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Camping Gear for bike trips :)

24K views 43 replies 33 participants last post by  IdahoRaider 
#1 ·
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Today's the last day of February! I've been away for months due to divorce, haven't even enjoyed lurking. But having made new friends who love to ride, I'm finally looking forward to some real trips, and camping is part of the plan.



I've camped, and I've ridden....but haven't done both together. Are there preferred tents, sleeping bags, cooking etc items out there best purchased for packing on a wing? Would appreciate all good thoughts and advice, and thanks!



Still six inches of snow here in N. MO, melting, we're about to enjoy some highs above freezing this week. It's been a long, snowy, extra cold winter here.....it's time to ride! :applause:
 
#27 ·
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I love this place, I wqant ot quit work and ride and camp and see this great land on 2 wheels. Thanks for all the great info, I can't wait. :action::action:
 
#28 ·
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I didn't read all the replies but the wife and I went on our first camping trip last summer. We went with another couple up through the U.P. of Michigan and down through Wisconsin. Spent a couple days at the Dells the headed down to see the son in Iowa then back home. We took a six man tent with a double thickness air mattress, worked good. A couple of blankets and pillows and either sweats or p.j.'s. You'll want to take some quarters too for the showers. I took a pair of sneakers instead of flip flops. They were just the canvas type so they would dry quickly. Other than that we took our usual camping stuffcook stove, coffee pot, a cooler that attached to the front of the trailer. Whatever you end up taking theres plenty of time and opportunity to stop and pick up what you forgot.
 
#29 ·
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From a guy that camps at the Holiday Inn, this was a great thread. The pictures are great and "almost" gives me the camping bug. But most definitely gives me the touring bug. The highway 41 pic was great too. Don't know what everyone was waiting on, but I would happily wait with them right now.
 
#30 ·
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Marv: Is this the bridge in Hancock/Houghton



 
#31 ·
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I was just in contact with a good backpacking friend of mine, Jason Klassand he has turned me onto a simple, cheap way to inflate your non-inflatingsleeping pad. No more getting dizzy, or out of breath while inflating your pad. No need to waste room on a 12v, or battery operatedair compressor.

Pretty good idea/deal, for $3.95



[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/yJLVYfg88TE&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

The website where you can order one from is not that great, but it will get you to where you can order one. - The Instaflator

Dusty
 
#34 ·
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We've got a coleman camping kit... It includes a fairly spacious tent, a couple of folding chairs, a coleman propane "stove" and a couple of sleeping bags. We gave the sleeping bags to the Girl Scouts (my wife is the scout leader), and we pack one of those inflatable beds, sheets and blankets in the trailer. Since most parks have fire pits or something similar, we also pack a small frying pan and a small coffee pot and fire-starting stuff.



We don't pack charcoal (it makes a mess), but we do buy it in small quantities if we think we're ready to cook.



You can check out pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ralphwwilliams/2009Vacation?authkey=Gv1sRgCKv957bPzbO7qgE&feat=directlink
 

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#35 ·
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I will tell you what I have learned from many years of tent camping on a bike.

whne you think you have everything you are going to need to go.

lay it out in the middle of the room.

See how many times you have doubled up on something. take those things out.

look at everything again. then remmember what you did not use last time and take those items out.

3rd look. what food are you taking? will you eat it? will you cook it? do you really like it? take those items out.

Now you are getting down to reality.

Last thing, when you go to buy equipment. buy the best you can afford at the time. If not you will buy the same stuff next year and the next year and next year, you get my drift. Also the cheap stuff will fail you when the rain is coming in on you at 2 am and at that time you will be cussing yourself.
 
#37 ·
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Philcott wrote:
Winger77:

Hail the size of golf balls, at Mt. Rushmore? You must have been there the same time I was! I was there in May '09, and had to hit a KOA because of hail.
Looks likewe missed each other by a year. Here is a pick of a hail stone next to a souvenir coin that measures 1 1/2 inches across

 
#38 ·
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I agree with waltharper. Buy the best you can, and pack as light as possible. I keep whittling down the pile and I still have yet to use everything I bring. Clothing is something I always over-pack and under-use.
 
#39 ·
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I finally found it Dusty. Here is the post I was looking for.
 
#40 ·
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My wife, Renee and I are heading out at the end of this month to the Great Smokey Mnts. This will be our first long trip on our Wing. I found a Napper II pop-up to pull behind which we will use while down in TN. We will post pictures when we get back. Thanks for all the great info on this thread.
 
#41 ·
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86wing wrote:
My wife, Renee and I are heading out at the end of this month to the Great Smokey Mnts. This will be our first long trip on our Wing. I found a Napper II pop-up to pull behind which we will use while down in TN. We will post pictures when we get back. Thanks for all the great info on this thread.
Now don't tear up the roads before I get there,,,,,, leave some for me :action:. I'll be there after NASSER (July 14-17 or 18)
Hope you have a great first time :waving:
 
#42 ·
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I'm pretty bare bones when I go camping solo, I just take a sleeping bag, a sheet of tarp, a small cast iron skillit, knife and eating utensils and salt and pepper.
 
#43 ·
Here is what I Loaded in My Trailer for my 60 day America tour this past summer..Rain Gear..inside bags, Toilet articles Inside bags as well as extra coat and windbreaker. also had my compass and sweatshirt in there. Inside trailer I had Med sized cooler..Craftsman tool box with starter rebuild kit tire repair kit Coils and some electrical doodads. Two man tent with a tarp full sized air mattress with a hand pump and a Battery powered one Sleeping bag dyzbone slicker..two folding chairs one folding table. Small cooler with My stove, lights and other stuff in there like mosquito repellant etc. kept dry food in trailer and other stuff. Since my Military M1951 squad stove runs on regular Gas I had a syringe I bought you use to baste turkeys..open tank and fill the stove up via gas tank. I had everything I needed to camp very comfortably.Put Bearing Buddies on the Trailer and that sure helped. The spare underneath the trailer was used once and I went through two tires on the trip but they are wally world tires so technically if your spare is used you can stop in and get a new one for around 40 bucks. I had my cooking gear also with plastic plates but I just used those to firm up my paper plates but I did use silver wear. Also had a perk styled Wally World Pot that worked real well. Medical stuff and poncho liners are neat to have also. dried my towel off each day by draping it over all the stuff and by evening it was dry again. Had a case of water in there and some in cooler everytime I drank one added one to cooler. Trailer is the way to go on long trips no doubt.
 
#44 ·
Trailers are certainly getting more and more popular now. I am seeing more and more often the single tire balanced trailers too. Still gonna stay with just my MC for now, I am getting things more and more compact every year but still having lots of fun. I sure am glad backpackers expect so much from their gear, because I have really seen the benefits.
 
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