Anybody ever live in a tent for extended period?

catalekid · #1 07/22/12, 12:54 PM

I am considering the purchase of a military M1945 Command Post tent with the purpose of living in it for several months at a time. It is approx. 10 X 20, is divided and has an opening for a stove pipe.

Would like to hear your thoughts concerning this and also love to hear from someone with first hand knowledge of tent living.

Big Dave · #2 07/22/12, 02:23 PM

These are great. I lived in one for better part of a year out by a lake. Stove worked real well in the cold.

jwal10 · #3 07/22/12, 02:31 PM

Spent a lot of time in a tent elk hunting. Wettest and coldest part of the year. You need to keep the stove going to relieve the cold and dampness. Spring, summer and fall can be fun camping out....James

Cabin Fever · #4 07/22/12, 02:58 PM

We have friends that lived two years in a teepee here in Northern Minnesota including the winters. It can be done.

mike554 · #5 07/22/12, 03:58 PM

I built a barn for a guy that lived for a couple years in a yurt which is just a glorified tent. There is a guy near me that has been living in a teepee.

arnie · #6 07/23/12, 10:55 PM

Living in a tent can get old fast .why not make life easyer .as fuel prices go up and economy down thete a lot of nice used rv's or camper trailors for sale cheep .not to mention mobile homes they'r better insulated most have propain stoves some have 12 volt lights and fridges .keep your eyes open in the bargin finder type papers or check with mobile home dealers for trade ins. I'v heard of mobile home park owners letting them go for scrap metal when up gradeing

kasilofhome · #7 07/23/12, 11:27 PM

May to Sept in 95 and 96 --just Two adults and one baby then toddler.

It was ok roomy enough. What made it better is that We set it up on a platform even larger than the tent making for a "porch" with a tarp roof. Weather changes and we avoided mud it was like 2 feet high with steps.

vicker · #8 07/23/12, 11:49 PM

Winter of 84 in a 13x9 Coleman in Pisgah NF, April thru November 2007- 2009 in a two man under a 24ft tarp, on a mountaintop in WV. It's not bad. Teaches you how little you really need to be happy. Teaching someone how to would be difficult over a forum. Organization is a must. Put things in boxes and keep them there unless using them. Wash dishes immediately after use. A good tarp over and good ground cloth under. Have enough room under your tarp to use as a porch like area during extended foul weather. Take your boots off outside the rent and leave them by the door (wear slippers inside). ....

vicker · #9 07/23/12, 11:53 PM

Oh! And, if you're staying in one place, build a platform bigger than your tent's footprint. Make it a foot or so off the ground, and level. Cover the whole thing with a tarp high enough to stand upright under, and long in the front. You'll think of me fondly on long rainy days, when you're sitting on your stoop, nice and dry and cooking a nice stew while reading a good book.

ETA
Kasilofhome, sorry, I didn't see you posted about the "porch".

it does make a difference.

How can you have a home without a stoop? We were building our home. I have a picture of me sitting on the stoop while the phone company man hooked up our tree phone

Cabin Fever · #10 07/24/12, 08:46 AM

Our friends who lived in the teepee, made a floor with a 2x4 frame and plywood top. Then, covered the plywood floor with indoor/outdoor carpeting. They also had a woodburning stove and gas lights in the teepee.

Alaska · #11 07/24/12, 06:49 PM

I spent the better part of the 80's in a tent. Three whole winters in Alaska in a 12x14 wall tent while we built a log cabin 12 miles from the nearest road.
I still look at those days as the best days of my life.

texican · #12 07/24/12, 10:40 PM

They're great! You boil in the summer and freeze in the winter.

I spent several 'summer seasons' (from early April to October) in quonsets in Alaska. I could have the heater cherry red and it'd stay cozy warm... as long as you weren't more than 5' away. I loved sleeping in sleeping bags, so ended up getting the 'breezy' tent for a couple of years.

Seriously, if creature comforts are low on the priority list, you can live real cheap.

I see military tents out of the Oklahoma City site (on govtliquidation.com) all the time... think some are on their right now.

You'll need glass containers or metal storage lockers for all your food, and probably your best clothes... or leave a bucket of rat poison out all the time, to keep all the varmints at bay.

houndlover · #13 07/25/12, 12:28 AM

Get a small camp trailer.

PhilJohnson · #14 07/25/12, 09:40 AM

Every summer as a kid. My parents had a big green canvas tent that they would set up. The platform idea is a good one, that's the only way to go in my opinion. However I'd say you would be much happier and not out that much more money if you built a simple cabin. It could always be used for a chicken coop or a garden shed later. I put up a small shack built out of scavenged materials just about nothing. It was cheaper than a tent and quite a bit more sturdy as well.

catalekid · #15 07/25/12, 11:49 AM

Thanks to you all for your replies, I read them all. Any kind of motor home or travel trailer is out of the question ......simply cannot get a vehicle in there. I do like the idea of a tarp over all that will form a porch with a roof.

I am looking at using a military surplus tent 16' X 16' on a platform for a year or maybe two while I build the cabin. It has a built in place for a stove pipe. I do understand that it will get extremely hot in summer so I may just vacate the tent during the heat and move back to town for a few months.

