Summer camping seems to get all the attention, but camping in the fall is the real MVP: changing leaves, cozy flannels, and way fewer mosquitoes buzzing in your ear. Two years ago I made the switch from sleeping in tents to spending the night in my Bronco Sport and I’ve learned a thing or two about best practices. Here’s my super condensed guide to enjoying the great outdoors from within your vehicle’s four doors.

Mattress fitted to your vehicle

Like almost everything in the gear world, quality can come with a steep price tag. The good news is there’s a wide array of options at different price points when it comes to a mattress to use in your car camping set-up. This option from deepsleep™ is spec’ed to my car and is frequently lauded by fellow owners in my Bronco forums. I didn’t want to drop $200 until I was sure car camping was for me, and went with a $70 option off Amazon. Amazon has a feature that will let you know if a piece of equipment is approved for your make and model, and it was accurate in my case – though I still measured the back of my car to check. 

Car lantern

Nature can be dark… like, really dark. Flashlights are fine when you’re on the move, but for camping in my car I definitely prefer a lantern. It casts a wider glow and stands on its own hands-free. Some people hang strings of lights from their trunks and I’m so here for the Pinterest aesthetic. It’s just not super practical for the way I do things. A no-frills Coleman lantern centrally placed on the console provides the perfect amount of illumination until you decide to let the Milky Way take over.

Carabiner for keys

Creepers, bears, confused fellow Bronco owners… all of these cross my mind before drifting to sleep while car camping. For that reason, I keep my doors locked and my keys close in case I have to skedaddle. The grab handle in the back provides a convenient place to clip them so they don’t get lost in the car-camping chaos. I use the Hardin carabiner from The James Brand to keep my keys right above my face. Also very helpful to be able to unlock the doors without setting off the alarm in case nature calls late in the night.

Weather-resistant container for supplies

I am 5’11, which means I don’t have a ton of extra room in the Bronco when I’m sleeping out of it. Because of that, I picked up a large container with a lid to remove anything I don’t need with me for the night and will put the container on top of, or next to the car. This 82qt IRIS x Remington plastic tote stays in my car year-round as a home for all of my outdoor gear, and becomes a place to store miscellaneous items for the night once I’m camping.