Space saving tips and camping essentials
 

As we've now been on the road for over 7 months we have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. Especially now that we are camping more and preparing our own food there have been several things that are very useful that I want to share:

Large chopping board in pastic - serves as a plate, platter, chopping board and much much more. I store mine on the outside/top of my topbox. As I have easily remmovable panniers the topbox serves as a table top and the panniers are seats - ggreat for camping.

Headtorch, and keep it handy. Mine is always on the outside poket of my tankbag.

Cable ties, electrical tape and rubber off-cuts. It seems that most things can be temporarily fixed with one or multiple of the above.

12V air compressor- not only has it saved me three times but also countless other motorcycles stranded on the roadside or in camping sites

For the tech savvy a phone or small laptop that has WiFi. Seems almost everywhere in Thailand, Malaysia and now Turkey has free WiFi

Sounds like good tips to me.

I cut my blown inner tubes into strips of various widths..then use them to roll up my clothes with.

They also come in handy as shock cords for the tent stake down points.

daryl

Cut up strips of innertube
 

Yeah this is a great idea. They're called ranger bands and they're very strong, much better than elastic bands. They also burn very well so are ideal for fire lighting too.

Steve
xXx

JB Weld and a few bits of beer can, in an emergency, can be used to patch the magnesium LHS cover of a DR650 when you drop it hard off road and the gearlever punches a freakin hole in the sidecover.:( Just use some petrol to wipe oil away from the area and roughen up the case with a knife blade or sandpaper taking care not to get crap inside.

JB WELD Never leave home without it!!!!!!:thumbup1:

Yup, head torch absolutely essential and stops your day ending at 4pm when it goes VERY dark in some places.

I can also recommend taking a pair fleecy slippers. Ideal for tent or digs. The keep your tootsies warm in your sleeping bag, and if you're in digs you'll be walking on a lot of cold floors.

Baby wipes - face, hands, bum, bike.

Happy travelling :mchappy:

Glue, Glue and Gaffa tape
 

All the following went under the seat with some of the above mentioned items

Gaffa tape, super glue, rubber glue (Shoe Goo), a bag of nylock nuts and bolts. Plus the usual suspects. levers, fuses,tools..

I used them all on a two up 4 month road tour of Europe so off road would be harder on the equipment.

Yup baby/face wipes are great for cleaning you and your cookware..

'' '' --Baby wipes - face, hands, bum, bike. -- ""

Ah, I see you get four uses out of them , that's excellent !
I would have stopped at three myself .

In that order ????????? :rolleyes2:



I've just noticed you're on the Wirral ???? Small world.

For patching and glueing
 

Always carry a glue stick (for those electric glue guns) with you when traveling. Just heat the end of it with a match or lighter and then rub onto the hole you need to patch or between two things you want to glue together. Wala!

Army folding shovel. I got mine from an army supply store in Munich that sells original used Bundeswehr equipment. Great for so many things besides digging a trench and dune around your tent if it won't stop raining. The BW one can for example be also used as saw and axo for cutting wood, as hammer, as kickstand for the bike, etc.

I also always carry a small led light with a crank lever that charges small capacitors because we all know that batteries are going to die at the worst possible moment right when you need them most.

thingys and wire!
 

can't believe nobody mentioned it so far.

Wire - I carry 2m of strong wire, rolled up it almost doesn't take any space and it's the life safer.

Rope - a strong but small textile rope. Together with wire and duck tape we attached a handlebar back to the bike till we reached a village.

Thingys - no idea what their real name is, but I love them: http://www.ihb-illingen.com/bilder/p...elle-gross.png

I love the glue stick tip!

Jubilee Clips.

I have a few various sizes but also a strip of the band and a handful of ends to make up any size. The don't go very small so keep a few little ones.

You can get stainless steel zip ties; they are great for holding exhausts back on.

Jubilee clips lol Aldi are selling them set of 20 £2 all sizes

Another name for them:

hose clamps



...but that's not nearly as uplifting as "jubilee". In times requiring their use, the most uplifting term may be best suited...

I've said this before, but my best space saving tip is buy your luggage first! That way, you know (as you buy more stuff) how much room your kit takes up and how little space you have left. Focuses your mind on both size and weight for what you're gonna take on your trip.

Before my trip I regularly slung my panniers over a chair and eye'd up what I was planning on taking! Gross luggage weight was c30kgs in the end (suprisingly light compared to most!).