I’m always on the lookout for tools to help me find free campsites. Websites I currently consult before going on a trip include FreeCampsites.net, Campendium, and Hipcamp. I recently found a new one to add to the rotation, and it’s called iOverlander. (There are Android and iOS apps too.)

I live in Utah and have extensive camping experience in the state, so whenever I come across one of these new websites or apps, I immediately go to Utah and see if there are any camping areas I don’t already know about. It turns out that iOverlander had several. I then looked down into Arizona and southern California (other areas I’m pretty familiar with) and found still more campsites I wasn’t aware of. In my opinion, iOverlander is the second best of the above mentioned campsite websites after FreeCampsites.net. (I’ve found that the other two websites, Campendium and Hipcamp, have campsites that are usually covered on FreeCampsites.net.)

You can filter the camps by type of camping (I usually turn all of them off except for “wild camping” and “informal campsites”) and by amenities you’re looking for (being able to find a paid campground with a shower, for example, could mean that you won’t need to pay for a shower at a recreation center or truck stop).

Head on over to iOverlander and take a look at the camping areas near you or that you’re familiar with. Did you find any campsites you didn’t already know about?

I know that not everyone is into hammocking when they’re out traveling and camping in their SUVs, but I highly recommend it. I think it provides an unparalleled relaxation experience. One thing I’ve been fascinated with lately is the idea of being able to hang a hammock without trees, and one way to do that is to get a hitch-mounted hammock stand for the back of your SUV, truck, car, etc.

I’ve linked to the Blue Ridge Overland Gear Hitchhiker ($290 plus $33 shipping) hammock stand before, but I’ve recently come across a few more hitch-mounted hammock stands and wanted to share them in case anyone else is as weirdly interested in these things as I am:

The Hitch Hammock ($389 with free shipping)

This one is unique in that it also functions as a hitch-mounted cargo basket. If you’re into that, this looks like a great option.

McLean Metalworks Hammock Mount ($399 with free shipping)

If I had $400 burning a hole in a my pocket, this is the hitch-mounted hammock stand I’d get. With the arms collapsed and folded down, the thing is just 26 inches wide. Very cool design.

The Hammock-King ($210 plus ~$70 shipping)

This one is brand new on the market. As you can see, it’s a much different design from the others. The good news is that it’s cheaper than all the rest. The bad news is that you’re really high off the ground when you’re in the hammock. Not good if you’re injury-prone. As for the $70 shipping price, that’s how much I was quoted for shipping to Utah from Michigan, where the Hammock-King is made. It may be more or less depending on where you are. Here’s a video showing the Hammock-King in action.

What is the best shower option for SUV RVers and car campers? A video viewer asked me that question in an email a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve turned my reply into this blog post.

It’s something I don’t have a very good answer for, and that’s for a few reasons. First, I haven’t tried every camp shower out there, so I can’t really give a definitive answer in that regard. And second, the best one for you really depends on what you value most in your shower. And third, I myself haven’t made up my mind as to which I prefer. That said, here are some brief thoughts on different kinds of camp showers.

Do you want simplicity? Then a spray bottle and bag of wet wipes is a great solution. This is what I used on most of my early trips. It won’t get you as clean as a traditional shower, but it’s more compact and less of a hassle, in my opinion, than the other options below. It doesn’t get much simpler than this.

Do you want more of a traditional shower experience but don’t want it to take up too much space when it’s not being used? A solar camp shower (the kind that is essentially a bag that you fill with water and then leave out in the sun; this is the one I have) may be right for you. I used one of these showers on a couple of my early trips but never really liked it for two reasons:

1. I was never at a campsite long enough or during the hotter/sunnier parts of the day, so the water was never as hot as I would like.

2. I often camp in the desert or some other area that doesn’t have trees nearby. With no trees to hang the shower from, I had to resort to plopping the shower down on the roof of my car, but my car isn’t very tall. This meant that I’d have to hunch over to get the water flowing. Not ideal.

I’m currently giving the solar camp shower a second chance. I’ve gone a long way toward solving the first problem by doing this. And I’ve also solved the second problem, which will be covered in a video in the next week or two. The downside of this kind of shower is that, depending on environmental circumstances (cloud cover, temperature, elevation, etc.), the water still may not be as hot as you’d like.

A sprayer-style shower (like this) is great if you have a bit more room and don’t want to have to mess with finding a place to hang up the camping-style shower. I made a shower similar to the one in that video and liked it whenever I was using it, but found that it took up more space than I wanted when I wasn’t using it. Because my SUV (a RAV4) is so small and space is at a premium, I gave it up in favor of the more compact solar camp shower.

If you want ultimate comfort (i.e., a pressurized, heated shower) and are willing to give up some space for it, the Zodi heated camp showers are supposed to be great. Ted from this article has the Extreme SC and speaks highly of it.

(Note: This article contains Amazon affiliate links.)