Back Country Camping Trip Checklist: Fill & Download for Free

You need to think about your budget, how much the camper will be used, and how long you are planning to keep it. If this is your first major camping purchase, here are the key advantages of each:Class C motor home:Drives like a truck or a big vanYou won’t flip it over if you overdrive it in a crosswindYou can just step into the back to get a snack or drink or take a napEasy to back into a camping space - no jackknife possibility or mis-trackingThis is your 2nd (or 3rd) vehicle - it won’t get much use when you’re not campingYou won’t be adding undue stress to your main car, since it stays homeBetter if you go your destination and stay thereTrailer camper:Much cheaper purchase price and maintenance costsNever needs engine repair, just attention to the wheelsMore interior space because there is no drive train or seats that are only useful while drivingYou still have a vehicle as your transportation when you get to your destinationTypical open floor plan makes it easy to pack, set up, and break campPhysically smaller than a comparable Class C (or A) motor home, so you may be able to use a smaller private area in your back yard or at an RV storage business (e.g., 20–30′ instead of 30–50′ )You already own or want to own a large SUV or truck as your tow vehicle (yes, there are some VERY light trailers capable of being towed by a VW microbus, but you might want some real sleeping space)Better if your destination is a base for lots of local tripsRV Type Pros & Cons has a nice checklist of advantages and issues with each of the different types of campers you’ll commonly encounter.

I unschooled our son so we didn’t use a curriculum. The whole world was our resource.Here are the types of things I found useful.From Carol Narigon’s Curriculum ChecklistList of basic teaching materials.encyclopediasdictionariesatlasesreference books and materials ( such as textbooks, field guides, grammar books, timelines, globe maps, etc.)newspapersmagazines (including Muse, Zillions, Boys Life, Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, Scientific American Frontiers)library loan books, tapes, magazines, etc.educational gameseducational computer software and on-line servicescalculating and measuring tools and utensilsart, craft and writing suppliesmusical instrumentsaudio-visual equipment and materialsreligious materialsscience lab equipmentsports equipmentkitchen equipmentgardening toolscarpentry toolshome maintenance equipmentcommunity resources (such as museums, stage performances, sports programs, private lessons, volunteer opportunities)Boy Scout materialslive animals—dog, rats, horses, etcgarden and yardUnschooling & Limited BudgetsThe libraryThe internetUsed book stores/thrift storesField trips (free days/free places)Free community programsMost museums have one free day per weekTrade and barter for servicesCraig's List, FreeCycleBuy things at second hand stores that will sell on Ebay, then put money into a fund for kids' purchasesSome libraries loan out day passes for children's museumsFarms offering free field tripsZoos have an annual Free DayYard salesConsignment storesCreate a local group online where members contribute knowledge and skills for those who want to learn (working on car, creative cooking, sewing, building, in additions to how to use a microscope, musical instruments, etc.)Create a local Math Games dayCheck if your local homeschool group has swaps or books to loanGroup trips to places as the group rate is usually lessFreebies on KindleStart a Savings Jar for things the kids would like to haveTrips to Europe - or anywhere! - on YouTubeEducator discount cards at Barnes & NobleProject Gutenberg - any book that has reached "public domain" status is digitizedUS National Parks' gate fees are waived a few times every yearDollar Movie Days or Dollar Movie theatersWork/internships in exchange for classes (theatre, gyms, etc.)Think of the money you save from not having to keep up with fashion trendsIf your state offers it, Sales Tax Free days happen in August to replenish school supplies you'd use at home, clothing, backpacks, etc.Potlucks with other familiesAsk family members to give Annual passes (museums, zoos, etc.) for holiday and birthday giftsCamping trips instead of expensive vacationsVolunteering at unschooling conferences to get free conference passesFor those who feel paralyzed by too much choice, Sandra Dodd broke down some approaches Disposable Checklists for Unschoolers. (There’s more commentary at the link.)Beginning homeschoolers are often afraid. Sometimes they homeschool for a while, and a curriculum keeps the fear to a manageable level. Sometimes a curriculum is a workable alternative to school for a family. For some it is not. Some of those give up and the kids go back to school. Some give up the curriculum and move toward unschooling.Beginning unschoolers are often afraid. Without the touchstone of a schedule and a list, they don't know how they will see progress, or how they will recognize "sufficient effort" on the part of children or