This is a page that is no longer relevant, but I left it here for nostalgia.  I no longer camp; these days, with my health conditions, my idea of "roughing it" is when the hotel room does not have free wi-fi. I used to do it, though, and this wasthe word at one time:

A lot of this is aimed at non-campers, and will be boring, or even funny, to experienced campers, but bear with me...

I have a long history of camping, beginning with an old, hole-ridden canvas 2-man tent that I was given, and in which I spent the night in the back yard when I was 8.
This was followed by summer camps, a bunch of camping in the Boy Scouts, a backpacking period, and on and on, to this day. After high school, I was camping out at bluegrass festivals, concerts, on fishing trips, etc. Later, after our marriage, my wife and I bought an actual, proper cabin tent, and carried on. When our daughter was born, we simply took her along. Along the way, we have become more and more decadent, finally taking RV spaces for the tent, so we can have electricity for TV, fans, electric griddle, toaster oven, and charging the scooter.
These days, we also carry a smaller cabin tent, which contains a good chemical potty. My wife sustained a broken back several years ago, and I have a prosthetic foot and heart failure, so our range is limited for middle-of-the-night bathhouse runs, which become more frequent as we get older. We continue along with the aid of cots, and have a decided preference for things like the KOA Kamping Kabins, when available. This whole entourage is called "Mobile Homeless" by my daughter.

Camping - Why?

Why? I enjoy the outdoors, but don't like to sleep under the stars alone, so this works out to be a good compromise. I am closer to whole Peace Of Mind when kicked back in a chaise lounge under the tarp, with soft light from a candle lantern, and a cup of decaf coffee, watching nature take it's evening course. There is also the Fiscal Factor; the difference between a $15 campsite and a $70 motel room can often decide whether we can attend an event, and the camping is often handily on-site. I used to backpack, but that is a little too primitive even for me, and while I had some good times, I was never totally relaxed by it. In my late teens, I bought a pickup truck with a camper shell, and began to follow music festivals and hotrod runs, using my pup tent in good weather and the camper shell in bad. I think I then found the secret - other people. Not in the the tent or truck with me, of course, but around me. (although I have some *very* fond memories of a couple of young ladies who went along with me on occasion) I found a preference for campgrounds, in all their forms. We normally camp, these days, in conjunction with some kind of event; SCA events, music festivals, hot rod runs, etc. This takes us away from hard city life, and gives me time outdoors, in the company of generally friendly, like-minded people.
There are basically three levels of camping sophistication:
*RVs - This ranges from simple teardrop trailers [do a web search], to pop-ups, to solid trailers, to luxurious motorhomes with satellite TV and all the trimmins'. Less like camping than a mobile apartment, though I have no argument with those who do it.
*Cabins - Usually offered by large chain campgrounds; vary in amenities from fully-equipped to only bunk beds and a light bulb. Takes yer choice.
*Tents - Again, a wide range, from tiny puptents to large, multi-room cabin jobs.

I have the most experience with tenting, usually in campgrounds, and I'll expand on that, for those who may like to try this. The best suggestion I have is, for your first tent-camping trip, borrow or rent your equipment, and go on a two-night trip with a family of experienced campers. These folks can blunt some of the shock of:
Differences from everyday life: When tenting, there will be no climate control, and the potty will be some distance away. The idea of the bathhouse is probably the thing that stuns beginners the most; think of your highschool locker room with stall showers and no lockers. Bathhouses are normally close to tenting areas, and somewhat further away from RV sites. Tent sites normally have no electricity or water, so arrangements have to be made. Having no electricity means no electric lights, no TV, and no cappucino maker. And now that I have really depressed you, let me expand:

How we do it:

Disclaimer: Nothing in this section is represented as the "right" way to do things; this is just what we have found works best for us. When brand names are mentioned, they are not intended as endorsements, just what we have ended up with over the years.

How to get there: A van, or pickup truck with a camper shell, is the ideal transportation, but not totally neccessary. I have always had trucks, but my wife and I, even after our daughter was born, struggled along in her old Honda Civic station wagon a few times, though I don't recommend it. A huge number of families use minivans and SUVs, and one family we know travel in style in their Buick Park Avenue, towing a custom-built U-Haul type utility trailer containing all the tenting gear. [they also wear the latest horribly expensive L.L. Bean clothing, but whatever works for you] We also take along bicycles for the ladies' campground transportation and general riding around. I sometimes have my scooter on hand, depending on the size of the campground, and what is going on. To plan trips, an excellent guide is the Woodall's Campground Guide, expensive [$20], but very useful. It explains the facilities at nearly every campground in the USA, and gives addresses and phone numbers to make your reservations.

