How do you pack your tent?

How do you pack your tent on your bike?

Do you pack it in the bag it came in....or another way?

Melissa said:

How do you pack your tent on your bike?

Do you pack it in the bag it came in....or another way?

Click to expand...

I wrap my sleeping bag underpad, you know, those blue or gray foam pads, around my tent bag. They are then slipped into a coated waterproof stuff sac. I also stuff my sleeping bag within its bag into the same stuff sac.

The end product is then tied to my rear rack. One tightly wrapped item is less likely to move and shift than a series of them.

Melissa said:

How do you pack your tent on your bike?

Do you pack it in the bag it came in....or another way?

Click to expand...

I wait until it's dry and then jam the thing into the stuff sack it came in, fly first, tent second, footprint last. FWIW, we have a Mountain Hardwear Skyview 3. Lately, I've been carrying the poles separately so I can fit the tent it in my Mag's Bag. By carrying the poles in their own sleeve, I can fit the tent and two sleeping bags in the bag on my back seat. Cooking stuff fits in there too, along with the Kermit chairs on top.

Surprisingly, it doesn't look like the Beverly Hillbillies coming down the road.

My hubby carries the tent in his giant U-bag. I carry the mattress & pillows in a dry bag.

Helen 2 Wheels tent sack. Works great

Tent Packing

I pack mine in the hotel room.

rules on packing

these two rules on packing are steadfast:

1) Don't pack the wet stuff with the dry stuff

2) pack the wet stuff in something that breathes

Most manufacturer tent bags breathe, as does Helen2Wheels.

I pack my outer ground cloth and tent in the bag the tent came in.
I pack my thermorest, pillow, sleeping bag and inner ground cloth in a Helen2Wheels dry bag.

MarkF

Re: Re: How do you pack your tent?

Global Rider said:

I wrap my sleeping bag underpad, you know, those blue or gray foam pads, around my tent bag.

Click to expand...

I guess I forgot to mention why.

Any material (tent or bag) between your tent poles and the rear rack will wear through due to vibration if packed tightly against it. This from experience...luckily not the tent.

Re: Re: Re: How do you pack your tent?

Global Rider said:

I guess I forgot to mention why.

Any material (tent or bag) between your tent poles and the rear rack will wear through due to vibration if packed tightly against it. This from experience...luckily not the tent.

Click to expand...

This is one of the reasons I pack the poles in a separate bag. No accidental tearing of either the tent or the bag.

And, while I'm at it, I pack my tent in an H2W bag. Just stuffed in the bag, no folding or rolling.

I've had very good results with the Helen Two Wheels cordura bag: I stuff the fly in first, then then the poles in their original heavy plastic protective bag, then the tent. Last in is the ground sheet, and finally, the tent peg hammer. The whole thing goes on the rear rack if its a weekender or into the Mag's Bags U-Pack if I'm in "expedition mode". Had the same tent since `96 and the H2W setup since spring, `97 with no problems.

mully

Tent poles and stakes get stowed in their own sack. The tent and rain fly are then wrapped around poles/stakes and stuffed into the original sack (North Face Perregrin tent). My sleeping bag and Thermarest are packed in a dry bag as recommended on the Helen 2 Wheels web site (Thermarest "unwound against the outside and sleeping bag stuffed in the "hollow" core).

For those of you who have not read through the Helen2Wheels, "how to pack your stuff on a bike and arrive with all of it intact and wet or dry depending on what it should be" instructions, here's a link... http://www.helen2wheels.com/products/

It really works!

Packing the tent

I use the lightweight bag the tent came in. I usually have to pack wet anyway (early AM dew in New England.)
This has always been a burning question to me so far... why would I buy an aftermarket, heavier canvas type sack
to roll a tent into when I already have the lightweight nylon sleeve it came in to use?
Oh, and mine is a Moss, if it makes a difference. Near as I can tell, the only loss is the nifty sewn-in nylon strap guides.
I find the nylon tie-downs I use secure the soft bag to my tail rack very adequately, and I don't think any appreciable drying
is going on in the tightly rolled mass as I travel during the day, regardless.
Anyone?

2 H2W bags, one for the poles the other for the tent, that gets strapped between me and the Givi, which I have a rack on top of, the always wet ground cloth gets folded on the rack and my collapsable cooler on top.
But Irene and Melissa know all this already, seen it for years.

I bought a large drybag from REI, the one with the sewn-in handle halfway up the side, and secure it to the bike with straps, looping from the rear handle, through the bag handle, to the front luggage mount. I also added two bungees on top of the straps to be on the paranoid safe side.

I pack it by first putting in the tent pole bag (opposite the handle), then the thermarest, then the tent (original stuffsack, albeit much looser due to the absence of the pole bag), then the sleeping bag all the way to the bottom, leaving room for my thermarest pillow & dirty clothes bag (and whatever else.) I usually also put my microfiber towel over the top secured by the bungees - amazing how fast that thing dries out like that!

I have a TBag that came with a cylinder-shaped top bag. I'm able to fit my REI Taj 3 tent in that - poles & all. Then I just strap it to the top of the TBag with the included straps.

I like getting an early start, which means packing the tent wet even when it doesn't rain.

My usual tent is 12 years old, made before they had those fancy fitted ground sheets, so I made my own out of that thick painters drop cloth. (Tip: I rolled the edges and taped them, which helps keep water beneath the sheet should you have the misfortune to camp in a flood!)

So when morning comes, I get out of the tent, remove the poles (which have their own perfect little spot in my Jesse bags...), fold the tent, groundcloth andn rainfly all at one time, lengthwise into thirds, roll it up and stuff it into the bag that it came with. The plastic ground sheet serves to keep the wet tent to itself... and I can pack dry stuff on top of it (in their own seal bag).

Then, when reaching my destination for the evening, I just roll out the whole shebang and it's set up in just minutes.

Yes, this means your tent can be wet when you set it up that night, but it dries quickly... definitely before you go to bed, especially when you hang the candle lantern in it for a while. If you packed it wet only from dew, it usually dries during the day when you're riding.

Of course, none of this works if you take a tent that is too damn big, like I did when Mully and I rode to Alaska.



If you're interested in other information about how to pack your bike, be sure to check out the
BMW MOA Campsite

How about the Amazingly slick, trick "Tent with no poles" written up on page 52 of this months (April 03') Owners News.
A bit pricey at $299 to $495 but what a great concept!
See more info at: www.airzonerecreation.com
Wish I could afford one.

YBNews said:

How about the Amazingly slick, trick "Tent with no poles" written up on page 52 of this months (April 03') Owners News.
A bit pricey at $299 to $495 but what a great concept!
See more info at: www.airzonerecreation.com
Wish I could afford one.

Click to expand...

It is a nice idea and a LOT of dough. Since it's still "add to cart" season in MA, I'll be interested in hearing how the Sheepshagger likes his purchase of one.

I'd wait and see, too.

Their site says it will hold up a 53-lb kayak... but how gently did they set it on top?

Their site says nothing about wind.

Hard to say... it could work.

Ian

Here is an interesting article about how to choose a tent.