parents.For some people, treating their first months of unschooling as summer vacation, or a month or two of Saturdays is sufficient, but some people schedule even their Saturdays and vacations. "Just hang out with your kids" sounds torturous to them, and may be more frightening than abandoning public school was.Here, then, are some possible replacement checklists and scheduling aids for those who truly want to unschool but who can't breathe well or sleep soundly without a plan.Sink-Like-a-Stone Method: Instead of skimming the surface of a subject or interest, drop anchor there for a while. If someone is interested in chess, mess with chess. Not just the game, but the structure and history of tournaments. How do chess clocks work? What is the history of the names and shapes of the playing pieces? What other board games are also traditional and which are older than chess? If you're near a games shop or a fancy gift shop, wander by and look at different chess sets on display. It will be like a teeny chess museum. The interest will either increase or burn out—don't push it past the child's interest.When someone understands the depth and breadth of one subject, he will know that any other subject has breadth and depth.Universe-in-a-Drop-of-Water Method: Can one intense interest come to represent or lead to all others? A mom once complained that her son was interested in nothing but World War II. There are college professors and historians who are interested in nothing but World War II. It can become a life's work. But even a passing interest can touch just about everything—geography, politics, the history and current events of Europe and parts of the Pacific, social history of the 20th century in the United States, military technology, tactics, recruitment and propaganda, poster art/production/distribution, advances in communications, transport of troops and food and supplies, espionage, prejudices, internment camps, segregation, patriotism, music, uniforms, insignia, religion....When someone really understands one war, he can easily understand another, because he will have all the framework and questions in his mind. When he understands how countries are born, invaded, and how a government can die out, he understands truths about all nations and civilizations.But there may be no overriding interest like chess or WWII in a child's life yet, and might rarely be. So then where do parents go with their fearful unschooling energy?Here are some checklists to try. Mix and match them. Use them as main ingredients or as spices or occasional garnishes. Take those you like, and leave the rest.FIVE SENSESThe obvious senses are sight and sound. Pictures of Japan and a recording of koto music might be considered sufficient for school. But how much more gloriously can you round that out when you have access to all kinds of real-world resources? Add taste, smell and touch. The kids don't need to know there was a checklist, but for the parents, a trip to a restaurant or an Asian market or gift shop might help the parent complete their secret framework.How long should a five-senses checklist take to finish? Since unschooling operates in the real world, timing it to an hour or a week or six weeks is artificial. No hurry to "complete the set" on something. Smelling an elephant might need to wait for a trip to a zoo or circus, or you might want to just avoid that particular scent sensation altogether.TIMELINEA smaller list with a larger effect is to consider the past, present and future of a topic or item. "Ancient Egypt" is sometimes considered in a glossed-over, snapshot kind of way, but even that spans thousands of years. What was in the Nile Valley before the civilizations we know about? What's there now? What might be there someday? These things can be brought up casually, without appearing to be the checklist they are.When were the first electric guitars made? What's better about new ones than those made forty years ago? What might be the future of electric guitars?GEOGRAPHYLists are patterns. Lists can take the form of grids, and so a pattern-loving parent might use the globe or a map as a checklist. Where are the fewest traffic lights in your state? This came up at our house last month—we heard that Harding County, in northeastern New Mexico, has not one single traffic light. So we looked on road maps, and population maps, and couldn't help but see which counties have lots of towns and highway intersections. We thought there might be other states that have a county with no signals, or maybe more than one county. Some states probably don't. Some states don't even have counties!Which continents have the most traffic signals? Butterflies? Poisonous spiders? Which have the least, or none? If the Nile Valley is the site of the oldest advanced civilization in its region, where are the oldest known civilizations on other continents? What is the oldest continuously inhabited spot near you? In your state? In another country you've been to or dreamed of seeing? The histories of Constantinople, Rome, Paris and London are easily accessible