Camping by Motorcycle can be a fun experience which is why AMERiders offers up these 10 Things not to forget on Your Next Moto-Camping Trip! Let’s face it there are usually only two ways people think of camping and that is loading up a backpack and hike/scramble/stumble to a backcountry campsite, or where you load up your car, truck, SUV or RV and drive to a campsite, usually in a designated campground. Although most of us don’t really think that an RV= Camping.

Motorcycle camping can be an awesome and fun experience, as a person can cross country camp on a motorcycle easily especially if they are geared up right. If it’s true solitude and the stars over your head then, load up, grab a map from the local National Forest or BLM station, and ride out. With this list we have of course left out the obvious items such as “appropriate tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc and instead we are focusing on tips and tricks that we’ve discovered (learn from our mistakes, trust us, it’s easier) and items we’ve found to be especially helpful while on your Moto-Camping Trip.

1- Ziplock Bags

Carry various sizes of Ziplock bags to hold your phone, fire starter (see #3), matches, snacks, and any other small items you don’t want to get wet. Gallon-sized bags work great to stow trash, marinate meat for dinner, and even carry extra water (don’t skimp, buy the good freezer storage kind).

 

2- Multi-tool (with corkscrew!)

This one is pretty self-explanatory: knife, screwdriver, can opener, pliers…a decent multi-tool is a must for any motorcycle road trip. One with a corkscrew for the inevitable bottle you may pick up while cruising through wine country. After all, who doesn’t love a good bottle of wine with dinner?

 

3 – Firestarter

Yes, the newspaper is a cheap firestarter, but it’s also bulky. For a few dollars, you can buy a fire starter that’s small and easy to carry, and it works way better. Such as Zippo’s Fire Starter Puck ($1.95/one puck, enough for 4 fires) or Lightnin’ Bug ($2.95/pack of 8). Zippo’s scored Campfire Starter Cedar Puck easily breaks into four pieces to start 4 fires. Blended of compressed cedar sawdust, the wax lights quickly even when it is wet. Made of 100% all-natural recycled materials. Lightnin’ Bug Nontoxic, compact fire starter nuggets are made from natural wood by-products and contain no chemical additives

4 – Nalgene bottle

Perfect for that post-ride campfire beverage.The plastic Nalgene is lighter than glass and non-breakable, plus it’s safe for short-term alcohol storage. Nalgene makes a wide range of BPA free reusable water bottles and containers to suit your personal preferences, needs and lifestyle. So whether you’re looking for a virtually indestructible water bottle for a back country adventure, or you want a clean, green way of storing something, you’ll find a Nalgene product that gets the job done.

5 – Extra tarp

Using a ground cloth under your tent, to protect the floor from sharp rocks and other hazards is a given. We also like to bring another small tarp, especially on trips to wet or muddy areas. Doing so gives you a clean, dry place to sit, put down your gear, etc. It also prevents the clothes changing dance–you know what we mean, when you’re pulling off your gear, and trying not to put a stocking foot down in the mud or dirt.

6 – Disinfecting wipes

To reduce the amount of water you need to carry or use, clean your hands and wipe down dishes with disinfecting wipes. Some people like to use Clorox wipes, but for those of us that are allergic to Clorox, there are other options.  A quick splash of water afterwards is enough to rinse off any leftover residue. Stash dirty wipes in one of your Ziplock bags to transport to the next trash bin you come across.

7 – LED headlamp

We prefer headlamps to flashlights; they free up your hands for those middle-of-the-night bathroom runs. Petzl and Black Diamond Spot are two of the most popular and high-quality brands. Most also feature dimmers and red LEDs as well. The Spot ($39.95) is a Powerful, precise, fully-featured and waterproof, the redesigned 200-lumen Spot offers Black Diamond’s convenient PowerTap Technology for on-the-fly brightness adjustments in all weather.

8 – JetBoil Flash

Back-country cooking is typically pretty simple, and modern freeze-dried meals have come a long way towards being not only edible but quite delicious. Plus prep and clean-up are easy as well. Being a minimalist on a Moto-Camping Trip is essential. Which is why the JetBoil Flash ($99.95) is the only camp stove you’ll need. It does one thing, but it does it very, very well: boil water. Two cups in just under two minutes, in fact. Perfect for meals, coffee, and hot cocoa. Best of all, it packs down into a very compact self-contained package.

9 – REI/Helinox camp chairs

One thing you don’t want to lug around on a bike is a big, heavy chair. A company called Helinox happens to make some of the best camp chairs out there, and they pack down small enough to easily fit into a pannier or duffel. For a similar chair at roughly half the price, take a look at REI’s Flex Lite Chair ($79.50). Both the Helinox and REI models are small, lightweight and hold at least 250 lbs.

10 – AMERiders luggage and gear

Ok, we may be tooting our own horn here but we know that our luggage and gear are great for packing all this great stuff up in for your Moto-Camping Trip. We have a large selection of luggage items for your bike. Not only that we have a ton of leather and textile riding gear, helmets, and other protective wear that is useful for camping as well.

So, when your heading out to Sturgis which is coming up in a couple weeks or out for vacation/sight seeing trip ensure that you have these items or at least some of them with you as they can come in very handy.

And as always….

~Live Free Ride Hard~

 

 

 

 

~AMERiders

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Let AMERiders help you gear up for your next Moto-camping Trip.

And as always don’t forget to send us your stories, pictures and events for posting to GALLERY.AMERIDERS @ GMAIL.COM  and we will post them for you. The more people that know about your event the better and we are offering free advertising. We would also love to hear about your rides and love to see those bikes so send those stories and pictures.

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