I've started motorcycle camping but I don't want to get caught in the rain and all my camping gear and backpack get soaked through. I carry a rain coat I can wear if it rains, but what's the best way to cover my stuff from the rain that's on the back of a bike? Just with a standard tarp and cinch it down?
Get a 40l dry bag and throw anything that can’t get wet in it. I use it for my tent, sleeping bag, and clothes.
honestly, if its warm out having dry bags is more important than rain gear. You and whatever riding gear your wearing will dry out but getting to you campsite and having everything you own be soaking wet is really the worst. Dry bags are not expensive either. My first dry bag I bought on a military surplus website and I still use it today. Nelson Rigg makes dry bags that are saddle bags, maybe look into those?
I’ve got the Nelson rigg roll top saddle bags and they’ve been solid going on 4 years. Good price too. Just a bit annoying to get on and off my bike.
A roll top dry bag is the best way. If you aren't willing to get a new bag you could get small drybags to put important stuff in like clothes and sleeping bag. I personally don't care if my tent or stove get rain water on them
Rain covers for bags exist, mostly for stuff like backpacking but if you cinch it down it might work. I would not recommend a tarp, it'll likely be too big and flap around
I use a 25 litter dry duffle with roc straps. Been rock solid for me
Roc straps are where it's at
I've heard roc straps are great, I need to get some as the bungee cords i use can be annoying.
I use big, thick dry bags. The older school kind that people use in canoes/kayaks etc. I strap one on top of each saddlebag, plus one on the back rack. Everything inside always stays perfectly dry.
Dry bags? That's rich folks talking. Find a nice multiply trash bag and put your stuff it it. Take extra for the road. Bonus: can be used as poncho.
Good thinking!
I fold a tarp around it and put a bungee net over that. There's a pic on my profile.
Looks decent!
This roll top dry bag is what I have, the 50l holds basically all my stuff
I bought a Chinese dry bag duffel that’s around 48 L from Amazon and works great. No need to buy expensive motorcycle dry bags unless you want to. Search for “goner” on Amazon. I loaded all of my camping stuff in that bag and then I have another smaller dry bag for my sleeping bag. Every single thing on my bike gets packed in my side cases or my dry bags.
Dry bag! So worth the investment. A garbage bag or tarp will eventually, quickly fail - and take forever to try to wrap around something JUST right. More than 20 years experience talking.
Takes me about 1-2 minutes to wrap my shit in a tarp and throw it on the back of my bike.
Contractor trash bags. They are huge, like 55 gallons, and cost $9 for 20 at Big Lots or Ollie's.
Tarps don't close all the way around stuff easily, but you can slip a contractor bag over top pretty much any load and its closed on all sides already, except the bottom. I just took a 3-hour trip in the rain last week and covered my stuff with one and it worked perfectly. They also weigh very little and you can put three or four in different pockets.
drybags or boxes. or both
Roll top dry bags, like everyone's saying. I have a 30L bag from the Kriega US series that are specifically made to be mounted on a motorcycle, and you can strap additional ones on to them (like stacking a 10L on top of a 20L, or strapping a pair of 20L bags on the side of a 30L bag - the individual bags are the same so you can build out a kit as you need, or buy one and expand it later). Cycle Gear carries them locally, and most motorcycle gear shops should carry them online.
Most camping stores will sell regular dry bags, but you'll need another mounting solution for those (or put them inside other non-sealed luggage). Use compression sacks for stuff like sleeping bags if they don't come with one (just remember to hang it up to decompress and air out at home between trips lest you permanently compress the insulation).
If you're using something like a hiking backpack, I wouldn't want to try to use a rain cover for that on a bike - it'll probably be fine at low speeds if you're just riding on trails or something, but I don't think it'd last long at higher on-road speeds. Put the stuff that can't get wet inside dry bags or other containers (like a bear canister for food - best to have one anyways in bear country), and let the pack get soaked. Best to avoid packs if you can, though (I say, mostly using a backpack myself - just haven't gotten the rest of the luggage sorted so I can stop using it).
I bought the 66L version of this bag in black, and it served me really well riding in the rain on a trip around California’s national parks last fall.
Sea to Summit BigRiver dry bags. Rugged, has loops for straps to pass thru. Use rox straps with it and it won't go anywhere..
Starting out I packed stuff in trash bags inside my dufflebag that has a dwr treatment. Worked for the most part if you're careful to tuck the bags and are careful not to leave holes. Sealed hard luggage is really the best you can do, side and top case.
Hefty, Hefty, Hef-ty!!!
Sure, you can spend big bucks on waterproof bags. But in the end, big ugly trash bags still do the job.
Kriega Dry Bags. Never a single drop of water 🙌🏽
Pack things in dry bags.