Stuff you don't need

[jstrubberg]

I may have to try that... I don't like plastic because it gets scratched easily when you cut stuff on the plates, and glassware breaks too...gack...tough choices coming my way...

Corelle. Not quite as durable as porcenalized steel, but darn close.

[Wolffarmer]

Corelle is a lot easier to find in thrift shops and yard sales and the like.

They all but give the stuff away.

Randy

[GerryS]

Paper is fine for chips and a sandwich, but for any thing that is cooked?.roast chicken, steaks, fish etc, it gets soggy too quickly. Real cookware/dinnerware is a necessity...I don't understand people who camp and live on cold cuts. Open fire, and grilling are the summit of outdoor life! There's something about it that infuses a flavor you just can't get anywhere else.

We carried some porcenalized steel...I like the look, as well as just how much abuse it can take, but it sucks the heat out of everything you put on it and it chips fairly easily...then rusts. We've moved to Corelle. Having a place for everything, and everything in its place helps with the durability part. I think that if we had to rely on totes and bins for storage my opinion would be very different, but with a well built galley with shelves and compartments it's a lot easier...the whole experience is just easier.

Using fire as your cleanup works sometimes, just not every time. Burning plastic releases some awful smells and toxic stuff...plus if you get something that is a little too moist, all it does is stink up the campground.

[Catherine+twins]

Yeah, open fires aren't going to happen this summer in the dry, burning west. We can still use gas stoves, but no charcoal grills in state or national parks, or even the city parks in my town. If we don't get some significant rain soon, most of the northern New Mexico camp sites will probably be shut down next month.

Okay, so we don't need anything for tending open fires, or my Smoky Joe kettle or Dutch ovens. Still do need one or two CI skillets and the griddle, and need to get one of the Coleman white gas stoves burning cleanly.

Let's talk solar cooking....

Catherine

[Wolffarmer]

Hey man, don't need any negative vibes. Peace out dudes

Randy

[firemaniac]

I usually have stuff I don't need, but it is usually things I want. Do I need the 3 D cell mag light in the trailer? Probably not, I have one that is always in the truck. Do I need the porcelain steel plates? Not really, but I don't want the cheap paper or plastic plates folding and dumping my food to the ground. Do I need shore power? No, most of the places I go are off grid, but it is nice when I am camping with my parents, or a group that camps with their flat screens, plus it is nice to charge camera batteries when the weather isn't cooperating without running the truck.

Some of the other things I probably don't need, but the are in the trailer none the less.

marshmallow sticks
pop-up tent
2 sidewalls for the pop-up
lantern
etc, etc, etc

[Olddog1]

I haven't gotten around to my build yet but I do have some perspective. Our current RV is a 32' fifth wheel and up until the last 2 years we were fulltimers with every thing packed on board. During the first years we went thru a couple sets of tires with the ensuing damage. 2 tires in 5 days in North Dakota. Then 3 years ago on the way home through Georgia 2 tires in a few hours. The last 2 years after unloading all the extras we carried, no tire issues. Found that it's real easy to over load the trailer. An example was my wife and her paperbacks. A couple books a week at Walmart don't weigh anything but when they accumulate to the point of a box full it will surprise you when you go to pick the box up. In all fairness to her I was carrying an 18V B&D tool set with drill, skilsaw, recip saw, sander along with add on weedeater and blower all using the same interchangeable batteries.

As a hiker I have spent the last couple of years in reducing my pack weight. So far I have gone from a 30#+ pack to a pack of 13# less food and water. Simply a matter of emptying the pack at the end of a hike and removing anything you didn't use. That and I had a bad habit of carrying stuff that others might need. The next hike will be a few #s lighter. We all love our toys but there is a down side to carrying stuff that you don't need or use.

My goal when I do get around to building a smaller trailer is to continue with a minimalist attitude. Isn't the point of camping to be out enjoying the wilderness and getting away from all the hubbub and amenities of home?

[tony.latham]

I'm surprised by this disdain for paper plates. PP=much less clean up and dishwater. (This thread is about downsizing).

I think we put 21 nights on our 'drop this summer and another 4 nights on a canoe trip. All with paper plates. They work fine as long as you eat at a table (and of course we use a compact roll table).



And of course, we leave the cast iron at home and love our aluminum dutches. When it comes to clean up, we boil an inch of water in the main dutch (try that with iron) with the silverware. Wipe and dry. Done.

T

[Frankelson]

Stick a piece of tape on every item you are taking with you. When you use something you peel the tape off. When you get home, what still has tape on you didn't/don't need...

[Frankelson]

...and you guys have the best camping eating equipment in the world on your doorstep. The Ex US Army stainless steel billy is sought after by out of door people all over the world - or at least the clever ones :-)

[firemaniac]

Not necessarily disdain for the paper, rather a distrust. For most of the camping I do, either the stove, or the BBQ is set up on the little table I bring, and food (dinner) is eaten by the fire relaxed in a chair with a plate in my lap.

[Kaz]

I have so many cordless tools for work I just I just bring a light that works on their batteries. Ridgid makes one that comes with a 9watt fluorescent that you can swap out for an LED bulb. One battery feeds a lamp for over 4-6 hrs. Not nostalgic but effective and part of the hurricane kit too! NO gas no propane!

[Socal Tom]

I don't really have a disdain for paper plates, but in looking to downsize, and be ready to camp quickly they don't really fit.
1) Usually I end up buying 50 or 100 plates, so thats a stack several inches high, and they take up a fair chunk of space, and it takes ( for 2 people) about 20 plates for a weekend, but you always have to make sure you have enough before you leave, so you always end up with 50 or a hundred of them.
2) You always have to make sure you have paper plates before you go, cause if you don't eating can be pretty messy.

WIth plastic ( or bamboo or stainless steel) plates, you pack 4. They are always in the TD, and I don't have to worry about packing more. If I get them as part of a kit, they can be packed pretty tightly.

That being said, if I'm dry camping I don't mind bringing some paper plates to save on water.
Tom

[Wolffarmer]

And unfortunately so many people like to toss their "paper plates" into the communal campfire after they finish. Not that I mind that if they are really paper and not plastic coated. So you get a face full of burning plastic for a moment or two. And often there are people cooking hot dogs or marshmallows.

Randy

[tony.latham]

And unfortunately so many people like to toss their "paper plates" into the communal campfire after they finish. Not that I mind that if they are really paper and not plastic coated. So you get a face full of burning plastic for a moment or two. And often there are people cooking hot dogs or marshmallows.

Randy

There are three types of campfires: Warming, cooking, and trash. There's a time for all three and they don't morph back and forth. The only thing that goes in my trash fire is paper. Nothing tics me off worse than some dumb@ss that puts garbage in a warming or cook fire.


T