Campers, I need some advice and opinions
#31
My buddy and I did the tent camping thing at rallies for many years and got cargo trailers. I had a Goldwing and he had an Ultra. We literally hauled everything including the kitchen sink and were always very comfortable. A few years ago we both went the toyhauler route and neither of us has tent camped since. I have been thinking about doing it again lately but I can't seem to come up with a way to get all I want to take on my current Dyna.
#35
#36
The trick to camping is to be comfortable.
My rules as we both near 70.
If it is raining, I stay in a motel. I don't want to set up camp in the rain.
If it is going to rain, but dry up later, we camp.
I use a queen air mattress with fitted sheets, a light blanket and real pillows. At our age, a good nights sleep is important. We ride two up, cut back on other stuff.
Need good bathroom facilities for the misses. I can bath in the creek and **** where the bears ****. She needs decent (clean) facilities.
We limit our "camping" to 2 or 3 days at a time.
This past summer we tried the "Walmart" theory of camping. It worked out great. We rode to the mountain campsite without gear. When we got the the camp site, I dropped off our personal gear, rode to a "Walmart" like store about 20 miles away, bought a cheap large tent and cheap sleeping bags, pillows and an air mattress, spent three really fun nights and donated everything to some very happy RV'ers with kids when we left. All for well under $ 100.00. Sleeping bags zipped together. Worked really well.
When I am solo or with buddies, I can bring my backpacking stuff.
My rules as we both near 70.
If it is raining, I stay in a motel. I don't want to set up camp in the rain.
If it is going to rain, but dry up later, we camp.
I use a queen air mattress with fitted sheets, a light blanket and real pillows. At our age, a good nights sleep is important. We ride two up, cut back on other stuff.
Need good bathroom facilities for the misses. I can bath in the creek and **** where the bears ****. She needs decent (clean) facilities.
We limit our "camping" to 2 or 3 days at a time.
This past summer we tried the "Walmart" theory of camping. It worked out great. We rode to the mountain campsite without gear. When we got the the camp site, I dropped off our personal gear, rode to a "Walmart" like store about 20 miles away, bought a cheap large tent and cheap sleeping bags, pillows and an air mattress, spent three really fun nights and donated everything to some very happy RV'ers with kids when we left. All for well under $ 100.00. Sleeping bags zipped together. Worked really well.
When I am solo or with buddies, I can bring my backpacking stuff.
#38
Learning to live on the road with only basics is the hard part. Once you get past the point of needing to haul the kitchen sink, life gets much better in a campsite. My entire camping gear setup fits in one saddlebag. That's a 3 man ALPS Mountaineering 3 season tent packed in a compression bag, sleeping bag, small camping pillow from Walmart, Big Agnes sleeping pad, Alite chair and 25' extension cord with a power strip. I pack two sets of clothes and buy as needed from the local Salvation Army or consignment store if I need anything else. A cheap pair of tennis shoes rounds out the gear list. If I'm in the road for a couple weeks, I toss in a propane stove from Amazon and an Army mess kit for eating/cooking.
Stove -
Tent -
Chair - http://www.rei.com/product/866716/alite-mantis-chair
Tent light - http://shop.brownells.com/emergency-...FQIPaQodfRwDRg
Check Sierra Trading Post for some really good pricing on quality gear too.
Stove -
Amazon.com : Camping Stove, Sahara Sailor Portable Collapsible Outdoor Camp Stove Butane Propane Burner for Gas Canisters with Piezo Ignition : Sports & Outdoors
Tent -
Chair - http://www.rei.com/product/866716/alite-mantis-chair
Tent light - http://shop.brownells.com/emergency-...FQIPaQodfRwDRg
Check Sierra Trading Post for some really good pricing on quality gear too.
Last edited by sleazy rider; 12-01-2015 at 06:43 AM. Reason: Adding links
#39
Lots of good tips here. I got lucky and found a Eureka Scenic Pass 2 man Tent on sale the day before my last trip. All other sleeping gear is also back packer style which packs up quite small. After a few trips I have it all fitting in a Harley collapsible rack pack in it's collapsed position. This leave lots of extra storage for stuff I may pick up on a trip. I should even have enough room to add the REI chair.
I recommend packing up the bike and doing a short trial trip. Before my first trip I packed up the bike including luggage then setup camp in the back yard, then packed it all back up again for a simple trial run. The first few days plan on looking for camp sites and having everything setup around 4-5 in the afternoon, don't wait till it's too late in the day. This give you time to eat and relax after a hard day of riding. After setting up camp a few times you can push setting up camp later in the day. Any day I have a long trip planned out which will have me setting up camp too late in the day is the day I book a motel room.
I recommend packing up the bike and doing a short trial trip. Before my first trip I packed up the bike including luggage then setup camp in the back yard, then packed it all back up again for a simple trial run. The first few days plan on looking for camp sites and having everything setup around 4-5 in the afternoon, don't wait till it's too late in the day. This give you time to eat and relax after a hard day of riding. After setting up camp a few times you can push setting up camp later in the day. Any day I have a long trip planned out which will have me setting up camp too late in the day is the day I book a motel room.