Part 2 of our 5-week packing series. 🎒

You can survive a bad lunch. You can't survive five bad nights in a row. 😵‍💫 Tired people get snappy, and that's how good travel buddies turn into strangers by day four.

I learnt this the hard way. I did my road trip in September and October, and it was HOT 🥵 Some nights I had to open the window just to breathe, and then I got eaten alive by mozzies 🦟 Other nights I parked right next to the road, with cars flying past all night long.

So plan ahead, and find somewhere you'll actually get a good night's sleep. The rest comes down to these five things 👇

1. 🛏️ A proper mattress, not a yoga mat

Van floors are hard and cold. The cheapest fix is Kmart's air mattress with a built-in foot pump, no power needed. Just remember to measure your van first, a queen is 152cm wide! 📏

Want more comfort? My favourite is the Dune 4WD Supreme 3D Mat from Anaconda. It's the one I've used, and it's super comfy 😴 The Dune 4WD Mat is a cheaper option that's also great.

2. 🌡️ Bedding for the coldest night, not the average one

Up north, nights are sticky and a light sheet is plenty. But Tassie and the mountains get cold at night, even in summer. Look at the comfort rating on your sleeping bag, not the extreme one. The extreme number is basically "you'll survive", not "you'll sleep" 🥶

3. 🦟 Mozzie nets and window screens

Opening the windows lets the breeze in, along with every mosquito in Queensland. Make your own screens with Bunnings fly screen mesh and adhesive magnetic tape. Stick the tape around the window frame, and the mesh pops on and off whenever you need it 🙌

For the lazy ones, grab a mozzie bed net instead 😉

4. 💨 Airflow and a small fan

Two people breathing in a closed van means condensation dripping on your face by 3am 💧 Crack two windows on opposite sides so air flows through. A rechargeable fan like Kmart's Fan with Light runs all night and doubles as a lamp 💡

5. 😶 Eye mask, earplugs and a real pillow

The sun is up by 5am in summer. Campgrounds are loud. Snorers exist. 😅 Kmart has all three for less than a pub meal. And bring a real pillow, your neck will thank you on day five.

A good night's sleep is the cheapest upgrade on any road trip 💛

Know where you're allowed to sleep. Free camps are great, but sleeping on a random street or beach carpark can get you a council fine. The same apps from issue #7, WikiCamps and CamperMate, show legal spots with reviews.

Talk sleep with your travel buddy before day one. Early bird or night owl? Light sleeper or snorer? Agree on lights out, alarms and phone brightness at the start, not at midnight on night two 🤝

Next week: the camp kitchen, and how to eat well on the road without living on two-minute noodles. 🍳