timgray Posted February 27, 2009 Share #1 Posted February 27, 2009 I was wondering how much gear can you safely pack on a bike and riding 2 up to camp with? My tent and cooking kit is small but would already overload the trunk and rack capacity. I figure I can strap the sleeping bags and pads to the sides to the saddlebags but cant figure out where to carry everything else. Honestly our bikes are big, but they dont have a lot of storage room. I was thinking of getting a giant tank bag to strap to my tank rack... anyone have any suggestions? I am getting a hitch made but with the wife losing her job buying the camper trailer is no longer an option... has anyone sucessfully camped for two on a weekend with just what you load on the bike? how to you keep from making the bike even more top heavy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreezyRider Posted February 27, 2009 Share #2 Posted February 27, 2009 Since you already have a hitch, how about buying or making one of the cooler racks that fit into your hitch? Don't have to license it, fairly inexpensive, keeps the added weight down low (but be aware that the weight all goes on the rear), and can carry a large volume of gear. Just be sure that your lights and license plates are still visible after loading it up. May have to mount some lighting on the rack itself. This is a pretty cheap way to add space. I have one that I use on my Wing when I'm only going be traveling for 4 days or so. If a week or more I usually pull my trailer (which I made myself for a grand total of $150). Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eck Posted February 27, 2009 Share #3 Posted February 27, 2009 If you are only going camping for the weekend, you can always box up and drop ship your camping stuff directly to the camp ground. It will be there when you arrive. Box it back up and have UPS pick it up and ship it back to your place.. Might cost a little more than what you want, but you will be riding SAFER then you would be if yo packed everything on your bike and not know the handling of it with 2 up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini-muffin Posted February 27, 2009 Share #4 Posted February 27, 2009 Something like this would work. The hubby made it up for something else but it works great for added carrying room on the bike. Haven't tried camping with it, but we did go for a weekend trip carrying extra stuff with us because we had the rack. Margaret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iowawegian Posted February 27, 2009 Share #5 Posted February 27, 2009 Hubby bought this at Fleet Farm. If I remember right it ran about $250.00. He already had the lights. He also welded a steel plate on the bottom to give it more strength. We have a 2 man tent that rides underneath my leg that sits on the side bag. Sleeping bags, queen size air mattress and our clothes in duffel's all fit into the back. Works really well for us and he doesn't have to pull a trailer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5bikes Posted February 27, 2009 Share #6 Posted February 27, 2009 Make everything have more than 1 use. Carry ONLY what is absolutely necessary. Each item must be small and light weight. Clothes have to be worn more than 1 day. We stayed near enough to towns so we could eat out and not carry food and utensils, or ate before we got to the campground. We sat on our pillows on the bike. Sleeping bags and our 1" foam mattresses rolled up small, attached to the saddlebags. Eventually we slowly transitioned to moteling every 2nd-3rd night go get a soft bed, good night's sleep, quiet time and a good shower. I said to my spouse "this is your storage space and no more" (1 saddle bag or the trunk), today I get no argument on trips. 7 P's = Proper prior planning prevents "P---" poor performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted February 27, 2009 Share #7 Posted February 27, 2009 Not sure if this is an option....but may give you an idea or 2. Keith http://www.ridetek.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarges46 Posted February 27, 2009 Share #8 Posted February 27, 2009 I did hear you about the wife losing her job....but why not buy one of those small harbour freight trailers to haul your stuff around in. They are very cheap and seem to pull good from the reports others have submitted. Having a small cargo trailer will sure make your camping life much nicer not to mention safer without a overloaded bike. Even the piggybacker trailer is very reasonable and sharp for the money. ( I have the xl one). If it was just you riding we could send you to e-fishin-c for tips on how to get everything from fishing poles to tents strapped or hung on to the bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerviperus Posted February 27, 2009 Share #9 Posted February 27, 2009 Even the piggybacker trailer is very reasonable and sharp for the money. ( I have the xl one).I was thinking the same thing. I look for my dad to get one of those at some point... if he finds a job that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynodon Posted February 27, 2009 Share #10 Posted February 27, 2009 If you are just going for the weekend, it should not be a problem. If you can afford to eat out, then don't pack cooking utensils. A Boy Scout type cooking kit takes up almost no room though, Most camping stores should have something like that. A small flexible cooler will hold enough for a snack on the way, and dinner/breakfast, then go shopping for the next day? My wife and I camped for almost two