A Bike Tent for Your RV: Good for More Than Just Bikes

We recently noticed someone in the comments section of an RV-related article mentioning how much they love their bike tent. What we found interesting is that the commenter and his wife don’t even own bicycles!

However, every night at their campsite they store lots of other things in the bicycle tent like their dog’s bed, camping chairs, and more. Not only do their belongings not get wet & moldy from exposure to overnight rain or dew, but they don’t have to pack their stuff up and store it all inside their RV every night.

This made us curious about bike tents and inspired us to further research and write this post about their uses beyond the obvious (biking).

What Is a Bike Tent?

A bike tent (or “bicycle tent”) is a tent that’s shaped and sized to hold one or two or more bicycles. Bike tents were designed to protect bicycles from the elements so they could be left outside but covered.

Bicycle tents are great for anyone who doesn’t have a garage, but they’re also appreciated by RVers who take regular bikes, folding bikes, or e-bikes along in their travels. A bike tent gives campers a place to store their bikes (or other items) at the campsite.

A bike tent is easy and quick to set up, doesn’t weigh much, and is extremely compact to store when folded down. As a bonus, many bike tents are very reasonably priced.

What Can You Store In a Bike Tent?

As you may know from our post on RV bike racks in general as well as our post on the RV ladder bike rack, we carry e-bikes with us in our travels. But ours have always been exposed to the elements 24/7/365.

But without owning a bike at all, and despite the name “Bike Tent,” many campers bring them along to store lots of things besides bikes. When you set up your campsite, having somewhere to quickly and easily store your gear overnight is great. This gets your stuff out of sight for added security and protects it from overnight rain or dew.

Wet gear leads to mold & mildew and can easily ruin anything made of porous material. Moisture can also cause metal items (like bike parts) to rust. Here are a few things that campers might like to store overnight in a bike tent.

Pet Beds & Toys

If you travel with pets, you may have beds or mats they lay on when they’re outside. They probably also have favorite toys they like to keep nearby.

When you’re cleaning up your campsite at the end of the day, you need to store this type of stuff away. Besides mold and mildew problems, animals can cause problems with pet beds and toys that are left out overnight.

A bike tent lets you quickly toss all of your pets’ favorite things into a waterproof or water-resistant tent so they’ll be in good shape for your fur babies the following day.

Kids Gear

The same is true for kids’ gear. If you travel with children, you probably have toys, balls, a frisbee, water soakers, and a bunch of other gear for kids to play with. All of this is perfect for tossing into your bike tent at night or even just when you want to clean up your campsite a bit.

Wet Bathing Suits & Shoes

Wet bathing suits can be hung inside a bike tent, preventing you from having to hang them inside your RV bringing moisture into the rig. Wet, muddy (or smelly) shoes can be tossed into a bike tent, too which keeps mud and moisture (and stink) outside.

Wet water shoes can also be tossed into the tent to dry.

Camping Chairs & Table

Instead of leaving your canvas camping chairs and your camping tables outside overnight, just set them into your bike tent for safekeeping. Most bicycle tents have plenty of room for several chairs and tables.

Fishing Gear

Wet fishing gear is another thing you don’t want to bring into your RV.. or leave lying around outside. Tossing your fishing poles and tackle box into your bike tent protects your gear without requiring you to store it inside your RV’s storage compartments overnight.

Wet Life Preservers and Paddles

If you have a kayak or canoe, you’ve got life preservers and paddles as part of your gear. Toss them into your bike tent for easy overnight storage and a place for your life jackets to dry.

Golf Clubs

You can even set a couple of golf bags into your bike tent to keep them out of the elements without having to pack them away in a storage compartment every night. And with something that valuable/expensive, the added security of keeping them out of sight brings extra peace of mind.

What to Consider When Shopping for a Bike Tent

A bike tent is a fairly simple product, but there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when shopping for one.

Material

The material from which your bike tent is made is one of the most important aspects you’ll want to consider.

There are waterproof bicycle tents, though some are only water-resistant. If you want to be able to leave your gear out on a rainy night without concern about it getting wet, you’ll want to opt for a waterproof tent.

In addition to weather resistance, you’ll want to shop for a bike tent made from durable material that will last.

Easy Setup and Tear-Down

The easier your bike tent is to set up and tear down, the more likely you are to use it… and be satisfied with it. No one wants to spend half an hour setting up a tent to store your gear when setting up camp.

Pop-up-type tents are super easy and quick to set up and collapse. You’ll want to make sure stakes are included to keep your tent from being tossed by the wind. As always, we suggest reading reviews from real-life users to see what they have to say about their experiences setting up and tearing down the tent.

Compact Storage

You’ll want a tent that’s lightweight and collapses into a small package. That will allow you to easily carry and store it in a storage compartment or rooftop cargo box.

Price

Price is a consideration for most of us, and there are lots of bike tents on the market at various price points. Find one that suits your budget while meeting the criteria that are most important to you.

