Camping with the Spyder and the Spyder

Went camping near Owensville, MO for the last 2 weeks. Put close to 200 miles a day on the RTL on some of the curviest ribbon roads (that's what my wife calls roads that are up and down hills) in some of the most scenic parts of the Ozarks. Lots of wineries, some breweries, Octoberfest in Hermann and Dutzow, MO and found a place near Owensville that makes the best artisan cheese, although it is down the gravel roads so we took the truck there.

So what kind of Winnebago toyhauler do we have to tote our Spyder? Well, of course:

Camping? Where is the tent?

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Originally Posted by Gwolf

Camping? Where is the tent?

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LOL - Back in the mists of time, I did motorcycle camping by making a bivvy with a small tarp over the bike. I moved up to a jungle hammock to keep me dry and the bugs away, then to a 1 person pup tent. Camped with hiking gear, light and small to keep it manageable on a bike. Got married and got a bigger tent, a "3 person" dome tent. Barely big enough for the both of us and a minimal amount of gear. (3 adults in a "3 person" tent better be very good friends.) Found a great deal on an original Time Out - the trailer became a platform and you basically put an umbrella tent on it, not the fold up Time Outs of today. Stepped up to a Bunkhouse motorcycle camper, that folds out, for about 10 years. Went through a used motorhome but didn't have that long enough to take the bikes, got a 43' toy hauler we were going to go fulltime in, but when we decided to keep the sticks and bricks we downsized so we could fit into more campgrounds. Loving the Spyder toy hauler, yes it is "Glamping" in an RV more than camping, but when you're Medicare age the creature comforts count.

Just yanking your chain........ I used to camp with an old military sleeping bag and a poncho. Now I usually camp at the Day's Inn. Age and broken bones has made sleeping on the dirt less enjoyable.

Wolves and spyders:cheers:

I run a 38’ Fuzion Fifthwheel for 3+ week trips and a 2020 work and play 25’ bumper pull for primitive and short distances. We have been running Toyhauler and decked out snowmobile trailers for many years. It’s the only way to go. Having a refrig and especially a freezer is great. You can always stay warm and dry by other means :) In my honest opinion Fiberglass sides are the only way to go.

http://www.tanwater.com/pics/blueridgepw%20(43).jpg

First time out in a Time-Out Deluxe last weekend. We went to Warren Dunes State Park in Mich. They charge every out of state a 18$ one time entry fee in ADDITION to your camping fee. Even though my wife and I had one campsite, they still charged EACH of us the 18$ since my wife rides her own. Everything worked good but we have a few adjustments to make to the equipment. I got a set of mirrors that attach to the handlebars so I could see past the trailer. That was the only mod to the bike beside the hitch and wiring. Tow's great, just a little loss of MPG. The bummer was there were so many people there (think Wal-Mart on black Friday) with campfires there was smoke everywhere. In the evening I had my head lamp on and I could see the smoke in the beam and what I thought were bunches of gnats was actually ash from the campfires floating. The campsite was ok with enough room to set up the camper and store the small cargo trailer she pulls and park the bikes without interfering with the fire ring or the picnic table. We were planning to go to Chain O' Lakes State Park in Indiana this weekend but there is to much rain and cold in the forecast so we cancelled that weekend. We are planning a 3 or 4 or maybe 5 week trip out west next year. We had a Aspin Sentry trailer years ago and the Time Out is not much different. All in All, we like it. Since the Time Out does not have any place to store items "out of sight" I am thinking about fabricating a storage area out of sheet metal that will fit between the wheel wells this winter. Or I could just cheap out and store them in the cargo trailer.

This is our ultimate goal, to haul our Spyder, camp, then ride the area. We plane to build a 7x12 cargo trailer into a toy hauler.

Yep! Those were the days. Camped a lot in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe area of Northern MN/Canada. Everything had to be carried in, so ultra light was the theme.

Eureka tent, down sleeping bags, foam mats, and the ever trusty tarp. When I needed help getting up one morning after a cold chilly night, that was kind of the end of that for us. Now, I prefer to motel it and enjoy that mint on the pillow thingy. :yes:

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Originally Posted by ARtraveler

Yep! Those were the days. Camped a lot in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe area of Northern MN/Canada. Everything had to be carried in, so ultra light was the theme.

Eureka tent, down sleeping bags, foam mats, and the ever trusty tarp. When I needed help getting up one morning after a cold chilly night, that was kind of the end of that for us. Now, I prefer to motel it and enjoy that mint on the pillow thingy. :yes:

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Hear Hear. Arthritis ended my tent trailer days. Now it’s strictly motel/hotel for me. I did enjoy the lees-urlite tent trailer that I did have. That was back in my Goldwing days.

