12 Coachella 2025 Car Camping Mistakes to Skip

Competition season has formally kicked off with tons of of hundreds of individuals flocking to the desert for Coachella 2025. Whereas festivalgoers are already prepping for the following large occasion, Stagecoach, I am nonetheless not fairly over Weekend 1 of Coachella—particularly the car camping mishap. Like everybody who wasn’t in Indio, Calif., for the occasion, I watched the chaos unfold from dwelling as a flurry of footage confirmed what went down on the campgrounds. 

TikTok was awash with viral POV (point of view) videos from 12-hour visitors jams and tales of being denied entry to ingesting water and bathrooms throughout the lengthy wait to enter the Coachella campgrounds. Attendees who paid a minimum of $600 for tickets and one other $150-plus to camp known as it a Fyre Competition-esque journey nightmare. The organizers have apologized for the occasions, however there’s a lesson for campers right here, too. 

As somebody who lived full-time in vans and tents for 3 years, together with lengthy stints within the desert, I do know a factor or two concerning the significance of being ready when tenting. Forward of peak tenting season, I’ve laid out the most important Coachella automobile tenting errors and the simple hacks to enhance your general expertise, whether or not it’s touring with your personal private shower setup or taking further measures to make sure you get a full night time’s sleep. Take into account these Amazon camping gear hacks on your subsequent journey—some price as little as $8 and will change every thing.

Mistake: Automotive tenting and not using a backup rest room plan 

Resolution: Dibbatu Disposable Urine Luggage

Let’s simply begin with the nitty gritty. It doesn’t matter what, entry to a rest room is a fundamental human necessity—and but, it is one which festival-goers didn’t have entry to for hours forward of Coachella. Earlier than pitching a tent at a music competition, within the backcountry, or at a campground that will have a damaged rest room, you want a backup plan. Mine—buckle up, it’s not glamorous—is a disposable urine bag. Get your self a 12-pack for $8, and also you gained’t have to hunt emergency reduction in an empty soda cup or some harmless particular person’s privateness bushes.

Mistake: Being unprepared for decent temperatures 

Resolution: Gaiatop Mini Transportable Fan

It’s common for daytime temperatures to exceed 90 levels Fahrenheit throughout Coachella. One automobile camper on TikTok mentioned, “Each morning once I get up within the truck, the solar comes by way of and I actually can’t even assist [that] my eyes simply begin crying. I simply begin crying the second I get up” as a result of it’s so “unbelievably scorching.” Hold your tent from getting stuffy on sweltering days with a conveyable fan. This $16 choice fees by USB cable and lasts eight to 10 hours earlier than operating out of battery, in keeping with reviewers. It additionally has versatile legs so you’ll be able to set it up wherever and level it precisely the place you need it.

Mistake: Forgetting that temperatures drop at night time

Resolution: Kelty Catena 30 Sleeping Bag

Right here’s the factor about deserts: Whereas they are often excruciatingly scorching throughout the day, nights may be actually frigid. Be ready for wild temperature swings with a quality sleeping bag like this one from Kelty—an reasonably priced artificial down choice “for any informal or first-time camper,” Journey + Leisure testers mentioned. It’s rated for temps as little as 30 levels Fahrenheit and may be unzipped and used as a blanket, or zipped along with one other Kelty Catena to make a two-person bag.

Mistake: Leaving your campsite unsecured

Resolution: Safego Transportable Secure

Although campground theft at Coachella is uncommon, despite the fact that hundreds of campers attend every year, you’ll need to maintain your valuables safe in your automobile whenever you step away. When tenting at festivals (or wherever, truly), I like to recommend sticking small valuables on this mini moveable lockbox and attaching it to your steering wheel or one other mounted object inside your car.

Mistake: Operating out of battery energy to cost units

Resolution: Jackery Photo voltaic Generator 240 v2 and 40W Mini Photo voltaic Panel

Festivalgoers warn on TikTok that the charging hubs at Coachella get packed by the final day, when everybody’s power banks lastly run out of juice. There aren’t any charging hubs the place I usually camp, so I am going completely nowhere with out my Jackery generator and photo voltaic panel. It’s not as cumbersome as one would possibly assume: the mini panel weighs simply 2.6 kilos and folds as much as about 12 by 10 inches. The generator can cost an iPhone 12 occasions, and with all of the sunshine hitting the photo voltaic panel out within the desert, you need to have a bottomless provide of energy all weekend.

