rookie camping trip

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RedNigel
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Thats because they probably arent using it and they are dog tired all the time
Well, yeah, I know that, but I've seen people who need that kind of support to sleep just quit living even when they're awake.
That because they probably arent using it and they are dog tired all the time
 

U20417

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Thats because they probably arent using it and they are dog tired all the time
I will second that Clay! Before I got my CPAP about 10 years ago I was exhausted every morning when I got up. Just managed to get my 8 hours in and get back home to start falling asleep in front of the TV. Felt like a worn out old man. The night they did my sleep study the only needed 90 minutes to identify that my sleep was being interrupted once every minute. They got me up to take all the electrodes off and I made them let me sleep with it the rest of the night. Felt like a million dollars the next morning. I could not wait to get mine at home.

Today at 50 I feel 10 times better than I did at 40 before I got my CPAP. Yes its a hassle to pack and carry on a bike. Plus you have to find sites with electric, but its well worth the extra effort to get the excellent rest needed.

Clay, two suggestions.
1. I got that cell phone app one of the group members suggested "AllStays Camp and RV". It really helped in identifying camp grounds with electric near where I was wanting to stay. Well worth the money.
2. http://www.recreation.gov lets you search all Federal camping availability around a specified location. Besides National Parks they also show US Forest Server and other federal camping locations. I was able to find camp sites with electric in the $20 price range. Some of them don't have showers but they do have electric. I figure I can ride over to the NP or a truck stop and pay a few bucks to take a shower. So for me it was an acceptable deal. Check them out you might be surprised.
 
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I don't know nuthin about no CPAPs but I do know about camping. It sounds like you had a pretty successful learning opportunity. The fact that it didn't turn you off to camping for good tells me that you're cut out for that kind of thing.

AllStays also has Camp and Tent. It is better for us non-RV types.
 
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You need a campimg trip with us. After 40 years of camping we have learned a couple of things. Some of the advice seems out of state. The final exam is Feb when we camp in <32 temps. This is a good test of packing the most in a small space and being confortable. There is usually a one night at Joe Pool to get ready which is in our back yard. Various cooking specialties including Spam-Kabobs are tried out.

I plan to finally pickup my 2011 this week if all goes well. The Pacific Coast is still up for sale and will probably consign it with dealer. Would you be available some evening to compare valve noise? I don't know if any valve adjustments were made. Sounds a little noisy but am not that familiar with what is normal for this bike.

Don't buy any camping stuff until you see some of my gear. I have learned the hard and $$ way with what works. Usually the BMW or Guzzi guys have figured it out.

Russ Foster
 

Phil Tarman

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So, Russ, tell us what you think works.

I started camping (again) in 2012 and then camped quite a bit on my Epic Ride.

For me the things that worked have included my REI HalfDome 4 tent, my Big Agnes Buffalo Park sleeping bag and air mattress.

The things that I wouldn't bother with again have included my cot (the Luxury Lite which Thermarest bought and is now selling under their own name), and if I'm going to be moving every day, I probably won't carry my Kermit chair. It's great for staying in one place for several days, but when I was moving every day, I didn't use it.
 

Mellow

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The same thing doesn't work for everyone.. My camping gear works for me in snow or 100+ weather and packs small.. however, that's what works for ME.. some prefer hammocks, camper trailers and a full kitchen... so, the YMMV applies here.

That being said, I'm always looking to make things even better because when you stop being open-minded about new options - you stop learning. Lets' hear about your setup.
 
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Phil,

Nice to see you've come around :) Big tent, comfy sleeping mattress.

I have evolved one more step. I have ditched the air bed for an old Army issue air mattress. Takes up about the same amount of room but is about half as heavy. It is the insulated type that I slept on over 4 years in Germany, including sub zero weather. It will pack with my tent poles. I will also look at something to replace my air pump. Not sure what yet. Maybe one of those "sack" pumps. I still love my big tent. :)

I have also found that I don't use my camp chair much (I didn't take it the last trip through CO). Most camp sites have tables to sit at and my tripod seat is perfect for inside the tent. It packs up with the tent poles nicely.

I have also refined my electronics setup. The tablet and phone are plugged in while riding, as is my aux battery (phone from a dash outlet and tablet/battery from a USB outlet in my trunk). When in camp the battery recharges my helmet bluetooth headset. If necessary it will also keep the phone running all night.

