10 Essential Items for Car Camping: My Must-Have Car Camping Kit
A couple of years ago, I wrote about my 10 must-have items for my micro campervan, and it went on to become one of the most popular posts on She’s Going Solo.
Fast forward to 2026 and things have changed a little. My much-loved micro camper is no more, but there was absolutely no way I was giving up the freedom to pack up, head into the hills, and wake up ready for an early-morning hike.
So, I’ve downsized again.
This time, I’m car camping in my everyday car.
And while I initially wondered whether going from a micro camper to a normal car might feel like a huge compromise, I’m quickly discovering that car camping can actually be brilliantly simple. There’s no conversion, no second vehicle to maintain and, with a little organisation, everything I really need fits inside.
Having already spent years figuring out what camping kit I actually use, rather than what the internet tells me I need, I’ve been able to strip my setup back to the essentials.
So, if you’re thinking about trying car camping in the UK, here are my car camping essentials for making sleeping in your car practical, comfortable and, most importantly, easy enough that you’ll actually want to do it again.
Affiliate disclosure: She’s Going Solo may receive a commission from links included in this article to Amazon and other affiliate partners. Recommendations are based on products I genuinely use or would recommend.
Why Car Camping?
One of the biggest advantages of car camping is that you don’t need a campervan. And, as I’m discovering, you really don’t need a huge amount of kit. The best car camping essentials are often the simple things that solve practical problems.
If you already own a car with enough room to create a reasonably flat sleeping area, you’re halfway there.
For me, car camping means I can drive up to the Lake District the evening before a hike, get a good night’s sleep and be ready to head into the hills first thing the following morning. It’s also perfect for spontaneous nights away without the expense or commitment of owning a dedicated camper.
1. Car Camping Boot Mattress Extension
One of the first practical problems I needed to solve when converting my everyday car into a place where I could sleep comfortably was length.
With the rear seats folded down, I had plenty of space, but there was still that awkward gap between the back seats and the front seats.
I found a car camping boot mattress extension on Amazon that solves the problem brilliantly. It straps around the front-seat headrests and creates a padded extension over the gap, effectively extending the sleeping platform without building anything permanent into the car.
That's particularly important to me because this is still my everyday car. I want to set it up for camping when I'm going away and return it to a completely normal car when I get home.
It's one of those incredibly simple pieces of equipment that makes sleeping in a normal car considerably more practical.
2. Campingaz Single-Burner Stove
Another survivor from my micro-camper days is my Campingaz single-burner stove.
I’ve realised that one burner is actually all I need.
I can boil water for coffee, make breakfast and, most importantly, cook a proper meal after I’ve been hiking all day. I’m also becoming quite fond of experimenting with one-pan camping dinners.
It’s compact, easy to store and doesn’t require me to dedicate half of the boot to a camping kitchen.
When you're car camping, where every bit of storage space matters, small and simple wins.
3. Car Window Blackout Blinds
Privacy was probably my biggest concern when I started thinking about sleeping in a normal car.
Unlike my micro camper, this one has windows everywhere.
I recently bought a set of car window blackout covers from Amazon, and they’ve completely changed how the inside of the car feels at night.
They give me privacy, block out light and make the car feel much more like an actual sleeping space rather than, well... a car I’ve decided to sleep in.
For anyone considering solo car camping, particularly women travelling alone, I’d put good privacy covers very high on the shopping list.
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4. A Comfortable Sleeping Mat
This is one area where I’m not prepared to suffer for the sake of travelling light.
If I’m driving somewhere specifically to hike the next morning, waking up with my spine resembling a question mark isn’t particularly helpful.
A decent self-inflating mat or car camping mattress makes an enormous difference. Personally, I use the old sponge mattress from my campervan, but these blow-up ones save way more space when deflated.
The important thing is to measure your car rather than assuming a standard camping mattress will fit. Check the available width and length once your seats are folded, and think about any annoying gaps or height changes that might need levelling out.
Combined with my boot extension, getting the sleeping setup right is probably the single biggest thing that's made car camping work for me.
5. Bog in a Bag Portable Toilet
And now we reach the glamorous side of car camping.
What do you do when you need the toilet?
It's one of those practical questions that can genuinely put people off trying car camping, particularly if you're staying somewhere without facilities.
I carry a Bog in a Bag portable camping toilet. It's compact, takes up very little space and means I'm self-contained if I need the toilet during the night.
It's also part of something that's really important to me when I'm camping: Leave No Trace.
