How to carry camping gear?

[Twisties]

Hi,

 

This will be out first time camping on the R1200RTs. Want to put tent, sleeping bag, and pad on the bike. Also have top case, which may or may not come depending on what you all tell me.

 

Was thinking of using webbing straps with camlock closures and criss crossing across luggage rack. Looking things over, several challenges:

 

1. Hooks on standard webbing straps too small to fit properly on luggage rack/handgrips.

 

Thinking of hooking the hooks together up top and just running the webbing through the luggage rack/handgrips?

 

2. If top case is mounted, then it means only the handgrip portion of the rack is available for mounting. Is this adequate?

 

Any advice appreciated, as we recognize an error can cause a crash.

[SageRider]

On my R1200-RT, I can pack in the large BMW top case my tent, sleeping bag, thermarest pad and kermit chair. There is still room left. If it wasn't for the trunk, I would use a pack system similar to Helen-Two-Wheels including her straps.

[Swag]

My tent and air pad won't fit in my top box, so I put them and my sleeping on the back seat using two bungees. I hook one end of the bungee under the rack by the tail light and go under the box over the camping gear to the other side of the rack. Holds the gear and only takes a couple of mim to get off and on. You might have to bend the ends of the bungees a little to get them to hook, but that won't hurt anything.

[Fran]

Used my side cases, stuffed everything else into my old Army duffle bag, padded the rack with a towel and cinched the whole thing down with 3 ratcheting straps, 2 around the girth of the bag and the other lengthwise weaving the strap through the rack, didn't budge at all. A heavy trash bag in the duffle bag keeps things dry in the even of rain. Lay out what you think you may need then cull out the non-essential items. We all have a tendancy to overpack.

Fran

[dyvking]

Hi,

1. Hooks on standard webbing straps too small to fit properly on luggage rack/handgrips.

2. If top case is mounted, then it means only the handgrip portion of the rack is available for mounting. Is this adequate?

I use a Helen Twowheels large size pack sack, and compression bags. My Thermarest, in deflated mode, goes in first, rolled into a size that just fits down into the sack. Then, in the space inside the thermarest goes my Big Agnes tent in a compression sack. Next comes my down bag, also in a compression sack. Then whole thing seals up in a nice, neat waterproof container that can sit either on the tail rack, or on the pillion seat if a topcase is mounted.

You can sort of see the black pack sack here:

The pack will cinch down just fine with the grab rails. I use Rok-Strap, not regular bungies (don't trust em')

Here's the same pack on my GS, but without a topcase.

 

 

I've even shoved that orange camp seat into the pack sack, foregoing the compression bags and just stuffing the tent parts and sleeping bag around it. This works as long as it doesn't rain. Not good to pack wet stuff loosely in there!

[WBoyter]

Use a compression dry bag that I bought from REI. It cost about fifty bucks. In it I put my tent, therma-rest, sleeping bag, electric vest, and a set of long-handles if the weather is cold. Here's the product I got: http://www.rei.com/product/722681

I got a couple additional retention straps with clips, loop them around the frame or handles adjacent to the back seat, and secure the bag that way. Additionally, I hook a 'spiderweb' styled net over that and the tail bag just because it's handy to have additional securement and a place to stick gloves or other items temporarily. I've prolly logged upwards of 85k miles with the bag, and no leaks, no problems.

To clarify, I do no cooking when on the bike. Too much down time, and spending a few bucks on coffee and eggs in the morning but saving myself upwards to an hour is any easy trade.

[JR356]

Hi,

 

Agree with dyvking's recomendation on the RokStraps.

Don't trust bungees!

 

JR356

[Twisties]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. We've ordered some rokstraps, and will probably get dry bags like those suggested at REI. Sagerider, you could have knocked me over, but you are right, we could get all that into the large topcase. It was truly amazing. But the wife has a small topcase, which I neglected to mention, and we probably will want at least some of the topcase space for other items, so I think we'll try the dry bag route for this run.

 

Again, thanks!

[Charles Elms]

 

Tent(black) and Thermarest (red) are strapped on top of the side cases. Large dry bag is both bunged(red) and tied(white) to the rear seat area. Bungee budies on top of both inside case lids.

It contains sleeping bag, extra clothes.

Small day pack on top under cargo net is for my rain suit.

Day pack also clips to bungees as safety if it slips out of cargo net. Rear top box contains clothes and stuff I want to get to at stops. Side cases carry cooking and repair and food. Pots, bug spray, spare stuff.

This works for me.