I wanted to ask how many of you stay in tents when you take road trips, what do you use, and where are the good places to get one? Also, how hard is it to find places to set up camp? Just share your thoughts any on this.
Thanks,

 

I camp on many trips. I currently use a Wetzel tent but I have three others that are much smaller. Do some reseach on backpacking supplies and you can find great stuff for the bike that doesn't take up to much space.

 

"Travel in a tent" hard to see the raod ain't it at 65mph

 

Check out REI.com. They usually have good pricing and always have great quality and service.

 

I just knew that was coming.

 

Walmart has Coleman tents in various sizes at reasonable prices. We have used one for several years with good sucess.

Regards,

Bill

 

You can find places to set up a tent for free. Most national parks, i.e. the Blue Ridge Pkwy allow primitive camping. I have stayed at a free campsite in the Adirondacks. Had actual campsites, but no facilities except the outhouse with a couple slats of wood missing on the side. That was probably one of the best camping trips I had. Rode quite a bit of the Adirondacks in one 3 day weekend.

 

I do, but at my age I tend to mix it in with motel rooms at about 3:1. (motels to camping)
I find it a drag setting up camp and breaking it down the next morning. I also tend to ride by myself much of the time, so camping gets a bit boring. It is far more fun with company, especially if there are a bunch of other riders where you end up. By myself, I enjoy being able to take a nice shower in a motel and then put my feet up with a cold one or two in front of a TV after a long day of riding.

What I have is a large two-man, rectangular/semi-dome tent that I can set up in about 5 minutes tops, including the fly. The two-man tent lets me stow all my gear inside overnight with me, still leaving me plenty of room to stretch out. In a pinch I could get a second person in there as long as it was female and reasonably svelt. (OK, she could be a bit larger and still fit, but that's not gonna happen,Tim) I never use tent pegs or a ground sheet.
The rods for the tent are bungeed together internally and break down into about 16" lengths. Whomever came up with that idea is a freekin' genius. (seriously, no sarcasm here) The tent packs up to a size slightly shorter than the rods with a diameter of about 8".
I use a self-inflating mattress that rolls up into a 10" x 3" tube and a goose down sleeping bag good to about -1 degree C. (Many, many years ago I froze my bu** off one night in September at a campsite alongside the ocean at Gold Beach, Oregon....never again) This bag rolls up slightly larger than the tent. If I use a compression sack I can get it real small.
**The best advice here that comes to mind is DON'T get a mummy bag. It did initially and returned it after I climbed in it once. Too restrictive for me. I like to hang out all over. Mummy bags often un-zip only part way down the side as well. My bag un-zips fully, into like a quilt.**
I stow the tent, mattress, and sleeping bag in my TourPak, with things like raingear, that I might want to get to fast. (phone, wallet, glasses, 2nd pair of gloves, electric gear, etc, as well) The rods go in a bag I have behind me on the passenger pillion. If the bag gets too full I free up room in the TourPak by removing either the tent or the sleeping bag and strap either on top of the bag.
The bag is a HUGE Wolfman Beta bag that straddles from mid-lid of one saddlebag, to mid-lid of the opposite saddlebag. It can hold a TON of crap and the more full it is, the better it fits on the bike.
I'd venture a guess that all my camping gear (tent, rods, sleeping bag, and mattress) tip the scales at about 20ish pounds tops. Roll up pillow is mere ounces. The whole kit goes on using only two short bungees, and that's if I have to strap something on top of the big bag.
I bought all the stuff (less the big bag) at a local Co-op camping/hiking place near me. Even if you live in the U.S. you can learn a fair bit on their website on what is what. (Google "Mountain Equipment Co-op' or even "MEC"....and no, I have no affiliation with them)
I know I have the odd photo of my RK loaded down with all my camping crap if you're any bit interested in me posting it up.


CN

 

I too have a small mountain/backpacking tent, 2-man(yea right). Sleeping bagis my old U.S.Army issue mummy artic bag. It however, unzips fully. I do not use an air mattress but thats a matter of taste. My travel bag is my old duffle bag and I use garbage bags inside of it to keep things nice and dry. I use zip lock freezer bags to keep clothing dry. Everything I take fills the duffle bag and it straps on between me and the passenger back rest, makes a nice back rest for myself. I think the key is to travel light and if you've got to have something there's a Wally World around just about every corner.

 

I'm still working on the longer term trip in the next couple months, but a friend and I did a "test run" to a camp ground for an overnight stop in the fall. I went the cheap route and picked up a tent from Sports Authority when they were clearing out camping gear. I basically got a simple 2 man (really 1 man) that was the smallest when packed up that I could find. As someone else mentioned, I use a duffle bag to stash all the gear in, though I bungee'd a tarp over the top of it as a combination of rain protection, and a tarp I could use under the tent at the camp site.