Bike Tents for RVing & Camping

Now, let’s take a look at some popular bike tents for RVing, camping, and even home use.

Pero Auzro Portable Outdoor Bike Tent for 3-4 Bikes

With dimensions of 78.74″L x 31.5″W x 64.96″ H when set up, these bike tents from Pero Auzro are capable of holding 3-4 bikes or gear equivalent to that size. The tent weighs only 5.3 pounds.

Pero Auzro bicycle tents are made of 210D Oxford fabric and are available in grey, green, or haze blue. Many of these types of tents are made of 190T polyester, which isn’t as strong and durable as 210 Denier, a medium-weight nylon with a urethane coating and high water resistance.

Marketed as waterproof, these tents offer 4000 mm water resistance as well as UV protection. These bike tents are completely closed when zipped but do have an 11.5-inch window that can be zipped open for ventilation.

This tent comes with a carry bag and four ground spikes and can be assembled and disassembled in five minutes.

iCool Outdoor Bike Tent for 2 BikesWe recently noticed someone in the comments section of an RV-related article mentioning how much they love their bike tent. What we found interesting is that the commenter and his wife don’t even own bicycles!

However, every night at their campsite they store lots of other things in the bicycle tent like their dog’s bed, camping chairs, and more. Not only do their belongings not get wet & moldy from exposure to overnight rain or dew, but they don’t have to pack their stuff up and store it all inside their RV every night.

This made us curious about bike tents and inspired us to further research and write this post about their uses beyond the obvious (biking).

What Is a Bike Tent?

A bike tent (or “bicycle tent”) is a tent that’s shaped and sized to hold one or two or more bicycles. Bike tents were designed to protect bicycles from the elements so they could be left outside but covered.

Bicycle tents are great for anyone who doesn’t have a garage, but they’re also appreciated by RVers who take regular bikes, folding bikes, or e-bikes along in their travels. A bike tent gives campers a place to store their bikes (or other items) at the campsite.

A bike tent is easy and quick to set up, doesn’t weigh much, and is extremely compact to store when folded down. As a bonus, many bike tents are very reasonably priced.

What Can You Store In a Bike Tent?

As you may know from our post on RV bike racks in general as well as our post on the RV ladder bike rack, we carry e-bikes with us in our travels. But ours have always been exposed to the elements 24/7/365.

But without owning a bike at all, and despite the name “Bike Tent,” many campers bring them along to store lots of things besides bikes. When you set up your campsite, having somewhere to quickly and easily store your gear overnight is great. This gets your stuff out of sight for added security and protects it from overnight rain or dew.

Wet gear leads to mold & mildew and can easily ruin anything made of porous material. Moisture can also cause metal items (like bike parts) to rust. Here are a few things that campers might like to store overnight in a bike tent.

Pet Beds & Toys

If you travel with pets, you may have beds or mats they lay on when they’re outside. They probably also have favorite toys they like to keep nearby.

When you’re cleaning up your campsite at the end of the day, you need to store this type of stuff away. Besides mold and mildew problems, animals can cause problems with pet beds and toys that are left out overnight.

A bike tent lets you quickly toss all of your pets’ favorite things into a waterproof or water-resistant tent so they’ll be in good shape for your fur babies the following day.

Kids Gear

The same is true for kids’ gear. If you travel with children, you probably have toys, balls, a frisbee, water soakers, and a bunch of other gear for kids to play with. All of this is perfect for tossing into your bike tent at night or even just when you want to clean up your campsite a bit.

Wet Bathing Suits & Shoes

Wet bathing suits can be hung inside a bike tent, preventing you from having to hang them inside your RV bringing moisture into the rig. Wet, muddy (or smelly) shoes can be tossed into a bike tent, too which keeps mud and moisture (and stink) outside.

Wet water shoes can also be tossed into the tent to dry.

Camping Chairs & Table

Instead of leaving your canvas camping chairs and your camping tables outside overnight, just set them into your bike tent for safekeeping. Most bicycle tents have plenty of room for several chairs and tables.

Fishing Gear

Wet fishing gear is another thing you don’t want to bring into your RV.. or leave lying around outside. Tossing your fishing poles and tackle box into your bike tent protects your gear without requiring you to store it inside your RV’s storage compartments overnight.

Wet Life Preservers and Paddles

If you have a kayak or canoe, you’ve got life preservers and paddles as part of your gear. Toss them into your bike tent for easy overnight storage and a place for your life jackets to dry.

Golf Clubs

You can even set a couple of golf bags into your bike tent to keep them out of the elements without having to pack them away in a storage compartment every night. And with something that valuable/expensive, the added security of keeping them out of sight brings extra peace of mind.

What to Consider When Shopping for a Bike Tent

A bike tent is a fairly simple product, but there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when shopping for one.

