I, like most, am not very good at packing for tours. I’ve just come back from a week in the UK with 65 liters of luggage. I stayed with my mother and used everything I took apart from my toolkit and my little laptop. Now, as I review the kit, i’m wondering how much more i’ll need for six weeks motocamping.
This is how my planning started, based on my previous tests with my SW Motech luggage test.
Target: 100 liters and 30 kg.
I then asked a chatbot which told me:
Target: 80 liters and 25 kg.
It’s not wrong. 30 kg is way too much. Just imagine trying to lug it into a hotel at the end of a day!
The basic luggage requirements for motocamping
I’ve split the equipment list into the following sub-lists.
- Camping and cooking. (Includes tent and sleeping bag).
- Toolkit
- Clothes
- Riding Gear, including wet weather and cold-weather extras
- Bathroom kit
- Video kit (I need a basic video kit. I’m considering a mini drone).
- Documentation (license, passport. Generally in paper form for multi-country travel).
- Luxury items (for me, it’s likely to be a chair and some video equipment).
It looks something like this, without the cat.
And here’s a setup with the camping stuff added. Yes, that sleeping bag is huge and will be replaced. The tent and groundsheet are inside the blue stuff-bag.
Importantly we’re a team of four so there’s savings to be made in a shared toolkit and shared cooking kit. We’re not going to share tents!
And another important element – we’re touring Europe, in Spring. I can’t imagine being too far from food, water and a hotel if needed.
The complete motocamping packing list
The categories listed above are shown in detail below.
Riding Gear
- Helmet
- Neck tube
- Boots
- Armoured jacket and trousers
- Fleece, gilet or similar
- Waterproofs
- Gloves and spare / thermal gloves
- Riding shirt. x2-3 (wicking underlayer)
- Riding socks.
- Riding underwear/ long johns
- Earplugs
- Waterproof stuff bag for the wet stuff
(In tank bag )
- Hi-vis vest
- Team stickers
- Drinking water bottle
- Snacks
- Quick charger small (or 12v usb adapter on bike)
- Bike lock / Alarm
- Some of the documents listed below
Camping and cooking
- Pillow
- Isomat / sleeping mat
- Sleeping bag + Sleeping inner
- Tent
- Groundsheet
- Wipes / Dishcloth + Washing liquid
- Water holder (2 liter)
- String / straps
- Head torch
- Eating: Knife fork spoon. Plate / Bowl
- Cooking Knife
- cooking pan, boiling pot, frying pan
- Metal cup
- Mini gas stove
- Gas cannister and adaptor
- Lighter/matches
- Salt, pepper, spices, sugar, oil
- Rice
Toolkit
- Petrol siphon
- Long lock for group parking
- Tubeless tyre plug kit (worms + insertion tool)
- Electric pump
- Manual tyre pressure gauge
- Battery starter (Lithium under 100wh)
- Small multimeter , electrical cable, tape, crimp connectors
- Straps and cords
- Allen hex keys
- Small ratchet + sockets / spanners
- Screwdrivers (Flat + Phillips + Torx + Hex)
- Adjustable spanner
- Pliers / multi-tool
- Multi knife
- Levers for tubed tyres
Quick-fix & survival items
- Cable ties (lots, good quality, various sizes)
- Duct tape (wrap some around a tool to save space)
- Electrical tape
- Spare fuses
- Spare bulbs (where required)
- Small length of wire
- Loctite (tiny tube)
- Spare nuts/bolts (a couple of common sizes)
- Nitrile gloves (for roadside work)
Clothes
- Headscarf / Snood (evening, anti mosquito)
- Underpants
- Evening fleece/jacket/hoodie
- Shirts and t shirts
- Light shoes
- Socks
- Trousers (evening 1 pair)
- Various bags, ziplock for wet and waste
- Reading glasses
- Sunglasses
- Shorts + Swimming shorts
- Cap
- Washing powder papers
Bathroom kit
- Toilet paper
- Personal Medicine
- First aid kit
- Handwashing paste (oil etc)
- Labello (lip balm)
- Pain killers
- Shampoo/Shower gel
- Deoderant
- Tissues
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Bathroom bag
- Cleaning wipes
- Microfibre towel
- Hayfever tabs
- Mosquito cream/spray
- Sun cream (F25 +F8)
Documentation
- Passport. Check expiry for EU + Turkey rules
- Bike ownership paper / V5
- Insurance papers and EU + Turkey, Bosnia etc.
- Driving licence
- ADAC / RAC / AA euro cover (turkey, Bosnia etc.)
- Money, cards (X2)
- GHIC card
- Spare key (kept separate) / key number
Luxury item
- Chair
- Headphones and MP3 player (offline)
- Kindle
- Playing cards
Video /electronics
- Main Powerbank and charging cables
- EU plug adapter
- GoPro, Stick and kit
- Laptop
- Spare phone
- USB LED Lamps
- Mic for audio recording
- 12v adaptor for usb etc
- Mini bluetooth speaker
- FM Radio
- Navigation equipment
- Headphones + charging cable if BT
- Phone with offline maps (Calimoto)
- Headphones (cabled – JBL Tune 110 is a good option)
- Charging cables (spare recommended)
- Laptop
Target weights for the luggage:
- Tools & Parts 2.5 kg
- Camping Gear 8.0 kg
- Clothing & Bathroom 10.0 kg
- Cooking & Water 3.5 kg
- Video, Electronics 3 kg
Have I missed anything ? Let me know..