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When you think about camping, your mind instantly goes to expensive tents and motorhomes, but you can actually turn your everyday daily runaround into a budget micro camper for as little as £100. With just a quick peek on Decathlon and Amazon, you can easily turn your A-to-B into the perfect budget micro camper.
1. A Proper Foam or Self-Inflating Mattress
We need to start with the obvious choice: comfort. Most of us have experiences with thin, roll-out yoga-style mats. Although these seem like a quick and cheap solution, sleeping on them on a tent floor is not ideal. Trying them in a car is a total no-go in my opinion, as they will just cause injury. My personal choice would be a self inflating camping map or a tri-folding foam mattress. These cost around £20–£30 and will bridge those uncomfortable gaps in the folded seats of your hatchback or estate, creating a flat, comfortable surface to sleep on.
2. Window Mesh “Socks” (The Ventilation Secret)
You have two problems when it comes to ventilation in a car. If you keep the windows fully closed, you will wake up to a beautiful sunrise, yes, but you will also be caked in condensation. The obvious solution would be to open the windows, but there is a downside to this too: BUGS! The cheapest solution to fix this is elasticated mesh window “socks”These slide right over the rear door frames, keeping the pesky bugs out while letting the fresh air in. These are relatively cheap on Amazon at around £10, and to top it all off, they are great at adding an extra layer of privacy so people can’t peer in.
3. The Classic “Briefcase” Gas Stove
I don’t know about you, but I’m not myself in the morning without that first brew to get me going. Whatever your poison, you will need a source of heat to make it. My recommendation would be to skip those expensive backpacking stoves; those are designed to be lightweight and made for long hikes where gear needs to be incredibly compact. For your everyday casual nomad the classic flat, single-burner briefcase stove is the best choice. Not only are these incredibly cheap and reliable, they are also cheap to run on butane canisters, very stable, and slide perfectly under the front seat when you are on the move. There are many brands out there that sell these, but my two personal recommendations are Campingaz or Eurohike which sell for around £15–£20.
4. A USB Rechargeable Lantern and Fan Combo
Let there be light! But seriously, you may be thinking why this would even be on the list when your car already has its internal dome lights. The truth is, it’s more of a safety precaution. We don’t want to be using the car’s electronics when stationary, as this will just drain the battery and leave you stranded. There are multiple options online at relatively low prices. As a bonus, try to find one that is a combo featuring a small fan; this will provide airflow to the cabin of the car, helping to prevent the windows from fogging up in your budget micro camper.
Heavy-Duty Plastic Storage Crates for Your Budget Micro Camper
If you’re like me and like to be organised, this is a no-brainer. Imagine being at home, you’ve just folded your laundry and placed it on the bed ready to be put away, but you forget. Now it’s 9pm, you’re ready for bed, and you have to move all that folded laundry just to get under the covers. Now picture this with your car. Because cars are limited on space, if you do not have a system, you will find yourself constantly moving things from front to back and vice versa. The simple solution is to buy two heavy-duty storage boxes: one for kitchen gear and food, and the other for clothes and toiletries. When it comes time to rest, all you need to do is stack the boxes on the front seat of the car—saving time moving and gaining time resting.
Conclusion: Your Budget Micro Camper Verdict
So, these are my recommendations to stay comfortable in your daily driver out there. When we look at the budget, we are coming in at roughly £75–£90 total to get yourself out there and enjoying the great outdoors. When we look at this price, we have to remember that when it comes to the best views and destinations in the UK, it costs exactly the same whether you are sleeping in a luxury motorhome or a 10-year-old Honda Jazz.
| Budget Essential Item | Estimated Cost | View on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Inflating / Tri-Fold Mattress | £20 – £30 | Check Price on Amazon ↗ |
| Window Mesh Ventilation “Socks” | £10 | Check Price on Amazon ↗ |
| Briefcase Single-Burner Gas Stove | £15 – £20 | Check Price on Amazon ↗ |
| USB Rechargeable Lantern & Fan Combo | £12 | Check Price on Amazon ↗ |
| Heavy-Duty Plastic Storage Crates (x2) | £15 | Check Price on Amazon ↗ |
| Total Estimated Setup Cost | £75 – £90 |