Help with camp setup

First of all leave your camp stretchers home for a couple of reason, bulky space and warmth when in the desert.

The reason why I say this is you will get a colder sleep, rather than your swag on the ground, as cold air will be drawn from under the stretcher and you will have no protection and insulation rather than if you have your swags straight on the ground. You must have very good sleeping bags, as it will be very cold at night and you do not want cheap K Mart and Big W brands, or else you will freeze.

Yes take the tent of overnight stays on the way to the desert and once there, just use your swags straight on the ground with a canvas tarp underneath.

Just thinking about weight and bulk.

4 swags is a lot of bulk. Plus 4 stretchers is bulk and weight.

Would the kids be ok in sleeping bags in swags outside, no stretchers, perhaps with additional self-inflaters for a bit extra underbody insulation during the cold nights and mum and dad in the tent with stretchers, self inflaters and sleeping bags/doonas?

That would leave room in the tent to keep some gear undercover, like clothing, shoes, etc..

EDIT: Stephen posted as I was typing so some of this overlaps with his post.

We have the RV5 and swags and have used this combo for many years with our family of 4. We eventually upgraded our double swag to a Dome swag and now we have an Ultimate Camper but for a time the swags and RV5 worked well for us.

When the kids were young we did many extended desert trips which would involve some initial days of moving daily and then a few days of staying in the one place. For overnighters that were dry, we'd just use the swags. If it was raining or for longer stops we would setup the RV5 and put 2 swags inside and we'd sleep in our double swag under the awning on a ground sheet just at the front door. In fact the first time with all 4, we went from WA via SA, NSW and ferry to Tasmania and a month camping around Tassie with this setup - one kid was 3 and the other was a baby of 8 months.

After many years, we upgraded our double swag to a dome swag (we have the Boab one) and stopped taking the RV5 on trips with daily movement unless for a single destination long-stop camping trip. The dome swag is a compromise - whilst not the spaciousness of a tent, you get more head room and more space than a standard swag and easier to lift off roof rack than the RV5 - David hurt his back and couldn't keep up with the weight and struggle of dealing with the the RV5 on the roof rack of a lifted cruiser.

Don't bother with stretchers or air mattresses. Just a ground sheet is required to keep the swags cleaner and avoid moisture seeping etc - we use our radiator blind and tarps. We use flannelette sheets, and doonas. Tuck them in properly at home when preparing the swag and leave setup all trip. Here's some of the old photos.

Personal preference whether you want to use tent or swags but choose one, you don’t need to carry both.
Leave the stretchers at home too.
You take quite a different approach to touring compared to base camping so I would assume you are used to carrying quite a lot of gear for setting up longer term.
Be brutal with assessing what to take and what should stay at home, the more gear you take the bigger the task of set up and pack up becomes

Simple is good :)

First crossing ?

With 2 adults and 2 children, I'd be going as light as possible, my setup for me in general is stretcher under awning, in compact flat swag with swag bag sleeping bag too, always very warm and dry if rain is about / blows in.
My stretcher is single aluminium though, very light and compact.

Many times I've also just thrown down a groundsheet and swagged it straight on the ground, hard to tell once you're in bed and sleeping that the stretcher is not there.

If dry I use shadecloth under the swag, sand etc just falls through.

4 swags (or a double and 2 singles) is going to be bulky, and you may want to take the RV5 in case of weather, especially if camping while travelling to and from the centre region (not sure where you're travelling from, or how many days you plan each way).

You'll have enough gear / supplies / fuel / water without taking too much, I'd try leaving the RV out if you can manage remote camping to / from without it, maybe a large tarp to string out in case it's wet anywhere, just to poke the swag openings under. Can double up as the tarp used under the swags too.

I usually take a small lightweight tent in case of weather, hardly ever had to use it but good to know it's there in case.
I just take the Malamoo 3 person pop up.

Consider weather forecasts on route to / from and in the desert when planning in the last week.

a good self inflating mattress and a good -5 or better sleeping bag is all you need.

Don`t have a tarp/ awning on top of your swags it causes condensation if the weather is cold, instead run a rope between two points , maybe from car to a tree, high enough for a tarp over it so there is clearance above the swags.
As already said put everything away at night , Dingoes love boots/shoes etc.
If you are going to bury your toilet evidence please burn the paper first, Dingoes will dig it all up and the paper blows about leaving an untidy mess.

Enjoy the trip,
Scrubby.

Hi Stefandsal,

As others have stated, if you do not have any problems getting up and down from the ground, leave the stretchers at home. Take the RV5, but only use it if the weather is not so good. I have crossed the Simpson a couple of times, first time with the RV4 and a camp stretcher. Only used the tent a couple of times, choosing instead to just use the stretcher and sleeping bag. Second time, left the stretcher at home and used a double dome Swag with sleeping bag, carried the RV4, but did not get it off the roof rack. Quality self inflating mattress and quality sleeping bags are the answer.

Also, as others have stated, do not leave anything out at night, including boots/shoes, leave them in the car, dingoes will get into anything.

Macca.

I would agree with PK Ranger regarding waight..only take what is absolutely necessary keeping the weight to an absolute minimum is the best way to do a Crossing IMO . Tent is a good idea to keep the dingoes from licking your ears at night & there's plenty of them .

We did the Simpson in Sept figuring July is too cold. Nearest weather station is Birdsville and the July 2020 mean minimum is 6*C and lowest 2*. These are temps taken 1.2 m above the ground so swags on the sand will be 2 or 3* lower. Plus days are very short although a pleasant 22* mean max. Another plus in a more positive sense will be the starry skies. Lie in the swag and watch for meteors.... W

You might be interested in this video which has just come thru my email Stef&Sal.

a247 Desert Trip

We crossed The Simpson back in 2010 as a family of 4 with a touring tent, had self inflating mattresses and decent rated sleeping bags...mate left the washing up water in his bowl overnight and work to find the top layer of it frozen.
We also did Cape York in 2006 as a family of 3 with that same touring tent...just need to keep your set up as basic as possible to minimise set up and pack up times.