A Real Weekend Setup (And Why We Keep It Simple)
This weekend we camped at a paid Hipcamp spot—which is not usually our style—but we had family joining us, so we went with it.
My dad was in a rooftop tent, my brother and sister-in-law were in their pull-behind camper and their setup requires a little more space and maneuvering than ours.
Like… backing up, repositioning, discussing angles, maybe a little tension.
Meanwhile, we just kind of… pull in and exist.
Over time, we’ve figured out how to set up a truck camper in about 10–15 minutes—and keep it as simple and stress-free as possible.
One of the reasons we love our truck camper so much is how simple everything is.
The site we stayed at was pretty level, so we didn’t have to do much leveling—but we still assessed the situation before deciding that.
Chris is very serious about making sure the camper is level ever since… the refrigerator incident.
We don’t skip that step anymore. Ever.
If you want a full breakdown of how we actually sleep once we’re set up, you can read that here → How We Sleep Comfortably in a Truck Camper
Our 10–15 Minute Truck Camper Setup Routine
Once we pull into a spot, this is exactly what we do.
No chaos. No overthinking. No 47-step checklist.
1. Park and Assess the Situation
Before we do anything, we take a minute to look at the site.
- Is it level?
- Do we need blocks?
- Are we about to regret parking here?
Even if it looks level, we double check.
Because again… refrigerator incident.
We also make sure that there is nothing dangerous for the dogs.
Not all people leave spots better than they found it (those are not my people) and we have found broken glass and other things that the dogs could cut themselves on.
When we find a campsite that hasn’t been cleaned up, we always pick up what we can so that the next people don’t have to do the same thing.
2. Release the Dogs
As soon as we’re parked, I hop out and let the dogs out.
Jingle immediately finds something absolutely disgusting to roll in.
Every. Single. Time.
He is a menace to society… or at least to me personally.
But getting them out right away helps them settle down while we finish setting up (and gives Jingle time to ruin his life choices).
Lulu is perfect and just waits patiently for us to finish.
And then politely requests pets.
We also shared everything we bring for the dogs when we camp → Camping With Dogs: What We Pack
3. Turn On Power (Like Civilized People)
Chris flips the power on—which is so much easier now that he wired the solar generator into the camper wardrobe.
We have had this Anker Solix C2000 for a few weeks and we absolutely love it.
This means:
- no dragging it in and out
- no messing with cords outside
- no mild marital disagreements about “where it should go”
We literally just flip a switch inside the closet and… boom.
Let there be light
If you’re curious about our full power setup, we break it down here → Our Truck Camper Power Setup
4. Turn On the Water Pump
This one is quick.
We hit the switch and suddenly we’re a fully functioning household again.
It’s the little things.
5. Move the Two Things We Own
When we travel, we keep things very simple.
Our chairs and toolbox ride on the dinette seats, so once we’re parked, we just move those out.
That’s it.
No bins. No chaos. No digging through 14 bags wondering why we brought three spatulas.
A lot of what we use on every trip lives in our essentials list → Truck Camper Essentials
6. Open a Drink and Sit Down
Once those few things are done…
We’re done.
We open a drink, sit down, and immediately start enjoying where we are—which is kind of the whole point.
What We Don’t Do When We Set Up Camp
We’ve learned just as much from what we don’t do as what we do.
When we first got the camper, we thought we had to:
- unpack everything immediately
- set up every single thing we brought
- make camp look “perfect” right away
And honestly… it made setup feel way more stressful than it needed to be.
Now we keep it simple.
We don’t unpack everything the second we arrive.
We don’t set up things we’re not going to use right away.
And we definitely don’t stress about making everything look Pinterest-worthy.
We focus on the basics, get comfortable, and call it good.
Everything else can happen later… or not at all. Which, honestly, is usually what happens.
Or not happen at all. Also an option.
Keeping things simple also makes it way easier to keep the camper clean—especially with dogs. → Keeping a Truck Camper Clean With Dogs
The Biggest Thing That Makes Setup So Easy
Honestly, one of the biggest reasons setting up our truck camper is so simple is because most of our stuff just… lives in the camper.
We’re not packing bins.
We’re not loading totes.
We’re not standing in the driveway asking, “did you grab the spatula?”
Our pots, pans, spatulas, coffee mugs—all of it stays in the camper full time.
Which means when we leave for a trip, we’re not packing a full kitchen every single time like you would with tent camping.
We just grab food, clothes, the dogs… and go.
And when we get to camp?
Everything is already where it’s supposed to be.
No digging through bags.
No unloading half the truck.
No trying to remember where we put something.
It’s one of those things that doesn’t seem like a big deal at first—but it makes a huge difference in how fast and stress-free setup feels.
How Long It Actually Takes Us
Depending on the site, it usually takes us about:
10–15 minutes to fully set up
And that includes:
- parking
- letting the dogs out (and emotionally recovering from Jingle’s decisions)
- turning on power + water
- moving a couple things
That’s one of the biggest advantages of a truck camper.
It Did NOT Start This Easy
Let me be clear…
It was not always like this.
The first few times we took the camper out, setup felt:
- chaotic
- stressful
- like we were definitely forgetting something important
I rolled around mentally trying to remember what to do next, and Chris just stared at things like they might fix themselves.
We were learning in real time.
The Secret: A Routine (That You Don’t Overthink)
The biggest thing that changed everything for us?
Having a simple routine.
The more we camped, the more we:
- figured out what actually mattered
- stopped doing unnecessary steps
- memorized our flow
And once you stop thinking about it… you get faster without even trying.
If You’re New to Truck Camping
If your setup feels overwhelming right now—completely normal.
Those first few trips can feel like a lot.
You’ll forget things.
You’ll overthink things.
You might stand there wondering what you were about to do.
But if you stick with it, I promise—it clicks.
Final Thought
One of the reasons we love our truck camper so much is how quickly we can go from driving… to completely settled in.
No complicated setup.
No long checklist.
No stress.
Just a simple routine that works—and a lot more time actually enjoying where we are.
What is your camper setup like?