Motorcycle Camping gear

[CarolinaSpyderRyder]

If it's just you

I have a Eureka solitaire 1 Person backpacking tent. I fits right in the frunk of my RSS. It is easy to set up. It stands up very well to the weather.

 

[MR. H1956]

One of the most important items to take along on a motorcycle camping trip is a fully loaded Visa card. :thumbup:

I agree. There is a lot to be said for a good nites sleep in a cheap motel with a hot shower and a cafe next door. My old bones and health issues don't like sleeping on the ground anymore. So a visa card is nice to have.

 

[Bob Denman]

What no Bacon Sarnies with HP sauce cooked on a camp stove?! The main reason I camp so I have an excuse to eat those for breakfast

:shocked: Damn... that sounds almost too good to be true... :bowdown:

 

[blitzkreig]

For those of you who camp, basics, a small tent, bag, pad. Any recommendations on brands with regards to $$$ and compactness. A cot rather than pad may be option as well, lots of options and reviews, just would rather get some input to people with spyders who actually use the gear.

You didn't say ... are you single or two up?

Are you planning on cooking or are you like me and find cooking just that one task too many when camping? Too much stuff to haul. And I like my Starbucks in the morning

I find that a three man tent is OK for one but you really need a four man tent for two. That way you can drag your packs, boots and helmets in at night, safe and out of the elements. The other bonus is that you can sort of semi-stand up to pull your pants on in the morning ...

 

[Bfromla]

Don't forget food:lecturef_smilie: here's a lil something shared not too long ago but I've lost the thread
https://2x2cycles.com/2x2-cycles-motogrill/:bbq: lil DIY & it will work:2thumbs:

 

[gerald37]

You didn't say ... are you single or two up?

Are you planning on cooking or are you like me and find cooking just that one task too many when camping? Too much stuff to haul. And I like my Starbucks in the morning

I find that a three man tent is OK for one but you really need a four man tent for two. That way you can drag your packs, boots and helmets in at night, safe and out of the elements. The other bonus is that you can sort of semi-stand up to pull your pants on in the morning ...

I fine the three man tent is just fine for one person. I am not very big or tall ( 5' 8" and about 150 pounds) and I am sure not going be be cooking. I get up early in the morning and on the move by 6:00 AM. I do like to stop early in the afternoon and setup my tent then go and eat and maybe a beer. To me if your wife is traveling and camping you about need a trailer. I would look at one of the small motorcycle camping trailers. My wife would have never camped. I am 80 years old and really enjoy traveling and camping if my health holds out. Last year I had a lot of health problems which stopped me on several trips. I hope I am back this year. I sure wanted to go to the Spyder Fest but I am to have eye lid surgery May 2nd.

 

[Tyris]

You didn't say ... are you single or two up?

Are you planning on cooking or are you like me and find cooking just that one task too many when camping? Too much stuff to haul. And I like my Starbucks in the morning

I find that a three man tent is OK for one but you really need a four man tent for two. That way you can drag your packs, boots and helmets in at night, safe and out of the elements. The other bonus is that you can sort of semi-stand up to pull your pants on in the morning ...

Just me, cooking, not so much, (at first), if I assume $75 or so a night at a hotel camping equipment would pay for itself fairly quickly. I'v only been riding for less than a year and sorting out how much can I carry and where actually I can carry it. Kind of think that a cot is the way to go. So tent, bag, cot, tarps to start out, so that are the essentials, then I guess it comes down to what I have room for vs anything else.


RT seems to have quite a bit of storage scattered about not sure if it is useful storage though.

I'm concerned with loading items onto the trike that are somewhat unsecured when I am not actually on the trike.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Just me, cooking, not so much, (at first), if I assume $75 or so a night at a hotel camping equipment would pay for itself fairly quickly. I'v only been riding for less than a year and sorting out how much can I carry and where actually I can carry it. Kind of think that a cot is the way to go. So tent, bag, cot, tarps to start out, so that are the essentials, then I guess it comes down to what I have room for vs anything else.


