Boondocking on a Bike? MC travel on the cheap

[RossKean]

Four or five years ago, I headed out for a solo cross-country trip. NB to Vancouver and back through the northern states. 9000 miles in 17 days with every intention of camping most nights. I stayed with family three nights, camped three nights and ended out in motels every other night. I wasn't equipped for cold weather camping and this was the coolest and wettest two weeks (last week in June + first week in July) I can remember for that time of year. Snow flurries in Jasper, snow at elevation in Yellowstone and the Beartooth was closed due to snow and freezing rain. I think it rained at least part of 9 or 10 days of the trip and lots of days didn't get much above 50 or 55 °F. (Didn't bring warm enough riding gear, either)

Point is that you have to be equipped to camp in inclement weather or decide that hotel camping is more prudent in such situations. If its wet, you can get by with the right gear but it means you have to pack up wet stuff and either stop early the next day to dry out or stay in a motel to get yourself and your stuff warm and dry. My gear is comfortable down to maybe 45 °F or so. A better bag and thermal longjohns would take it another 10 degrees cooler but I wouldn't like it and wouldn't bother. I am , by no means, an expert camper and challenging conditions are why I carry a credit card.

On this sort of trip, I rarely plan where I am going to stop. I have a general idea what is in the area and might end out parking it at 5:00 or pushing until dark (often losing the opportunity of finding a nice place).

Next year, I turn 60! My b'day present to myself is going to be a 4 week solo circumnavigation of North America with lots of side excursions along the way. Camping is definitely in the cards for this trip. I want to get my gear sorted out this year so I have a chance to see what works for me. Nice thing about solo camping is that you don't have to worry about offending anyone but yourself if you didn't manage to get a shower this morning or if that pair of blue jeans is just short of being able to walk by itself. Good for the soul.

Good luck with it.

 

[gregory]

Fred,

I too am getting ready for my first multinight camping trip. I have not camped off the bike before and am looking forward to the experiance. I did not have any of the equipment necessary, so after picking a few brains here, me, REI, Amazon and UPS have become best of friends this last week. I figure what I have in new supplies has cost me about the same as 3 nights in hotels (with the added bonus of one time only costs). On the advice of SacMike, I got a https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/dry-pak-xl-waterproof-roll-top-duffel-bag?a=1177528 that is HUGE and holds ton's of stuff. (make sure to get the XL bag if you do!) So far, I have tent, camp chair, footprint (pad for tent), hatchet, single air mat, and sleeping bag (old and somewhat big) and still have room for much more.

I will be traveling into Canada for a day/night, so carrying a weapon is not an option for me, my new Fiskars 14" hatchet will have to suffice for self defense.

Unlike you, I am following a plan and have already paid for the 5 campsites I will be staying at. 3 are KOA'S, one state park in Idaho and the EC Manning campground in Canada ('eh). The cost for the 5 nights is about the same as a Holiday INN Express for the night. The EC Manning site makes that day a little long, but it was the first along hwy 3 that had showers! Simple internet search's should give you plenty of options along the way. I would say that when you are stopped for lunch and have a vague idea of where you are going to end up, do a quick search. Some of those campsites have pools and spas which are a welcome feature after a long days ride. The KOA kabins are nice (stayed in one on the Manchester run), but if saving $$$ is your goal, then I would stick with the tent (your still unpacking your sleeping gear for the Kabin) I'm sure that in a true emergency, you could throw yourself on the mercy of our fine forum members for some lawn space for the night.

Best of luck and be sure to post up a RR!

Greg

 

[steveoreno]

I have done the "boondocking" route before when in between dates, a not uncommon experience for me, and enjoyed the personal freedom greatly. I have found that state or national parks are not too expensive and have at least some security unlike free campgrounds where you are pretty much on your own. I still scheduled a lodge or motel stay every third day or so just so I could stand myself. Have fun and remember planning is part of the fun.

 

[Iris]

Do you have a specific date planned already? I'm headed that way Aug 23 thru Sep 7... I'll be trailering to a friend's in Chico, CA and spending as much time as possible riding the PNW before heading back east. I was gonna use the single trailer but I have another one that holds 3 bikes... if you'd be interested?

That's what you should do, Fred.

 

[Bokerfork]

Fred,

More to the boondocking point. Seems no one, including myself, has much if any actual experience with this. That being said, here's my two cents based on seriously considering it on several rides.

While watching the sun go down and not knowing where the next campsite was I started considering the idea of boondocking. Here is what I started looking for.

1. Firm ground in all directions. We all know the Feej is not very dirt friendly.

2. A good sized berm or knoll I could get behind. This not only hides my position(think safety) but helps quiet the traffic assuming that the FJR is unlikely to get me more than 100 yards off the pavement. It also provides some privacy for any dressing or bathroom needs.