Mistake: Ready in lengthy traces for showers

Resolution: Kipida 5-gallon Photo voltaic Bathe Bag

The TikTok person @mayifancyyou supplied a glimpse into the bathe scenario at Coachella. Ready in line for the free showers for an hour and a half? No, thanks. Ready in line even longer for a $10 “Tremendous Duper” bathe? Completely not. Spending $15 on a 5-gallon bag with a hose is way more my type. I can prop this moveable bathe on the hood of my automobile for hand washing or grasp it for a semi-warm bathe anytime I need—no ready in line required. Some Coachella attendees used a privacy tent at their campsite to take showers in, too.

Mistake: Dropping your tent to a gust of wind 

Resolution: Fstop Labs Screw-style Tent Stakes 8-pack

Wind can actually upend a tenting journey. A single gust can catch the nylon partitions of your tent and ship your hard-earned setup hovering. However Coachella doesn’t even allow steel tent stakes, so your subsequent best choice is the plastic variety that screws into the bottom, which occur to be simply as safe and simpler to make use of than the type you pound with a mallet.

Mistake: Not bringing sufficient snacks

Resolution: Yeti Tundra 35 Cooler

Shopping for takeout for each meal whenever you’re touring actually provides up, particularly at locations like Coachella (actually, a typical woe for Weekend 1 attendees was restricted entry to meals whereas ready within the lengthy campground queues). As a substitute, spend money on a cooler that really stays cool and get enthusiastic about lower fruit and campsite cooking. Yeti is broadly thought-about to be the best cooler model on the market, and its Tundra is the top-rated on Amazon for ice retention. For one of the best outcomes, drain the water from it earlier than including extra ice, and make sure to maintain it out of the solar.

Mistake: Letting the solar flip your automobile right into a sauna

Resolution: EcoNour Reflective Windshield Sunshade

A windshield sunshade is probably the most neglected, underrated summer camping must-have in my guide. Whether or not you’re sleeping within the automobile or simply utilizing it to retailer gadgets like meals and electronics, you need to maintain the inside from turning into an oven. This Amazon reviewer-favorite sunshade with over 75,000 five-star scores supposedly blocks 99 p.c of warmth. Individuals who reside in actually scorching climates—like, excessive temperatures in the range of 124 degrees Fahrenheit—mentioned it really works wonders.

Mistake: Spending $10 on a cup of black espresso

Resolution: Stanley Journey All-in-one Boil + Brew 32-oz French Press

TikToker @amanderz7 has a query for Coachella campers: “Why are folks shopping for $20 coffees and matches?” She continued, “That’s what’s going to make it a horrible expertise—counting on the competition for meals, water, loos, all that.” The subsequent time you want a pick-me-up, seize a pre-stocked chilly brew from the cooler or brew your self a cup of espresso on the campsite with a French press. This Stanley mug that boils and brews is the best, quickest answer to campsite coffee I’ve discovered. Professional tip for iced espresso lovers: brew within the morning and put it within the cooler for a day refresher.

Mistake: Making an attempt to sleep with out earplugs 

Resolution: Loop Ear Plugs

It may be onerous to get high quality sleep—or any sleep—in a packed campground, particularly one at a music competition. A pair of earplugs may actually prevent from being drained and grumpy the following day. Loop makes them further cozy and with top-notch noise discount with out muffling an excessive amount of. You may even put on them contained in the competition to deliver the loudness down a couple of notches. 

Mistake: Operating out of water 

Resolution: Umetass Collapsible 5-gallon Water Container 2-pack

Tenting within the warmth means it’s further necessary to remain hydrated, however the fewer journeys you must make to the water filling station, the higher. I questioned whether or not the collapsible five-gallon jug I take advantage of can be possible for automobile tenting at locations like Coachella. Seems, the competition has no guidelines in opposition to filling massive containers, and Reddit commenters confirmed it’s not in opposition to campground etiquette—no one cares. So, pack solely what you want for the automobile journey and maintain this huge jug folded up within the again till you’re able to replenish for the weekend. Take into account additionally bringing a pal to the water station as a result of every of those jugs weighs over 40 kilos when full.

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