Uralcamping ...

[JustSomeRandomDude]

Not sure whether this belongs here or the other toy box, but here goes:
For those of you who camp using your Ural, what does your camping load out look like, and where on the rig do you store your stuff?
Late next Spring, I plan to do a road trip/camping trip with the spouse and the Ural. We've nailed down our sleeping bags/ground pads, but not much else. Spouse tends to be a "heavy packer," and much as I hate to admit, I've fallen into the habit of not packing light, myself.
Thoughts on tents, coolers, camp stoves, cookware, etc., and where you stow them on the rig?
Much thanks!

[Marine Corps Codu]

I understand your dilemma. I have camped quite a lot off the Ural and off my previous R1200GS w/Expedition sidecar.
I have nose rack and use the rack over the spare. I have found the key is to keep the heaviest things the lowest. Typically sleeping bags and tent on the nose.
I use a small cooler that I bungee onto the hack step. Stove is a Jet Boil. I use ONE small pan to cook everything!! Needless to say no gourmet meals! A lot of breakfast oatmeal. Coffee and hot chocolate or tea. Dehydrated lunch and dinners.
I also use waterproof bags for clothes and sleeping bags.
Good luck!!
Where are you in Western Oregon?

[wooden nickel]

You might read Fran's thread. He and his monkey traveled thousands of miles.

[jvan1954]

You didn't mention how long you've been riding a Ural. So I may be giving you advice you don't need. N o matter your load out make some short trips beforehand, fully loaded to get used to the different handling you will experience with heavier/higher loads. I've pared my camping load, without food, down to 50/60 pounds depending on how cold its going to be. This is inclusive of tools and spares parts and such. None of my gear is all that fancy but we stay pretty comfy. Usually, that is HA.
You have much better brakes on yours than my 2013 which has drums on pusher and SC so your ahead of the game there. Stopping distance, for me at least, is affected the most. Excellent advice on checking out Frans blog or whatever its called. That dude has logged some major mileage. Have fun

FWIW I too probably pack heavier than strictly needed. But a happy wife makes a happy trip.

[rougaroo]

https://youtu.be/a1NFDW6Mc20

Rougaroo

[SidecarDan]

Loaded for fun crop.jpg

I just keep piling stuff on, as long as I can see all is good.

[VWK75S]

Spouse tends to be a "heavy packer," and much as I hate to admit, I've fallen into the habit of not packing light,

Small trailer.
John

[cheeseheadmike]

The above is for when Mrs. Cheesehead and I go off for a weekend. There were many armchair engineers who predicted that the cargo carrier would lead to poor handling. For the most part, I don't know it's there, except it sits a bit low.
I learned a long time ago what creatures comforts not to scrimp on. That's a cot and a camp chair for inside the tent. It took some searching and some dollars to find small, light weight, and packable of both but it has made the difference between a night of tossing and turning or a long snore. For cooking with my other half along, I use an MSR international with a GSR Dualist cookset and an MSR fry pan. I also take a full size Coleman lantern along because I can and who doesn't like the hiss of the same.

My solo load is less than half that. Smaller tent, no cargo rack, Coleman 533 stove and a GSR Soloist cookset, a very beat up small coffee pot, along with the cot and chair.

[Bar None]

Wouldn't a small trailer be an better option?

[rebelrider]

I inherited a nice little Swedish camp stove called an Optimus. I have the 111b, witch can burn ordinary gasoline if necessary, but works best on white gas. Very compact.


I'm still working out how to pack for 2 people, but the Ural can handle quite a lot of stuff. Here is when I had the most gear on a solo trip to meet up with friends:


People worried how it would handle, but with all that, I think it weighed less than if I had a large person in the sidecar. I really didn't notice a difference. Only reason I took firewood is to contribute to a larger amount that others were bringing. Otherwise, I don't think I'd bother. But the nose rack does come in handy for a lot of stuff. And the trunk rack can hold quite a bit of weight. The little fender rack held the cooler ok, but I found I was constantly reaching over to be sure it was secure. I've thought for a while of making some kind of custom mounting system for a cooler, but I've not done anything with that idea yet.

Gas mileage will go down from extra weight and air resistance. Especially at freeway speeds. This has caught me by surprise a couple of times. Fortunately, I have a gas can that I almost always remember to take with me. Except for that one time...

Anyway, those are my insights as a Ural camper. I haven't done a camping trip with someone in the sidecar yet, so this may not be as helpful as others' comments. One bit of mentality I use when choosing gear and packing, is to think of it like a backpacking trip. Compact lightweight gear, anywhere you can. Though as mentioned before, it's nice to be able to cheat a little and bring some extra comforts.

[:FI:Igor]

There is an "official" Ural video of correct loading/ weight distribution for Urals.

[rougaroo]

:FL:Igor - go up 5 posts

Infrequently you may find one of these cropping up:

CIMG0437.jpg

And Van actually made one from scratch. It may seem strange, but it's pretty easy to take off the normal sidecar body. One person can easily do it.

Rougaroo

P1020900.jpg

[Robert Whitten]

I've camped off motor bikes for over 50 years. Overnighters to 3 weeks. Adding the spouse over doubles my load. I had camped with the Ural by myself. Wife & I did a overnighter couple weeks ago. No front rack but rear rack. Bike handled squirrely @ 50-55 when crossing irregularity in road. We sleep in hammocks & have hiking style cookware & gear. I will be adding a tralier hitch for the duo trips as I already have several traliers & don't like all the xtra stuff attached to the bike when I don't need it. The hitch will be cheaper than rack, bags, etc. I have found I can pack as much or more on my GS with Jessey luggage as I can on the Ural.

[GregAus]

Buy one of these and your cooking ability goes through the roof.

gas stove.jpg

[JustSomeRandomDude]

Where are you in Western Oregon?

Cottage Grove, so bottom of the Willamette Valley.

Good stuff, everybody. I may have to experiment with a socket and hitch hauler. It would really be less an issue if I were solo-ing it, but half the fun of the sidecar rig is the monkey ...