PhilJohnson · #16 07/25/12, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catalekid

Thanks to you all for your replies, I read them all. Any kind of motor home or travel trailer is out of the question ......simply cannot get a vehicle in there. I do like the idea of a tarp over all that will form a porch with a roof.

I am looking at using a military surplus tent 16' X 16' on a platform for a year or maybe two while I build the cabin. It has a built in place for a stove pipe. I do understand that it will get extremely hot in summer so I may just vacate the tent during the heat and move back to town for a few months.

Do you have power on your land? What about getting a double wall tent and putting an AC unit in it? My friend who was in Iraq told me that the tents over there had provisions for an AC unit. While it didn't work great it was enough to keep the temp at a tolerable level.

Irish · #17 07/25/12, 02:25 PM

**I've been a member for a while but haven't posted for quite some time**

As for living in a tent, I lived in a huge tipi for about four years in the 1990's. Way out in the country. Actually, it was one of the best times of my life!! Made it into a two storey. I still miss it.

dlskidmore · #18 07/25/12, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicker

Have enough room under your tarp to use as a porch like area during extended foul weather. Take your boots off outside the rent and leave them by the door (wear slippers inside). ....

don't leave the shoes outside if you skip the extra large tarp part. Did that. Walked around in soggy shoes all weekend.

catalekid · #19 07/25/12, 06:51 PM

No electricity........... never will be other than what is produced by a currently small solar setup and a 2000 watt generator. I know the generator will power a small AC unit but don't want to use it that much.

Dusky Beauty · #20 07/25/12, 07:25 PM

I used to be a reenactor, and the longest I lived in a tent in one stretch was 6 days.
Serious folks in the hobby put a lot of money and effort to be as comfortable as possible with wood stoves for cooking and heat and rope beds... it can certainly be comfier than a hotel room!

But it's not something I would look forward to long term with my small children underfoot.

I agree with the "porch" idea, and make sure your tent is tall enough that you can stand fully upright. Hunching your back to be indoors is not so fun or feel good.

dlskidmore · #21 07/25/12, 07:47 PM

Mom's big thing when doing long campouts was making some arrangement so she would never have to cook in the rain. Sometimes it was a dining fly, sometimes it was just a car with a hatch and an empty space in the back to set the stove. My personal solution is to just have some non-cook foods on hand, but I've only had temporary situations where going home or going out to dinner was a viable alternative if we needed something hot on day three of a rainy week and didn't want to cook in the rain.

vicker · #22 07/25/12, 09:53 PM

I've always liked putting up a separate tarp for a cooking area. It gives you another place to hang out in bad weather.

Raven12 · #23 07/25/12, 10:35 PM

Interesting thread. Today I came across an article about revamping old travel trailers/5th wheelers. Seems the most expensive part is hooking up the sewer. Vicker, I was thinking about "stuff" and dumping most of it. Maybe getting a portable barn/shed that could be winterized and used as a living space in addition to the trailer.

A tent or trailer would be a perfect way to get around the ridiculous property taxes.

vicker · #24 07/26/12, 12:04 AM

A small building would be warmer than a tent in winter, and that can sure make the difference. I've spent too many nights freezing my buns off

KaiserW · #25 07/27/12, 08:56 AM

i spent the fall/winter of 93 in a yurt in upstate ny. very cold, lots of snow and i was very comfortable. the yurt was on a platform and had a jerry rigged wood stove. it had a hole in the center of the roof intended to vent a fire pit which was covered with clear plastic, skylight! lol

the biggest issue i ran into was getting snowed in, snow too deep to drive through, you need to be prepared for that. and the outhouse seemed like the coldest place on earth.

it's easy and very do-able if you don't "need" the creature comforts of modern living. i miss those days.

dlskidmore · #26 07/27/12, 10:23 AM

I tried to convince hubby that we could live in a yurt when we moved, he is not convinced.

Nimrod · #27 07/27/12, 11:22 AM

I camp out for a month at a time in a tent or pop-up camper. The idea of a rain fly is a good one but here we need number 4 shot shells in a 12 guage to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I got a screened canopy Screen Houses & Canopies - Camping Gear - Mills Fleet Farm
and put it up over a picnic table. I do my cooking and eating there and it's a good place to sit and read too.

I don't try to camp out in winter. I doubt the screen canopy would handel the snow load. LOL

The one thing I missed when camping out is fresh baked goods. I now use a dutch oven to bake rolls and cakes. I have to check out a solar oven too.

tom_the_chemist · #28 07/27/12, 08:17 PM

Great thread. Just out of curiosity, what were some of your reasons for living in tents? If you were living in a remote area was it for the fun of it or a job. Quite intrigued by this whole thread. Thanks!

vicker · #29 07/27/12, 08:21 PM

The winter in the early 80s I was hand planting trees, the second time I was building my future ex-wife a nice house on 27 acres. The last time I was building me a shack on my sister's property

arnie · #30 07/27/12, 11:03 PM

A simple plywood shelter with a floor is a step above a tent .much easyer to keep warm or cool more varmit proof .my vote still goes for a camper trailor . do you want to spend your time working on your project or hauling fire wood and stocking up a fire to keep warm and the dampness out