Camping?

[Itchytoe]

I'm considering an extremely long ride. One that has me stopping just to get off the bike and sleep and head out in the early morning. I don't really want to spend $100 a night if I don't have to. That means I'm considering do the whole moto camping thing. Unfortunately, I know just a little bit more than absolutely nothing about it. Even the basics of how to find places to stop for the night, if you'd actually save much over a hotel, and what gear is actually useful and what would be a waste to get are completely foreign to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[miweber929]

I'm considering an extremely long ride. One that has me stopping just to get off the bike and sleep and head out in the early morning. I don't really want to spend $100 a night if I don't have to. That means I'm considering do the whole moto camping thing. Unfortunately, I know just a little bit more than absolutely nothing about it. Even the basics of how to find places to stop for the night, if you'd actually save much over a hotel, and what gear is actually useful and what would be a waste to get are completely foreign to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Tried and not a huge fan:

- most camp sites are reservations only, makes it a pain to find a place unless his know exactly where you are going.
- need electricity? That’s a big hurdle these days.
- camp sites approach $40/night. More some places, less others, around $40 is a average. I can usually find a no frills hotel room for around $85 or so.
- by the time I get there, I’m tired. Setup is last thing on my mind. Have to do it before I sleep and tear it all down when I get up. Wet or dry. Every time.
- gotta grab food before you get there or have to leave once setup to go get it. Most of the hotels in “normal times“ have food available, or you can get it delivered and have a free cheesy breakfast in the AM. Factor in those prices when camping.
- camping equipment isn’t super cheap or it’ll only last a few times. Looking at tent, sleeping bag, pillow, sleep pad at a minimum. Then camp stove, camp chair, lanterns, supplies for showers and cleanup. Few things off my the top of my head.
- if it rains, you get wet. Your stuff gets wet, and it never drys out. End of story. Your helmet stays wet. Your jacket. Your pants. Your gloves.
- my back sucks and sleeping on the ground sucks. Shitty bed sucks but better than the ground v
- the majority of your luggage is devoted to camping.

My random thoughts at least. I have a cargo bag full of a decent 1 man tent (almost a person and a half), camp stove, fuel, sleep pad, lightweight good quality sleeping bag, pillow, camp chair, etc. from my dual sport days. Went a few times, replaced the cheap stuff when it failed, bought good quality stuff and tried it another few times. it was OK but I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle for the reasons above.

Sorry, you wanted info from those that have.

 

[JDude]

If you’re not a camper as in you don’t have gear already or have luggage/storage items for your bike to carry said items then go the ”no tell” route. You’ll be much happier.

 

[MrFritz86]

Camping is not for "get off the bike and sleep and head out in the early morning", unless they have a cabin ready to use and to be serviced whenever you leave.
It requires light to setup all the gears and if you get there late it would be a pita.
Camping gears take up a lot of space and a lot of time to pack/unpack.
Yes you could always grab some junk food before getting to the camp sites, you would avoid buying cooking gears
You gotta plan it properly bc it's reservation only and make sure you get there on time to set up the site, so you gotta have some time to spend there, otherwise it's not worth it.
Nowadays some of the services are limited due to the pandemic.
I've been looking into it lately, planning on buying the gears needed, but due to the limited services I'm kinda holding back.

 

[MrFritz86]

here my amazon wish list with all the gears that I'm looking to buy
so you have an idea on what it could be useful to have

Check out my list on Amazon

www.amazon.com

 

[Itchytoe]

That's all good info. Thanks everyone. That's exactly the kind of info I wanted.

 

[baugustine]

@miweber929 is spot-on. Camping is fun but requires planning (7 Ps). If you really want to do it, practice in car or van to see what is actually needed. As I get older, the price of a hotel is well worth the $ for a clean, dry bed and hot shower. Try putting away a wet tent after it rained all night and you'll quickly understand...

 

[miweber929]

That's all good info. Thanks everyone. That's exactly the kind of info I wanted.

To expand a bit, the biggest issues you will run into today are:

1. The old days of showing up, grabbing a site for $20, having a peaceful sleep and doing it all again the next day are really over. Sites are almost all 100% reservation only and you prepay so the place gets paid whether there’s someone there or not and mist places won’t give them up because you never know when someone may stroll in. I’m camping right now and someone pulled in across from us at 11:30 last night and setup. And most book out months in advance, camping is HUGE business recently and a single traveler isn’t a huge money maker for them so they don’t care about travelers with no reservations.

