12 Coachella 2025 Automobile Tenting Errors to Skip

Pageant season has formally kicked off with a whole bunch of hundreds of individuals flocking to the desert for Coachella 2025. Whereas festivalgoers are already prepping for the subsequent massive occasion, Stagecoach, I am nonetheless not fairly over Weekend 1 of Coachella—significantly the automotive tenting mishap. Like everybody who wasn’t in Indio, Calif., for the occasion, I watched the chaos unfold from house as a flurry of footage confirmed what went down on the campgrounds.

TikTok was awash with viral POV (viewpoint) movies from 12-hour site visitors jams and tales of being denied entry to ingesting water and loos throughout the lengthy wait to enter the Coachella campgrounds. Attendees who paid at the least $600 for tickets and one other $150-plus to camp referred to as it a Fyre Pageant-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 in regards to the significance of being ready when tenting. Forward of peak tenting season, I’ve laid out the most important Coachella automotive tenting errors and the straightforward hacks to enhance your general expertise, whether or not it’s touring with your personal personal bathe setup or taking further measures to make sure you get a full night time’s sleep. Take into account these Amazon tenting gear hacks on your subsequent journey—some price as little as $8 and will change all the pieces.

Mistake: Automobile tenting and not using a backup toilet plan

Answer: Dibbatu Disposable Urine Luggage

Let’s simply begin with the nitty gritty. It doesn’t matter what, entry to a toilet is a primary 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 which 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 received’t have to hunt emergency aid in an empty soda cup or some harmless particular person’s privateness bushes.

Mistake: Being unprepared for decent temperatures

Answer: Gaiatop Mini Moveable Fan

It’s common for daytime temperatures to exceed 90 levels Fahrenheit throughout Coachella. One automotive camper on TikTok mentioned, “Each morning once I get up within the truck, the solar comes by means 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.” Preserve your tent from getting stuffy on sweltering days with a transportable fan. This $16 possibility expenses by USB cable and lasts eight to 10 hours earlier than working out of battery, based on reviewers. It additionally has versatile legs so you possibly can set it up wherever and level it precisely the place you need it.

Mistake: Forgetting that temperatures drop at night time

Answer: Kelty Catena 30 Sleeping Bag

Right here’s the factor about deserts: Whereas they are often excruciatingly scorching throughout the day, nights might be really frigid. Be ready for wild temperature swings with a top quality sleeping bag like this one from Kelty—an inexpensive artificial down possibility “for any informal or first-time camper,” Journey + Leisure testers mentioned. It’s rated for temps as little as 30 levels Fahrenheit and might 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

Answer: Safego Moveable Secure

Although campground theft at Coachella is uncommon, although hundreds of campers attend annually, you’ll wish to hold your valuables safe in your automotive once you step away. When tenting at festivals (or wherever, really), 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 automobile.

Mistake: Working out of battery energy to cost units

Answer: 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 energy banks lastly run out of juice. There are not any charging hubs the place I usually camp, so I’m going completely nowhere with out my Jackery generator and photo voltaic panel. It’s not as cumbersome as one would possibly suppose: 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, it is best to have a bottomless provide of energy all weekend.

Mistake: Ready in lengthy traces for showers

Answer: 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 rather more my model. I can prop this moveable bathe on the hood of my automotive for hand washing or grasp it for a semi-warm bathe anytime I would like—no ready in line required. Some Coachella attendees used a privateness tent at their campsite to take showers in, too.

Mistake: Dropping your tent to a gust of wind

Answer: 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 permit steel tent stakes, so your subsequent most suitable choice is the plastic form 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

Answer: Yeti Tundra 35 Cooler

Shopping for takeout for each meal once you’re touring actually provides up, particularly at locations like Coachella (in truth, 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 minimize fruit and campsite cooking. Yeti is extensively thought of to be the most effective cooler model on the market, and its Tundra is the top-rated on Amazon for ice retention. For the most effective outcomes, drain the water from it earlier than including extra ice, and make sure you hold it out of the solar.

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

Answer: EcoNour Reflective Windshield Sunshade

A windshield sunshade is essentially the most ignored, underrated summer time tenting must-have in my guide. Whether or not you’re sleeping within the automotive or simply utilizing it to retailer objects like meals and electronics, you wish to hold the inside from changing into an oven. This Amazon reviewer-favorite sunshade with over 75,000 five-star rankings supposedly blocks 99 p.c of warmth. Individuals who dwell in actually scorching climates—like, excessive temperatures within the vary of 124 levels Fahrenheit—mentioned it really works wonders.

Mistake: Spending $10 on a cup of black espresso

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

TikToker @amanderz7 has a query for Coachella campers: “Why are individuals 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 following 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 resolution to campsite espresso 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

Answer: Loop Ear Plugs

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

Mistake: Working out of water

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

Tenting within the warmth means it’s further necessary to remain hydrated, however the fewer journeys it’s important to 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 automotive tenting at locations like Coachella. Seems, the competition has no guidelines towards filling massive containers, and Reddit commenters confirmed it’s not towards campground etiquette—no one cares. So, pack solely what you want for the automotive experience and hold 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.

Love an excellent deal? Join our T+L Recommends e-newsletter and we’ll ship you our favourite journey merchandise every week.