Bikamper bicycle tent?

[DebW]

Here's a picture of my Silshelter on the C&O Canal trip. It was October so not much problem with bugs. I did have slugs on my gear one morning, though. If it had been summer, I would have brought my bug bivy http://www.trailspace.com/gear/adventure-16/bug-bivy/.

[Tri Girl]

Deb- that mountain hardware tent sure is pricey, but MAN what a great idea for touring!!!!! If I were going cross country I'd definitely snap that tent up. What a brilliant idea to not have to worry about the bike in the elements- and nice space for all the bags with it. Cool!
I like the setup you had for your bike and what you used on the C&O.

[Aggie_Ama]

That mountain hardware tent is really neat. We spent about that much on our MH tent and they are so well made it was worth every penny. I am not sure I would for 1 person. We pretty much car camp and just put the bikes in the car for sleepy time but I like Deb's methods.

[Zen]

Here's a picture of my Silshelter on the C&O Canal trip. .

But there's no fly or floor. If it rains you're SOL and
I don't want snakes huddling next to me for warmth

[DebW]

But there's no fly or floor. If it rains you're SOL and
I don't want snakes huddling next to me for warmth

I was lucky I wasn't camping in the rain. My groundcloth was not much wider than my sleeping bag. I only saw one snake the whole trip, so wasn't too worried about that. It was sure nice to have light pannier.

[Tuckervill]

This is what I've done when I've car camped on long trips lately.

Put up the big dome tent. Move all gear and bikes into tent. Blow up the mattress. Put it in the back of the Element. Sleep warm and dry no matter what.

I even have reflective insulation for the inside of my windows, which I put up for privacy and insulation. I can turn on the radio in the car when I want to hear the weather.

Karen

[PamNY]

I even have reflective insulation for the inside of my windows, which I put up for privacy and insulation. I can turn on the radio in the car when I want to hear the weather. Karen

Do you have reflective insulation for the side windows? I like sleeping in the car when I arrive at the campground late. I've never succeeded in attaching anything to the side windows. I use rental cars, so every car is different, and the car seat cover (for dog) and other amenities are a new adventure on each trip.

Any tips on covering the windows would be welcome.

Pam

[Tuckervill]

I use this reflective insulation. It is kind of like a bubble wrap sandwiched between two pieces of tin foil, but it's stiffer.

I cut it to fit inside the windows of my Element, which has convenient sunken windows which allow the insulation to stay up there with friction. That would be hard to do with a rental car.

So I have another idea based on what I do with my sunroof. For my sunroof in the hot summer, I put a piece of window screen on top of the car and hold it down with little magnets. You could do the same thing on the outside of a rental car. Carry a tarp or even just fabric pieces, cover the windows from the outside and put a bunch of little magnets around them to hold them down. You'd likely want them to be waterproof, since it would be no fun to have soggy fabric to put away. There are some parts of some cars that magnets won't stick to, so that might be a drawback. But you should be able to at least hang them from the top.

Think that would work?

Karen

[PamNY]

Magnets! Great idea. That should work well; I can try it with inexpensive blue poly tarp which I have plenty of. The reflective material looks interesting, too.

Thanks!

Pam

[madscot13]

I was lucky I wasn't camping in the rain. My groundcloth was not much wider than my sleeping bag. I only saw one snake the whole trip, so wasn't too worried about that. It was sure nice to have light pannier.

ahh you make camping look so easy. I think I like this one: http://www.tarptent.com/squall2.html

[DebW]

ahh you make camping look so easy. I think I like this one: http://www.tarptent.com/squall2.html

The tarptents are very nice. But pay attention to pole options. Most of the tarptents expect you to have trekking poles along to use as tent poles. So add poles to the weight and and make sure the pole length fits in your panniers.

[madscot13]

The tarptents are very nice. But pay attention to pole options. Most of the tarptents expect you to have trekking poles along to use as tent poles. So add poles to the weight and and make sure the pole length fits in your panniers.

yep, you gotta have poles. they have optional poles that break down to 15- 20 inch lengths and weigh just a couple ounces. I had the same hesitation but for hiking I wouldn't want to go any distance without poles and for biking a few more ounces won't hold you back. The two person tent with optional poles is still lighter than other tents.

[Jolt]

But there's no fly or floor. If it rains you're SOL and
I don't want snakes huddling next to me for warmth

Good point about the snakes--yuck! I'm not one to be afraid of snakes but that doesn't mean I'd want to share my sleeping bag with them... I was thinking about experimenting with tarp camping on a backpacking trip or two this summer but the critters are definitely a potential issue as is rain. The hammock-camping idea is also intriguing, especially given that at some campsites you have to pitch your tent on a wooden platform which is HARD (pitching the tent on it as well as sleeping on it)! Has anyone done either/both of these and have recommendations? Sorry if this is a bit of a thread drift...

[Zen]

I don't have one but hammocks have a pretty good rep.
DebW has one and they get raves on the C&O Canal group site.

[DebW]

I love my hammock. Quite comfy. It's tarp camping off the ground, so no crawly things to worry about, and no hard wooden platform under your back. I made my own, using directions you can get from the book sold on this site: www.speerhammocks.com. You do have to worry about keeping your backside warm, so either a foam pad inside or quilt-like insulation outside and underneath. Here's a picture of the cocoon-like insulation I made for the outside of my hammock.