• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Tent Camping on Motorcycle

Last summer me and my mate went on a small trip to neighboring Baltic states. One night we camped middle of nowhere. Camping with NC is FUN.
P_20140810_091318.jpgP_20140810_091333.jpg
 
The coffee thread reminded me to share here a great coffee maker for camping. It is the GSI Java Drip. Clip it on your cup, put ground coffee in it and pour hot water through it. Weight isn't much of a problem camping on an NC, but space can be. This thing folds flat to 4" across by 1/4" thick and weighs almost nothing. I also keep one on my brief case to be able to make a good cup of coffee at work.

80b3e2b0fde6b429e7e1ca224da84cfb.jpg

Quite a few who have seen mine in a campground want to know were to buy one. Bought mine at a Mast General Store in North Carolina. Also on REI web site.
 
Last edited:
The coffee thread reminded me to share here a great coffee maker for camping. It is the GSI Java Drip. Clip it on your cup, put ground coffee in it and pour hot water through it. Weight isn't much of a problem camping on an NC, but space can be. This thing folds flat to 4" across by 1/4" thick and weighs almost nothing. I also keep one on my brief case to be able to make a good cup of coffee at work.

Quite a few who have seen mine in a campground want to know were to buy one. Bought mine at a Mast General Store in North Carolina. Also on REI web site.

I like that, nice that it folds flat -- space is always tight. Does it allow the coffee to steep, or does it just slowly start dripping out, steeping along the way?

My go to has been an AeroPress:

IMAG0247.jpg


Small-ish, makes great coffee, but does take up more space than that GSI thing...

trey
 
Speaking of breakfast, has anyone tried manifold cooking/foil meals on the NC. You know take some ground beef and potatoes and carrots and onions wrap them up tight in foil and stick them on top of the engine near the starter maybe? We used to do it in camp fires and I've seen it done on cars. Thoughts?
 
As far as food goes, this is what I used to use while hiking and camping (not motocamping). I like the Mountain House meals, tastes good (add tabasco, old MRE trick). They can be picked up at most out doors shops as well.
Mountain House | Low Prices on Mountain House Foods

They are good but man are they expensive. Guess I'll be the test guy and motocook on the way to work one day
 
Thanks FuzzyOne, I'll have to look into those.

Meanwhile, back at mi casa, I just got my new Kelty Ignite Dri-Down 20 degree sleeping bag. Time to retire my 0 degree MASSIVE Army bag. I don't want to be out in 0 degree anyway.... The Kelty measures 7 X 14 (uncompressed),while the Army bag is 12 X 19 (compressed). The Kelty is supposed to compress down to around football size. I will say I spent more on this sleeping bag than any other piece of equipment I have. I bought off Amazon for about 1/2 price because it was listed as used.

Here's a few shots for comparison.
DSCN0949.jpg
DSCN0950.jpg
DSCN0951.jpg
 
One warning on down filled backs. This from what I have read and not personal experience. Down won't keep you warm if it is wet. Synthetic filled bags, while degraded when wet will still work to keep you warm. I have an inexpensive dry bag to put the sleeping bag in so it can't inadvertently get wet.
 
One warning on down filled backs. This from what I have read and not personal experience. Down won't keep you warm if it is wet. Synthetic filled bags, while degraded when wet will still work to keep you warm. I have an inexpensive dry bag to put the sleeping bag in so it can't inadvertently get wet.

Hey Matt, thanks for the heads up. The bag I got is called "Dri- Down". It has specially treated down to resist getting wet. I did some research and found what you said to be true. I opted for the down because it packs smaller. So far, my tent has performed great when it comes to keeping me dry. It is old though and I'm ready for a good three man tent for my next one.
 
Hey Matt, thanks for the heads up. The bag I got is called "Dri- Down". It has specially treated down to resist getting wet. I did some research and found what you said to be true. I opted for the down because it packs smaller. So far, my tent has performed great when it comes to keeping me dry. It is old though and I'm ready for a good three man tent for my next one.

I'm sure you know since you have done research, but just in case you don't, only compress the bag for transportation, never store it compressed. I bought a Eddie Bauer down bag and it came with a compression bag, and a storage bag, it is in our spare bedroom laid out flat.
 
Any advice on setting up a tent in the rain?

to quote John Mellencamp, I bet it's a case of "suck it up and tough it out, and do the best you can."

I was thinking that it would be good to set up the tent, empty, under some cover and then carry it (closed) to the site. This presumes a fairly small tent, but it seems like the inside would end up a little dryer.

I'm going to go and google this same question now.
 
Some guys carry a 12' x 12' tarp with nylon cord while camping to make a cover over their tent. Just install the tarp first and then you can set up the tent dry.
 
Riding in the rain with all your equipment on makes it easy to setup the tent in the rain. Just leave all your riding equipment on for the rain, and set up the tent. I have a large tent bag that goes on the rear seat that I carry all my camping equipment in. Once the tent is up, throw the tent bag into the tent, and crawl in. You can now finish the setup inside the tent.

I find strong wind to be the hardest weather to put the tent up in. The my tent becomes a kite, and Fuzzy's large tent becomes a PARASAIL Ride in the Wind!
 
Practice setting up and packing the tent. Speed is the key.
If you have cover then yes set it up while under cover and then carry it out to the site. This works best with a free standing tent but even if it isn't free standing you can preassemble as much as possible and have the stakes already laid out at the tent site. As much as possible I keep the rain fly over the tent while setting it up though you have to watch because the fly will hold water and you can dump the whole load into the tent. I use my camp towel to soak up any water that does get inside before putting stuff in the tent.

Packing up in the rain is the same. If shelter is available carry it to the shelter. I carry several inexpensive dry backs and put the rain fly in one and the tent into another one. Again I use the camp towel to dry as much as possible. If you pack the fly and tent together then the tent will be soaked by the time you get to the next camping spot. I also pack the fly separately if there is morning dew on it.
 
I'm one of those that have a tarp. Even a 12x12 tarp folded flat takes up very little space.
I'll string the tarp up to block the rain and set up the tent in relative dry. It's no biggy when you realize sometimes you get a bit wet when you camp.

Bama's advice to separate the fly from the tent is a good one. Dry bags are definitely worth their weight/space.

theloop- thanks, I do know that, but it's good to put it out here. This is about everyone having the best most comfortable camping experiences we can while enjoying our NC's!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top