Quick and Easy Camping Gear for an Affordable Summer Road Trip

On our latest family road trip from Texas to Florida in May, my family of 5, including 3 kids and a dog, decided to change things up a bit. Instead of booking hotels for overnight rest stops like we usually do, we gave quick camping a try.

I was curious whether simple and affordable camping would work just as well as a hotel stay, especially with our senior dog along for the ride. Now that we’ve done it, I can tell you it was a great choice I’d be happy to make again. Camping gave us a refreshing change of pace, sleeping under the stars with minimal setup. We relied on compact and easy-to-use camping gear that made it possible for us to set up and break down in under half an hour — perfect for overnight stops on the road.

Read on to see the gear we used for our summer road trip and the features that made it easy to sleep in the great outdoors.

Why We Camped on Our Road Trip

I considered dog-friendly hotels, such as Hampton by Hilton, on our road trip stops, but was open to other options. We usually stay at the Hilton Pensacola Beach or the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach next door for our Florida road trips.

But we would’ve paid a pet fee of $75 per night for our dog to stay with us at either of those properties, and I was a little concerned about walking the hallways with her for potty breaks, even though she’s a well-behaved old lady.

I did a quick search for campgrounds on our route, and I was sold when I saw Jellystone Park in Elberta, Alabama, had electric and water campsites available for $50 per night. I could have used points to book either of the Pensacola hotels, but the entire night at Jellystone was less than the pet fee we would have paid.

We were happy to camp because it offered affordability, flexibility with our dog, and a chance to take a break in the great outdoors while we were otherwise cooped up on the road for 2 days. We’ve camped at other Jellystone Park locations and liked the experience, so we felt good about booking it.

The campground had several amenities that made quick camping easy:

• Toilets and showers at the ranger station, walkable from our site
• Quiet and family-friendly vibe with a playground and pool
• Parking, electricity, water, a fire pit with grill, and lighting at our reserved site

How We Approached Quick Camping

Since we were on a road trip and only staying 1 night each way, our usual camping setup felt like too much. While comfortable, our usual tent would take up a lot of space in our truck that we needed for luggage and passengers, and it felt like too much effort to get it set up only to take it back down less than 12 hours later. Likewise, our camping food gear, air mattresses, sleeping bags, and camp pillows were just too much when we weren’t really getting settled in.

For quick camping, we left all of our food gear at home and instead brought canned drinks, including coffee, and picked up dinner and breakfast on our way in and out of the campground. Jellystone Park had a campground cafe, but we planned to arrive after and leave before the cafe’s operating hours.

We used camping gear that maximized utility while minimizing space. Our quick camping setup included:

• 6-person instant tent (150 x 102 x 53.5 inches, 11.7 pounds)
• Self-inflating sleeping pads with built-in pillows (75 x 27 x 4 inches inflated, 11 x 3.9 inches deflated, 1.9 lbs)
• Multifunctional solar fan, light, and charging station (6 x 9 x 2 inches, 2.57 pounds)
• Household blankets
• Folding canvas dog crate (32 x 22.25 x 23.5 inches unfolded, 9 pounds)
• Waterproof dog food bag and collapsible silicone dog bowls (15 x 7.5 x 23 inches, 14 ounces)

I already had some of the equipment from previous campouts, such as the self-inflating sleeping pads, folding dog bed, and multifunctional solar fans, but we bought the instant tent and dog food bag for this trip on Amazon.com using my Prime Visa. With my Prime Visa card, I earned 5% back on my purchases.

Hotels vs. Camping Gear Cost Savings

Our entire camping setup cost $349.99 plus tax, including the items I’d purchased before this trip. We paid $50 per night to camp at Jellystone Park. Our total cost to camp, including gear, was $449.99 plus tax.

A standard room at Hilton Pensacola Beach goes for about $250 per night, and Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach rooms are available for about $200 per night. With a $75 pet fee each night and staying 2 nights (1 night on the way there and another on the way back), we would have paid $650 to stay at Hilton Pensacola or $550 at Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach. We saved at least $100 by camping, and we’ll have the gear ready to use on future trips.

Bottom Line:

Quick camping was a lot different from how we usually camp, but this approach was perfect for traveling with minimal gear and staying overnight. I liked it as an alternative to hotels while road-tripping and especially appreciated that it made traveling with our dog easy.

The 30-Second Setup Tent

The most critical piece in our quick camping setup was a 6-person instant tent. While a traditional tent setup usually requires assembling poles and a rain fly, this tent just pops open.

All the poles were inside, so the setup was simple. We removed it from its carrying case, took the elastic strap off, and let the tent expand. The entire process took less than a minute. It was perfect for getting set up quickly after a long day on the road! This was our first time using the tent, though we practiced opening and closing it at home before our trip.

The instant setup and occupancy size were the most important features I considered, but I was impressed to find it had features we usually see on a regular tent, like a covered porch, plenty of ventilation, and lots of options for windows and rain protection. It came with stakes, and we staked it down along the edges.

The tent fabric was 190T polyester with a 210-denier Oxford floor material. With a waterproof index of 3,000 millimeters, the tent stood up to light rain overnight and was well ventilated. It essentially had a built-in rain fly, and we didn’t notice any beading on the seams after the rain. There were double-layered windows all around that we could unzip for ventilation.

Each had a zippered nylon cover we could either unzip and roll up for ventilation or keep closed for rain protection.

It had a small covered porch with a mesh zipper door and another nylon zippered door outside. The porch was a good spot for our dog crate and shoes and offered a second layer of defense against keeping dirt and bugs out of the tent since we had another set of mesh and nylon zippered doors inside the tent and beyond the patio.

