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Two-up Tent Camping

17K views 46 replies 18 participants last post by  RonaldSPatterson 
#1 ·
All, there is a tremendous amount of Youtube videos about Motorcycle Tent Camping but not too many when you are two-up. I would like to see photos of your camp sites and photos of your bikes in process and finished packing, Especially if you ride two-up.

No trailer pics or Best Western pics :grin, please.

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
you will get to meet some of us nice guys ...:devil....:laughing
Haven't done it but a compact tent at Walmart's , Cabela or Gander Mountain and some good bungee straps would be the first thing I would start with . Check out Leatherup.com for backpacks to strap on your bike good quality and good price

Welcome to the Forum
 
#18 ·
Holy Sh...Shmokes PHY HOWE, that is a serious packing job on the RK Custom. Congratulations, where there is a will, there is a way. Thanks for the pics, great job, stay safe with that arrangement.
 
#4 ·
I usually ride solo , I use to bring two small tents when I went to Sturgis , one to hold all of my clothes and riding gear and cooler, the other one to sleep in.

Over the years I discovered I didn't need half of the stuff that I was bringing every year, now I only bring one tent on top of the left saddlebag holding most of my clothes, I keep my raingear and tools in the right saddlebag and dirty clothes. I put the tent into a lawn chair bag , it's waterproof , heavy duty and has a great strap, I put the strap up thru the passenger hand rails and run a bungee thru the loop of the strap, attaching the hooks to the bottom rail of the saddle bag guards, pulling the tent in closer to the bike.

My bedroll is in a drybag I use it as a backrest and it can be held on the lap of my occasional passenger. In the Tourpak I keep refreshments, snacks, flashlight, maps, gloves , chaps , and anything else that needs to be handy. Years ago I carried a Swiss stove and mess kit, but I found it easier to eat in a restaurant or pick up a 6 pack and a pizza or a bucket of chicken and bring it back to the campsite.
 

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#5 ·
Done it quite a bit. $18 duffle with rollers for rigidness tent for 4. Air mattress, bed roll, stove, coffee food, chairs, shade tarp, clothes etc. Can put behind me as a back rest or on the luggage rack. Think about what you can pack for backpacking for 2. Can travel indefinitely like this.
 

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#8 ·
Colorado

Great thread. I look forward to the other responses.

I really like camping so each year a bunch of us meet to ride bikes and camp. The two pictures are from last year in Colorado, the first picture is near Conifer and the second is in Estes Park. My bike is the one on the left. I packed the two side bags, tour pack, a bag where a passenger would sit and on top of the tour pack was a dry bag (yellow) with my camping equipment. If you think through what you need you can pack a lot.

This year we are riding to Wyoming in August for two weeks. But, this year I am pulling my tag a long trailer.

Hope this helps.
Clint
 

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#20 ·
Great thread. I look forward to the other responses.

I really like camping so each year a bunch of us meet to ride bikes and camp. The two pictures are from last year in Colorado, the first picture is near Conifer and the second is in Estes Park. My bike is the one on the left. I packed the two side bags, tour pack, a bag where a passenger would sit and on top of the tour pack was a dry bag (yellow) with my camping equipment. If you think through what you need you can pack a lot.

This year we are riding to Wyoming in August for two weeks. But, this year I am pulling my tag a long trailer.

Hope this helps.
Clint
StLouis, thanks for the pictures. I have a SE tourpak on my SG so I will definitely put a large dry bag on top. Something I read about and am considering is a way to attach a packed tent under my tourpak. Possibly a large diameter piece of PVC attached to the tourpak support bracket above the tail light and license plate, where the tent slides in and out. ALL: Heard or seen anything like this? Pictures?
 

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#21 ·
Rob, Always appreciate the input but I anticipated the "Hotel" reply in my initial post as it always seems to get inserted in the camping strings. Oh well campers, I tried.
 
#12 ·
I've done a lot of motorcycle camping, sometimes for a month or more at a time. But I've found it hard to do it 2 up. I don't have a big dresser, just a Softail. Although I do have leather saddle bags and a huge leather bag I can tie to the back of the sissy bar. But I just find that with camping gear, food, sleeping bags, and clothes for two people, plus the extra person on the seat there just isn't enough room. It makes the bike feel overloaded like that too. (And it is. One time loaded up like that I hit a bump and tore out the eye on the end of one of my shock rods.) I've tried going minimalist with just a couple of sleeping bags and a box of Pop Tarts, but that didn't really go over too well with the female type passenger. I've done it, but it hasn't been all that comfortable and I've never wanted to try it for more than a few days at a time.
 
#17 ·
Holy Sh...Shmokes PHY HOWE, that is a serious packing job on the RK Custom. Congratulations, where there is a will, there is a way. Thanks for the pics, great job, stay safe with that arrangement.
 
#22 ·
I've been trying to put a little trailer together just for the camping, then I could add a easy up, small chain saw, full size chairs, and a regular cooler.

It's not as bad as it looks I weigh out at 1100 pounds loaded. Some adventure riders asked me where the microwave was though.
 
#25 ·
Below is a link to a pic of my former '09 loaded up for a spring camping trip with the club I use to ride with. It was taken in 2014. Was 2 up with the wife. Those luggage racks will hold alot more than the 10lbs they are rated for. Swapped the stock bags out for a set of black hard bags I had to get a little more room.

https://goo.gl/photos/KRvvzqWHyKtk1Fyz9
 
#27 ·
Now that is an amazing packing job. I have a luggage rack configuration and a 2007 SE tourpak configuration. I am beginning to think the luggage rack with the TBAG and associated dry bags might prove to be more efficient. I will have to relocate the bag that is on the back seat in this picture.
 

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#31 ·
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#34 ·
Tent Storage on Bike

As far as a tent holder, I was picturing something like this. A larger diameter PVC pipe that would be attached to the hardware of the TourPak support frame. Cap one end of the pipe and screw-off cap on other end. With the correct tent/pipe size combination I could slide the tent package in for travel. I had read something like this but not seen anything yet. I am away from my bike right now so I can do any hands-on testing to see how feasible this is. I know I can buy a very small tent but planning maybe a 3-4 person tent or maybe the Catoma tents that have integrated poles and popup very quickly but dont pack down very tight. Regardless, the pipe setup could be used for a number of different storage needs.

You guys heard of or seen anything like this? If not, I better hurry and put a patent :grin on it and sell it to Revzilla.
 

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#40 ·
Guys, Me and Roxanne did a 7 day trip, tent camping off of our Harley Street Glide. Testing out our Two-Up setup, we went to the Durango, CO/Four Corners area. We camped in Green River, UT, Durango, CO and Page, AZ. Posting a few pictures of how we packed and our camp sites.

I will try to follow-up with a trip report in the trip section in the coming days. Relatively pleased with the packing setup and the riding characteristics all things considered. Never easy to ride two-up with all of the camping gear and riding gear.
 

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#42 ·
I am adding a couple of pics of the camping gear layout and on the bike on the way to Monument Valley. I plan to make a short video of gear and how it is packed and tied down to the bike. All kinds of videos available on Youtube for solo camping off of a bike but not much on two-up.
 

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