The House: Tents come in a staggering variety of forms, but share many common attributes; the walls are some form of cloth, and they are small. They are not heated or air-conditioned, which leads me to prefer spring and fall camping. Surprisingly, few are waterproof. [more on that coming] If you burn a light inside at night, you will give a shadow-puppet show to the rest of the campground. [I've seen a few of these, including one romantic encounter which drew cheers and applause afterward, so be warned!] Ours is an outside-frame cabin tent. It has slanted walls and a hip roof, screen windows and door, and is supported by an aluminum-pole frame. As I mentioned before, these things are rarely waterproof because the material is intended to "breathe", and come with a "rain fly", a waterproof cover that can be pitched over the tent to protect it from rain. One type that have come into favor in recent years is the dome tent, but I remain skeptical. They are quick and easy to set up, and some campers swear by them, but the ones I have seen are curvy inside, and create a kind of claustrophobia. Our rain fly was destroyed long ago, and I have developed an alternative method; over the years, we have had several tarp covers, simple square tarps that are held up by poles to provide a roof. As the tarp parts have worn out, I have kept the poles, and have purchased an opaque polyethelene tarp 16 feet by 24 feet, and installed metal grommets at strategic locations. I now just use the poles I already have, and end up with a 16'X 24' roof, and I just pitch the tent under it. Since the tent is 12'X 12', there is an overhang. This provides shade, rain protection, and a front porch. On the front porch, we can have chairs, a table, and a bunch of other things. You should use a "ground sheet" under the tent, a tarp which protects the tent floor from the ground surface. A useful feature to look for in a tent is a "bathtub" floor - a floor that is sewn into the tent in a bathtub shape, and attached a few inches up the wall. When you get caught in rain [when, not if] the bathtub floor will allow ground water to "float" the floor, keeping water out of the tent.

The Kitchen: Cooking is done with fire. [grunt] Some campgrounds allow open fires, some don't. We don't cook with campfires anyway, preferring the control of a two-burner Coleman stove. Actually, we don't cook at all if we can get out of it, preferring a cold-cut life. [exceptions in Luxuries, below] We use the stove for most of our cooking. We have, over the years, developed a collection of utensils from retired household stuff, thrift stores, etc. Nothing is matched, but it's all functional. Most of it is selected for light weight, not elegance. Old 60's style Melamine dishware is light and functional, and nothing is glass. Martha Stewart would be appalled, but she doesn't camp anyway... The utensils and drygood food are contained in huge Rubbermaid storage boxes. These stay in the truck, and are accessed as neccessary. NO FOOD is ever kept or eaten in the tent! Ants, mice, and raccoons can sniff the crumbs out anywhere, and you want them OUTSIDE! We don't even eat under the tarp, weather permitting. We also have a sit-on-the-stove coffee percolator, of course. Almost all campgrounds have sinks for dishashing, usually near the bathhouse. We carry two ice chests, large Igloo Legends. One is used to store cold foods, and one for milk, soft drinks, and snacks, and ice for drinks. These too stay in the truck. All campgrounds have ice for sale, so that is not an issue. Remember that ice melts, even in a cooler, and water collects in the bottom, so adjust your food storage accordingly. Plastic containers and Ziplock freezer bags are great things to keep water out of your groceries. And don't take, for instance, a quart jar of mayonnaise for a two-night trip; pack for what you think you'll need.

The Bedroom: Sleeping bags or blanket rolls. Whatever works. We have sleeping bags, and carry quilts and flat sheets. We also carry cots; my wife and I are old and broke down, and don't do well on the ground...

The Closet: Spare clothes; Duh. For a weekend trip, a couple of changes will do. We carry ours in duffel bags, and carry large trash bags for each duffel for dirtys. These go into the truck. If you are staying several days, most good campgrounds have laundromats.

The Bathroom: Usually, a bathhouse. Most bathhouses in campgrounds are well maintained, heated but not air-conditioned, and normally, Murphy's-Law-Style, a long way from your campsite. Take a bag to carry your shower essentials, etc. Don't take a full-sized bottle of shampoo or whatever. Small "trial size" containers of just about any product can be obtained from drug stores or the pharmacy sections of discount stores. We have recently aquired a very good chemical potty, pitch the small (8'x8') tent behind the main one, and place the potty in there, for middle-of-the-night urgencies, which come more frequently as we get older.

The Den: In our case, the section of "porch" in front of the tent covered by the tarp. It could be a screen-side light shelter, or whatever. It is shelter from sun, light rain, etc. We have folding chairs and a couple of light, fold-down plastic tables. After dark, we light with citronella candles. We have Coleman lanterns, which are *very* bright, and useful for doing tasks, but far too much for just relaxing, which is why we are here to begin with. Our candle lanterns provide a soft light for relaxing or light reading, and the citronella part keeps a few of the bugs away, and for a chemical thing, smells okay. Very cozy.

Luxuries: As I mentioned before, my wife and I have become more and more decadent over the years, and as our bodies have become decidedly middle-aged, we have gone for comfort, not for speed. One of our tricks is to take an RV space, equipped with electricity and water. We park the truck on the concrete RV pad, and pitch the tent on the grassy area behind or beside the pad. Not all campgrounds will allow this, but most do. This gives us access to power for several luxurious things. Our eating habits run to heavy breakfast and light lunch and dinner, and one of our favorite things is pancakes and turkey bacon. These work best on our electric griddle. Our daughter has certain TV interests, even camping, and we like fans to circulate some air. [in hot times, the fans are heavenly] Some people we know have gone for small generators, but we have not. If you do, make sure it's a QUIET one. I was once in a very crowded overflow area at an event, and one group had a VERY loud generator powered by a lawn-mower type engine, and about that loud. When they finally shut it down at 10:00 pm quiet time, campers in a 100 yard radius cheered and applauded...
I am a radio freak, and usually carry portable ham radio gear and a small shortwave receiver, but I use them quietly.