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Tent Camping on Motorcycle

I will be riding 1250 miles should anyone wish to meet up along the route going to Horizon Unlimited. Leaving from near Houston, Texas. As usual I will be going the long way home, thru the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

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Riders still having stock seats and don't want to spend $$$ for a custom seat, I have 2 words- Airhawk pad. Worked great back when I did my Iron butt ride.
+1 on the Airhawk, every bike I have had, there seat was and is pure torture. Airhawk made it much better!!!
 
Picked up a new luxury item for the upcoming season. I have an REI Flex-Lite chair which is a great mix of small packing size, light weight and comfort. It sits low to the ground. REI Flex Lite Chair

I found a table to go with it, a Helinox Camp Table: Amazon.com : Helinox Table One Camp Table - Black/Blue : Sports & Outdoors

Packs small, light weight, perfect companion for the Flex-Lite chair.

Stored for travel. Size 11 shoe for size comparison.
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What's inside.
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Frame
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Ready for relaxation.
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The shop I work at will be switching from the typical 5 day work week, to a 3 day/12hrs a day system starting at the end of this quarter. We will still get paid for 40 hours :cool:
4 days off in a row....-every week! I see many camping trips with the NC in my future!
 
The shop I work at will be switching from the typical 5 day work week, to a 3 day/12hrs a day system starting at the end of this quarter. We will still get paid for 40 hours :cool:
4 days off in a row....-every week! I see many camping trips with the NC in my future!

Sounds like some good "biker's hours" to me.
 
I meet up every May ,usually the third weekend, with a group of riders at the Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah, NC. Just down the road from the tail of the dragon. While this is the draw, there are tons of other roads. This will be my sixth year and I'm still finding new places to ride. Plus...lots of dirt if you are interested. We usually have a small group 12-30 riders, mostly on UJM's and you can find a group with your riding style pretty easily. I'm with the old farts. Fine folks, usually a lot of fun without being outrageous. Anyone can come. We've had riders from Iowa, Louisiana, New Jersey, Michigan...you name it. I usually start a thread on the Nighthawk-forums.com site and UJM forums. Will post a link when I start the threads.
 
I can fit my MountainSmith Morrison 2 man tent, TravelChair sleeprite cot, Eddie Bauer down sleeping bag, my REI flex chair, 12 volt pump and tools in my Hepco Becker xployer side cases, I have room for my clothes, cocoon pillow, and camp stove in my Hepco Becker top case which I can use for a nightstand/dresser in the tent next to the cot. A place for everything, and everything in a case.

From bottom to top. Cot, tent, chair.
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Cot, tent, and chair in one side case.

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Tent with cot, sleeping bag, cocoon pillow, and top case.

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I can fit my MountainSmith Morrison 2 man tent, TravelChair sleeprite cot, Eddie Bauer down sleeping bag, my REI flex chair, 12 volt pump and tools in my Hepco Becker xployer side cases, I have room for my clothes, cocoon pillow, and camp stove in my Hepco Becker top case which I can use for a nightstand/dresser in the tent next to the cot. A place for everything, and everything in a case.

Very nice! That packs awesomely tight!
 
This is something I am actually working on plans for this summer. Leave out on a Friday evening to a campground in some state or national park, tent out overnight and take off the next morning. With the summers here, it wont be difficult to get an early start, considering it will be 80s and humid by 7am. Then, just ride around the area or to the next park, repeat and come home Sunday. Just need to get a small enough tent that the poles are not 3 feet long... I am used to big tents rather than small 1 person ones.

Now, the other side to that coin, I have a nice cot with a built-in tent, however there is no way to get it on the bike. However, a couple of my best friends make a lot of weekend trips. They have a small camper, and the cot-tent will fit in it easily. We have already discussed some trips for spring and early summer as well as some longer ones in the fall. What is nice, we drive to the site, set up the camper, then we all ride to see the sites. They have a '09 Honda Rebel that is racked on the back of the camper. We split the site costs and food and it will make for a cheap and fun trip. At night, we cook on site, I crash in my tent-cot and the next day we move on to the next spot. These are the trips I can't wait for.

I have used a collapsible tent cot on a couple of my motorcycles. It packs down to 42" x 7" x 7" which is still pretty big, unless you were going to put it on a v strom 650 adventure motorcycle which the side cases are 45" wide:eek: I have hauled one on my CB500x, and hauled 2 on my 750 shadow. They do make for a great nights sleep, but sleeping is about all they are good for, and they are very very waterproof.

Loaded up on top of my side cases,
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At the campgrounds.

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Two loaded up on my 750 shadow.

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I had the shadow looking pretty good, but that thing just killed my back.

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Did my first motorcycle camping outing last week and loved it. Basically used all my old backpacking gear and packed it up on the bike. The only issue I had was water and beverages, I live in Arizona and you have to pack all your water with you if you don't go to an established campgournd or one of the few lakes. My solution was to take a backpack to put my water and beverages in. It made my trip out not as fun with a 30lb pack on my back, but was able to make the straps long enough to rest it on the seat when cruising. On the way back all the liquids were depleted and I was able to stuff the backback in my luggage and enjoy the ride home. Next time I may try to pack a little lighter to make room for liquids or camp at a place with water.
 
Can't remember the comedians name but he said he invented dehydrated water.....but he didn't know what to add to it.
 
I don't have anything to add that hasn't been said, but everyone likes pictures!

Spent quite a few nights camping during my New Mexico and Colorado trip this summer. I'm a fan of National Forests, where dispersed camping is FREE (I'm a cheapskate :p).

Cloudcroft, NM - Lincoln National Forest:

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Reserve, NM - Gila National Forest:

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Twin Lakes, CO -- just outside Leadville, Gunnison National Forest I think...:

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I'll echo what others have said, that less is more. Each time I camp on the bike I take less stuff. This all fits easily on the bike, and packs quickly. I hate spending 30 minutes breaking down camp in the morning when I just want to get on the road, so I try to keep that in mind.

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trey
 
You know growing up I was in the Boy Scouts. From age 10-18 years old living in ohio we camped one weekend a month 11 months a year. The other month was a week of summer camp. I remember quite often waking up and digging my way out of a tent. I figured it once and I've spent almost an entire year of my 28 year life camping. Now That my son is big enough we are going camping this year, a lot.
 
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