OP
OP
You won't need to do that with the Dry-Spec bag. The grab rails will work just fine.
Half Dome 4 Tent
- Thread starter Phil Tarman
- Start date
OP
OP
Eldon, the Big Agnes pad is an integral part of the Big Agnes sleeping bag. I've got the Buffalo Park bag. Like all Big Agnes bags, it's just got insulation on the top and sides. The pad fits into the bottom of the bag. Then it just sits there. I haven't had any trouble staying on the cot with it.
I need to rethink the whole topic of motorcycle camping. I told myself that when I retired from the Army, I was done camping. But I have started planning my real retirement. I plan on doing a fair amount of traveling. I plan on doing Route 66 for a warmup, then the Four Corners Run. And it will be just too expensive to spend each night in a motel. I suspect that I will be using this thread for my guidelines. Why reinvent the wheel?
LOL Rick, I know I could have bouoght a second new wing in )05 for the money i spent on four corners loop arround th usa between motels, and staying with friends , as i hosted many meales for my good friends who took me in and provided a nice bed etc for me as we recountred our good times togather oner the military years and post retirement tales. I am sure if i ahd camped and ate with one decent meal per day I could have cut my expenses by 70 %.
John, I find bike camping a interesting situation, I am RET USAF and didn't spend very much time camping for the USAF, b ut I did spend 30 days doing a full tour of europe in 1959, well as it was possible then, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy France , Belgium, and luxumberg, all for a cost of about $120.00 hen from 1972 when my oldest son got into scouting I got involved and camped along the Rhien river on two differnt occasions hking and back packing for 50 miles and continued camping in Texas after returning to USA. Then after retirement in 79 I had to go to work for a living, and didn't camp again until 87 or 88 and that was packing into the Hells Canyon Wilderness where muls were doin the work of getting us from trail head to our neat little place with a good Spring about 7-10 miles from teh trail head, I gave up on that in 91 or 92 and got back into motorcyc les touingand realizzed how much easier it is to maintain a fleet of motorcycles compared to dealing with 6 to 10 mules and horses and thier maintainance.
You can use the knowledge the army provided you with and be way ahead of a lot of us. I enjoy the group camps , althjough I am not totally relaxed with remote camping in semi remote parks etc where y ou can encounter teh two legged vultures who may think you are easy pickings if you are alone although I usuraly have little friends to even out those odds. Hope to see y ou in Co, or S.D this summer,
Eldon
John, I find bike camping a interesting situation, I am RET USAF and didn't spend very much time camping for the USAF, b ut I did spend 30 days doing a full tour of europe in 1959, well as it was possible then, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy France , Belgium, and luxumberg, all for a cost of about $120.00 hen from 1972 when my oldest son got into scouting I got involved and camped along the Rhien river on two differnt occasions hking and back packing for 50 miles and continued camping in Texas after returning to USA. Then after retirement in 79 I had to go to work for a living, and didn't camp again until 87 or 88 and that was packing into the Hells Canyon Wilderness where muls were doin the work of getting us from trail head to our neat little place with a good Spring about 7-10 miles from teh trail head, I gave up on that in 91 or 92 and got back into motorcyc les touingand realizzed how much easier it is to maintain a fleet of motorcycles compared to dealing with 6 to 10 mules and horses and thier maintainance.
You can use the knowledge the army provided you with and be way ahead of a lot of us. I enjoy the group camps , althjough I am not totally relaxed with remote camping in semi remote parks etc where y ou can encounter teh two legged vultures who may think you are easy pickings if you are alone although I usuraly have little friends to even out those odds. Hope to see y ou in Co, or S.D this summer,
Eldon
You may also want to follow this thread, Camping The Basics What Do I Need, as it has a lot more info...
I also had enough of 'camping' while in the Army. It has been almost 20 years since I retired and I slept on the ground for the first time last year. Of course, not quite the same since I have an air bed under me
It is nice to camp when the weather is good, then, when the weather is bad I can justify the extra expense of a motel room. I am also a gadget freak so things like camp stoves and electronic stuff make camping not as painful as it used to be.Look at the link above and pick your poison. I got cheap gear and it is working well for me. The best thing I got was the large lids. Makes packing so much easier.
Wayne, read it. But thanks.