Not being familiar with the areas you will be riding through I can't say how likely you are to find those things while potentially cruising at hiway speeds. I know that here in the West it was a little tricky given the wide open desert like conditions we often have.

As far as safety goes, I don't think I'd feel/be a whole lot safer with a firearm while boondocking it. If someone wants to get the jump on me at 3 am while I snore away, chances are, they will. This is why I figured getting off the pavement and out of sight was so important.

YMMV

Good luck and have fun regardless of which route you take.

Mark

 

[Sno Cat]

A slight divergence from the topic at hand, but: I lived on the UP for a couple of years. Lake of the Clouds & the somewhat nearby Bayfield, WI would be nice to see if you're in that area. Make sure you indulge in the local delicacy: The pasty, best savored with an ice cold Blatz beer.

Sounds like a great trip - enjoy & we look forward to the stories!

Ed

 

[Pepperell]

https://www.motocampers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=86596&postcount=3

There ya have it, Fred. Dusty Boots is THE source of solo camping wisdom. I've camped with Ken and he is very knowledgeable. Do check out the links at the above link. One of them details the facilities at every state and national camping area. Truly amazing source.

 

[dcarver]

Last time I boon docked I was woken by a bear.

45 minutes to set up camp -

45 seconds to leave.

Good luck Fred!

 

[SacramentoMike]

Oh just do it. In this day and age, when every damn nasty thing that happens in the world makes the news, how many camper murders have you heard about? Your odds look pretty good.

I've taken several long trips like you're considering, and I think it's my favorite way to travel. Any side trip you want to take, any departure time, any speed, the decision to camp or motel, depending on the weather and how grungy you feel. I'm planning another one of these in September that'll take me to NYS by the northern route, and then south and across, at least 4 weeks riding.

Here's another thing I've found. When I'm somewhere off the bike, or just walking or standing around wearing the riding gear, way more people will come up and start talking when I'm alone. Usually it's other old jokers like me telling me about the bike THEY used to ride, but I really enjoy all those moments, and you just don't get them when you're with even one other rider. People are a lot less likely to break into other people's conversations than they are to approach somebody standing by himself. You'll met a lot of folks.

Like others, I bring coffee fixings only. I stop at a supermarket deli counter and get a good sandwich most of the time, but save it for a scenic spot where I can pull over. Dinner in most any restaurant, usually. Some fruit goes well for breakfast, and sometimes instant oatmeal, using the coffee-making gear. Campgrounds are fine, but the forest service ones, while basic, are cheaper than state or national, and you can pitch a tent in a national forest anytime. Usually no fires allowed though. Totally agree with Geezer (post 18) on KOAs.

 

[Fred W]

Thank you, thank you all. Lots of great info and opinions. I am making like a sponge and absorbing it all.

I have about a month before I'd be doing this thing so plenty of time to make preparations. The bike itself will need very little. An oil change and fresh set of skins just before leaving. Otherwise, all maintenance is up to date (even my splines are lubed!) so I feel totally confident that the old girl will behave herself.

I'm thinking I'll have a list (and POI files) of all the Super 8 and Motel 6's across the continent as "motel campsites" for bad weather or for a good shower. If the place is really seedy I can always put the groundcloth on the bed and sleep in my bag.

Will try and get locations of all state and federal, and especially Forest Service camping opportunities bookmarked too, as these seem to be the best bet for tenting areas. But I'm pretty sure I'll end up boondocking it a few nights too. Gotta at least try it.

As many have suggested, I'll bring only enough cooking gear to make coffee in the AM. I don't really need to eat all that much anyway. When I take off on a solo, all day ride, which I do quite often, I seldom will stop for lunch. I mean, you're just sitting there on the bike, right? How many calories are you burning up doing that? Besides, I've got enough calories stored around my midriff to last a month. I ain't about to starve to death any time soon.

I already have one of the XL Dry Pak duffles to throw all the camping stuff into, which should simplify the lashing arrangements greatly. I don't like looking like Jethro Bodine with all the various rolled-up items stacked up and lashed to the bike separately. Will also make it easier to bring my camping crap in if/when parked in front of a Motel 6 at night.

But that brings up a good question I have for those using the one big dry bag dealio: If, by chance, it does rain overnight and you have to pack up a wet tent, how do you deal with that going into a waterproof dry-bag with all the other stuff that you want to keep dry? Maybe the Beverly Hillbillies have it right in that case?

Keep it coming!!