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Originally Posted by ARtraveler

Yep! Those were the days. Camped a lot in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe area of Northern MN/Canada. Everything had to be carried in, so ultra light was the theme.

Eureka tent, down sleeping bags, foam mats, and the ever trusty tarp. When I needed help getting up one morning after a cold chilly night, that was kind of the end of that for us. Now, I prefer to motel it and enjoy that mint on the pillow thingy. :yes:

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Dad was a teacher just south of the Twin Cities, so he had at least some of the summers off. When I was 6, in 1962, Dad started to take me up to the area canoeing along the Sawbill and Gunflint trail for an annual trip. When I was 15 we were both offered jobs a fishing guides at Sawbill Lodge, but Mom put her foot down and insisted we weren't going to run off Up North for 3 months leaving her home with my 2 younger sisters. Those trips lasted until 1978 when they made the area the Boundary Waters and I moved back to the U. P. of Michigan.

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Originally Posted by ozarkryder

Dad was a teacher just south of the Twin Cities, so he had at least some of the summers off. When I was 6, in 1962, Dad started to take me up to the area canoeing along the Sawbill and Gunflint trail for an annual trip. When I was 15 we were both offered jobs a fishing guides at Sawbill Lodge, but Mom put her foot down and insisted we weren't going to run off Up North for 3 months leaving her home with my 2 younger sisters. Those trips lasted until 1978 when they made the area the Boundary Waters and I moved back to the U. P. of Michigan.

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sending a PM.

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Originally Posted by Gwolf

Just yanking your chain........ I used to camp with an old military sleeping bag and a poncho. Now I usually camp at the Day's Inn. Age and broken bones has made sleeping on the dirt less enjoyable.

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My idea of "roughing it" is a motel withOUT an ice machine. :)

Seriously, I've considered buying a well used 5th wheel toy hauler to live in. I've seen '90s models for well under $10k and it would be a place for my bike as well as a place to live. (I don't need much space.)

Just to give an update on our home built camper/Spyder hauler. It is finished and we took our first "long" trip with it. Went from Ohio to Door County Wisconsin. We were able to set up a "home base" with the camper and took the Spyder out on excursions. It worked out perfect.

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Originally Posted by Zanico

Just to give an update on our home built camper/Spyder hauler. It is finished and we took our first "long" trip with it. Went from Ohio to Door County Wisconsin. We were able to set up a "home base" with the camper and took the Spyder out on excursions. It worked out perfect.

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Pics! I love the need pics! Love to see how other people make things work!

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Originally Posted by Zanico

Just to give an update on our home built camper/Spyder hauler. It is finished and we took our first "long" trip with it. Went from Ohio to Door County Wisconsin. We were able to set up a "home base" with the camper and took the Spyder out on excursions. It worked out perfect.

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If you have some would, you post a few pictures of how you did it?

Camping is in by blood. My family did a lot of summer camping during the late 40s and through the 50s. Mostly had army surplus gear. So when I started riding Goldwings, motorcycle camping was just a natural. I did 10 day solo trips all over the western U.S. every year for more than 10 years before retiring. Among all the necessities, I packed a small tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. In all my trips, the tent. pad, and bag were never used. The comfort of a warm, soft bed, hot shower, and a place to put my feet up and relax were just too much for me to ignore. After carrying that gear around for 10+ years, I gave the never-used camping gear away to a family that was staying at the same motel as me at South Lake Tahoe..... Jim

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Originally Posted by canamjhb

Camping is in by blood. My family did a lot of summer camping during the late 40s and through the 50s. Mostly had army surplus gear. So when I started riding Goldwings, motorcycle camping was just a natural. I did 10 day solo trips all over the western U.S. every year for more than 10 years before retiring. Among all the necessities, I packed a small tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. In all my trips, the tent. pad, and bag were never used. The comfort of a warm, soft bed, hot shower, and a place to put my feet up and relax were just too much for me to ignore. After carrying that gear around for 10+ years, I gave the never-used camping gear away to a family that was staying at the same motel as me at South Lake Tahoe..... Jim

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Oh you rotten thing… you had me on the edge of my seat as I read along in your post… invisioning your whole motorcycle camping adventures…then…BAM!! :gaah: 🙂

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Originally Posted by Morturf

Pics! I love the need pics! Love to see how other people make things work!

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Sorry it's been a while, but here are a couple photos that were requested of our home built Spyder hauler. Not the most detailed photos, but you get the idea. Started as just an enclosed 12x7 cargo trailer. We installed insulation, fantastic fan and two small windows. Has a mattress that folds down from the side. Also installed a shower with propane hot water and solar for electricity.

We took a trip to Door Co. Wisconsin a month ago and just returned from a trip to West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland.