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My dealer has a catalog that shows a Harley-Davidson Tent for $175.00. It's HD Orange, has two sections, one that acts as a garage for my 05 Ultra and the other supposedly sleeps 4. It has 14 poles and weighs 12 lbs. Looks cool but it may be overkill. Has anyone seen one of these and or used one?
I'm going to do some touring this spring; probably by myself. I have a sleeping bag but it's fairly large. I've seen some 1/2 person tents a Cabela's for around $120. I’ve also seen a fairly compact sleeping bag for $85 but I wonder if it’s any good.
I don't want to spend a lot of time in a camp ground. When I wake up I want to hit the road. So I'm looking for something functional, easy to set up and take down and of course overall storage size is an issue. I'm assuming that I'll secure the tent and bag to the Tour Kit Luggage rack.
What's the part number for the HD tent? I'd like to see it online....
I will be making the same purchase here pretty soon myself. I'm thinking a nice, 3 man octagon dome tent and maybe a mil surplus down sleeping bag. Trying to keep from bring the whole house on the back of the bike......
I tented for a lot of years.
So I speak from experience.
Regardless of what tent you get
always remember to let the tent air out and dry off completely or at least dry off most of the morning due.
Try to never pack it up when it's still wet.
Always set your tent up with a tarp below it.
Other than that,
write down all of the camping Murphy's Laws that you learn along the way
so you only have to learn them once.
You can get a nice size dome tent from walmart for under a hundred dollars. Get a good quality sleeping bag. Forget about the garage (that's overkill) and get a good cover for you bike if you think you need it.
Here is how I carried my tent and sleeping bag if I was riding solo. I would put the sleeping bag just behind me on the passenge sean and and then sit the dome tent on top of it leaning it against the passenger back rest. I would then criss cross bungee cords from the chrome grab handels on the rear seat and then hook them to the tourpak luggage rack. It's really easy and you get a back rest out of the deal. I would carry a tourpak bag on top of the tourpak and still have plenty of room in the tourpak for other stuff. You can pack a lot after you've done it fore awhile. I always put my sleeping bag in a garbage bag and then slid it into the bag it came in. That way the bag will stay dry if you ride in the rain. I always did the same with my clothes that I carried in the tourpak bag.
While your picking up a dome tent at Walmart, grab a compression sack there in the camping section. You can stuff your sleeping bag in it, cinch the straps down and it will be half is normal rolled size, maybe even a little bit less. I don't think they're more than 6 or 7 bucks for one.
Just for grins...I did the tent drill as well....cheapo tent and light bag...fun (for a while)
BUT....KOAs have these "Kozy Cabins" for about 30 bucks a night. Sleep four, have AC, a porch, BBQ and you have showers. You do need a sleeping bag cuz...no linens. Bt a great crash pad for a few guys...steaks, AC, laundry, pool, shower...and a picnic table at your door.
We have used Kozy Kabins instaed of motels for the fun you can have there, and the BBQ!
I tent camped for a long time, I guess i'm gettin old, cant do it anymore. I have a camp membership and most of the campgrounds have rental cabins, or we bring this...
I tow a small trailer to put the bike on when my wife gets tired of driving behind me. Odd, but it works for us.
I have a friend who does a lot of back packing and he told me to get North Face. It is very light and compact and the quality is great. I camp at all rally's all the time. At Sturgis in August a terrible storm came up one night and I thought the tent was going to blow away. The tent stayed in one place and did not leak one drop of water. I am sold on North Face. I saw a lot of people with tents that were ripped apart or soaked from leaking. Also get a good mat to go under your sleeping bag. I use water bags to pack them in on my bike. You can get water bags at any good sporting store. The water bags are 100% waterproof and will not leak. I have been in hard rains on my Road King and everything in the bags stays dry. Always unpack your tent when you get home and put it up to let it dry out completely before storing it.
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