and illuminating. What geographical factors caused people to settle there so long ago? What did Alexander the Great find when he marched east?FANTASY, REALITY AND MYTHWhat aspect of some particular subject involves objective truth? What is folklore or mythology? What literature or fantasy has come about based on that subject or item? Consider dragons, or India, or snakes, or rainbows. Checklist Abe Lincoln, the discovery of fire, or the depths of Lake Superior. Plot WWII, Japan, electric guitars, or Egypt.A professor once told me in all seriousness that the universe is as infinite inside our heads as it is outside. I thought he was goofy. But as I've gotten older and my personal model of the universe has continued to expand, I've come to understand what he meant. Inside, each of us is building an internal "map" or grid of information. The more bits and pieces we have, the easier it is to connect them. School tries to build the same structure in all students, or at least tries to supply them with a set of matching parts sufficient to build a rudimentary model of the universe, but each student ends up creating and working off his own map.Unschooling allows free use of any and all bits of information, not just school's small set. A grid based first on cartoon characters or the history of ice skating can be expanded just as well as one built on a second-grade version of the discovery of North America and the made-up characters in some beginning-reader series. If the goal is to know everything, and if each person's internal "universe" is unique, then the order in which the information is acquired isn't as important as the ease and joy with which it is absorbed.The time will come in your unschooling when you will forget to use checklists, but it won't matter. The child's internal grid will already have given them the need to know what things feel, smell and taste, and what they used to be or will be, and whether it's different in other places. Connections will continue to be made throughout their lives. The universe inside will grow larger and the universe outside will become clearer with every new experience.Sandra DoddSummer, 2002

My suggestion would be to stick to well-populated areas with 24-hour access, good lighting and cameras. Walmart and Cracker Barrel parking lots are notoriously friendly with RVs, and I myself have camped in my minivan there on occasion. State and national parks also often have affordable passes and such amenities as bathrooms with showers, electrical hookups and similar.A 24-hour gym membership will also help you, as will keeping your car as clean and presentable as possible. Remove any identifying aspects like stickers or decals, use suitcases from Goodwill or fabric laundry bags to keep your possessions neat inside the vehicle, both to deter theft and to keep your car looking tidy, and have your car washed as often as you can afford. The safest way to live in one’s car is to be as invisible as possible, and the more your car looks like other cars, the harder it will be for people to notice and complain of you.Before our minivan-camping homelessness adventure, my wife and I read Ken Ilgunas’ blog, (he was the Duke grad student who lived in a van,) as well as various other articles from Instructables and various bloggers about how to camp in a conventional vehicle. We had some warning of our impending homelessness, and this bought us time to put our things in storage, find tenants for our home, design a plug-in air conditioner kit and some other clever but inexpensive camper modifications for our minivan, as well as to apply to many, many jobs. We lived in the van for a few months while traveling to various interviews, my wife kept up her telecommuting job using library and Burger King WiFi, the mileage reimbursements for the interviews paid for our gasoline and meals while the Mrs. saved every paycheck, and the rent from our new tenants paid the mortgage and kept us from losing our home despite the layoffs. Once we found a new job for me, we kept up the vandwelling lifestyle to save money, and in just a few months we had enough to purchase our second house. We were homeless, yes, but we were homeless landlords, and now we’re just regular landlords with day jobs, a modest but happy home and a minivan that still occasionally serves as a camper now and then for inexpensive state and national park vacations, as well as the most comfortable vehicle we’ve ever taken to a drive-in movie.It’s not easy to blend in as homeless van-dwellers, though. My wife was occasionally approached by police officers, ‘concerned citizen’ types and various other busybodies who wanted to know what we were doing and why. Luckily, it was the work of but a few moments every day to look up which wholesome, popular concerts were within about a half-day’s drive and it turns out that most people would rather just believe two adorable but impoverished newlyweds were ‘saving money by camping’ on a job interview road trip in the hopes of affording concert tickets on their way back home -technically not a lie, but leaving out