7 Car Camping Essentials For Summertime

Rooftop Tent: Yakima SkyRise HD

If you've never slept in a pop-up rooftop tent (RTT) before, you're missing out. I'll admit, I was a skeptic for years, too. But after spending many cozy nights sleeping on a comfortable, supportive memory foam mattress, high above the cold, hard ground I was a convert. During the pandemic, I built myself a truck camper with a wedge-style rooftop tent, modeled after the then-new Go Fast Camper system. It worked great, but my sub-par engineering skills unfortunately meant it didn't last quite as long as I was hoping for. These days, it's mostly a bed ornament on the back of my Ram 1500.

I've since been testing Yakima's new SkyRise HD tent, a new lighter-weight version of their popular SkyRise soft tent. The whole unit weights 155 pounds, easily fitting on the roof tracks of a smaller vehicle like a Subaru Crosstrek (rated to 700 lbs static, 176 while moving). Inside, there's a comfy foam mattress, lots of storage sleeves and frankly an insane amount of space to hang out in given how easily and compactly the unit packs up. The updated version features a longer overhanging canopy that covers the entrance ladder.

Why choose an RTT over sleeping in your truck bed, or in a tent on the ground? Space, convenience, and comfort are three good reasons that come to mind. The tent can be set up in a matter of minutes (less if you don't bother tightening the built-in rainfly), it takes up zero room inside your car, and there's something about sleeping up high that feels much more, well, sophisticated. Thanks to multiple zippered vent flaps on each side and on the roof, the SkyRise HD offers plenty of airflow on hot nights, but can be closed up fully to keep you dry in the event of a summer rainstorm. Setting up the tent in the rain isn't terrible, as you can tighten the rainfly from inside. At this point, I've slept through a few surprise nights of rain in the tent already and have yet to get wet. 

The SkyRise HD even comes with an optional vestibule attachment, that zips onto the fold-out portion of the tent, providing 20 or so extra square feet of usable enclosed space on the ground. It's a great place to stash gear, change, or even set up a kitchen if you're posting up for longer than a night and want to protect your stuff from the elements.

My only gripe? I haven't figured out a way to mount both the tent and a ski rack on the roof of the car, so this guy likely won't be staying on in the winter. The good news? It's easy to remove with two people, so can be moved to the garage for storage.

Camp Kitchen: Stove, Pizza Oven, Cooking Tools

Perhaps my favorite part about summer car camping is cooking elaborate meals for the crew in the middle of nowhere. Sure, it's fun to grill a few skewered hot dogs over. an open fire, but have you ever had freshly-baked pizza at camp with a view of your favorite peaks? How about a sausage crumble frittata for breakfast? I'm not going to go into recipe specifics here, but I'll let you in on how set up a proper camp kitchen to make just about anything you'd ever want to eat.

Cooking on the ground is no fun, and I don't particularly recommend cooking on your tailgate, for safety and cleanliness reasons. Instead, I like to base my kitchen setup on a sturdy foldable camp table, like this Mountain Summit Gear's HD Roll-Top Table. You're car camping, so might as well go big. 

When car camping, propane is undoubtedly the most reliable heat source, and I've stuck with a certain tried-and-true stove forever: a Coleman Cascade Classic. It's simple, has lasted me for the better part of a decade, and runs on those green Coleman cans you can buy just about anywhere. It has a striker, but I always make sure to carry a lighter, just in case it feels like not working. I've also upgraded the fuel supply hose to be able to run off a larger propane tank, a trick I learned from friends on a river trip. That allows me to run a splitter valve from a 20-gallon propane tank (store it in a plastic milk crate!) and simultaneously power an Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven.

In terms of actually cooking tools, a sturdy cast iron skillet rules supreme, like the classic Lodge 12-inch. These are the easiest to clean, can take a beating, and have plenty of space for cooking everything from breakfast to dessert. I've also got a few smaller pots and pans, to boil water and sauté smaller items in. I've found various sets to work well, and currently use the three-piece Primus Campfire Cookset, which packs down into itself.

Beyond that, I'll bring a plastic and a metal spatula, two cutting boards, and at least one sharp chef's knife. My favorite? The beautiful New West Knifeworks 7-Inch Santoku, made locally in the Tetons. Trust me, these knives are worth every penny. 

Storage: Bins and A Cooler

A camp kitchen is nothing without a solid cooler to keep all those ingredients fresh and those beverages cold. There's no shortage of high-quality coolers these days, but I've yet to find something wrong with the Yeti Tundra 65, or the Dometic Patrol 35 Ice Chest as a smaller option. These both keeps things cold for a really long time and fit perfectly into a car, what more can I say? Don't forget the re-usable ice packs. 

In the truck camper days, I kept the entire camp kitchen and sleeping kit inside the drawers of a Decked Drawer System, but since mostly moving to a smaller car, I've moved everything over into two heavy-duty 27-Gallon Storage Totes. These should fit everything you need, and they stack neatly in the trunk of a car or at camp.

Sleeping System: Mountain Hardwear Sleeping Bags

The nice part of sleeping in a rooftop tent is that gone are the days of inflating sleeping pads before bedtime. That makes putting together a sleep system extremely easy: all that I need is a comfortable sleeping bag. Over the years, I've grown quite fond of Mountain Hardwear's bag offerings, and choose between a few options, depending on the temperatures. During the hot months, I'll grab the Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass 30F (which also comes in a women's version). When temps start to drop in the fall, I'll just grab my winter sleep setup: the Mountain Hardwear Phantom Gore-Tex -40 Bag. I know it's a bit overkill for non-winter camping, but it sure is cozy.

Car camping is about luxury, so I'll grab my favorite pillow from home for that perfect night's sleep.

Water Storage and Filter: 

When spending time in the backcountry during the summer, I'm constantly thinking about water. Car camping is no different, so I'll always make sure to either camp near a reliable water source or bring enough with me to be able to drink, cook, and clean with. 

A large plastic water tank does the trick, and I prefer the tall and skinny versions over the squat rectangular ones, as they tend to fit into the back of a car or truck a little better. I've found the 7-Gallon Reliance Jumbo-Tainer to be a great option. It has a sturdy, stowable spigot, and holds more water than I'd ever need.

On trips where I have access to water, like a stream or a spring, I'll still tend to bring a water filter or purifier to make sure my drinking water isn't filled with undesirable microbes. I often carry a Steripen when mountain biking, so that's a great option to use at camp. It does take awhile to purify large amounts of water, so I keep a larger but more efficient filter system in my kitchen kit: the Platypus Gravity Works filter. This can filter up to four liters of water at a time, just hang it and let gravity do the work.

Dishwashing System: Biodegradable Soap

Doing dishes at camp is never fun, but it's a necessary evil to eating delicious meals in the mountains. There's always the method of rinsing plates and bowls in a nearby body of moving water, but that's not always an option. Instead, I'll carry a small plastic tub or bucket, and use that to rinse dishes.

Normal at-home dish soap works great, but I prefer using concentrated biodegradable stuff like Campsuds. It takes up less space in the kitchen box and works nearly as well, as long as you don't let your dishes sit too long before washing. I'll pair that with a sponge and small dish scrubber.

Camp Chair: Kelty Loveseat

If there's a single favorite part of my car camping setup, it's the Kelty Low Loveseat. There's camp chairs, and then there's the Loveseat, a veritable outdoor couch. It's lower and deeper than most camp chairs, making it much more comfortable to lounge around in while enjoying a meal, cold beverage, or when swapping stories around a campfire. It's plenty big enough for you and your partner (or dog)...or just yourself if you really want to sprawl out.