Eldon, there's a big difference. I was in an ordnance (maintenance) unit. Weight and bulk were not a problem. And I will not need to maintain a firewatch. In January 1986, we had a week long field exercise in the woods behind Landstuhl, Germany. The highest the temperature reached was 15 F. Lowest was below 0 F. During one of the nights, one of our tents caught fire and burned. That cold, I will not be on the road on a motorcycle.
Eldon, there's a big difference. I was in an ordnance (maintenance) unit. Weight and bulk were not a problem. And I will not need to maintain a firewatch. In January 1986, we had a week long field exercise in the woods behind Landstuhl, Germany. The highest the temperature reached was 15 F. Lowest was below 0 F. During one of the nights, one of our tents caught fire and burned. That cold, I will not be on the road on a motorcycle.
junglejim
Site Supporter
Eldon, I can relate to that. I packed for the USFS in Idaho (then the Idaho Primitive Area) in about 1966. One saddle horse and about 6-8 mules and/or horses to pack supplies and tools in. First thing I noticed is that a motorcycle is much easier to catch in the morning. Then it got worse from there. I never got kicked by a motorcycle. And I never had a pack shift on a motorcycle, but I did on the animals. However I can shoe a horse quicker and cheaper than putting new tires on a motorcycle. It was a wonderful summer (mostly) and a great experience. I'm sure you have a few stories to share at the ralley.
Sorry, this doesn't have much to do with Half Dome tents.
Gollly Jim you mean to say you never rode any of milwaukies finest like 62-64 panheads with kick startedr only , or a fifty's vintage single of 500 or 600 cc's, Those all would kick about a s hard as a mule if you were not careful and unlike a mule you could beat them hard with a fair sized stick and never get thier attention!
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LOL John,
I remember the German winters, I managed to go TDY to Moracco from Jan till end of May in 58 so I misse the worst of that one,burt I was ther for all of 58 into 59 win ter and my R-50 BMW was my sol means of transportation Yiung ad dumb not to mention bull headed I rode just because I had to show my shop and branch chief Jr and senior NCO that I was a rugged tough guy and I could ride any place any time weather be darned!
During the last 1/2 of my 71-75 tour at Spangdahlem I was working on Snow removal equiptment one winter, I could lay in bed in housing and count the runway sweepers as they came arround the end of the runway by housing I would count them as they came arround as each had its own particular sound and when I would notice that only three of them were running I would get up and make some coffed and be waiting for my friends the snow removal guys to come to get me and carry me to our maitenance shop where I got to spend the rest of the night working on them.
I guess I amgetting soft now, it was 27 here onnew years dy and I rode 350 miles, I did cheat though, i plugged in my gerbings and dialed up the rehostats and it was a great days ride
I remember the German winters, I managed to go TDY to Moracco from Jan till end of May in 58 so I misse the worst of that one,burt I was ther for all of 58 into 59 win ter and my R-50 BMW was my sol means of transportation Yiung ad dumb not to mention bull headed I rode just because I had to show my shop and branch chief Jr and senior NCO that I was a rugged tough guy and I could ride any place any time weather be darned!
During the last 1/2 of my 71-75 tour at Spangdahlem I was working on Snow removal equiptment one winter, I could lay in bed in housing and count the runway sweepers as they came arround the end of the runway by housing I would count them as they came arround as each had its own particular sound and when I would notice that only three of them were running I would get up and make some coffed and be waiting for my friends the snow removal guys to come to get me and carry me to our maitenance shop where I got to spend the rest of the night working on them.
I guess I amgetting soft now, it was 27 here onnew years dy and I rode 350 miles, I did cheat though, i plugged in my gerbings and dialed up the rehostats and it was a great days ride
John,
I do remember the German winters, I only saw the first part of one up till the first of the year in 58, then went on a nice TDY to Moracco that lasted until end of May. the following one was misserable , but my 57 R-50 and I made it to & from town most every day rain shine snow or sleet. LOL young & dumb was my middle name at that time, that was at Bitburg,
then 71-75 years the first two were at Rhein Main, and the second two were at Spangdahlem, and teh 74 winter I was workking heavy equiptmet maint and I got my fill of plows and runway sweepers breaking down by midnight just so I could go to work and spend from then until o800 trying to get them running again. I finaly came up witha brain storm , we started a nite shift with two of us and it spread aroun so our turns came up every fourth week. tehn it wasn't so bad.