a few key details. In your place, I would just explain that you’re attending [college you attend,] and if people object to your sleeping in your car somewhere, just explain that “it’s really hard to catch a nap, working [number of jobs you work,] and sleeping here saves me a trip before my next shift starts.” Technically not lying, and so long as your driver’s license has SOME kind of address on it, many people just might forget to ask.You might even be able to get a second (or third,) job on the night staff at one of the dorms, and provided your classes are relatively late in the day, you just might be able to nap safely in the library in the mornings when it’s quiet. Book a study room, stuff a hoodie so it looks like a person bent over some open books, then unroll your sleeping bag beneath the study table, the Mrs. says. (I try not to ask how she knows so much about sleeping in odd places or being secretly homeless.)The Mrs. and I tended to wear college t-shirts throughout this adventure and since we looked a bit younger than we were, it seems that most inquirers dismissed us as broke students, so I’d make a point to wear as much collegiate attire as you can afford. Goodwills always have college-themed shirts and such, and it’s generally easier for a ‘hardworking but broke student’ to pass with busybodies than any other type of homeless young adult.We also had the unfair advantage of being white, with middle-class accents and attire that made us look as nonthreatening as possible. I wouldn’t like to think how things might have gone differently had we been of minority status, perhaps less conservatively dressed or if the Mrs. wasn’t really kind of used to talking her way out of anything. And I know that her habit of washing, regularly vacuuming and otherwise keeping our minivan looking really nice, the fact that it was a popular type of van, in a popular color, which we tended to park in places with several other vans just like it, that helped. The negative stereotypes about the homeless in America, that they’re dirty, that they smell bad, they’re panhandlers, etc.? Those are your checklist for what not to be. If you don’t look like a homeless person stereotype that a privileged person who’s never actually thought about the problem would assume to be true, why, their eyes will just gloss right over you and you’ll pass for not-homeless easily. Clean, commonplace car that doesn’t stand out. Frequent showers. Clean clothes. At least one job. If you don’t look like what a lazy thinker thinks a homeless person looks like, they might never know you’re homeless.There are far, FAR more homeless people than you think, by the way. They are everywhere. Most have jobs, many are just couchsurfing from friend to friend, many are educated, even with degrees in what people think of as ‘good’ subjects (I myself had a Master’s in a STEM field when we went homeless and the Mrs. had her bachelor’s,) and a shocking number, the majority in fact, are just ordinary people who had one, maybe two things go wrong in an ordinary, paycheck-to-paycheck life. Medical bills, job layoffs and a hundred other little things that could happen to anyone can cause homelessness. It’s usually temporary, and while it’s never fun, it’s easy to get very angry at how our entire country pictures reality entirely wrong on the subject of homelessness. The stereotype of a homeless person actually reflects the least common type of homeless person, but hey, so long as lazy thinking is making it easier to pass, might as well use the popular, wrong perception to your advantage until you can afford a place, eh?At a state park, people camping in a van are a little unusual, but not that remarkable. In a Walmart parking lot, it’s more unusual, but you might be surprised at just how many ‘hidden homeless’ people are actually in such places. There were Walmart, Cracker Barrel and other service-industry employees living in their cars, the summer we went homeless, we regularly met other ‘car campers’ and ‘band followers’ who were really just ‘between addresses’ at highway rest stops, national chain 24-hour gyms and other reasonably safe overnight parking spots, and sadly, we sometimes met people who were living out of their cars with their children. Drug problems or alcoholism were very rare. Even cigarette smoking was uncommon. Medical bills, though, house fires in mobile homes that insurance companies decided weren’t insurable or rented homes the landlord decided to strategically default on and the bank didn’t rebuild, fallen trees, divorces, job layoffs, factory or plant closings, store closings, foreclosures, bank chicanery…there were hundreds of perfectly ordinary ways a hardworking, moral, perfectly deserving person could, in spite of everything, wind up homeless.It happened to my wife and I. It has happened to friends of ours. It can happen to anyone. So don’t beat yourself up too much.So long as you’re a single adult with a working car, you’re still doing better than a lot of the people we met on our ‘little adventure.’ And we both wish you all the best of luck.