weeks on two bikes about 20 years ago, but we didn't have any hard luggage, just soft bags and racks on the back. Small two person tent, minimal cooking stuff, and we did fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBoyinMS Posted February 27, 2009 Share #11 Posted February 27, 2009 It may be a good time to upgrade to a rear car tire with its 25% higher load capacity. I like the extra safety factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bummer Posted February 27, 2009 Share #12 Posted February 27, 2009 has anyone sucessfully camped for two on a weekend with just what you load on the bike? how to you keep from making the bike even more top heavy?Sure have. Two full weeks at a time, no problem, on an '85 First Gen, anyway. These days I have an '06 and we do our camping in hotels. I believe the stuff'd fit on a Second. Mind you I'm not talking about going camping on the bike, but going riding and camping at night in lieu of a hotel. We use a Venture Line trunk bag from the First Gen. It fits on the Second Gen rack also. I have a tank bag too, but don't want to use it on the Second. It just doesn't fit the same. We got a small two person dome tent aimed at the backpacking market (stressing compactness and lightness), and an air mattress that fit inside with about a foot gap between the side of the mattress and the door, no gaps at the ends (Irene thinks it was a full). An air pump that plugged into the power port/cigarette lighter. Two rectangular down sleeping bags that zipped together. A fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and two pillow cases. Jackets get stuffed inside for pillows. Get the metal nail type tent stakes and take only as many as required. Some of the tents can have loops for as many as eleven stakes when four for the tent and a couple extra for a fancy rain fly will do just fine. Put the mattress in the bottom of the side bag without the toolkit. Clothes for the trip consist of a pair of kevlar lined jeans for riding, an pair of normal jeans in a side bag for in the evening for each of us. Kevlar riding shirts. A couple of t-shirts and underwear, and a fairly nice shirt each. Wash 'em as needed. Travel sized toiletries in zip lock bags - his and hers. Large zip lock bags to keep stuff in. Cheap flipflops for trudging to the toilet/shower area. Two modest sized towels - now is not the time for ultra large towels. Just enough to dry off after a shower. We tried backpacking cooking gear but it was more hassle than it was worth. Break camp first thing in the morning and head out to a Hardees (or whomever you like) for coffee and breakfast, then hit the road. Eat dinner before you camp. Even with what I've listed stowed on the bike we had more room. We put that stuff in the bike trunk and bags, and use the trunk bag for rain suits and a little soft cooler for drinks. I always have a full sized camera as well. Plus there's room to collect t-shirts and such, just ship them, and stuff you aren't actually using, back now and then. Now, if you're into the whole camping end of it rather than the riding part, well, maybe a trailer is the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiteSquid Posted February 27, 2009 Share #13 Posted February 27, 2009 search the websites that are dedicated to ultra light camping. There are a LOT of great ides on making your gear as small and as light a possible. That, or camp like I do........ at Motel6 READ the max load rating in the owners manual and DON'T exceed it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted February 27, 2009 Share #14 Posted February 27, 2009 Years ago when I had my Honda 750-4, wife & I loaded up with all the camping gear and went for a 4 day camping trip from Kamloops, BC to Jasper, AB. Strapped to the "sissy bar" was our backpack which held clothes, rolled up air mattresses, plates, utensils, some food items, propane bottle, flashlight, matches, etc ... Bungied on top of that was our tent and tarp. Tied to the back of it was an axe and fishing rod. Bungied to the top of the saddle bags was our sleeping bags and of course, we had various other items inside the bags. Somewhere in all of that we had a 2 burner Coleman camp stove, fry-pan, pot, metal cups... almost everything we'd need except perishable food ... LOL To this day I wish I could pack that good again...I think I packed and re-packed that sukkah 4 or 5 times before I got it all on. Oh yeah... and I also had 2 of those mini-foldup chairs...they're just big enuf to sit on. It was surely a sight to see LOL Guess If a guy could do that on a Honda 750, he should be able to do the same on an RSV ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timgray Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share #15 Posted February 27, 2009 Years ago when I had my Honda 750-4, wife & I loaded up with all the camping gear and went for a 4 day camping trip.... I just forewareded all that to a buddy of mine. I am helping him refurbish a barn find of one of those bikes. Less than 2800 miles on it and it looks like new. Tires all rotted off, carbs have an inch of varnish in them and 3 gallons of what used to be gas in it. All the rubber parts on the engine needs replacing... Anyways, he was complaining that he wont be able to camp with us, this will let him know he can carry all that.!