I did it! I went camping with a CPAP and the whole campout worked great. Every time before there’s been drama. This time was chill. The CPAP behaved, I wasn’t mobbed by raccoons, and I didn’t fall off my truck’s tailgate.
Nothing weird happened! I’m as surprised as you!
A simple dumb overnight campout really helps with internal peace. It doesn’t have to be a big adventure. It was just a night in a tent. I didn’t sail my boat (which is still in “drydock”). I didn’t make an elaborate meal. I didn’t go hiking. I wasn’t somewhere exotic. I did nothing…
Every campout is a learning opportunity. This time I switched from “easy mode (carrying as much shit as I want in a huge air conditioned truck) to “hard mode” (carrying fewer and lighter things on my 37 year old motorcycle).
I expected the transition to kick my ass. Motorcycle camping (aka motocamping) is entirely different than truck camping. The truck is a crutch! Without it, everything has to be lightweight and thus inherently less comfortable.
How old and decrepit am I? What would happen without my huge cot and “stand up” height tent? Will my spine pretzel if I sleep “on the ground”?
Only one way to find out!
I began my run of luck by discovering that past Curmudgeon had carefully stowed all my lightweight stuff two years ago. (That poor bastard thought he’d go motocamping again soon. He had no idea what would happen a few months later. Oddly, I don’t remember stowing the stuff. I did it, but I don’t remember. That’s a bit freaky.)
I found where I’d stashed it all, as if Santa Claus had left it for me. Also, nothing was missing. Wow!
There were various “things to learn”. My awesome Honda PC800 has an enormous saddlebag-ish “trunk” (I call it a “bedonkadonk”.) A unique advantage to its odd design. (Image from a thirteen year old Rider article.)
The bedonkadonk has ample space for an overnight camp but the damn CPAP is a new twist. It consumed an absurd portion of my cargo volume. I also brought 25′ of extension cord (meant to do the job of a battery pack I don’t own). It’s lamer than a battery pack (and not much smaller) but it is MUCH cheaper. The cord took up additional space.
Pictured below, a poor man’s battery pack.
It sucks depending on a campsite’s grid power. I had to make a reservation (which meant an extra fee) because electric sites fill up long before my usual “primitive” sites. I also had to pay more for the “premium” site. Then I had to buy firewood at the camp; because you can’t carry a trash can of processed pallet wood on a motorcycle.
All in all, it doubled campsite costs. With time I’ll whittle that down. Luckily, camping isn’t that expensive anyway.
I wanted to be organized but completely blew it. I’ll get better with practice. Here’s the mess I stashed in the bedonkadonk. (Note: the headphones are for listening to Dungeoun Crawler Carl audiobook at night. I also had a library (!) book to read in the daytime. The Little Debbie and Tylenol would be medically necessary if my back didn’t like sleeping on dirt.
Not everything can go in the bedonkadonk. Motocamping usually requires either a trunk-case (which I don’t have) or a drybag (which I do have).
Another success; I finally used the drybag a kind reader sent me three years ago! (A reader sent me his old motocamping dry bag back in 2023. Isn’t that nice? I promised to put it to use but life threw a few curveballs. It took three years for me to use it. I was stoked that it worked so well. It’s more fun using a “donated” dry bag than buying one! I sent an email update to the guy who sent me the bag.)
The single dry bag easily held a sleeping bag, sleeping air mattress, air inflator, backpacker’s pillow, camp croks, and a towel. (Those last two because the campsite has a shower.) Two rok straps held everything down perfectly. I tried to position it as a backrest but it didn’t have much effect as a backrest.
The whole setup looks damn good! You’d think I’ve got my shit together! I don’t, but I’m trying. I believe I’m well equipped for “pavement based” motocamping.
My motocamping tent has its own story. Even the (included) dry bag is epic; with reflective accents and lots of tie downs. It’s a Lone Rider ADV Tent. It’s specifically meant for motocamping and (surprise!) it does its job well.
Back in 2024 I tried to talk Lone Rider into sponsoring me. I suggested they send me a free tent. In exchange, I’d write a real world review from the WYBDR. (At the time they were giving a tent to every cute girl YouTuber that owns a motorcycle.) It was a nice try; but doomed. They were like “you type words into a blog“? Literacy made me feel like a dinosaur. They probably laughed their asses off. They said no, which is fine. They said it politely which I appreciated. (One warning: Lone Rider’s video features a Viking dude with an epic beard. Dude’s awesome and probably ADV rides like a badass and has a sweet hairdo. He makes the tent seem palatial. However, the dude is not American sized. The ADV tent is plenty for one guy. It’s too small for two regular Americans unless they’re real friendly. If you’re not trying to score with your riding partner, you’ll need independent tents or something bigger.)
It’s ideally designed for its extremely specific purpose. I’m happy to own it. If you are really into solo motocamping consider it. A non-motorcycle backpacking tent might be cheaper but backpacking is subtly different from motocamping. And the quality is top notch. You know my opinion is the truth because I paid full price. 🙂
This is what it looks like when you strap it to a bike. I dragged this one across Wyoming and then ignored it for 2 years of storage. It looks brand new. I didn’t even look inside the bag before I left. I trust the tent that much!
At camp I discovered this!
That’s a cord running from my site (which cost more because it has power) to the neighboring site (which has no power).
I briefly considered going apeshit but why fret? Also, I deserved this. I got caught trying to charge a battery pack in the same campground earlier this summer.
There was nobody at the next door campsite, just a cord leading to their tent. I didn’t unplug it. Maybe they had ice cream and cold beer in an electric cooler. What kind of monster would melt some kid’s ice cream?
I only need power for the CPAP and that’s only at night. I’d wait. If it wasn’t resolved by sunset I’d use the words of philosopher Carl; “so I put two and two together, and I decided you’re pissing me off”.
In the meantime, I setup all my stuff. It’s all good as new. I’m including links to my stuff. They’re copied from old blog posts and some products have probably been supplanted by newer versions.
I think the most important gear (after the motorcycle itself) is your sleep pad. Mine is a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Topo.
I inflated it with a GIGA Pump 2.0. (I recharged it before leaving but it still had battery life even after 2 years in storage! Those little pumps are awesome!)
I also have a Nemo Fillo pillow. Now I’m officially a CPAP gimp so I think a pillow is mandatory camping gear.
My Big Agnes Diamond Park 15 Degree sleeping bag integrates with the pad. (It was overkill for summer temps at this altitude.)
I brought a tiny fold up chair. Just like the pillow, it could be considered “optional” but I decided its essential. It’s comfortable; though I did make “old guy sounds” whenever I had to lever my ass out if it.
Here’s camp:
For food, Mountain House is my go-to for non-truck camping. I have a bunch in a box and I grab them at more or less random. I like that it removes one of the decisions I need to make. I carried more than I needed to simulate a longer trip.
I used my Jet Boil for boiling water and added the French Press screen for making coffee. It looks a little battered but it’s 20+/- years old and the coffee was great.
So that’s my happy fun time camping trip.
A.C.
P.S. The power outlet situation resolved itself. At sunset a harried woman showed up and scampered over from her tent to unplug her cord. She sheepishly offered a flurry of apologies. I wasn’t upset. I tried my best to look like a chill guy so as not to upset her more. It probably didn’t work. I’m a beardo that rides an obscure bike, has weird 3d printed accessories, and reads library books by the fire… in 2026 that means I look like a serial killer. Nothing I can do about that. The CPAP ran great on grid power.