This was the largest instant tent I could find, and it was rated for 6. Realistically, it was just big enough to fit 4 sleeping pads across it, and we put a fifth sleeping pad down at the end for our smallest kid. If we take the same trip next year when all of our kids are another year older, we’ll probably want a second tent. Our dog bed fit perfectly in the covered porch.

There were storage pouches under both windows and a hook for the lights at the door. We zipped the inner mesh and porch doors for bug protection and left the nylon doors unzipped for ventilation while we slept. We also propped open the ventilation in the back, which had a mesh cover underneath.

Once we got the sleeping pads and dog bed out, putting away the tent took only 3 minutes. The process was slightly tricky, but we’d watched a video and practiced at home. We first gathered all the round poles together, then stepped on the bottom poles to keep it steady.

Then we twisted it into a smaller circle and secured it with the elastic band.

Finally, we put the tent into its zipper case, which had extra room for our tarp.

Hot Tip:

Breaking down the tent is fast and easy once you know what you’re doing, but there’s a trick to getting it down into a small circle. Watch the video on Amazon’s product page to get it right.

Using an instant tent that packed down flat was critical to making our quick overnight camping experience easy. It took just minutes to get in and out of our campsite, so it didn’t really take much longer to camp than it would have to stay the night at a hotel.

I paid $129.99 for this 6-person instant tent.

Comfy Self-Inflating Sleep Pads

We slept on self-inflating sleep pads with built-in pillows that inflated along with the pad. These pads had a built-in valve and plug for inflating, so we closed the plugs and pushed on the inflating pad to blow them up. No power air inflater was necessary, so we got to leave that piece of camping gear behind and didn’t need electricity to get our beds set up.

It took about 2 minutes to inflate each pad. It was easy for adults but would have taken too long for the kids to handle blowing up their own pads.

These pads were comfortable, and we slept well, only bringing light blankets for bedding since it was a warm night. The kids brought large stuffed animals to use as extra pillows.

The pads weren’t as comfortable as a plush hotel bed or a sleeping pad on a cot, but I was more comfortable on the sleeping pad than I usually am on an inflatable bed. We had just the tarp, tent, and pads between us and the ground, but the pads were filled well enough to be a soft but supportive place to sleep. With patterned air pockets, the pad felt more stable when I flipped at night than an inflatable mattress that bounces.

I noticed that using the inflating push pad instead of an air compressor, like we use with air mattresses or other inflatable pads, made it easier to get the pads completely full of air. With an air compressor, there’s always a little air that escapes between inflating and closing the plug. The plugs were closed during inflation for these pads, so none of the air escaped — we just stopped pushing when it was full.

Breaking these down was even faster than setting them up. We just opened both plugs and started folding them along the lines, then rolled them up while pushing the air out.

Each pad had a carrying case, and all 5 pads were compact enough to fit easily into a standard backpack.

The manufacturer might disagree with me, but we’ve found these pads to be washable. We put them in the washer after our trip, and they came out fine. We closed both plugs tightly and hung them up to dry.

Like the tent, the self-inflating pads were great for quick camping. They took just minutes to set up and break down without sacrificing comfort.

I paid $23.99 for each self-inflating sleeping pad.

Portable Dog Food and Bed

Since we traveled with our dog, we had to pack more than just sleeping supplies for humans. We also had an enclosed bed, dog food bag, and bowls. These were easy to pack and highly functional.

The dog bed was 32 inches long, 22.25 inches wide, and 23.5 inches high and offered plenty of room for our medium-sized dog. It came with a soft mat to place inside. The size I purchased is sold out, but there are other sizes and styles still available.

We tested a nylon dog bed that popped up like our tent, but found it too flimsy, and she wasn’t comfortable in it. This bed felt secure. We liked the wipeable inside surface, roll-up windows with mesh ventilation, and large, zippered entrance door.

The bed folded down easily into a flat storage bag with carrying handles and took up very little room.

We brought her food in a dog food storage bag rather than the bag the food came in. I wanted to use a storage bag to keep the food secure. Also, even dry dog food can get stinky in an enclosed space while driving, so I wanted the bag to control the smell (and it did). It has a 42-cup capacity.

The bag came with 2 collapsible, silicone bowls that attached with carabiners.

It was easy to fit the bowls inside the dog food bag after we emptied some food out.

Our dog gear packed up small and made it easy to camp and travel with our dog.

I paid $23.99 for the dog bed and $15.99 for the dog food travel bag with bowls.

All-in-One Solar Light, Fan, and Power Bank

We always use a fan to keep air flowing in our tent, especially when it’s warm outside. I found an all-in-one unit that had a fan and light and offered USB-C ports for charging devices. Though we charged the units with USB cords, they also had solar panels on the side opposite the fan.

We could choose the fan speed and how long we wanted it to run. I selected high speed for 8 hours. They ran all night but were low on power in the morning.

We didn’t test the solar charging, but it was as easy as folding the unit out and turning the solar panel toward the sun.

It was great to have these all-in-one units because we could use them as lights to get settled into the tent and stay cool with the fans rather than packing separate gadgets for lighting and cooling.

I paid $29.99 for each solar fan (available in black, green, beige, or orange).

Final Thoughts

Using the easiest summer camping gear I could find, overnight camping on our road trip was faster, simpler, and more comfortable than I expected. I liked that our quick camping setup helped us save on hotel pet fees and sleep comfortably while enjoying the great outdoors. It was a nice change of pace from a typical road trip hotel stay, and I’d be happy to do it again.