Tent Camping Tips for the Races
Tailgating
Jo Ann Hlavac
Let me tell ya’ll something, Be Prepared takes on a whole new meaning when tent camping. We wouldn’t have a spare inch of space in our car when we tent camped. Here are a few tips I have found useful if you are tent camping:
Pack the gear in reverse order of use--what you'll need last first and so on until you throw on the first thing you'll need--the tent bag. There is nothing worse than getting to the track when it is raining and the tent is at the bottom of the pile. If you can get it setup first you have a place to put your stuff so it doesn’t get wet!
To increase the visibility and to avoid tripping on, mark the guide lines of your tent or tarp with foil or colored fabric or use phosphorescent paint to mark the top of corner pegs of tents, etc. An old tennis ball can also mark the tent stakes in the ground. Cut an X and it will fit over the top of the stake.
BRING A COMPASS! Pitch your tent facing east if you want an early start or facing west if you want to enjoy sleeping in.
Should you be forced to sleep on an incline, position your head at the high end. If you sleep with your head at the bottom of the incline, you will wake up with a head ache because the blood rushes downward to your head all night.
When we tent camped we had two race weekends that were beyond hot, The Coca Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend & the Labor Day Southern 500 (R.I.P.). We used to bring a 3000 BTU window unit. We set it up on a table and duct taped it around the tent window. We would throw tarps over the top of the tent. You could see your breath in that tent!
Pack you non perishable food in cardboard boxes with lids (in an office printer paper comes in great boxes) that you can use as kindling on the last night after the food is gone.
Try to bring multi purpose items. For example, pack your clothes in one of those plastic 2 or 3 drawer small shelving units. It serves 2 purposes, a suitcase and a table in the tent. Or get a cooler that has a seat cushion on top.
Pin string to a small tent leak in the ceiling and run the string to the floor, away from the head of beds or sleeping bags. Water will run down the string.
A bar of soap rubbed along the length of a tent or sleeping bag zipper will make it slide better. In a fix, lip balm will work, too.
Two-holed pull tabs from aluminum cans make good replacement grommets. Use duct tape to secure it to the tarp and then punch a hole through the tape so you can put the rope thru.
Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them, keeps them smelling fresh.
A refrigerator box is a very useful thing when camping. Slice it down one side so it folds flat. When you get to camp tape it back together, cut a door in it and viola - a private restroom for your port o potty! Tape a tarp to the inside and used it as a shower house (hang a solar shower bag on a tree). It can also be used under your tent to insulate it if it is cold.