 

[MCRIDER007]

I already have one of the XL Dry Pak duffles to throw all the camping stuff into, which should simplify the lashing arrangements greatly. I don't like looking like Jethro Bodine with all the various rolled-up items stacked up and lashed to the bike separately. Will also make it easier to bring my camping crap in if/when parked in front of a Motel 6 at night.

But that brings up a good question I have for those using the one big dry bag dealio: If, by chance, it does rain overnight and you have to pack up a wet tent, how do you deal with that going into a waterproof dry-bag with all the other stuff that you want to keep dry? Maybe the Beverly Hillbillies have it right in that regard?

The easiest way to deal with a wet tent is to have a second bag that can be strapped on top of the first bag. Packing, loading your bike, dealing with a wet tent, and trying to keep yourself dry in the rain is difficult and frustrating. You will find that a wet tent seems to swell and packs about 50 percent larger than when it was dry so the tent bag isn't of much use. However, a nylon tent dries very quickly in the sun so sometimes its easy to dry the tent during a rest stop.

 

[Checkswrecks]

+1 to go for it.

I have done the boondocking/free tent camping thing and it's not as easy as you'd think. It turns out that somebody owns everything - imagine that.

Keep a flat plastic plate in your pocket for the side stand.

I tend to camp if possible, shower at least every 3rd or 4th day, and find a cheap motel if I'm soaked. You're doing this for fun, not to make yourself miserable.

I target finding my camp sites at one hour before dark. I can't tell you how many time I've set up in the dark and woke in a place I would have preferred not to be. I was in a grassy area in the middle of what I thought was nowhere and almost had a semi roll over me. Turns out that in the dark I couldn't tell it was a truck parking lot. It's real easy to think you are TOTALLY alone in the middle of the freakin' Great Plains (btdt), start setting up, and have some homeowner ask what you are doing on their property. Or had a bitch of a time just finding a place in the dark.
I will never ever never ever sleep on the grass at any rest stop or parking area near an interstate. Every dog owner has let FiFi pee and take a dump there. Even worse is just behind the first and second trees back on a path from almost any road, where you'll regularly find the brown kleenex collection.


Small motels and a lot of other small businesses with grass next to the parking lot will have a night clerk who won't mind pocketing your $10-$20. National parks are great but generally too many people for me. KOAs seem to charge enough for their little cabins that it's not much more for a cheap motel. On the up-side, KOAs may be pricey but have good showers, clean tent sites, and tend to put the tent areas away from the RVs with the all-night generators.

Being a pilot, I have had some of my best camping spots at small GA airports - especially ones with grass runways. You are generally dealing with the owner or manager who is in our age range and while I ask to pay the rental price of a tie-down spot for the night ($10-$20), it will generally be free. You ask if it will be OK to set up out of sight on the far side of whatever hangar or at the other end of their runway and sometimes need to assure them you won't have a fire. If everything is going good with the manager/owner, you might even ask if there is a toilet you can use and maybe even a hangar shower. (cold water)

I've had 50-50 luck with farmers, where I will pick a spot at the far corner or their property, approach them with my helmet off so they can see the gray hair, tell them my name and where I'm from/heading to, point to the spot I want, assure them that I'll not have a fire, don't want to be near their animals, and that I will be gone at first light. The farmer's biggest concern is safety about their animals, crops, fire, and drunks. After a while you learn that once you approach you gotta follow through the motions, but can tell as you approach if they are going to say no. Don't ask to stay in any of their buildings.



I've paid for scuzzy motels to get out of the rain and either asked for my money back or put my sleeping bag on the flipped-over, cleanest side, of a stripped mattress. I don't care how scuzzy the place is, a hot shower and getting out of a cold rain at the end of a long wet day can be worth it.


I try to take a dump before finding my camp site for the night, so I don't need to hang it out in the weeds. I've learned to put the tent where I will be comfortable with what is on the ground and observers for my stepping out a few feet in the middle of the night, if'n ya know whut I means.

I generally get breakfast and dinner at local grocery stores for wherever the tent is and plan on at least lunch around other people. For when stores are sparse, on the bike are generally at least 2 cans of soup (Whisperlite stove works with bike gas), a box of granola cereal, snack bars, and several bottles of water.

I've got a mesh bag for drying clothes. I'll wash socks and underwear in a gas station sink, throw them in the bag, bungie-net that on top of the duffle holding the tent & sleeping bag on the back seat. The big REI camping towels dry quick and are worth the stupidly high price and can dry in the mesh bag too, but it gets to be a big enough mass that you need to rearrange them every time you stop.

 

[Geezer]

(snip)But that brings up a good question I have for those using the one big dry bag dealio: If, by chance, it does rain overnight and you have to pack up a wet tent, how do you deal with that going into a waterproof dry-bag with all the other stuff that you want to keep dry? Maybe the Beverly Hillbillies have it right in that case?