The packing sequence is now pretty well defined. It is configured for "dual use". If staying in a motel I only need to take two bags in. One pannier is set up with tent and all that goes with it. When setting up camp I open it, set up tent. Then move three bags inside tent and finish unpacking.

Knee pads. That is one good thing about wearing dedicated riding pants. The knee armor is really nice for crawling around. :)

One of the biggest camp aids is my "head" light. Get one, you won't regret it. I rarely use flashlights anymore.

And one of the biggest conveniences for me are disposable urinal bags. Makes the middle of the night issues go away.
 

Phil Tarman

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Charlie, tell me about the disposable urine bags -- where do you get them and what are they called. I used a 32-oz Gatorade bottle and it wasn't always enough. Plus (this falls under the heading of TMI, so if you don't have a strong stomach stop reading now) one night I missed it. That was a mess.

Also tell me where I could find one of the air mattresses you got. My Big Agnes air mattress is insulated and packs pretty small. I've got a little D-cell powered fan-style pump that blows it up while I'm getting other stuff out.

I agree on a headlamp, but I also carry a hanging lantern that's powered by D-cells that I hang in the tent. I will say that the Kermit chair was sure nice to sit in while reading one night while it was raining and I didn't want to sit out in that. I'll probably carry it, but I won't set it up every night.

I'll probably work on finding a way to recharge my phone while I'm moving. This little netbook computer lasts 2-3 days and recharges pretty quick when I find a place to plug it in.
 
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I too have changed many of my camping items - it takes awhile to figure out what works for you. The advice I received from this forum was a great place to start and so I went the TT Dry Bag, Big-Agnes Sleeping Bag with the cut out insert for the ExPed air mattress and an incredible 3 man tent that came in its own compression bag and packed down to just 13" long (Ledge Recluse ultra light w/ aluminum poles). The whole system was very professional looking and was all very high quality but just tooooooo long to set up and break down. When you are riding hard all day and decide to camp in some farmers field you don't want to be fiddling around in the dark.

The only thing I kept was the ExPed SYNMAT 9 air mattress with built in hand pump (thanks Mellow). It's a thing of beauty - although if I had to do it over again I would probably go with charlie b's army air mattress (it's cheaper). I switched from the TT dry bag to the Kwek Tek Dry Pak Bag with solid base and LARGE opening (thanks again Mellow). What a difference it makes in getting everything in and out in a hurry. I got the 24" long and its just right for me. My Ledge Recluse tent is great for Kayak camping and for longer stays (I'll take it to the TNT rally) but it was just to slow for quick put up and take down. I went with the Catoma Lone Rider Motorcycle Tent that takes all of 30 seconds to set up!!! I love it. There is plenty of room for you and your gear inside of it. Firefighters use this type of tent out west and I can't say enough good things about it. The only draw back with it is that it packs down to only 26" long - but it still fits inside my 24" Dry Pak Bag with no hassle. The Big-Agnes sleeping bag was good but to bulky so I went with Wal-Mart's Ozark Trail Down 32 degree Bag and it has been great. It packs down to nothing and it along with the ExPed air mattress goes into a small compression dry bag that then goes inside the Dry Pak Bag (double protection). I secure the Dry Pak bag with 3 ROK straps and the whole system is very fast to secure to the NT, to assess the contents and to put up and take down. However, I'm still open for any improvements so keep your ideas coming. Wendell
 
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it will get better! After a couple years of m/c camping, we have gotten the packing down to science. And we now have a couple different sized tents.

The Mansion is a Big Agnes Big House 4. With vestibule. It is HUGE. We only take that one if we are staying in one spot for 2+ nights. For 1 night stands, the Big Agnes Emerald Mtn is smaller, and easier to set up. If its just Pete headed x/c to MN and he just needs a couple hours sleep, he has a Puppy Pile tent. it weighs about 2 lbs and has enough room for one person.

Sleeping bag for me is a Big Agnes RoxyAnn 15. There is no padding on the bottom and it has a sleeve where the BA pad slips in. Bought the proper one for the bag (BA Q-core insulated pad). Gave my Thermorest pad to Pete, he loves it. Pete has a down bag with no zipper that packs to the size of a small Nerf football.