Being somewhere without toilet facilities doesn't mean leaving human waste or toilet paper behind. Having my own toilet means I can contain everything, tie it up securely, and take it away for proper disposal.
It may not be the most glamorous item in my car camping setup, but it's definitely one of the most practical.
6. Rechargeable Camping Lantern
You quickly discover how dark a car becomes once you’ve covered every window.
A small rechargeable camping lantern solves the problem without relying on the car’s interior lights and potentially draining the battery.
Look for one that can hang and stand on a surface. Space is precious when car camping, so being able to hang a light rather than having yet another thing rolling around beside you is surprisingly useful.
I also prefer rechargeable equipment wherever possible rather than carrying piles of spare batteries.
7. Cool Box
Food matters to me when I’m camping, especially after a long hike. I’m not someone who particularly wants to finish a day in the mountains with a cereal bar and call it dinner.
A good cool box means I can bring proper food from home, including meat, milk, vegetables and anything I’ve prepared in advance.
For a single night, a simple insulated cool box may be enough. If you’re planning longer car camping trips, a powered 12V cool box could be worth the extra investment.
Combined with my Campingaz stove, it gives me a surprisingly capable little car camping kitchen without needing an actual kitchen.
8. Collapsible Water Container
Water is essential. Unfortunately, it’s also bulky.
A collapsible water container with a tap is a really simple solution.
I can fill it before leaving home and use it for drinking, cooking, coffee and washing. A tap makes life considerably easier because you can position the container near the boot and essentially create a very basic little water station.
Once it’s empty, it folds down and takes up hardly any room.
It also means I can carry enough water with me rather than relying on finding a water source wherever I decide to stay.
Not particularly exciting, admittedly, but incredibly useful.
9. Bluetti Portable Power Station
My Bluetti portable power station has also survived the move from micro camper to car camper.
It gives me more than enough power for what I actually need while I’m away, including charging my phone, watch, and rechargeable lights without worrying about draining the car battery.
It's particularly useful when I'm staying somewhere without an electric hook-up, and it means I can comfortably disappear for a night or two without worrying about running out of power.
You certainly don't need a portable power station to try car camping for the first time. A decent power bank could be perfectly adequate for an overnight stay. But because I already own and regularly use my Bluetti, it's earned its place in my setup.
10. Window Wind Deflectors
Condensation is one of those less glamorous realities of sleeping in a car.
Even on a relatively mild night, breathing inside such a small enclosed space can quickly leave the windows covered in moisture by morning. The simplest solution is ventilation, but leaving your windows slightly open isn't always ideal when you're camping in the UK, and rain is never particularly far away.
That's where window wind deflectors come in.
They let me leave the windows cracked open while helping keep rain out. They also make the open window much less obvious from outside, which I particularly like when I'm sleeping in the car.
They're fitted permanently to the car, so there's nothing extra to set up when I arrive. I simply lower the windows a little before settling down for the night.
They're not an exciting piece of camping kit, but for something relatively inexpensive, they solve one of the biggest practical problems of sleeping in a car: getting some airflow without letting the British weather in too.
Car Camping and Leave No Trace
One thing I love about car camping is the freedom it gives me to spend more time outdoors, but that freedom also comes with responsibility. Some of the most important car camping essentials are the least exciting, particularly when it comes to managing water, rubbish and toilet waste responsibly.
For me, Leave No Trace is about much more than simply picking up obvious rubbish. It means taking away everything I've brought with me, including food and toilet waste; avoiding damage to vegetation; keeping noise to a minimum; respecting other people; not blocking access; and following any local restrictions.
I want to arrive somewhere beautiful, enjoy it responsibly, and leave it exactly as I found it.
The more of us who do that, the better.
Car Camping Doesn't Need to Be Complicated
Going back to car camping after having a micro camper reminded me of something I probably already knew: you don’t need much to have an adventure.
A comfortable place to sleep. Something to cook on. Food and water. Some privacy. A way of dealing responsibly with your waste.
That’s essentially it.
I’m sure my setup will keep evolving as I spend more nights car camping, and I’ll undoubtedly discover things that work brilliantly and things that seemed like a good idea at the time.
But that’s part of the fun.
The micro camper may have gone, but my weekends in the mountains haven’t. If anything, having a setup that fits inside my everyday car makes it even easier to finish work, throw my hiking boots in the back and head off somewhere.
And that’s exactly what I want car camping to give me:
the freedom to go.
My 10 Essential Items for Car Camping
Have you tried car camping? I'd love to know which practical piece of kit you wouldn't leave home without.
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