Are you afraid of the cold? Or bears? Or sleeping on the ground? Well, car camping might be the perfect thing for you! If you don’t know where to even start with that, here’s the best list you’ll ever find for essential car camping supplies on Amazon. Tried and true, these items have all been tested by a 3,000+ mile road trip and weeks of camping trips from Washington to California.

1. Sleeping Mats

I’ll be honest with you, sleeping in the back of your car is still just as solid as cold ground of a tent. Therefore, you need some comfy mats. We used two sets of mats during our trip and were soooo cozy and actually excited to get into bed each night. These sleeping pads were perfect for us because they were compact enough to store in the car but still had a lot of support for your body weight. 

2. Sleeping Bags

If you don’t already own your own sleeping bags, these are the pinnacle of essential car camping items. Both Mitchell and I have our own from sporting goods stores several years ago but these Amazon #1 bestsellers are a great option if you’re needing to buy one. These bags are waterproof and warm enough for 3 seasons! If you want to add an extra layer of warmth, look for a fleece sleeping bag liner to add inside.

3. Window Coverings

Your tent windows will zip up, but sadly your car windows won’t. These window coverings give you great privacy and feel like blackout curtains. They are super easy to hang up and remove because they’re magnetized to the metal frame around the window. This makes it easy to crack the windows to let the breeze in while still maintaining your privacy. A set of 2 from Amazon is only $20!

4. Camping Stove & Cookware

We got this camping stove as a wedding gift and it is AMAZING. I would always get frustrated with single – burner camping stoves because you had to let some of the food get cold or be limited to 1-pan meals. This double burner is perfect for multitasking AND it doesn’t burn up your propane quickly at all. I used 1 can of propane for about 15 meals over a couple of weeks before I ran out.

If you’re planning on cooking, this is the best car camping essential I suggest! Set it up on a picnic table or even the back of the car. We use cast iron skillets when we camp but this setup would work well with other pans too. If you want some camping meal ideas – check out my Instagram page. 

5. Multi-plugs

When my husband and I were collecting our essential car camping supplies, we knew we would need something more than our cigarette lighter dual plug. We found this and I STILL use it in the car with friends today. It has 2 main charging ports and 4 additional USB slots for all of your camera / phone / tablet charging needs. This makes it really easy to charge all of your devices at once and unwrap the cord to reach the backseat if necessary. 

6. Lanterns

On our 3,000 mile road trip, we were trying to pack light, so we opted to just bring flashlights on our camping trip but wished that we had bought lanterns. Let’s just say, it isn’t very easy to play card games when you can’t see what’s in your hand. These lamps come in a pack of two, are waterproof, compact, and have adjustable brightness. 

We were doing a few nights of dispersed camping as well so we bought a pair of these LED flashlights with tasers built in so we would feel a little safer. 

Bonus Items:

If you’re looking for more essential car camping supplies on Amazon, here are my best suggestions.

• Card games (SkipBo and Dutch Blitz are two of my favorites)
• Hammock (you can find a good quality one for less than $25)
• Camping utensils (especially metal tongs for the fire)

If you’re one of my email subscribers, you’ll have exclusive access to checklists for camping trips like these. Amazon can provide almost all of the essential car camping supplies you’ll need, just find a camping site on recreation.gov or reservecalifornia.com.

Get out there, friends!