Want to seriously streamline your set-up process? Here’s how to make things a little easier on your next outdoor adventure!

COMPILED BY MICHAEL BORG 

For some profound reason, setting up a modern camper trailer seems to be getting more and more complicated these days. Sure, they have more luxury packed into them then a 5-star hotel, but there are definitely a few bits and bobs we can employ to help, you know, simplify things a bit. But alas, we’re about to divulge those little tricks of the trade that will help save you valuable time and effort as you hit the tracks. Here’s goes… 

ZIPPER EXTENSION 

We’ve all been guilty of climbing all over the camper trailers tent and stretching yourself like a worn out slinky to reach those zippers up the top of the tent, haven’t we? Well, here’s a simple idea that’ll fix your vertically challenged problems; tie a bit of rope to any hard-to-reach zips! This will work better if the zips aren’t too tight, so remember to keep them lubricated. 

Another idea is to tie a bit of wire through the zips eye to make a little hoop. The idea is you can use a tent pole with a hooked end to drag the zip around. 

PERMANENT AWNING 

The most time consuming and labour-intensive part of setting up most camper trailers is the awning or annex. But did you know you can leave the awning permanently attached? Yep, most tent designs are quite happy to be folded up with the awning still attached and flipped back over the main tent. To go one step further you can use a snap-lock key ring to hold the awning in place once it’s flipped over the main tent. The best part is, if the awning is secured at the corner’s, it can stay flipped over even if the main tent is set-up for a quick overnight stay.

COLOUR CODED KEYS 

If you’re not lucky enough to have all the locks on your camper trailer keyed alike, here’s the next best thing – colour coded keys! The cheapest and easiest way is to stick a coloured “dot” sticker on your key, and a matching sticker either on or near the lock it belongs too. Simply match the key colour to the lock colour and you’ll save yourself the frustration of trying every darn key on the ring! 

JUST HANG’IN

The best way to help keep things neat and tidy, organised and uncluttered is to invest in a few sets of hooks. Yep, simply attach a few hangers around your campsite and start hanging your gear in convenient locations. Sure, you might have to drill a few holes in some of your equipment to hang them from, but for a couple of dollars a pop, you’d be mad not to try it!

BED TARP 

If your tents floor ends up folded over the top of your bed when it’s packed away, you need to keep it protected. One option is to grab yourself a waterproof tarp and lay it over the bed. Then, cut a piece of PVC pipe or timber to the width of the mattress and secure it to bottom edge of the tarp through the eyelets with a few self-tapping screws and washers. This will make it super easy to roll your tarp on and off your bed.   

TOP DIY MOD 

Air Compressor Install 

Having an air compressor mounted inside your camper trailer is one of those things that you don’t know you need it, until you have it! Think about it, how good would it be to have compressed air on hand to blow the floor clean in seconds or pump up the kid’s air beds. What about about inflating the kids bicycle tyres or floatation devices? Heck, you could even use it to fan the campfire up, blow the cobwebs out of your 4WD’s air filter or the sand out of, well, everything!