How to: Go Cricket Camping

We talked a lot about our adventures Cricket Camping. We maybe haven’t talked enough about the basics of camping in a Cricket trailer; we will walk through our process from leaving home, setting camp, breaking camp, and preparing the Cricket for storage. A word of warning for current campers that tent camp or RV in a more traditional unit: hitting “Read More” will cause Cricket envy.

We store the Cricket in our garage. so packing for our next trip really starts shortly after returning from the prior trip. We return towels and sheets back to the Cricket to await our next trip. Typically a few days before we leave, we start loading for the trip. We put groceries into the camper as we return from the store, and pack gear as it is ready. We also check the air pressure in the tires, plug in the battery to charge, and take a quick inventory of anything we may need to replenish. On our travel day, we load pillows, clothes, toiletries, and last minute items. We typically do this before work so when we get home all that is left is to hitch up, plug in brakes, chains, break away cable, lock the doors and go. If we do our preparation correctly, we can be on the road in 15 minutes. We keep a note on our laptop that serves as a checklist to make sure we don’t forget anything.

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Once we arrive at the campground, our routine varies depending upon the length of the trip. If we are overnighting and not leaving the campground, we will park the trailer, move gear out of the floorspace, and pop the top of the Cricket, which takes about 90 seconds. If we are staying longer, we of course unhitch. We start by leveling the Cricket with leveling blocks if necessary and use wheel chucks to block the tires. We use a jack foot in place of the wheel on the hitch to reduce bounce in the Cricket. Next, we crank down the stabilizer jacks, pop the top, and then plug into the electricity and water.  If the trip is long enough, we set up an outdoor space by putting out a rug, chairs, awning, screen room, camp table and side table, fire pit, camp stove, and toys.

Inside the camper, we almost always start up the ice-maker along with a water kettle and blender for making bulletproof coffee in the morning.  Floorspace and counter space is at a premium in a Cricket, so we have to be tidy as we get settled. We tuck shoes under the bed, store food on the shelves, and put clothes in the space around the beds inside packing cubes. We keep bulk gear in the back of the 4Runner. If we go all out setting up everything, this is about a one hour process.

Breaking camp, although it seems oversimplified, is the same thing in reverse. All of the gear is cleaned and put away in the Cricket. We strip the beds and toss sheets, towels, and clothes in a laundry sack. We do have to drain the gray tank if we have sewer available. If we are camping for multiple days, we typically drain the gray tank every three days and the cassette toilet about once a week. Once we hitch up, we always take a lap around the Cricket to confirm that all cords, hoses, blocks, and other items are packed. Again, this takes an hour at most and depends how much gear we set up. On the way home, we add any items we need to replenish to our to-do list or grocery list.

Once we return home, we wrap up the prior trip and start preparing for the next trip. Once we back the Cricket into the garage, we take everything out that doesn’t stay onboard. We take time to wipe down the surfaces, sweep or vacuum the floor, make sure no food is left behind. Every few months we wipe down the exterior of the Cricket down with Simple Green. ​

That is our process. This may sound like a lot of steps, but we notice other campers spend considerable more time on these processes than we do. The simplicity, in addition to the easy storage and quality construction, is what drew us to the Cricket and has us committed to this product as long as it remains the best option for our family. We are planning Thanksgiving and early December trips now, so stay tuned to hear about more adventures as we head out to go Cricket Camping!