I have bike camped all over the country and I am an old ****. This cot although pricey will give you a good nights sleep. On several occassions have slept on the Go-Kot for two weeks in a row.

http://www.campingcot.com/?section=original

 

If you are into a quick and east sort of camping, Google the term 'Whiskybilt' and check out their 'Rider's Rest Hammock'. It hangs on the upside of the bike and provides a fast setup for place to nap.

 

If i am gonna camp i am gonna pull a trailer behind the bike so i can get a tent i can stand up in, blow up mattress...little generator...battery, battery charger for the CPAP machines, little blender, gas stove pans...My buddy camped for a month going cross country and pulled a bunkhouse behind his Goldwing...I would have a hard time convincing the wife./....Roughing it for her is Super 8 motel...

 

Here's a good checklist I've used in past gets you thinking of what to bring. My last Sturgis trip in '10 was out 13 days and on some days where we road all day we got a motel room to rest better and break it up some. Still enjoyed the camping though.

http://micapeak.com/checklists/mclist.html

 

If you plan on camping without pulling a trailer,you will need to plan on stopping where there is food.
I think an ice chest and stove are a must if you want to camp away from civilization.

 

Both motels and camping have their pluses and minuses but it is easier to stay in a motel.. ain't it from a lot of different perspectives?

Many come out here for the rally buy camping stuff and then just leave it as motels are at a premiium price and are unavailable for the most part.

 

Go spend some time on the ADVRider website. There are a ton of trip logs where guys have camped across america or even around the world. Many gear threads on what you should/shouldn't bring and how to best pack everything you need. There is also another thread completely about gorrilla camping aka just stopping and setting up camp. One thing I remember was, as good as cell tower sites look for setting up camp, don't do it. Between security and radiation I would pass on that.

KOA is fine but I personally prefer smaller more remote sites. It'd be good to have shower facilities every couple of days at a minimum so take that into account. I'd also plan on staying in a motel/hotel every so often to clean up, wash clothing and sleep in a real bed.

I have a 3 inch thick REI camping pad that I find pretty comfy but would probably want to be off the ground if I were going for more than a week.

Good Luck, sounds like an awesome trip!

 

Get a standard road atlas and ride from little green tent...the state forests and parks in this incredible country are numerous and cheaper then KOA. A thermarest pad, trap or tent and small bqckpacking stove. Eat an early dinner...sleep with moon and ride with the sun. Go fer it.

 

Planning for a camping trip is always more challenging but lots of fun. Probably the Thermarest pad will be the best thing you can pack. As for the food I've never cooked on a bike trip yet, just never willing to devote that much time to staying at the campground. But I do take some food with me just in case. Look up Campmor.com and if you are going with a group you can split up some of the supplies and equipment. Good luck and have fun.

 

My wife and I go 2-up camping and we've learned quite a bit. This is all on other recent threads in here in detail as the reverend mentioned, and ADVrider specializes in motorcycle camping as was mentioned.

We're Canadian so my links will point to Canadian stores and gear but it's the same in the US, just at different stores if you want to go look.

Air between you and the cold ground means that the ground will pull heat from you. We have down-filled air mattresses designed to stop this:

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Sleepi...eeping-pad.jsp

This might seem expensive at first but it's the best coin you will spend if you're camping a lot. Considering bed bugs and all that jazz I prefer my own high tech camping gear and bed over cheap motels - so does the wife - so tell her to think on what happened in that same bed just the night before if she wrinkles her nose up at camping and then get ready to spend some coin on good ultra-light backpacking camping gear. They have pillows and sleeping in my tent is super comfy and clean - and I'm the only one who's slept there recently.

Camp grounds have showers, washer/dryers, Wi-Fi, and are quite good for extended trips.

Water purification and cooking and kitchen all fit in a single roll bag. We use a 4 litre dromedary and pump filter, Trangia swedish mess kit and Liltech kettle, and a GSI collapsible Java Drip because instant coffee makes me want to kick puppies. The mess kit burns alcohol so you will need a little fuel container and a 15 litre collapsible bucket is worth it's weight in gold (about 2 grams). Do yourself a favour and check out the Trangia on YouTube. I won't leave the house without our mess kit (and coffee) on the bike. A picnic table and 10 minutes is all I need for a good hot coffee - and I don't really need the picnic table.

The tent we're using is a ***** Hubba, but we're switching it out for a Redverz motorcycle tent.

Our set up was put together by one of the lead guys from Algonquin park and he knew his stuff. There's a lot more to it then what I mentioned here but I can tell you this: We're happy campers.