RT seems to have quite a bit of storage scattered about not sure if it is useful storage though.

I'm concerned with loading items onto the trike that are somewhat unsecured when I am not actually on the trike.

How much space you have for camping depends on how much basic riding and living stuff you carry before you factor in the camping stuff. For me, there's no way I could carry camping stuff on the Spyder when I've got the trunks and saddlebag loaded with a rear seat luggage for my changes of clothes, pillow, bottles of distilled water for my CPAP. The CPAP pretty much occupies one saddle bag. The other one is filled with rain gear, cold weather gear, camera, and who knows what all. The frunk is loaded with a tool bag, cleaners, rags, cold weather coat, air hose, etc. I'm addicted to the Internet and email so I take a laptop. That, with its accessories, plus on the road snacks and a jacket, fills up the trunk! So I pull a trailer. It's a homemade tent trailer. In short, I've found that setting up and taking down takes about 1 to 2 hours total. So for one night stops I've decided it just isn't worth the hassle. But for two or more nights it's worthwhile. But if I'm at a get together like Spyderfest I miss out on the in-hotel parties by staying at a campground.

Then the drag a large trailer like a camper or tent trailer puts on the bike cuts down on responsiveness. And gas mileage, for me, drops about 5 to 10 mpg. So last year when I and my nephew went to Homecoming in Valcourt I opted to hotel it the whole time. The freedom from setting up and taking down and the far greater comfort of the hotels made the trip a lot more enjoyable for me.

Don't overestimate how much you'll save by camping. Good campgrounds with decent showers and restrooms typically cost $20 to $30 per night. And finding and reserving camp sites isn't quite as easy as hotel reservations. So really consider what trade offs you'll be making by camping. If your creature comfort requirement during traveling is modest, then camping can be a great way to travel. It's all a matter of personal priorities.

But I would suggest you keep open minded about a small trailer to keep your camping stuff in. It'll make things simpler than trying to squash everything into the odd-ball shaped cavities of the Spyder.

 

[PistonBlown]

Just me, cooking, not so much, (at first), if I assume $75 or so a night at a hotel camping equipment would pay for itself fairly quickly. I'v only been riding for less than a year and sorting out how much can I carry and where actually I can carry it. Kind of think that a cot is the way to go. So tent, bag, cot, tarps to start out, so that are the essentials, then I guess it comes down to what I have room for vs anything else.


RT seems to have quite a bit of storage scattered about not sure if it is useful storage though.

I'm concerned with loading items onto the trike that are somewhat unsecured when I am not actually on the trike.

I can, just, fit my 2 person tent, sleeping bag and mat in the frunk but its a tight fit. So instead I normally have my sleeping bag strapped to my back rest resting on the pillion seat. The sleeping bag I've got came with a bag that it packs into, this helps compact it down and also has straps on it which makes it easy to fasten to the spyder. The bag it packs into is supposed to be waterproof but i always line it with a plastic sack to be sure. I work on the principle that if this did get stolen it would be the easiest thing to replace.

Clothes, wash stuff etc I carry in a tank bag, I have one where the mount and bag are separate and join just using velcro so it takes a second to unfasten the bag from the bike so I carry it around with me when stopped.

Stove, food, pans, water etc in one pannier - I carry gas cans in the other as gas stations can be far apart on the routes I take. If I didnt need the space for the gas cans in one of the panniers then I wouldn't need the tankbag.