2. Sites are not cheap anymore. As I said $40 is average, I’ve paid as much as $65/night at private campgrounds. So for less than double the cost I get 1/10 of the issues. I can pull in to a hotel and if they don’t have any they’ll call, I can book online while eating dinner so I don’t have to preplan when having good and bad timed days. Beg for cheap prices, it works, especially if you see a name brand hotel under construction or renovations; I’ve paid like $70/night for a king room at Holiday Inns fairly easily when on the road.

3. The gear and supplies are not cheap. If you spend $320 in supplies (which really is maybe A good tent and sleeping bag) and $40 a night to camp it’s almost 8 nights before that’s paid for itself. Spend $200 on each, easy to do and it’s 10 nights to break even.

4. The amount of crap you need to carry is a lot. Takes up a lot of room and the bike isn’t as nimble before it all. That sucks. And makes getting on and off the bike miserable.

 

[Dankotaru]

I take my bike camping whenever I can, but not long distance like you're thinking. I pack for a weekend and head to a trailhead and go backpacking. My buddy has a Tiger, and I always get a little kick out of my lone sportbike sitting alongside a row of adventure bikes at the trailhead. He packs everything in the hard cases on his Tiger, and I just wear a backpack. We split the gear we need, and I typically get everything I carry under 20 pounds, especially if I can get water near the trailhead instead of having to pack it. Then when we head back home on Sunday, I get the added perk of riding my bike instead of suffering all the camper and RV traffic in my truck. I love taking the motorcycle camping.

Based on my experience, I would echo what others have already said. If you are into backpacking and already have the lightweight gear, then camping during a long distance ride could be a viable option, if you can find adaquate locations to camp along the way. As mentioned, most established car camping sites have to be reserved well in advance. If you're riding in a region with lots of backpacking trails and wilderness areas, then parking along trailheads and hiking in to a site could work and be a real adventure, but most sites like this will not have power or water, so you'll need to bring food, stove, water filter, etc.. and replenish between stops if you want to keep the weight down. I know guys who enjoy the hell out of this, but none of them do it as a way to save money on hotels.

I wish I had taken a shot of my CBR and buddy's Tiger at the trailhead this past weekend, but they're parked way down at the bottom of the valley in this picture:


And where I spent the night (maybe I'll get a collapsible fishing pole one of these days):

 

[quigonquinn]

There are a bunch of great YouTube videos out there. Check out RyanF9, motorcyclist magazine, and a few others(just search YouTube)

 

[baugustine]

@Dankotaru you made a great distinction above between ”camping” and ”backpacking”, which us early responders above should have inquired about. I’ve done a lot of both. Last few times I was camping, the “campers” nearby just brought all their $hit from home and pretended they were on an adventure. My last trip to the Florida Keys the site next us brought a TV and had that F’ing thing on until 2am. Soured my whole idea of getting away.

To do American camping, lug your crap from from home. Backpacking requires a very different kit and some careful planning and is well worth the time if you can share the load with some others. I have the John Muir Trail on my Bucket List. (see the Documentary called “Mile, Mile and a Half“ which covers the 200+ mile hike).

 

[Jerry]

Also make the distinction between camping being the goal and camping being a means.
Most people who go Moto camping do that because they want to go Moto camping. All the gear and hassle and everything is just part of the experience.

If you wanna go riding or actually have to get somewhere, a single night camping sounds like an awful alternative to a hotel or motel.

 

[baloo2650]

I'll chime in here. I hiked the PCT in '18 and can tell y'all a bit about camping. I spent a few months living on that trail with what I had in my pack. (was 11lbs all in, minus food) You need to think about every piece of gear you'll bring. Get a kitchen scale, it'll make you think about what you pack.

 

[baloo2650]

@Dankotaru you made a great distinction above between ”camping” and ”backpacking”, which us early responders above should have inquired about. I’ve done a lot of both. Last few times I was camping, the “campers” nearby just brought all their $hit from home and pretended they were on an adventure. My last trip to the Florida Keys the site next us brought a TV and had that F’ing thing on until 2am. Soured my whole idea of getting away.