Clothes. rule is: No jeans, no cotton. too bulky and cotton doesn't breathe as well as I'd like. lots of microfiber stuff that packs small, doesn't wrinkle and dries overnight.

Chairs. Had a couple of regular camp chairs, but they are too big to pack. Just picked up a pair of Helinox Chair One's. REI has a similar chair, but I found out that DAC, the company that makes the rods for both chairs, are no longer going to make the rods for the REI chair. So....if you happen to break one, your REI chair is now garbage.

Lights: petzl Zipka's.

Food: I try and bring along snack stuff (cheese, jerky, nuts) and at least 2 ltr of water in a Platypus bag. We usually will find a grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner/breakfast. we have a small alcohol stove, but I can't decide if I want the Whisperlite that burns all kinds of fuel or the Biolite that burns wood and can trickle charge your phone, tablet, etc. Since we travel on two bikes, I may get both..... hahaha

packing it in: Ortlieb dry bags. Moto Fizz bags, BMW tailbags, etc. What bags get used depends on how long we'll be gone and what bikes we'll be on

These are the NTs on a 10 day ride to central CA.

My bike (on the left): The BA tent is stuffed into the Bestem bag on the right side, the left has my heated gear, sleep pad, pillow and misc stuff. The MotoFizz bag on the top has food, water, Rockstar drinks, beer, foldable dishes, cutlery, my toiletries. The yellow Ortlieb has my clothes. The little black bag is a Kriega that has my sleeping bag in it.

Petes NT has the old camp chairs (blue) tent poles (orange), Ortlieb (clothes, 2 laptops, etc) right side pannier tools, left side sleeping bag, pad, etc. He was packed much lighter than I was. hahaha

 
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My brother and I were parked in almost the same spots when we rode down Hwy 1 last fall. :)
 

CommuterNT

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I've only camped once with the NT and that was unintentional. I had planned on doing a backpack trip but the trail I planned on using wasn't going to work so I made it into a little road trip and found a forest service road to camp off of. I have extensive backpacking experience and I'm a gear junkie always looking to make my load smaller and lighter which fits very well with motorcycle camping. I've got my backpacking gear pretty fine tuned. I can do a multiple day trip with my pack weighing under 20 lbs and not being much bigger then a large day pack. I have all the comforts I could need without going to extremes of cutting straps or handles off of toothbrushes. Just compact gear and finding multiple uses for as many things as I can.

Some things that I have come up with over the years:
-Put a permanent light in your tent; buy one of those little squeeze LED lights that go on your key-chain. Make sure it has a little tiny switch that you can keep it on without squeezing. Clip in your tent and just leave it there. You always have a light for going to bed or reading.
-Put a cheap thermometer in your tent to give you an idea of the temp outside.
-Headlamp, Headlamp, Headlamp. With the price of these things even the cheapest is pretty darn good. Flashlights are so last year.
-An inflatable sleeping pad like the Big Agnes. Several have been mentioned here. They are compact and often give you a much thicker pad then the traditional Thermarest. Just make sure it is insulated as they can become very cool if not.
-Down sleeping bag. Nothing compares for comfort, breath-ability and compactness.
-For the last year I've been using the new BioLite stove. http://www.biolitestove.com/ I can't say enough good things about this thing. For longer trips it is ideal as you don't have to worry about your fuel supply. You can charge devises with it and it can give you that "camp fire" feel in places where a fire might not be best. I can get it started and boil a pot of water in only a couple of minutes longer then it would take to use a traditional canister stove.
-One of the biggest places you can save on bulk and weight are your clothes. This can be hard for some people to change. Start with the wear one wash one method. Look into synthetics, they have come a long way in comfort and they are easier to clean and dry. Think layers, shell, insulation, base. Down is one of the best insulation layers as it is very compact verses a fleece or sweatshirt.
-Dehydrated meals are great for ease and compactness. If you are eating these you only need one pot to boil water and one spoon and after riding all day there is nothing easier then boiling a pot of water, plus no mess to clean up.
-I've been using a Goal Zero solar charger with good success. The larger one is the way to go. They are a bit expensive but work well.

Of course like others have said this is all very personal and what works for one might not work for another.
 
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