Tips for Motorcycle Camping: Everything You Need to Get Started!

You, your bike, and the great outdoors! What could be better than a motorcycle camping adventure? Packing the right gear can be essential to a successful motorcycle camping trip, be sure to do some research before hitting the open road. With so much motorcycle gear on the market, choosing the right gear for your moto camping trip can be a little overwhelming.

Motorcycle Camping can be one of the greatest adventures of your life! Get started at Sena with some tips on gear, equipment, and planning. The more planning you do prior to your motorcycle camping trip the more fun you will have. A lot of time must be spent before the big adventure in order to ensure a safe and successful motorcycle camping trip. At Sena we are motorcycle gear junkies and have broken down a few of our favorite items that will make for a killer camping trip for you and your riding buddies. With so much motorcycle camping gear on the market, choosing the right gear for your moto camping trip can be a little overwhelming.

The Essentials

On most road trips, getting from point A to point B can be boring. In this case the road is half the fun. Whether you’re taking the bike 2 hours up the road or 12 hours, communication can make your ride so much better. Sena offers a wide range of motorcycle Bluetooth communication systems that will drastically improve any ride. Not into chatting? Sena devices also allow you to listen to turn-by-turn GPS directions, listen to music along the way, or take a phone call to let your loved ones know you made it safely.

Communication

10C Pro – Capture your ride with this all in one communication and camera device. The 10C Pro allows riders to talk to 3 other buddies and capture seamless audio and video on the road. Effortlessly make lasting memories with the push of a button with the multitasking 10C Pro. The 10C Pro features video tagging so that you never miss a viewpoint. Keep the 10C Pro on with video tagging enabled, as soon as you whip around the corner to a great view, tap the video tagging button to recorder your previous minute along with the next 2 minutes. Find out even more about the 10C Pro here.

20S Evo – Already have a camera of your own? The 20S Evo is a powerhouse Bluetooth communicator. Keep in touch with up to 7 other riders at a distance of up to about a mile! The 20S Evo also allows you to listen to music, GPS directions, and take and make phone calls. Learn more about the many features of the 20S Evo here.

30K – Riding in a big group? The 30K features Mesh Intercom Technology, which seamlessly connects up to 16 riders. Mesh Intercom technology simplifies the pairing process and keeps groups together better than ever. The beauty of the 30K is that it allows riders to come in and out of the group while keeping all other riders connected. Learn more about the 30K here.

Once you’ve reached your destination, the other half of the fun begins. Camping can be an awesome experience if you plan ahead and come prepared. An uncomfortable night’s sleep can make for a long trip and an even longer ride back home. Check out our tips and top picks below for camping gear and essentials for a knockout motorcycle camping trip.

Tents & Sleeping Bags

Sleeping Pad – As far as motorcycle camping equipment goes, one of our top essentials is a comfortable sleeping pad. Along with the rest of the elements, the hard ground can be very unforgiving. After riding all day a sleeping pad makes all the difference. You’d be surprised at how compact many varieties of sleeping pads come.

Sleeping Bag – There is absolutely nothing worse than freezing all night. It’s essential to know just about how cold it gets throughout the night wherever you’re traveling and plan accordingly with the right sleeping bag. Investing in a good sleeping bag is key. The sleeping bag is what gets you through cold nights. It is also important when making the purchase to determine whether or not the sleeping bag you choose will take too much room on your bike. Backpacking sleeping bags are good to look into because they are compact and many are rated for severe weather conditions.  One of our top picks is a splurge but definitely worth it, learn more here. Purchase a sleeping bag that is warm enough for all seasons, you can always sleep with it unzipped in the warmer months.

Tent –  Size matters! You don’t want to waste all of your precious cargo space on the bike with your motorcycle camping tent. The smaller the tent the better, but a quality tent will stand firm on a windy night and keep you warm. Backpacking tents can be perfect due to their size. We recommend looking into a 2 person tent if you plan to some of your gear inside the tent, such as your helmet and jacket.

Food, Water & Cooking Gear

Food & Water – Always bring enough snacks for the road. A hungry rider is not a happy one. Plan ahead and determine if you can get food to cook closer to arriving at your final destination. A water container is also a must have in order  to easily refill when (and if) water is available, plan ahead!

Cooking Gear – We are big fans of the Jetboil cooking systems, it is always on our packing list of motorcycle camping gear. Make anything from coffee to hot dogs. This system is also super compact and easily stowed on almost any motorcycle. Learn more about Jetboil here.

Extras

Camera – When traveling to beautiful places, even if you’re not a professional photographer a point and shoot camera is great to have on hand. Making memories is what adventure motorcycling is all about. A small and compact point and shoot or even disposable camera can capture the moments along your ride. Sena offers a line of Prism Bluetooth action cameras to catch all the moments of your ride.

Bluetooth Speaker – Tunes can be a great addition to your motorcycle campout. A small portable speaker is fun to have when throwing back a few cold ones by the fire. But, if the sound of the great outdoors is good enough for you, don’t worry about bringing a speaker along.

Solar Charging panel – Depending on just how far off the grid you plan to go, it might be a good idea to pack a solar charging panel for your electronics. Sometimes it’s good to unplug when hitting the road, if this is your style… forget the charger, but be sure to save some juice on your cell in case of emergency.

GPS – If you are going to areas where you might not receive the best cellular service, an external GPS device is good to have on hand. Don’t get caught off guard by losing cell service in the middle of no where. Even if one person in the group brings a GPS along, your crew should be good to go!

Packing

Now that you have your gear all picked out, it’s time to pack your motorcycle. One of our favorite tools for doing so are Rok straps. Pack things you may need first on top, like extra layers or an additional jacket just in case, other supplies needed only at camp can be stored at the bottom of the bag to avoid digging on the side of the road if needed. Also, consider a tank bag for things like maps, your phone, or tools needed quickly without digging through everything. We have been loving bags by Mosko Moto for quite some time, learn more here. Packing specific motorcycle camping equipment is not limited to camping trips, these items are also good to have on hand for day to day riding when you need to get some gear from point A to Point B on your motorcycle. 

Picking a Campsite

Consider noise, you want a good night’s sleep after a day on the road and ideally your camping spot will fall within your planned route. An added convenience would be to find a spot that is still within a distance from a general store. As you may be carrying a lot of gear, if you want to pick up groceries or firewood you may need to consider your resources. Or if you are really “roughing it” plan your route to pick what you need on the way in.

Let us know if you have awesome motorcycle camping tips of your own! Enjoy the Outdoors with Sena, whether its a motorcycle camping trip or rock climbing through the Sierras, Sena has a product that will elevate any activity. Communication can take any adventure to the next level and create lasting memories. Learn more about our products for 2 wheels and beyond here. Thanks for reading along this edition of the blog we hope you are inspired to plan a motorcycle camping trip!


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