Regardless of how you camp, these 10 tips, tricks and upgrades are universal.

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

It’s easy to walk through the camping stores and come out the other end with a trolley full of the latest gadgets and gizmos. Thing is, the more you’ve got, the more there is to setup, and the more there is to go wrong. Sort your basics and do your best to keep your campsite as simple as possible.

2. WEIGHT’S THE ENEMY

This goes hand-in-hand with the first tip. An over-loaded 4WD is a hazard, increases the amount of stress put on every part of your vehicle and smashes your fuel economy. We might have 4WDs these days with all the power in the world, but reducing weight is the key to success.

3. THE THREE-TRIP RULE

This one’s a cracker of an idea. Every time you come back from a camping trip, go through your gear. If there’s something that you haven’t touched in three trips, then it gets left at home for the next adventure away. If you don’t miss it on that next trip, then it stays in the garage or goes up for sale at the next swap-meet. Emergency items like first-aid kits and fire extinguishers are the obvious exception to the rule!

4. EASY DOES IT

It sounds obvious, but unless something’s easy to get to, you’re not going to use it often. If you’ve got to unpack the entire back of your 4WD to get to your Adventure Kings BBQ Plate then we guarantee you’re going to stop using it. Give serious thought to storage and pack to put the most frequently-used gear where it’s quick to grab.

5. LED LIGHTS RULE

If you’re still using halogen or even gas lighting around camp, we’ve got news for you. LED lighting like an Illuminator 4 Bar Camp Light Kit draws such little power and puts out such brilliant bright light more than any other type of camp light that it absolutely rules supreme. It’s also ridiculously cheap to buy. Get a hold of some Illuminator LED strip lighting and put it everywhere.

6. QUALITY GEAR IS AFFORDABLE

In the last couple of years the Aussie camping industry has undergone a revolution, with the price of quality gear coming way down. These days you don’t automatically have to buy something in the upper end of the price range to get good quality. Compare it for yourself and you’ll see what we mean.

7. DON’T SKIMP ON THE SEAT

We’ve all spent time on those $5 camp chairs at some stage. They’re a means to an end but the truth is they suck. Once you’ve sorted your campsite accommodation, make a decent camp chair like the Adventure Kings Throne Camping Chair your mission. There’s nothing better than being comfy around the campfire!

8. BASIC BUSH TUCKER

Assuming you’re not camping somewhere in a fireban, then we guarantee the best meals you cook will be with the most basic cooking instruments. A hotplate to go over the campfire and a camp oven will cook 99.9% of meals as good as any gas cooking will, and you’ll look like a campsite legend in the process.

9. THE ONE CAMPING MOD EVERY 4WD SHOULD HAVE

If you haven’t got an awning hanging off the side of your 4WD by now, what are you waiting for? You can pick a good one up for about $100 these days, and they’re so universally useful that you’ll find yourself setting it up for 15 minute roadside cuppa breaks. You’ll wonder how you lived without one.

10. LEAVE NO TRACE

Every campsite etiquette rule can be summed up with this one sentence. Whether it’s burying your (fully extinguished) campfire ashes out in the desert, burning off your toilet paper or ensuring you take every last scrap of rubbish out with you, the reason’s the same – Leave No Trace.