I also have a bicycle style water bottle holder on one of my panniers and carry a camel pack, never like running out of water for coffee

 

[easysuper]

Camping Gear

Years before we started riding Spyders, most of our camping gear was what we packed on a string of Burros, we had a Eureka tent that I could stand up in and the rest of the gear was semi small scale gear that could pack easily into panniers. Before I was married my hobby was hiking the PCT and I did it in stages, never had time to thru hike. I eventually made it from Mexico to Canada. We ended up with Burros when the kid came along as I had too much gear to pack. Fast forward 40 years and we started another phase in our lives with riding the Spyders and camping as my knees and ankle could no longer pound down the trails. We had spent good money on our pack gear and if you buy and Pay for quality it will last. We pull trailers and that gives us the option of staying in a Hotel or camp if we choose. Camping will extend the travel budget and at 67 years old I still love sitting around a campfire . Not all places have Hotels where you would like to stop and spend some time. We gave up tenting and I pull a small pop up tent trailer with my RT and the wife pulls a cargo or the dog trailer if we bring the dog. we have done several 2 week trips and have covered all the states West of the Mississippi and after I retire this December we will make the rest. I would recommend a small Cargo trailer as that give you more freedom and a place to pack some comfort such as a nice folding camp chair, mattress , ice chest for the steak and wine or beer for a great time at the lake or river. We have pulled our trailer for a combined mileage of over 100K and plan on doing it more. Good luck with your camping.

 

[pegasus1300]

I am a WalMart shopper and so far my coleman tent has lasted me 4 years. I hate not being able to stand up to dress so I bought a tent tall enough to stand in and that ended up being a 6 man. Needless to say I roll around like a pea in a boxcar but I can stand to dress. For cooking since I am usually solo I have an ancient Svea 123 backpackers stove I bought in 1970. Small light weight and very efficient and runs on gasoline. I just get a little out of the bike tank and I'm good to go. I have had various cooking sets over the years. On the Norton size and weight were important,now not so much so I really like the newer bigger stainless steel sets. I also have added a small cast iron skillet. I don't like "camping food" so I buy regular food at the store as I need it. I have a really good sleeping bag,I don't know the brand but the thing is huge and weighs a ton,but it is soft and warm. My wife got it for me back in the Boy Scout Leadership days and it has lasted me nearly 30 years. It was a real pain on the bikes but just fine on the Spyder and should be better with the trailer. I found I can still sleep on the ground with a ground cloth under the tent and a pad under the bag. And a pillow. The days of using my chaps and leather jacket as a pillow are gone,I want my real pillow.

I have been camping twice since I got the Spyder.I did not have a trailer at the time. Since I was solo I found I could get everything on the Spyder but it was crowded and I needed to pack carefully. These days I also have to have room for my CPAP and an extension cord.It did give me a nice backrest.

Best piece of advice, practice loading several times to get the best weight distribution esp if you are traveling 2up. Practice setting up your equipment several times,even in the dark. Unload from Spyder and set it up. Then take it down and pack it again. It doesn't matter how good your equipment is if it is too big a hassle to set up take down or pack you wont use it or if you do it will lessen the joy of the trip.

Check IBMC.com for information. Also Motorcycle Camping on Delphi Forums. Also see if you can find a copy (it's out of print now look on eBay)The Complete MotorCycle Nomad. Also look for any old articles by Cliff Boswell. Also try some of the adventure motorcycling blogs and websites.Great stories and tips.

Good luck,have fun.

 

[PistonBlown]

One trick I have learnt if you have a small tent is always camp on the lee side of the Goldwing trike owner as their huge tent works as a good wind break...

 

[ARtraveler]

One trick I have learnt if you have a small tent is always camp on the lee side of the Goldwing trike owner as their huge tent works as a good wind break...
View attachment 158878

Those are some GREAT words of wisdom. :bowdown::bowdown:

 

[gerald37]

It looks to me like most on here would be better with a motor home. I know my wife would never camp so when she did ride we stayed in motels. When I ride alone and camp I do not take much.