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted February 27, 2009 Share #16 Posted February 27, 2009 Just my I would invest in a small trailer to pull behind the bike. Keep your equipment in there, I have loaded many a Venture up and it's just not feasable to try to get all that stuff on it. As mentioned the Piggy Backer can be purchased for about the $650 mark and you dont have to worry about being overloaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mother Posted February 27, 2009 Share #17 Posted February 27, 2009 Something like this would work. The hubby made it up for something else but it works great for added carrying room on the bike. Haven't tried camping with it, but we did go for a weekend trip carrying extra stuff with us because we had the rack. Margaret but how does Jeff keep the muffins from falling off that rack. anyway we do go camping on our bike, 4 man pop up tent that i bungie on to the rear trunk rack, an inflatable queen size air mattress and small air pump that runs on a couple of d cells, a couple of sheets, a warm flannel blanket, a soft cooler bag. most campgrounds sell ice, we do a sudz stop before we get to the camp. you can also pick up snacks and firewood at the camp store. the tent on the trunk box does make the bike even more top heavy, so i dont do any slow sharp manouvers. cheers, Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaggletooth Posted February 27, 2009 Share #18 Posted February 27, 2009 If at all possible......avoid having a woman help you pack the bike. Don't get me wrong, women can pack like no bodies business, but most of them just don't quit until they have EVERYTHING that THEY want to take along. And I mean everything! Dead Man Riding when the girls get ahold of me. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted February 28, 2009 Share #19 Posted February 28, 2009 I have a Piggybacker XL that should be here on Monday. To give you an idea to get delivered to my town all duty,tax's ,exchange etc It's going to be just under $2000. The exchange on the Cdn vs US dollar is not so good right now. When I was talking to them they had my freight quote mixed up with someone from Saskatchewan and it was almost double mine...mine was $249 US. If anyone is close to the border they will ship in the US for $79 I believe. Keith Tim Here is a pic of me loading my 77 Honda 750 (still have it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbmin Posted February 28, 2009 Share #20 Posted February 28, 2009 Ashamed to admit it some times but my wife and I and her parents use to go for two weeks at a time, camping out each night. We rode a Suzuki GT 750 (the old water buffalo). I built a rack on each side of the bike to carry a suitcase for each of us. On top of each I strapped a duffle bag for tent, sleeping bags, etc. On the rear rack I had a gas grill and cooking pans, etc. We were overloaded with just the two of us not counting all this gear, but believe it or not, we would average about 4500 miles each trip and never had a problem. Now we ride a '07 Venture, pull a trailer, and stay in motels and still don't have enough room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dray Posted February 28, 2009 Share #21 Posted February 28, 2009 check out there little trailer they had one on ebay two days ago for a buy it now and it was about the same as the piggybacker http://fibertechservicesinc.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Pad Posted February 28, 2009 Share #22 Posted February 28, 2009 the trailer in the last post is a matrix trailer. I have one. www.matrixmfg.com I bought mine about 3 years ago, and towed well over 25,000 miles with it. 24 cu ft. mine is the wifes suitcase. also doubles up as a nice sleigh, for the Christmas events:hurts: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tufftom4 Posted February 28, 2009 Share #23 Posted February 28, 2009 I have never been on a ride camping with 2 people on a bike but have been many miles and weeks on end motorcycle camping and it all depends on the person and what they need to camp with. I tend to camp with alot for 1 person and never used anything but my bike. Here is my last trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway and I always camp out on every trip I am not a wuus and do the motel or trailer my bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted February 28, 2009 Share #24 Posted February 28, 2009 Tim, Here's Piggy Backers website http://piggybacker.stehltow.com/ Not trying to sell you on a trailer but I will say that it's way safer than trying to load up a Venture for 2 people for camping on a long trip. Depending upon where your going you will need all your clothing for different weather situations. I have been in below freezing out west in August, so be mindful when your thinking about what your taking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IH Truck Guy Posted February 28, 2009 Share #25 Posted February 28, 2009 Tim, Here's Piggy Backers website http://piggybacker.stehltow.com/ Not trying to sell you on a trailer but I will say that it's way safer than trying to load up a Venture for 2 people for camping on a long trip. Depending upon where your going you will need all your clothing for different weather situations. I have been in below freezing out west in August, so be mindful when your thinking about what your taking. Soooooooooooo,buddy,are you saying that the Clampett's weren't riding safe when we came to Kitchener.....:crackup:Come on now,that stuff on the rack was only 3 feet taller then Shari's head... It does make a BIG difference in the way the bike handles.... And that's why I'm going the trailer route...10-4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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