Thanks everyone for there input! Thats some great information to take away and digest.

I think i will be commited to camping as it seems to make the whole experience a bit more realistic. Then again im sure i will take up the opportunity for a cheap hostel here and there. Even if i only camp one day in every three it still means ill use the tent 60times!

Do people tend to stay in designated camp sites and road stops or do they just ask people if they can camp on their land?

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Me and my suzuki EN125 will be travelling 20'000km through South America - who said life was dull!!!!!

While a cheap hostel here and there may be a good idea I find that after about a week on the road spending a day just lounging about in a good clean hotel room, or anywhere else where you can comfortably relax, do nothing, and not have to worry about others, really helps me to recharge.

I think where you camp is largely dependent upon what country you're in and how densely populated the area is. We're doing the Americas starting in December and our plan is to rough-camp whenever possible. Just find a place we can pull off the road and not be seen. If the area's too populated we'll just ask permission to set up the tent on someone's property or grab a cheap room. In the US I just do campgrounds because i feel US folk are too damn uppity about being on their land unless you can really hide yourself well.

I've found it hard to get a bead on what *most* people do with regards to setting up their tent since *most* people try and avoid camping whenever possible. The prevailing advice seems to be to just try and keep out of sight if you're not in an official campground. Things to consider are that you don't have to dig a hole to bury your poop when you stay at a campground, and they'll usually have running water (showers are good things ). That means a lot of convenience, and not having to carry as much spare water (cooking and cleaning uses it quick). Many have electricity somewhere too.

If you're going to be rough-camping a lot I'd suggest you figure out how to recharge all your electronic devices from your bike (without draining its battery). We've got adapters to recharge our headsets and phones (for the apps not calls) every night from the bikes. Laptops pretty much suck when it comes to power but the iPad has awesome battery life and can be recharged from the bikes. We just use a compact bluetooth keyboard which barely adds any space. We like to use notebooks for the diary stuff because technology seems to break-down when you most need it but pens and paper are reliable and ubiquitous. Camera batteries seem to last forever so we'll carry a spare but plan on recharging them just when we do take a day off in a hotel.

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-Dachary & Kay
http://www.CorporateRunaways.com

Hi Hubbers,

Thanks for the advice. Im still unsure on what to go for as my local store has this tent on special offer

Banshee 200 | Tents | Vango

i Know that vango are a good make of tent but concerned as its a tunnel tent? Its main advantages are that its only 2kg in weight! I can get it for £63 british quid a steel for a decent waterproof two man tent. Im not the biggest of people so one man in a two man like this with my gear should be ok i think!

Any ideas????

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Me and my suzuki EN125 will be travelling 20'000km through South America - who said life was dull!!!!!

Seems a really good price, I've got something similar and I've made up my mind that my next tent will be semi-geodesic or at least crossed poles, it's not just that they are self supporting but they have more internal space as the walls are more vertical. I'll make do with mine for a year or two yet, it has been tried and tested in foul conditions, but is a bit cramped and sleeping with your ear-ole directly under the fly is testing when the rain is hammering!

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Anything can happen in the next half hour

I use a cheap dome tent (with a proper fly) and it works great! It's 2 man tent so I can store all my belongings inside. It is a little small so I have to sleep diagonally however that means it packs up smaller.

In my opinion you'd be better off spending less on the tent and buying one of those luxurylite beds.