Straps > Bungies

[St0nkingByte]

After much futzing, testing and generally spending far too much time on it I've come to the amazing conclusion that straps are better than bungies for tying down my camping gear on the RT. With my very first motorcycle camping trip coming up I've been agonizing over what to haul my gear in and what it strap it to the bike with. After way too much time and money I've decided that two $9 nylon compression bags from Wal*Mart tied down with two $2 cargo straps, again from Wal*Mart are the way to go.

 

My first attemps at loading the bike were pretty pathetic, I bungied the bags to the passenger seat, this looked great. Low rent back rest, all the weight as forward as possible, what more could I ask for? Then I took it for a ride and found out you don't need to hang off the bike in the twisties when your gear can do it for you! The bungies made the 'passenger' a real hoot. He wouldn't quite jump off he'd just act like he was going to and then when you straighten the bike up and turn around to yell at him, well he's sittin pretty in the middle of the seat again just actin like nothing happened.

 

After that fun I moved on to the straps, tried running one under the passenger seat to fix the load in place on the seat, it seems like he can't hardly move now but he still wants to wiggle and lo and behold get the bike moving and he's just a squirmin around almost as much as he did before. The difference now is when he squirms over to one side or another he doesn't spring back to center. Now I tell myself, self, what about that cargo rack thing on the very tail end of the bike, perhaps it was made to strap cargo to? Not to mention it has several neat holes in it that perhaps straps could run through? So I give that a try and its dead simple. Two straps through the luggage rack, through the passenger grab bars, criss-crossed and buckled on the top so they can't work themselves off. And how tight we can get that gear, why it can barely move at all, its like the luggage rack was meant for luggage or something.

 

I still need to get out for another test run today to make sure I've got it right, while I'm at it I'll probably load up the side cases too and see what whole experience is like. Only 9 days till The Big Trip. My wife can't wait for me to go so I can stop talking to her about motorcycle stuff.

[wilsons]

Funny you mention that, by the time i bungied everything down for my trip home, i had tried a strap or two and realized it was possibly better than the bungi. but i kept the bunji's cuz i just wanted to leave

 

I will have to mess with some configurations with those straps!

 

what kind of straps anyway?

[Bernie]

I recommend the Helen2Wheels straps and bags. If done the right way, the bags do not move, lean or shift, even on bad back roads.

www.helen2wheels.com

Just a happy customer.

[JR356]

Hi,

 

These are the best straps(HTW owners will I'm sure,disagree)

 

http://www.rokstraps.com/products.html

 

Get the adjustable length version!

They may be available at your local MC shops.

 

 

JR356

[St0nkingByte]

The straps I'm using at the $1.87 (I think they were) ones from the camping section at Wal*Mart. They rated for 50lbs each so two should be more than sufficient. The bags are the $9 and change nylon "compression" bags. The net effect is similar to the HTW stuff but not nearly as sturdy or long lasting. Given my work & family committments I'm going on a multiday trip once maybe twice a year, the Wal*Mart stuff is perfect and cheap. I just couldn't justify dropping the $ on motorcycle specific gear when these come so close and cost so little.

 

Visuals make things easier so here's a couple pictures of what a hair over $20 gets you for moto-luggage at Wal*Mart

 

[ChrisA]

All that stuff just for you? What do you have in there? Seriously, I'm making my first camping trip to the MOA in VT and I'd like to be sure I'm not missing anything obvious, for instance the 12 tent stakes which are mysteriously missing from a tent I never used....

[Bernie]

Are these bags waterproofed?

[wolcott]

Are these bags waterproofed? [/quote

 

I doubt it- they are nylon, so they would be water-resistant, maybe okay for a light rain. I guess you could wrap your gear inside the thickest Hefty garbage bags you could find. A big dry bag like the type kayakers use, would be better if you weren't going to use bike specific luggage like helen2wheels or magbags, etc. The drybags are available from backpacking places like REI, sierratradingpost.com, campmor, northern mountain, etc.

[St0nkingByte]

I tried a dry bag and found it a little too clunky:

 

 

The color was great though

 

Yeah all that stuff is for me. In there is a tent, air mattress, tarp, sleeping bag, towels, air pump for the air mattress, and a latern. The tent is the only thing too long to go in the side cases, everything else could so I'll probably end up putting alot more in the sidecases and just taking one bag.

