New Camping Gear

I spend a lot of the winter time watching YouTube videos from other RVers, listening to Podcasts while driving around Washington, and spending time on Facebook to see and hear about some of the newest and coolest new gear for glamping (what we do is a far cry from tent camping!) This year, I found several new things that will hopefully make a difference on either setting up camp or driving around exploring in the Atlas.

Luno Front Bed

We have a 30 lb Corgi who sleeps in a crate during the night. Last year, we struggled to figure out a good way to set up her crate when we went to bed. We attempted to wedge an Orvis foldable crate between the drivers seat and the steering wheel – which did not work as well as we might have hoped. It was a bit unstable and really did not fit well.

Our camper has a Murphy Bed – so when it is down in place for sleeping there is not a lot of extra room. We ordered a Luno Front Bed which is an air mattress that fits a Mercedes Sprinter Van and fits between the seats. This two piece set – one is “T-shaped” and fits between the seats – the second is the mattress which goes on top – sets up in less than 5 minutes. For us – this will work great to set up a dog crate for the evening and will give us more space to put clothes and other things when we head to bed. The Luno Front Bed comes with a rechargeable inflator – which makes short work of putting up and taking down the bed.

While things are always easier when we are in the garage prepping for the trip – I was impressed with the ease for both set-up and take down.

Collapsible IMPACT Dog Crate

We wanted an easily collapsible dog crate that we could use for Aurora at night and that we could use during the day when driving around – and importantly – was collapsible for when we are set up in the campground and want as much space as possible in the Atlas.

After some internet sleuthing, I found these cool crates made in Idaho out of aircraft grade aluminum – so it is relatively light, easily collapsible, and has plenty of room for Aurora at night.

Once I set it up – it took a couple of minutes the first time – take down was easy and it folded back to a suitcase size in a matter of minutes.

The real test was on how well it would sit on top of the Luno Front Bed. It was surprisingly stable and sat easily on the Luno for a couple of days. We will see how it does with Aurora in it moving around at night and in the morning when she is eager for her early morning “pre-breakfast” walk around the campground.

Terra Charge Groove

Anyone who has tried to charge phones in the front middle compartment on a Mercedes Sprinter has gotten frustrated trying to close the lid once your phone or other device is inside. The “Terra Charge Groove” is a slick gadget that installs in about 10 minutes and provides an easy way to charge phones and other devices while the lid is closed without crimping the cables. This was a very creative solution and I am eager on our longer trips to see how much better utility we get out of the front “compartment” with the Charge Groove installed.

We have a few additional items that we purchased for the 2025 season – and I will provide some commentary on those as we use them!