Camping on bikes...tips?

[dazco]

Never done this before, but i'm planning a short trip with a friend this summer. It's only 250 miles to the campgrounds and we're only staying a couple days. But i can use any tips you have and i also have some specific questions. For one, i plan on taking a tent, sleeping bag and air mat. I have a tent, but my bag got trashed a few years back. There i had used for camping in a car tho, so the tent is rather big to carry at 26" long and 10" around when packed and probably 10-12 lbs. I need to figure out if theres a way to carry it or if i'll have to buy one of those tiny one man jobs. The sleeping bag needs to be as small as possible too, and warmth isn't a big concern as it's going to be pretty warm where we're going. The air mat has got to be very compact when deflated, and i'm thinking of one of those little $5 pool mats. I know the deflate while sleeping and are nearly flat by the time you wake, but unless you have a better suggestion that will likely be what i get. And i AM concerned with $ so cheap is good.

So it comes down to this....what bag and how to mount it on the bike, should i get a smaller tent and also how to mount it, and what air mat, etc etc. Any tips welcome really.

Now all that said, the main reason i have to ask all this is because the Tbird has no provisions to attach things at all. The only available sissy bar is $450, and i'm not paying $450 for something i may only use once or twice. I do have some small throw-over bags and mounts i made for the speedy which will fit the Thunderbird. My thoughts as of right now are to wrap a air mat up in the smallest sleeping bag i can find and bungee it to the pillion then bungee the tent to the bars. I'm not crazy about that idea tho because i fear the tent weighing as much as it does will marr the chrome on the bars, headlight, whatever it touches as it vibrates around for hours.

Anyways, i'm not just asking specifics as to how to do this as much as giving you an idea what i need to take, what the bike is like, and hoping that some good ideas flow my way before this trip happens. Thanks in advance.

 

[DaveM]

Well to start with I would never attach anything to my bars as I would hate any type of interference cause by it. My idea of camping is to find a good B&B where I intend to stay :y114:

I was thinking a tank bag may be a handy attachment to purchase but I am not sure how it would work with the tank mounted console. Also rather than ruin anything on the bike I would rather fork out a few $ and get the correct gear. If you have too maybe sell it again after the trip. However I think once the bike trip bug bites you there will be many more to come :y18:

 

[CarlS]

Dale, I have a two person, nylon tent that folds up very small and the poles and stakes are stored in a separate bag. This bag is only about 14 inches long. I bought it at Wal-Mart and use it when I go to Vintage Bike Days in Birmingham, Alabama. My suggestion for an air mat is one of those that you unroll and it self inflates. When you deflate it and roll it, it rolls up very small. Back packers use these. I bought mine at REI Gearmail. If I were going to buy a new sleeping bag, I would by a nylon three season bag. These roll up relatively small.

As to how to carry this stuff on the T-Bird, I haven't a clue. Can you put the pillion seat back on and using a cargo net and bungees, strap on on that way? I would not strap that bulk on the handle bars.

 

[Lonzo]

I've made several camping trips on my America. In addition to what you've listed, you will need a duffel bag with clothes, cooking gear, tools, and food. Somebody needs to bring a hammer or single edged hand axe for tent stakes. I used my rack a couple of times, but leaving the pillion seat on worked better. It kept everything a little higher, giving me better access to saddle bags. The most challenging part is tying everything down while the bike is leaning on a sidestand. Finally figured out lifting it level with my jack, or better yet my "$20 bike lift" worked best.
Stiffen your rear shocks a bit. Don't forget a sidestand pad, and leave the chainwax at home. :ya2:

 

[Geoff587]

This works for me ,

 

[dazco]

yeah, i can see how that would work great ! :y24:

well, i think if i cannot tie at least one thing to the bars i'm not going to be able to do this at all. I definitely cannot tie both tent and bag to the pillion. Just ain't gonna happen. But my friend i'm going with has a bed roll sorta thing tied to his bars at all times. (i think he saw it on "then came bronson as a kid and thinks it's cool...you know those harley guys :ya2 It apparently doesn't bother his old school style harley with apes, so i don't think it will bother the Tbird. At least not a bag if i can find one small enough to not get in my way vision-wise. I guess you're right about this as far as the tent goes tho becaue it's so heavy i didn't even think about that weight up there. In any case i will never get it all on the back.

 

[The Seeker]

I have a lightweight sleeping bag just for bike camping and a compact two-man tent. For a pad underneath, I have a piece of that tempeurpedic (sp?) foam. You'll need some type of lighting to see at night, some type of stove (I have a single-burner Sterno stove that folds flat), and some cooking gear. I also take a collapsible "cube" water container to fill once there. Don't forget a can opener!

I normally get my campsite in order and then take a ride to a store for perishable items where I'll also buy a small styrofoam cooler and some ice.

I never go without ductape and JB Weld.

 

[Lonzo]

You'd be surprised what you can get on there. Stack it on like a pyramid. Tie a couple rolls on, then a couple more on that. Sleeping bag bottom front so you will have a backrest.
I carry a tent big enough to stand up in, sleeping bag, thin, self-inflating air mattress, 9X12 tarp for ground cover, duffel with all my clothes, another duffel with cooking, tools, etc., and a folding camp chair. Saddle bags have maps, tools, rainsuit, other misc. items. After experiencing 2 solid rain days on a road trip, I now keep wallet, cel phone, camera, maps, tools, first aid stuff in Ziploc bags.

 

[dazco]

I already know what i need, and it's really not all that much. No cooking, just eating at the local restaurant. so aside from a few tools, toothbrush, flashlight and those basic needs in my saddlebags, all i need is a bag, tent, and mat. I'll likely buy a chair while i'm there and leave it there when we go. Either that or one of those tiny fold up jobs if i can fit it. I'll try the pile up method you mentiond lonzo. That little pillion isn't much of a platform tho. But i guess enough bungies might do the job.

 

[Silli]

B&B!!!!!
:ya2:

 

[CarlS]

My tent, which I can stand up in, is light enough to carry on the handle bars; but I do not carry it that way. Lon is right. Put the duffel and the sleeping bag on first and stack up from there.

Geoff has the right idea!

 

[dazco]

Like i said, the pillion is tiny and i'm not sure i can load it up like that. A big ol' tower on the back with just bungees holding it al together may succumb to the wind after 3 hours on the freeway. But i will test it out once i get the bag.

 

[Lonzo]

[quote author=dazco link=topic=6701.msg36754#msg36754 date=1250015330]
A big ol' tower on the back with just bungees holding it al together may succumb to the wind after 3 hours on the freeway.
[/quote]

I probaly have more tie down points than you. I tied a poly rope about 12' long to my saddlebag mounts zig zagging back and forth across the load. I don't trust bungees for something like that.