Where does everything go? Packing a car for a camping weekend

By the Overlanding.info team · Updated 21 October 2026 · Sources checked 21 October 2026

The short answer

Pack in reverse order of when you'll need things. Put arrival essentials and waterproofs where you can reach them without unloading, keep cooking kit together, bag bedding to keep it dry, and give wet and dirty kit its own place. Secure everything so it can't move, and keep the spare wheel and emergency kit reachable.

What you need to check: your car's load and roof limits, tyre pressures for the load, and how you'll reach the spare wheel with the car full.

Things to reach without unloading the boot

Think about the first hour after you arrive, and the stops on the way. Those items go last into the car, by a door or at the back of the boot:

• waterproofs and a warm layer for each person;
• head torches or a torch;
• the campsite booking details and directions;
• water, snacks and anything needed on the drive;
• a first aid kit;
• anything needed to open the tent, such as the ladder or a cover key, following the tent maker's instructions.

If rain is forecast, put the waterproofs on top of everything. Our rainy weekend routine covers arriving in the wet.

Keeping loose equipment secured

The Highway Code says you must not overload your vehicle and must secure your load so it doesn't stick out dangerously. Highway Code rule 98. It also says to make sure luggage is securely stowed. Highway Code annex 6.

In practice:

• put heavy items low in the boot, against the back of the rear seats;
• fill gaps with soft bags so boxes can't slide;
• use the car's load-securing points or a boot net or cargo barrier where fitted;
• keep the rear window and mirrors clear;
• don't leave loose items on the parcel shelf or in the footwells where they could roll under the pedals.

The same annex says tyres must be inflated to the maker's specification for the load being carried, and to take extra care with lights when the car is heavily loaded. Check your handbook for loaded tyre pressures and headlight adjustment.

If you use a roof box, Thule says to check three limits (the car's roof load, the rack's rating and the box's own limit), plan to the dynamic limit, and keep the box for bulky, lighter items such as sleeping bags and clothing. Thule: packing a roof box safely. With a roof tent fitted, the tent and bars already use much of that limit. Compare the options in roof box, roof tent or boot camping.

Separating clean and dirty kit

Give each kind of kit its own container, so nothing has to be unpacked to find something else:

• Cooking: stove, fuel, pans, utensils and washing-up kit in one box.
• Food: a cool box or bag, with ready-to-eat food kept apart from raw food. The Food Standards Agency says a cool box is unlikely to keep food chilled for long, that food should stay at 5°C or below, and that sealed containers help keep raw and ready-to-eat food apart. Food Standards Agency: camping food safety.
• Bedding: sleeping bags, pillows and clothes in waterproof or dry bags.
• Wet and dirty kit: a lidded box or heavy-duty bags for wet waterproofs, muddy boots, a damp tent cover and rubbish.

Keep the wet box away from bedding and food, and near a door, so you can drop things in without climbing into the car. See camp kitchen setup for organising the cooking box.

Access to the spare wheel and emergency equipment

In many cars the spare wheel or repair kit is under the boot floor, so a full boot can block it. Find out where yours is, and pack so you could reach it beside the road without unloading everything onto the verge. The Highway Code says to change a tyre only if you can do so without putting yourself or others at risk, and otherwise to call a breakdown service. Highway Code annex 6.

Keep breakdown items where you can reach them first. The Highway Code's breakdown rules cover hazard lights, a warning triangle placed at least 45 metres behind the car (never on a motorway) and light-coloured or reflective clothing. Highway Code rules 276 and 277. A hi-vis vest in a door pocket and the triangle on top of the boot load are easier to reach than either buried under bags.

Our vehicle prep checklist covers the checks to make on the car before you go.

An example packing layout

This is one way to lay out an estate car or SUV with a roof tent fitted. Adjust it to your car's shape and the kit you take.

• Door pockets and glovebox: booking details, torch, snacks, hi-vis vests.
• Rear footwells or a seat-back organiser: waterproofs and warm layers.
• Boot, at the back by the opening: wet-kit box, first aid kit, warning triangle, the ladder if it travels inside.
• Boot, middle: cooking box and cool box, secured so they can't slide.
• Boot, low against the seat backs: heavy items such as water containers and fuel stored as the maker says.
• Boot, on top or in the gaps: bagged bedding and clothes, packed firmly.
• Under the boot floor: spare wheel or repair kit, left clear.
• Roof: the tent, within the car's dynamic roof limit; no loose items strapped around it unless the tent maker allows it.

Build your kit list

Start with the kit list builder to decide what to bring, then sort the list into the containers above. The overlanding kit list explains what each item is for.

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