The Best Car-Camping Gear of 2025: Staff Picks

Spend a night under the stars in car-assisted comfort thanks to these staff-favorite, member-approved picks.

Heather Balogh Rochfort|Sarah Grothjan| Updated February 6, 2025

Campers sit around a fire in a desert setting. In the background is a car with a vehicle shelter attached and a tent.

Camping adventures don't always include a hefty backpack or tiny bags of dehydrated food. Often, logging a couple nights under a starry sky is easier with your steel steed within arm's reach. Vehicle-assisted camping is a great option for anyone who wants more creature comforts at camp or for folks who have physical limitations.

Regardless of whether you opt to sleep in your car or in a tent nearby, or if you're driving into a campground or a dispersed wilderness site, vehicle-assisted camping can be more fun with the right gear. We asked our staffers and members for their favorite items available at REI Co-op, ranging from necessary gear to nice-to-have items that make life at camp a lot more cozy. Find the perfect additions to your car-camping kit among these 15 staff picks.

Staff Picks

Find our quick recommendations here or read on for the full breakdown of our favorite car-camping gear.

Convenience

Sleep

Kitchen

Organization


Convenience





Sleeping




Eating






Organization

Best Car Storage

  • Trailgate Gear Bin
  • Trailgate Gear Bin
  • Trailgate Gear Bin
  • Trailgate Gear Bin
  • Trailgate Gear Bin

REI Co-op Trailgate Gear Bin

View the 31 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars
Starting at $99

Gear capacity 59.3 liters (60 L), 99.2 liters (100 L), 136.3 liters (140 L)

Materials 300-denier recycled polyester (bluesign® approved) (base), 1,680-denier recycled nylon (bluesign approved®) (base)

Dimensions 24 x 13.5 x 14 inches (60 L), 27 x 16 x 14 inches (100 L), 33 x 18 x 14 inches (140 L)

Weight 2 lbs. 13 oz. (60L), 3 lbs. (100 L), 3 lbs. 11 oz. (140 L)






Buying Advice

Deciding what gear beyond the essentials to bring car camping is personal. Everyone camps for a different reason: Some people love nothing more than whipping up a hardy dinner over a two-burner stove. Some look forward to a weekend spent completely off the grid. Others crave camp camaraderie—a night playing cards with friends and telling stories over the glow of a campfire. For this guide, we asked REI staffers and members to share their favorite items, from a portable power station that makes it easy to juice electronics to kitchen tools that elevate the camp-cooking experience.

For a comprehensive list of gear you may want for car camping, check out our Camping Essentials Checklist. To find additional inspiration for personalizing your campsite, read The Perfect Kit: Cozy Up Your Campsite.

Leave No Trace

As humans who love being outside, chances are good that you've already heard of Leave No Trace. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics developed an easy-to-understand framework dubbed the Leave No Trace Seven Principles. These principles cover a range of practices that are all designed to lessen impact from almost any recreational activity, from biking and runing to hiking and camping. The goal is to minimize our impact on Monther Nature. In practice, it means more than just picking up your trash while recreating outside. It's about being respectful when interacting with the natural world by ensuring that you leave wild spaces better than you found them.

While these small actions may seem trivial, they have a major impact: Nearly 176 million visitors recreate outside each year. That's a lot of people walking trails, pitching campsites and creating waste. Individual action matters. Please follow Leave No Trace when car camping.

Learn more about Leave No Trace and the Seven Principles.

Methodology

We asked our co-op staff, members and customers to share their favorite gear for vehicle-assisted camping. They reported back with their top choices for everything from tents and sleeping bags to camp stoves and servingware. These are their picks for the best items for car camping available at REI.

Authors

Photo of Heather Balogh Rochfort
Heather Balogh Rochfort

Heather Balogh Rochfort is a freelance writer and author specializing in the outdoors and adventure travel, particularly as they apply to women and families. Her organization WildKind educates and empowers families to find their wild. REI Co-op Member since 2008.

Photo of Sarah Grothjan
Sarah Grothjan

Sarah Grothjan is on the content and media team at REI, editing stories for Uncommon Path and Expert Advice related to camping and backpacking. Her writing has also appeared in Outside. REI member since 2019.