[dhb]

you might try one of the waterproof duffel bags with the waterproof zipper. For straps, I highly recommend the velcro straps sold by REI and Aerostich for strapping sleeping bags on a frame, but work really well to tie stuff on the bike. The dry bags are better for canoe trips, and don't sit well on the back of a bike. The nylon bags you have now are going to let you down in the next big rain storm and are very slippery to strap in.

Good luck.

Dave

[Jim VonBaden]

Hi,

 

These are the best straps(HTW owners will I'm sure,disagree)

 

http://www.rokstraps.com/products.html

 

Get the adjustable length version!

They may be available at your local MC shops.

 

 

JR356

 

That's what I use!

 

Jim

[wilsons]

Along with straps/bungie's, I was looking at these bags, which may avoid me from need too many tie downs.

 

http://revpack.com/

[JR356]

Along with straps/bungie's, I was looking at these bags, which may avoid me from need too many tie downs.

 

http://revpack.com/

 

 

Hi,

 

Look at www.magsbags.com and if you can find it,the BB speedpack.

 

I have several Revpack items and all are very good quality,the folks that make them are MC people.They used to hold BMW and other MC rallys on their property in Southern CA until the county closed them down.

 

Have a Magsbag rear bag that is my main long distance bag now,also very well made and recommended.

 

 

JR356

[wilsons]

hah cool

 

also these work great for tieing stuff down

 

[DiggerJim]

Get "Contractors Grade" trash bags (Home Depot, local hardware store, etc.). They're about 10 times thicker than the stuff you get for the house. I've them for years for backpacking as a pack liner and never gotten anything wet in my pack. They're cheap and sturdy...relatively puncture proof (you've got to try hard to poke something through them).

Jim

[Shawnee Bill]

I have watched Helen (helen2wheels) demo her tie down system, once you see that you won’t want any stretchy tie downs.

I tried to buy some longer nylon tie downs locally but couldn’t find anything over 4’ long, that just isn’t long enough.

I went down to the local fabric store and bought 16 feet of nylon strap and some "D" rings and my wife sewed them together somewhat like Helen's straps. Work really well, but cost me more than half the cost of Helen's so all I really saved was waiting on shipping from her.

 

As far as water proofing, anything that won't flap in the breeze and just use any trash bag inside for water proofing. I use a "genuine" G.I. duffel bag, much heavier than what you get at the "surplus" stores, put in a plastic liner and it's water proof.

[JR356]

Hi,

 

Have used a net bungee only for tying bulky,light,loose items to the seat between the side extensions of my Magsbag.Don't trust hook type bungees or nets for anything else.They either seem to pop loose at the wrong time causing you to loose stuff on the road, or fly off and nearly take body parts or your vision.

 

The Rokstraps are great because of the reinforced construction,solid buckle connection and strap width.

 

JR356

[PoPo]

I just bought and used the straps from Aerostitch. They worked great for my Gunnison trip. As for a bag, I bought a $6 bag from a local sporting goods store that was waterproof. Worked OK with the straps. I think a regular duffel with contractor bags would have worked better! Aerostitch says the strap buckles are better than the "cheap" ones. I agree!! I put all I could into tighting them down and they held just fine.

 

PoPo

[Lion_lady]

If you want something waterproof for your stuff, hit an outdoor store and pick up the mid-level canoe bags by SealLine. The 27 liter bag is about the perfect size for sleeping pad, sleeping bag and pillow, plus a sweatshirt (all your sleeping stuff is together and DRY!). The bag is about $25, made of heavy polysomethingorother and has a translucent window so you can get a peek at whats inside. Also has a one way air vent so you can push the air out and it doesn't come back in while you're trying to compress it to the smallest size possible.

 

P

[azkaisr]

 

This is my setup for the UNRALLY. I packed too much stuff. The Gray bag(from Target) has all of my camping stuff. The Black bag had clothes. One of the tough things for me is that I am a big guy which means my cloths are bulky. Especially my BMW jacket/pants. Those two items(along with my pc) took up the left saddle bag. The right one has tools/food. My goal for Torrey is to have a lot less stuff and free up room for some clothes. The blue bag was my chair...I think that maybe that chair found a good home.

 

Kaisr