best place to get stuff is an rei if you have one near by. the salespeople all are outdoor people with experience.

camping can be a real pain, but lets face it, so can riding. cold, rain, bugs, gravel, sand, and cagers need to be contended with.

same with camping, if you don't want to do it, it is a pain.

and just because you have camping equip along does not mean you have to camp every night.

i love camping, you meet nice people. you spend time outside. good fresh air. oh yeh. if a storm is brewing or one is forecasted, i have no problem picking a hotel instead.

for a sleeping bag, depending on what temperature you will be in, you can get a sheet like bag which is only good for like down to 60, but also carry a bag good to like 45. insert the one in the other and you are good down to 35. just like layering clothes.

for tents, the rei half dome is awesome - has won rewards.

and no matter what you get, try it out before you are on a long trip. take a weekend not to far from home and give it a test run.

 

I have a warehouse store tent- like $25 works fine.

sleeping bag fits in the H-D sac tour pak rack bag

thermarest pad- the narrow one fits inside the saddlebag

shower/ laundry? KOA ( KOA is native dialect for "near the railroad tracks").

I always enjoy tent camping, and I will get into a room once in a while, esp if the weather is looking crappy.

you don't have to "invest" to go camping....REI, EMS and other specialty stores do carry great stuff but you can get basic camping gear without bells and whistles for much less


mike

Here's Cortez, CO- headed for Sturgis:

 

VISA and Hampton Inn

 

If you plan on camping a lot, get the good quality stuff like North Face and Kelty. 1 or 2 times a year for a couple of nights, I think you can get by with id-range stuff. I got a Coleman 2 person tent and had served me well so far.

 

Agree with most of the posters. I personally use a 2man Big Agnes, Seed House. Poles and rain fly weigh under 4lbs. Therma-inflatable sleeping pad, and Kelty mummy sleeping bag pack easily in side bag. REI is an awesome store for these types of things. I would suggest looking through Backpacker. The have a website also. If you are worried about reviews and weights of equipment, this magazine is tops.

 

Good advice. A wal-mart tent and sleeping bag will likely fail you at the worst possible time and turn you against camping forever. Buy quality equipment, it works better and lasts longer. Can't go wrong with North Face stuff.

However, if you have never camped, before, you might want to start with a short trip and cheap tent and sleeping bag just to see if camping is for you. But make sure the weather forcast is good first.

My wife and I have camped all over the country, in almost every kind of weather. We camp because we like it, and to save money. But we do motel it if the weather is too bad, or we just want to save the time required to set up and take down the tent, etc.

It helps a lot that my wife rides her own bike. We can carry about 4 times as much as a couple on one bike can.

One of the best things about camping is meeting other campers. We have had some great times with people we met in campgrounds. Can't say that about motels.

 

Love my Eureka Pinnacle Pass tent - bathtub floor keeps the inside dry in steady rain. Tent packs down to almost nothin' too. Add a small folding chair like an Alite Monarch Butterfly, a Thermarest inflatable mattress, super compact sleeping bag, a small camp stove like an MSR Pocket Rocket, and you're ready to roll. A simple low cost rear seat bag, like a Saddlemen TS-3200 is all you need to haul it all with room to spare. Spray the TS-3200 with the same waterproofing spray you use on your tent seems.

I love camping with the bike. I can wander aimlessly for days on very little money. State campgrounds are usually about $20/night. KOA campgrounds are 2 or 3 times the price, but are well worth it every few days to get good showers, access to laundry machines, WiFi, etc. Traveling like this lets you go a long time on short $ when compared to checking into hotels every night.

And, just for a little perspective, the cost of all the gear will be equal to just 5 or 6 nights in a hotel, so you hit your break even point pretty quick and still have all your cool gear.

If you go a few times and find you enjoy camping with your bike, look into the International Brotherhood of Motorcycle Campers (IBMC.org).

.02
JR

 

Best investment I ever made, when sleeping on the ground, was a self inflating foam air mattress. Pull the plugs, let it inflate, put the sleeping bag on top, snooze. In the morning, pull the plugs, squeeze out the air as you roll it up, and ride another day.

Worse investment was a new nylon sleeping bag. I went to the British Biker Cooperative Rallye in Wisconsin a few years ago, and ended up setting camp on a sidehill, using a nylon tent. In the middle of the night, I woke up, totally enclosed . The damn thing had slid down the hill (nylon on nylon), knocking out the tent pole, causing the tent to collapse on top of me. It took a long time, in the dark, to find the tent zipper and get out.

The tent, btw, was from Wards, purchased in 1972. I still use it to this day when traveling with my Triumphs.

With the Harley, however, we pull a Bunkhouse camper.

 

REI for shopping for this stuff. REI will take ANYTHING back NO Questions asked if you EVER have any problems with anything you buy from them.
My Camping Supplies:
-Big Agnes Sleeping Bag
-Thermarest Self Inflating 3/4 length Air Mattress
-REI Half Dome or Quarter Dome Tent
-Cooking stuff:
* 1 1/2 Qt Titanium Pot,
* Plastic Cup,
* Plastic Back Packing Utensils,
* Pocket Rocket Butane Back Packing Stove,
* Butane Lighter and Matches,
* Backpacking knife,
* Wine Cork Screw
* 2 Oz Squeeze Bottle of Dish-washing soap
* Note: All of this fits into the pot
-Collapsible Water Bag/Bucket
-Backpackers Umbrella
-LED Flashlight
- 1' X 1' Board for Kickstand when in a campground without any paved parking area next to the tent.

You can play "Where's Waldo" with the attached pictures per the above list.

 

Good advice on buying quality equipment.

Here are a couple of sites to look at for decent prices.

http://www.campmor.com/?gclid=CI6zvP...FQHs7Qoduh9d1A

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/?af...Processed=true