7 Essential Motocamping Packing Tips

One of the most important yet underrated parts of motorcycle camping is actually getting your motorcycle camping gear to your destination. The only way to do that is by packing your gear on your motorcycle. We've put together a list of 7 essential motocamping packing tips to help you ensure that you're getting your moto camping gear to your destination as comfortably and safely as possible.
Moto camping packing tips:
1. You don't necessarily NEED motorcycle luggage
2. There are a ton of different types of motocamping luggage
3. Pack your heaviest motorcycle camping gear as low and close to the bike as possible
4. Pack the motorcycle camping gear you need first, last
5 Pack the "house" (motocamping tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow, etc...) in a separate bag, preferably on top of your motorcycle.
6. Check your moto luggage straps!
7. Use a moto camping packing checklist
(like this one from MotoCamp Nerd: motocampnerd.com/pages/packin...)
8. Shop www.motocampnerd.com?ref=dork for the world's best and most carefully curated selection of motorcycle camping gear.
Moto Camp Nerd
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▶FREE Motorcycle Camping Packing list: motocampnerd.com/pages/packin...
▶Motorcycle Camping Tents: motocampnerd.com/collections/...
▶Motorcycle Camping Sleeping Bags: motocampnerd.com/collections/...
▶Motorcycle Camping Sleeping Pads: motocampnerd.com/collections/...
▶Motorcycle Camping Kitchens: motocampnerd.com/collections/...
▶Motorcycle Camping Stoves: motocampnerd.com/collections/...
MotoCamp Nerd is the world's first online store dedicated 100% to the needs of motorcycle campers. No matter what type of motocamping you do, MotoCamp Nerd has the motorcycle camping gear you need to enjoy the outdoors in the best way possible: on two wheels!

[@UltralightMotorcycleCamping]

I've always liked ultralight camping so I was trying to keep my 310 cc ADV moto camping as light and simple as possible. I tried to put everything in a 66 liter roll top waterproof duffel on the rear rack and pillion and avoid the added weight and complexity of panniers. It sort of worked, for 1-2 day trips in warm weather. If I need a 30F winter bag and thick foam pad, or a friend wanted me to bring a hammock for him, I couldn't roll the top closed to make it waterproof. The bag was so tall that it was a dangerous crosswind sail. I tried 28 liter (total) soft panniers but they didn't fit well on my bike and were still heavier and more complex than I wanted. Instead, I'm adding two 30L roll top Givi dry bags mounted as soft panniers. I can carry my tools, first aid kit, straps, paracord, and other perpetual riding gear in the left pannier with 15L of spare space. The right pannier is free to carry my rain suit and my large comfy 4-season hammock when camping. This is the wet stuff bag so a wet riding suit or hammock won't make the rest of my stuff damp. I can go on day rides with the dry bag panniers only so it's easier to get my leg over when mounting or dismounting and I have 60L of expanding storage if needed but it compresses behind my legs for low drag when not in use - aerodynamic on road, and no tree snagging off road. The two dry bag panniers add maybe a pound and give me a lot of convenient low storage. When camping, I can quickly lash the 66L waterproof duffel on the rear rack and pillion and it'll be half full for short trips with plenty of extra space when needed... more often than I'd care to admit. Motorcycle luggage manufacturers work hard to make universal solutions but what works best will depend on how you camp and your bike - height of the exhaust, size of the rear rack, shape of the seat, etc.

[@leifiseland1218]

Don't forget, you can go with hammock & tarp aswell..😉

[@Liberty4Ever]

Hammock >> Tent

[@checkingreality]

"dont forget to bring a towel"-Towelie

[@MotoCampNerd]

@@checkingreality 😂

[@MotoCampNerd]

@@Liberty4Ever Guess we need to do a battle royale video on tent vs hammock

[@NealZ31]

Don’t forget straps for the trees, and trees, you’ll need some trees.

[@wolf1066]

I have wet and dry separated - anything likely to get wet and can handle getting wet (e.g. tarp, cooking gear) is stored separately from anything that would be catastrophic if it got wet (e.g. hammock, sleeping bag, underquilt). With 3 main storage spaces - 2 panniers and a top box/bag - that's three places that can have essentials on top. Tarp on top of one, travel essentials on top of another, any other essentials on another, so you can stop and have food/water/coffee on the way *_and_* ensure the first thing unpacked at camp is the shelter.

[@stbyrd2000]

Tip #8 Buy a Pacsfe - which is a locking wire mesh net to keep your items together and secure.

[@JakeScottFTW]

Took my first motocamping trip last weekend with my son. Had a great trip thanks to tips and recommendations from Dork and Nerd.

[@MotoCampNerd]

That's what we like to hear! Glad you had a great time!

[@MontanaDirtRoads]

Dry bags are amazing,i love my little ones i got for my tent,cooking stuff,and sleeping bag.

[@donnieyoung2774]

Another excellent video. Good common sense advice, learned from experience. And, experience is the only way each rider will figure out what and how to pack a bike to camp. It's my favorite part of ADV riding. Cheers !

[@mkramsauer]

Perfectly said another great example of normal guy camping

[@timeboom]

Excellent tips and advice, duly noted for future adventures, thanks!

[@MotoCampNerd]

Thanks for watching!

[@leonrossouw4891]

I paid Center stand pannier racks and soft bags 300 usd . My Transalp already had top box crash bars skid plates, tusk hand guards

[@mr.2d749]

Awesomeness

[@advswede]

Great tips :- )

[@checkingreality]

two things. 1. I liked the beginning where Ben (dork) talked about what he used to use when beginning and mentioned you dont need expensive gear. I would love for him and any other contributor to say that stuff on every video. It connects with the everyman. 2nd thing, I know Ben (dork) works for giant loop I don't need a guerilla ad in a video about packing gear. I didnt mind listing it with competitors but his large bias showed up at one point. The bonus tip makes sense since it is a Moto Camp Nerd video I get that.

