something bulky.

More important in a group camp: E A R P L U G S.

Here are several options at REI. You could take a long thin foam pad and fold it over to cushion the most sensitive parts (for instance, my feet don't need a pad):

http://www.rei.com/outlet/search?cat=8001&cat=8001&cat=22000001&cat=22000021&cat=29340995&hist=cat%2C22000001%3ACamping+%26+Hiking%5Ecat%2C22000021%3ASleeping+Bags%5Ecat%2C29340995%3ASleeping+Pads

If you want to invest (and get a great deal) on a super comfortable and durable car camping mattress then LL Bean as the Thermarest DreamTime on sale (and free shipping on purchases over $75. I can attest to the comfort of the DreamTime, it's what I sleep on in my teardrop trailer):

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/67070?parentCategory=505122&feat=505122-tn&cat4=500305

Good luck!

+1 on earplugs!

(I'll even use them in backcountry when it's windy and the tent is rattling)

I think there's some leftover egg crate at work. I'll see if it's earmarked for anything, otherwise I'll pick up something cheap for this one trip.

Hadn't thought of earplugs, that's an excellent idea! There's supposed to be an 11pm sound curfew in the area I'll be in, but I hadn't thought of tent rattles, etc., and I don't know how well the curfew is enforced.

Thanks!

Overdo the ground pad; stack two if you can borrow or find them.

I see a lot of people using air mattresses for car camping in the summer. In less than optimal summer temperature, an air mattress will conduct heat away from your body and to the surrounding air. If you or someone in your family wants an air mattress then put a groundsheet ON TOP of the air mattress to insulate yourself from the cold air mattress.


No matter the quality of your sleeping bag, the weight of your body will compress the part under you. This is why a ground sheet is so important for a good nights sleep.


For a pillow I just stuff the sleeping bag's stuff sack, a T-shirt or something similar full of whatever fluffy clothes or other items that happen to be nearby.


Take notice of where the sun will rise to roast you in your tent. If you can't position your tent so it is in the shade in the earliest morning hours then consider a tarp or something similar to give some minimum cover.

The lady lending me the tent called last night to throw in a self-inflating air mattress. ("But bring some d-cells, I don't know if they're still good." "No problem, batteries I got!")

Would a surplus store wool blanket (that I already have) make a good "ground cover" over an air mattress?

I would use something less 'scratchy' like a cheap acrylic blanket. If it's hot, just use an old sheet.

Depends on how thick it is when compressed under your body. Insulation value is proportional to how thick it is, i.e. "dead air" space (as opposed to an air mattress, where the air circulates, moving energy from a hot spot (under your body) to a cold spot (around the edges)). In not too cold summer temperatures I would speculate that a robust, heavy-duty wool blanket would do the job quite nicely. It will also depend on how warm your sleeping bag is: To a certain extent, you can tolerate some heat loss in one spot if you're otherwise warm and snug.


The one and only time I've been sleeping on an air mattress the last 25 years (car camping "the American way" with our American friends, all our own shiny gear back home in Europe) my wife and I used the rubber/synthetic wool carpet from our rental car (toyota raw-4). That was somewhere around 1/4 inch thick. Don't know how cold it was, it may have been as low as the 50's during the coldest night.