eldon
I do remember the German winters, I only saw the first part of one up till the first of the year in 58, then went on a nice TDY to Moracco that lasted until end of May. the following one was misserable , but my 57 R-50 and I made it to & from town most every day rain shine snow or sleet. LOL young & dumb was my middle name at that time, that was at Bitburg,
then 71-75 years the first two were at Rhein Main, and the second two were at Spangdahlem, and teh 74 winter I was workking heavy equiptmet maint and I got my fill of plows and runway sweepers breaking down by midnight just so I could go to work and spend from then until o800 trying to get them running again. I finaly came up witha brain storm , we started a nite shift with two of us and it spread aroun so our turns came up every fourth week. tehn it wasn't so bad.
eldon
Mellow
Admin
Phil - I don't even use the smaller straps to attach the small bag to the big bag - I simply use the handle for the big bag to strap the smaller one and that allows me to pack/unpack pretty fast without messing with more straps. The velcro is more than adequate to hold it.
Clay, the tie-down system on the Dry-Spec bags is a great design, extremely versatile and quite secure. The grab rails work great to hold the bags. They haven't moved any -- rough roads, high winds (combined with high speeds
There's a strap that has a female buckle on one end and a loop on the other. You put four of those on the grab rails. Then there are other straps that have a small plastic rectangle on the end opposite of the male end of the buckle. That little rectangle goes through a strap on the bottom bag and then you tighten the buckle strap to hold the bag firmly.
Sorry I don't have better pictures of the strap arrangement, but don't worry about them going anywhere.
OP
OP
Joe, I remember you telling me that. I'll give it a try.
Mellow
Admin
Couldn't remember if I did... darn memory, supposed to the the 1st.... ah.... something...
Joe can one get that bag setup in bright yellow? Helps with the visibility of the bike.
Mellow
Admin
Nope, it's been mentioned to Twisted Throttle before so maybe in the future.
No. There's, no, that's wrong; there are three things that start to go when you get old: first, your eye sight; second, your hearing; and third, ... I forget.
OK. Back to the topic:
I remember looking at the ads and thinking, "D--m, those bags are expensive!" Then I looked more closely and I realized that they are a set. Still, they are a little more pricey than average, but this looks like an instance where you do get what you pay for.
I saw the picture you posted of your loaded bike. It looks a lot neater than some of the other packed bikes I have seen here.
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Mellow
Admin
There are definitely cheaper waterproof bags out there that will do just as good of a job of keeping your gear dry.
I would say if you are on a budget - spend the most money on your air mattress - then your sleeping bag - then your tent... those are the 3 most important items in that order for a tent camper IMO.. After all that, then you can spend as much as you like on bags and other stuff... These are very nice well-made and durable bags but lower on the priority list for sure.
I would say if you are on a budget - spend the most money on your air mattress - then your sleeping bag - then your tent... those are the 3 most important items in that order for a tent camper IMO.. After all that, then you can spend as much as you like on bags and other stuff... These are very nice well-made and durable bags but lower on the priority list for sure.
I spent less on my air bed than any of my other gear. Packs to 7" dia and about 12" long. $29.95 with air pump.
I don't see any reason to get super light or super small (and super expensive) backpacking stuff for camping on a motorcycle. I don't camp when it is below freezing (not below 40 if I can help it) so my sleeping bag is rated for 30deg. $39.95 at Costco (packs to 10"x12" in a compression bag). Tent was a Kelty 4 person, on sale for $80.
One reason I went cheap was because I did not know if I could sleep in a tent again. So my goal was to spend less than $200 on the basic stuff (two nights in a hotel). Now that I know I can handle it I might upgrade my sleeping bag. But, I love the tent and air bed so will keep those.
I don't see any reason to get super light or super small (and super expensive) backpacking stuff for camping on a motorcycle. I don't camp when it is below freezing (not below 40 if I can help it) so my sleeping bag is rated for 30deg. $39.95 at Costco (packs to 10"x12" in a compression bag). Tent was a Kelty 4 person, on sale for $80.
One reason I went cheap was because I did not know if I could sleep in a tent again. So my goal was to spend less than $200 on the basic stuff (two nights in a hotel). Now that I know I can handle it I might upgrade my sleeping bag. But, I love the tent and air bed so will keep those.
Nicole
Guest
I have also opted for a change in tents this year. I down graded though. I got a 25 dollar tent from walmart this time. it is a lot smaller to pack and a hundred times easier to put up than the tent I had last year. The tent really only has room for one person when motorcycle camping, but it really is just me using it, so its all good.