[@MotoCampNerd]

Thanks for the feedback! We do encourage everyone to find the gear that works best for them, even if it's not from us and will continue that message to get people out camping! Getting started with cheap gear to test the waters is great and I do tell almost everyone that I did start with walmart's ozark trails tent, foam pad, and sleeping bag, no pillow, and learned over the years what works and where the value is at for me. We sell mid to top of the line gear and it's mainly because I (nerd Ben) can't consciously put gear in our store to sell that I wouldn't buy for myself. Well technically, we sell Giant Loop gear, and Dork is working for us, and we are a little biased towards Giant Loop since we sell it and can't sell Mosko Moto lol, plus their gear is that good. Those are the two brands I put on the same shelf, and then I'd put Tusk and Nelson-Rigg on the same shelf below them. Appreciate the feedback!

[@peer-olafkremer4715]

Love your videos! For me as a Beginner to Bike travel there are a lot of tips to avoid the most mistakes. There is only one thing I like to ask. When you’re filming, do you look at the camera screen? ☺️

[@madmaxthemotomutt6464]

I’ve got the black tail hotel as well, but it’s bulky so I keep the rainfly separate!

[@Liberty4Ever]

The weight low and toward the center of the bike is a good idea to be less tippy off road as mentioned, but there is a far more important reason. Weight high and to the rear makes the bike unstable on the road. We're talking death wobble. It's like aft loading a trailer, and it's similar to aft loading on an airplane.

[@mattkaymoto]

Another important tip is to always make sure your bags are captured somehow. What I mean by that is don't just pull a couple of straps over your bag and tighten them down, make sure you're going through some kind of loop or webbing on the bag so if your straps loosen up, the bag won't leave your bike. I did not follow my own advice on two occasions and once lost my tent fly (even though I tightened it down SUPER WELL) and another time my Giant Loop Possibles bag, which wound up flopping behind my exhaust and getting a hole burned into it. I have been with friends who criss-crossed or did elaborate setups to tighten down their sleeping bags down with a strap only to have it pop out on the trail. Giant Loop and Mosko Moto are great for putting in little loops for strapping down and you should use them. If you are looking more affordable bags look for this feature as well.

[@MotoCampNerd]

Absolutely! And no bungees!

[@advredbikes]

Fabulous Topic to cover Ben. Does Moto camp Nerd ship to Canada, if i pay shipping. Looking to support the business. Great content on this channel, thank you for the PDF List of camping gear. Its nice to see that you are using tried and true people to do the videos, thank you!!

[@MotoCampNerd]

Unfortunately, we aren't really allowed to ship to Canada, supplier restrictions to keep it fair to other dealers and stuff.

[@advredbikes]

@@MotoCampNerd Thank you for the honest answer, let us know when you can as i will order from you. Keep up the great work.

[@andyackerman7123]

@@advredbikes if you know someone stateside that would like to be a “go between” you can support them, and still get it shipped to you, eventually :)

[@advredbikes]

@@andyackerman7123, hey Andy, unfortunately, I do not know anyone there but thank you for the suggestion

[@pieterrossouw8596]

Maybe also try moto-glamping (glamourous camping) to see if you even like it before shelling out for luggage solutions..? For me it's more about the riding ~2-4h away from the city and then having just the basics for a weekend, almost like therapy and disconnecting with only a good book for company. I don't do it enough to justify the cost of the perfect motorcycle for it or to get all the kit for it. Glamping gives me what I need because the basics are there when I arrive and I effectively rent a camping experience that isn't portable enough. If the whole point for you is roughing it and ultraminimalism - then you already know what's for you but yeah there's a good spectrum of camping experience from motorized caveman to basically a hotel out in nature.

[@MotoCampNerd]

Good point on the glamping first to ease your way into it. Especially for those who want to get out to enjoy the outdoors but not want to mess with a tent setup and all the other stuff.

[@morecowbell20]

I would love to put pistol on my checklist, although I would absolutely have to include ammo as I'm THAT forgetful. Then again, as a Canadian I would have to substitute bear spray for pistol anyway. Thanks for your thoughts! Easy to see why you were/are a teacher with the fat cat on a ladder analogy.

[@Granza90]

I cant download the checklist from your site! Is there any problems with it?

[@MotoCampNerd]

It should send it to your email. If it didn't then I'll check into it and see what's going on.

[@Granza90]

@@MotoCampNerd empty Page on that URL 😞

[@Yowzoe]

@@MotoCampNerd also I’m not getting the 6-digit code sent to my email

[@MotoCampNerd]

@@Yowzoe Thanks for the info, I'll look into why this is happening.

[@MotoCampNerd]

@@Granza90 what browser and device are you using?

[@billslicer3203]

Put your stuff in a plastic trash bag, then in A duffle bag. Have been doing this forever

[@andyackerman7123]

Are you now a “Nork” or a “Derd”

[@MotoCampNerd]

I had to Google both words to see if they were words used in other places, they are lol. Nork is interested

[@andyackerman7123]

@@MotoCampNerd lmao I just combined nerd and dork…. I didn’t even bother to google them. Oh myyy

[@MotoCampNerd]

@andyackerman7123 I thought it was very clever, but I know how how south it can go 😆

[@andyackerman7123]

@@MotoCampNerd 😂 😂 😂

[@cinos360]

Everytime i hear someone mention ' Paying for campsite " i cringe inside and shed a tear ..