Material

The material from which your bike tent is made is one of the most important aspects you’ll want to consider.

There are waterproof bicycle tents, though some are only water-resistant. If you want to be able to leave your gear out on a rainy night without concern about it getting wet, you’ll want to opt for a waterproof tent.

In addition to weather resistance, you’ll want to shop for a bike tent made from durable material that will last.

Easy Setup and Tear-Down

The easier your bike tent is to set up and tear down, the more likely you are to use it… and be satisfied with it. No one wants to spend half an hour setting up a tent to store your gear when setting up camp.

Pop-up-type tents are super easy and quick to set up and collapse. You’ll want to make sure stakes are included to keep your tent from being tossed by the wind. As always, we suggest reading reviews from real-life users to see what they have to say about their experiences setting up and tearing down the tent.

Compact Storage

You’ll want a tent that’s lightweight and collapses into a small package. That will allow you to easily carry and store it in a storage compartment or rooftop cargo box.

Price

Price is a consideration for most of us, and there are lots of bike tents on the market at various price points. Find one that suits your budget while meeting the criteria that are most important to you.

Bike Tents for RVing & Camping

Now, let’s take a look at some popular bike tents for RVing, camping, and even home use.

Pero Auzro Portable Outdoor Bike Tent for 3-4 Bikes

With dimensions of 78.74″L x 31.5″W x 64.96″ H when set up, these bike tents from Pero Auzro are capable of holding 3-4 bikes or gear equivalent to that size. The tent weighs only 5.3 pounds.

Pero Auzro bicycle tents are made of 210D Oxford fabric and are available in grey, green, or haze blue. Many of these types of tents are made of 190T polyester, which isn’t as strong and durable as 210 Denier, a medium-weight nylon with a urethane coating and high water resistance.

Marketed as waterproof, these tents offer 4000 mm water resistance as well as UV protection. These bike tents are completely closed when zipped but do have an 11.5-inch window that can be zipped open for ventilation.

This tent comes with a carry bag and four ground spikes and can be assembled and disassembled in five minutes.

iCool Outdoor Bike Tent for 2 Bikes

This green waterproof tent has dimensions of 78.8 x 31.5 x 65 inches, making it suitable for up to two bikes or gear of equivalent size.

Weighing only 5.24 pounds, this bike tent from iCool is made of high-quality 210D Oxford cloth, three layers of anti-tear material, and offers PU4000 water resistance as well as UV protection.

It has an integrated floor, and a full zipper design to completely seal the door to protect against water, dust, and insects. All seams are rolled and double-stitched. There’s also a small window for ventilation. Assembly/disassembly takes around 10 minutes.

VVASXX Heavy-Duty Bike Tent

This bike tent has a smaller footprint with room for two bikes, or an equivalent amount of gear.

Made of high-quality 210D silver-plated Oxford cloth, this tent has three layers of anti-tear material and is waterproof offering UP4000 water resistance and anti-ultraviolet treatment for protection from the sun.

The dimensions of this bike tent are 78.7″ x 31.5″ x 66.17″ and it weighs in at 5.2 pounds. It has fiberglass tent supports and a full zipper design that can completely seal the door and the integrated floor.

It’s foldable for compact storage and comes with a carry bag, although there’s no mention of stakes being included.

YardStash III Lightweight Bike Storage Tent

Moving up in price level, these next two bike tents come from YardStash.

The YardStash III is the company’s lighter-weight storage tent. It’s made from a tough, heavy-duty weather resistant UV-protected polyester. At 16 pounds, this tent weighs three times as much as the previous tents featured.

With dimensions of 74″ X 32″ X 68″, it fits two adult-sized bikes (or the equivalent).

This bike tent has a reinforced integrated floor, large zippers with storm flaps, a back panel for locking bikes to a fence or pole, and a front mesh vent for ventilation and to reduce condensation.

YardStash says it takes around 10 minutes to assemble, but we saw reviewers saying it’s much easier to set up with two people than it is with one. The YardStash III is green and its frame is made of alloy steel and plastic.

YardStash IV Heavy-Duty Bike Storage Tent

Weighing in at a hefty 18.7 pounds, the YardStash IV is the heaviest of the bicycle tents we’re including here. This 74″ x 32″ x 68″ tent offers bike storage for two adult bikes or equivalent-sized gear.

It’s made of waterproof vinyl with sealed seams and YardStash says it’s capable of being used in extreme weather conditions year-round. It has a metal frame and includes a set of eyelets to secure it to the ground, a fence, or a wall for protection from strong winds.

Reviewers note that the material is very heavy-duty and can withstand extreme temperatures and weather, including heavy rainfall. They also mention that it’s best to set up this tent with the help of a second person due to the design. A storage bag is included.

Do You Use a Bike Tent?

Have you used a bike tent to store bikes or other gear when you’re camping? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience. Leave a comment below, including your brand of tent, and let us know how well it’s held up.

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