Hunting Camp - Set Up Your Camper for the Ultimate Hunting Experience

Taking your RV or camper out hunting makes for the ultimate base camp. While staying in a tent or renting a cabin is equally enjoyable, a dedicated camper is like having a home near your hunting area and the setup process is often a simple matter of finding a parking spot. Long term hunting camps and cold weather camps especially benefit from campers and the tiny homes ultimately make it easier to have a good night of sleep after a hard day of hunting.

The three primary rigs

I spent the last two years hunting out of a basic camper van but I’m not lumping it into the three primary choices. The van was excellent in terms of mobility and it has a great AWD system but it’s not necessarily a dedicated camp. Without a great heat source and roof vent, drying out and staying comfortable in the extreme cold was a challenge. Incorporate these things into a 4wd van and it’s a different story. The three more common options are:

Cabover Campers - Cabovers come in a variety of styles and each has a different strong suite. The lightweight, pop-up style campers function much like the campervan in that you retain mobility on the primary vehicle. Larger campers make it more difficult to navigate difficult mountain roads, an obstacle many hunters overcome by simply towing a trailer with a 4-wheeler to run around on backroads. In this instance, the cabover becomes the perfect basecamp because you simply find a flat campsite with access to the backroads in your hunting area, park the truck with the camper and leave it until the hunt is over.

RV - A standalone RV is not the best hunting rig as you have limited mobility on rough terrain. If you can park within walking distance of a treestand or blind, the RV is adequate. Like the large cabover, towing a trailer or even a second off-road vehicle becomes extremely advantageous in the RV. A very large RV does limit your ability to access some of the better and more remote campsites on public lands but the tradeoff comes with a higher level of comfort. They key to hunting from an RV is a second set of wheels to reach out of the way places.

Pull Behind - A pull behind 5th wheel or travel trailer makes for a great camp. With a travel trailer and a pickup truck, you can still mount a 4-wheeler in the bed of the truck. Or just drop your camper at a campsite and use your towing vehicle as a hunting vehicle. The smaller pull behind trailers in the 16-foot or less range are sometimes capable of reaching campsites that large RV’s simply can’t access. If you don’t mind the size sacrifice, more camping areas will open with a smaller trailer. That said, a larger trailer is great for multiple people and extra gear storage.

Related Read: Understand the Differences between Class A, B and C Motorhomes

Location Choice

Picking a prime location is really the key to maximizing the potential of your camper. The best locations have hunting options right out the door or very close. Find the flattest piece of ground with the shortest commute possible. A mix of shade and sun and a water source is also ideal. As mentioned, the smaller trailers and lightweight pop-up cabovers have more options available but I’ve seen some incredible campsites with larger rigs. In many cases, these are highly sought after and arriving a few days before the season opener increases your chances of securing a perfect spot. I’ve even seen people drop off a trailer a full week in advance on BLM and Forest Service lands where the maximum stay is 16 days. If you live close enough to appear present during that layover or better yet, camp the entire time, you can enjoy some scouting and own that spot for a while.

Related Read: Living in a Camper on a Tight Budget

Ultimate Hunting Experience

Drying Station

One of the greatest advantages a camper delivers is the ability to warm up and dry out. I’ve stayed in more than a few tents that made it difficult to crawl out of the sleeping bag where a pair of frozen boots waited. Unless you are parked near electricity or want to run heat off a battery bank, propane is the most common choice. I’ve seen campers with wood stoves as well and would love to have that option so long as it’s safely installed. After you finish hunting and return to camp for the night, open the roof vent and crack the windows. Use your heat source to dry out gear while warming up the camper. The moisture will ventilate out and you can close the windows after allowing everything to dry a bit. Slipping into a pair of warm, dry boots the next morning is a wonderful feeling when you are familiar with the alternative options.

Game Processing Extras - outside table, plastic bins for processing

After you harvest an animal, it doesn’t mean you must pack up and vacate. Set up an outdoor processing center with a sturdy folding table and a few plastic kitchen bins. You can butcher an entire big game animal and cook a few great meals while your other hunters are still working to fill tags. If butchering is not your game, you can still break it down into quarters and cook the tenderloins, heart or another prime cuts right there in camp. Another option is building a hanging station to hang a full deer. In cold conditions, hanging is a good way to preserve the meat. Either choose a tree or pole to hang off or build that capability into your trailer. A heavy duty awning pole can hold a small deer right next to the trailer.

Hunting, Fishing, RV Basecamp, Game Processing, Drying Station, Hunting Rigs, RV Hunting, Hunting Camp