Keep it coming!!

I always pack my sleeping bag in a large plastic garbage bag, even when it is inside waterproof luggage. And I carry a few spare plastic bags for wet things and laundry. Even if your gear does not get wet, some pieces will get dirty, like the ground cloth (footprint), and you'll need to separate that from the cleaner stuff.

Once I pack for a trip I try to keep the configuration the same, so I don't need additional tie downs or risk losing anything, so the wet and dirty stuff go inside the plastic bags and then back where they came from.

If necessary, you may need to stop early the day after things got wet so you can let things dry.

 

[Burnspot]

I wandered out to Colorado last year for two weeks. I had a family visit planned in the first couple of days of the trip, but the rest was unplanned with the only constraint being that I had to return to work by a certain date. Each day was an unknown as far as where I'd end up by the end of the day...I'd just pick a general direction and go explore until I felt like stopping. On more than a few occasions, my starting direction was guided by interesting looking roads I'd passed by the evening before. This trip took place during the big western heatwave last year, so I tended to stay above 6k' in altitude for the bulk of the trip. The journey included a mix of pavement and dirt roads, more mountain passes that I could possibly remember, drop-dead gorgeous scenery, and excellent riding. My GPS was used only as an altimeter, I instead relied on the Rand McNally US "paper" map on my iPad (no internet needed) and the Allstays Camp & RV app on my iPhone. I tent camped as much as I could, but sometimes, circumstances dictated otherwise (time, weather, locale). I used the Allstays app a lot to track down tent camping spots...usually looking for those that included a shower (and laundry sometimes); tent camping prices usually ranged from $15 up to $24/night as a result. If I couldn't find any camping nearby, and if I was too worn out to keep rolling, I'd hotel it (Super 8...cheap)...I was on vacation after all. I'd usually find a Subway or cheap eatery each night for dinner and the same for breakfast...lunch often consisted of Clif Bars or cookies.

Just go out and enjoy yourself...

 

[Fred W]

@ Scott - Thanks for the tip on Allstays. :thumbsup: I just downloaded the app for my phone and Pad and it seems like it will be well worth the $10.

@ all - I've discovered another scheme that could be used for roaming on the cheap, but I don't think it is going to work for me in this trip format, and that is the "Tent Space" database on ADVriders.com.

It's a lot like our FJR assistance list that we have running here, but you offer up a place for gypsies to pitch a tent in your yard when passing through. I guess I might try to use it on the fly if I get in a bind, but relying on people to respond to a forum PM (quickly) on ADV riders may be a bit iffy, unless you do it well in advance. But that requires pre-planing, and that isn't what I am really wanting to do. Trying to keep the attached strings to a minimum.

PS - Thanks for the answers on how to deal with the wet tent. Seems manageable.

 

[Fred W]

Another Q (sorry)

I'm looking to find a small, packable, gas-o-line stove I can tuck away to boil some water for coffee in the morning.

A little doodling around in the search engines and I see the backpacking crowd is willing to pay quite exorbitant prices for a fuel burner with a few less grams of weight. I'm thinking I already lost over 4700 grams when I decided to go it alone, so I'm not that concerned with a few grams of weight. Shit, if I was willing to part with $200 for a little stove I'd just find a Starbucks every morning instead!! :lol:

As seems to be the usual, the Coleman stuff looks to be good value though not made from the absolute lightest unobtainable in the solar system.

What kind'a groovy gas burners are you kids usin'?

 

[Geezer]

There is a good thread on FJRiders about camp equipment started by Jim Meadows.

 

[RossKean]

... I'm thinking I already lost over 4700 grams when I decided to go it alone...What kind'a groovy gas burners are you kids usin'?

You need to review the math on that one!

I am also looking for a small one burner gasoline stove. Compact is nice but not if it costs too much; weight doesn't really matter to me. I have seen some alcohol stoves as well but denatured ethanol is not available everywhere and I'll always have a tank of gas on the bike I can borrow from. Lots of butane ones out there but I don't care for the idea of carrying the pressurized canisters.

 

[airboss]

Stoves

This one has gone fishing a lot more than biking. Never failed to light up and brew a cup of coffee or fry a fish.

Never used any other fuel but unleaded gas.

https://www.coleman.com/product/sportster-ii-dual-fuel-1-burner-stove/3000000792?contextCategory=2020#.U6zHwNJOVes

 

[Twigg]

That Coleman above is probably the "Cadillac" of small stoves, and you don't have to pay $100 for it.

OTOH, for morning coffee, a small propane burner from Wal-Mart ($28), is quite good enough. The pressurized cans are at least as safe as a gasoline stove