To do American camping, lug your crap from from home. Backpacking requires a very different kit and some careful planning and is well worth the time if you can share the load with some others. I have the John Muir Trail on my Bucket List. (see the Documentary called “Mile, Mile and a Half“ which covers the 200+ mile hike).

baugustine If you want to hike the JMT, please my friend - do it. You'll likely go north to south, -I came up from Mt.Whitney on the PCT, then north. Hiking those Sierra passes are one of the greatest things I have ever done. You'll spend a couple weeks walking through one of the most amazing places in the world. Camp at 8K then hike over 12K, sometimes twice in a day.

 

[baloo2650]

 

[baloo2650]

Here's the gearlist from my PCT hike. I carried 11 lbs. of gear on the trail. There might be some good info here for camping during a bike trip. This stuff would easily fit in a daypack, tank or pillion bag for a bike camping tour. I'm also used to just pulling off the road anywhere that looks nice for the night. Just forget about campsites, reservations, nonsense. -but I'm up here in Canada, where that option works better than in other parts of the world...

 

[Nigelrodger]

I love doing long motorcycle camping trips! I have done more than i can count at this point. I prefer doing this in the western states as weather and scenery,crowds ect seem better. We do some planning ahead as to the spots to camp and always hit a grocery store before camping. I have done winter trips with heated jacket ect. You would be surprised how comfortable you can be with the right equipment. In my old age(62) i do prefer to stay at least 2 days in the same location as it keeps me from getting worn out. Good quality light wieght gear is a must,but there is no reason not to be comfy in this day and age. the more you motorcycle camp, the better you will get at it!!

 

[roadkillbuzzard]

A long time ago, when I was 21 I did what your are contemplating. I road my GPZ550 from Mass to Cali. I brought only the following: A very small book bag with clothes and toiletries, a two man tent rolled up in a bamboo mat. I wore my hoodie under my leather jacket. Back in the day before smart phones, I got a trip kit from AAA. It was a mapped out plan of the trip across the country. I stayed at KOA and other non-KOA sites, cheap motels and two YMCAs along the trip. State parks are still the cheapest for simple tent sites. Ones off the beaten path are cheapest. You can find motel 6 or no name motels all over the country with room rates of well under 100 a night. They are usually down the road a bit from the tourist trap locations and major cities. If you plan your trip you can do it on the cheap. Traveling as light as possible is the way to go. Don't worry about packing too much. You can wash your clothes in a coin op along the way as needed. Don't worry about packing food and cooking utensils. Take it from me, I have done all kinds of camping, tent roughing it and air conditioned 27 foot R-Vision. You will spend more money than the food will cost you on charcoal, camp wood etc. Stop and eat along the way. You will enjoy the local culture and flavor much more than a campsite with tourists. I crossed the country twice in my youth and backpacked Europe for 40 days with a simple pack. I stayed at youth hostels, cheap hotels. Spend the money saved on food at both restaurants and grocery stores. The Frommer guide Let's Go series were great sources of information. They must still exist. Do your homework, travel lightly and you will be glad you did. Don't lug your kitchen and bath with you and a ton of suit cases all over the country. My two cents. Where are you planning on going?

 

[Itchytoe]

Don't lug your kitchen and bath with you and a ton of suit cases all over the country. My two cents. Where are you planning on going?

I'm a full time RVer, so I actually do lug my kitchen and bath with me all over the country. It's currently down south for the winter. I don't plan on doing that on the motorcycle though. I try to travel light on the bikes. I'm planning on going everywhere in the contiguous US, literally. There is an IBA ride that requires visiting all 48 contiguous states in 10 days or less. It comes out to 650ish miles a day, at an absolute minimum. That short route puts you on the other side of the country when you are finished so you then have to turn around and drive back home. If you do a loop and end up back at home when you finish, it's about 850 miles a day. That doesn't leave much time for R&R in the evenings.

 

[roadkillbuzzard]

That seems like a Gum Ball Rally and too fast a pace to experience anything but hard riding. If that is what you want. I would feel like I missed out on everything I passed along the way. Like just passing by.