[QUOTE=KFC;17493656]
Originally Posted by
indyfabz
I am a tall guy and have what seems to me to be a bulky sleeping bag (Cat's Meow 20+ long). I have lashed it to the front platform with compression straps:
QUOTE]
The picture is most informative. I am toying with the idea of putting all my camping gear (tent, ground sheet, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and stove) in a five gallong plastic bucket and lashing it to the front rack. That way I could set up camp without getting into the panniers, and the bucket would be a useful item at primative campsites (something to sit on, gather water in, table, gathering firewood etc.) I would look like an idiot, but I would enjoy that!
That would be a lot of stuff up front and probably unruly. If everything is not snug it will bounce around. And if the bucket ever came loose, you could be in big trouble. Wind resistance would be another issue. A cover for rain to prevent the bucket from filling with water?
Getting stuff out of panniers in camp is not a big deal. You are presumably going to have to get clothes out anyway. My tent and plastic tarp sit on the back rack. Cooking gear is in the right front pannier. Put things you might need to break out while on the road (e.g. rain gear) in the left panniers since you will most likely lean the right side of your bike against something (.e.g, guardrail).
Here is what things looked like during my MT tour last summer:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57645062932708
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57645062932708
That right rear pannier is bloated with my sleeping bag. Color coordination is optional.
Here is the pie:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57631829948559