I carry a 3 man tent, air mattress w/air pillow, and a good sleeping bag. That all goes in one pack on the passenger seat. I wear First Gear riding pants so all I need is one or maybe two pair of jeans to put on at night to go out to eat. I wear T-shirts or light shirts under an Olympia vented jacket and carry my heated liner if in the mountains where it gets cold and always have rain gear with me. I have a shaving kit and carry a change of underwear for everyday. Everything here will go in the saddle bags. I do use a CPAP machine but it stays home when I am camping. I don’t have a stove, coffee pot, gas can, a chair or snakes. What I carry is for people that just want to ride and sight see and not want all the comforts of home. Someone on here said it takes 1-2 hours to setup and tear down. It takes me about ½ hour. I will admit this is not for everybody but I really enjoy it and run into a lot of people in campgrounds that travel like this. A lot of people at Sturgis do. I am 80 years old I don’t know how long I can continue but I hope I can for awhile.

If you are new at this don’t let people discourage you by thinking you have to carry all this equipment. Take a short 3 or 4 day trip and see what you really feel that you need. In the 1950’s I did some motorcycle trips camping. My first really was Sturgis 1999. I had been going to Sturgis for years. I was staying in a motel at Wall, So Dakota about 70 miles from Sturgis. It was hard to find motels plus they were so expensive. I got there that year could not find a room. I went to a camping store and purchase the cheapest tent, air mattress and sleeping bag I could find. Found a campground with a shower and stayed three nights then went on to Yellowstone Park and camped every night. I really enjoyed it except the sleeping bag was not warm enough and it rained one night and the tent leaked pretty bad. Going home the last morning on the trip I threw all the camping gear in the trash. It had more than paid for itself. The next trip I had purchased all new equipment not any real expensive equipment. Larger tent better air mattress and much better sleeping bag. I look for how it will pack to carry. Don’t go out and buy the best you may not like camping or you will find better equipment you like.

Here is a picture of my F6B loaded for a two week trip in 2016. I was gone for two weeks about 4800 miles. My Spyder will have more room than the F6B.

 

[easysuper]

Motorcycle Camping

45 years ago all I had was a tarp thrown over the bike staked down, an old WW2 army sleeping bag and a ground cloth for my cross country trips, a few cans of sardines and some beans, I still have my P38 can opener in my wallet. Had some great trips and some really bad ones back then but they are still great memories. Now I still love to camp but want and need more comfort. This photo is when we had the 2013 RT but we both have 2016 RTLs now.

 

[asp125]

It looks to me like most on here would be better with a motor home. ..

Yeah, cause we're mostly old! We've had our share of sleeping on the ground back in the day. Now we want a hot shower and comfy mattress at the end of the day.

Me, I'd moto camp if I was on an adventure bike and able to get off the beaten path. My other half isn't keen on sleeping on the ground, so we had a motorhome for that. Plus air B&B these days are quite affordable.

 

[gerald37]

Yeah, cause we're mostly old! We've had our share of sleeping on the ground back in the day. Now we want a hot shower and comfy mattress at the end of the day.

Me, I'd moto camp if I was on an adventure bike and able to get off the beaten path. My other half isn't keen on sleeping on the ground, so we had a motorhome for that. Plus air B&B these days are quite affordable.

I am pretty young, I am only 80 and my first camping trip was to during Sturgis in 1955. I only camp in camp grounds that have showers and do use an air mattress so it is not to bad.

 

[bmwlarry]

Aspen trailer all the way!

 

[WA5VHU]

She tows the Roll-A-Home with her Spyder and I tow a small one-wheel trailer with my CTX700. We like the combination.

 

[gerald37]

There is no way I would ever pull a trailer with any kind of motorcycle. They are all over on here not to use car tires on a Spyders its not safe but it is okay to pull a trailer. No motorcycle was never designed to pull a trailer. I have seen people pull trailers loaded weight more than the motorcycle. This is my feelings I have seen a lot of accidents pulling trailers. Everyone tells me you don't even know it is back there until you go into a corner to fast. Probably a Spyder is better than two wheels for a trailer. I do camp but I will stay in a motel before I pull a trailer. I know a lot of people on here is going to disagree with me.