# Anybody ever live in a tent for extended period?



## catalekid (Jan 23, 2011)

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.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

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


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

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


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

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


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## mike554 (Jun 9, 2012)

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.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

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


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

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.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

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). ....


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

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


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

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.


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## Alaska (Jun 16, 2012)

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.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

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.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Get a small camp trailer.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

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.


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## catalekid (Jan 23, 2011)

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.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

catalekid said:


> 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.


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## Irish (Feb 10, 2012)

**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.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

vicker said:


> 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.


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## catalekid (Jan 23, 2011)

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.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

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.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

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.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

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


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

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.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

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


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## KaiserW (Jul 25, 2012)

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.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

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


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

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.


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## tom_the_chemist (Feb 25, 2012)

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!


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

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


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

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


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

I have a friend who lived for almost two years in a tipi. (to do so, a liner is a must)...This was in Ohio through two fairly severe winters.


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## Alaska (Jun 16, 2012)

tom_the_chemist said:


> 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!


Building a log cabin 12 miles from the nearest road on property we homesteaded in Alaska


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

Alaska said:


> 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.


I'd sure like to hear some of your stories over a campfire and a beer. Bet you have a few......


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## libby (Feb 27, 2011)

Yes! I've tent camped for 8 weeks at a time twice. (Colorado Renaissance festival- just finished up!) It does get old eventually, especially cooking. A separate outdoor area for summertime cooking is a must! 
Also, tarps are essential for both rain and shade. If you shade a tent, it will be many degrees cooler on a hot day than if left on its own. I've done both platform and non- I don't find a platform necessary unless mud will be an issue.
A canvas tent is much more breathable in hot weather than a nylon camping tent. Some friends of ours did that for a year (in central KS) and quite enjoyed it! "creature comforts" are a matter of opinion. As long as I have space to cook and a chair to read in I am very comfortable! So enjoy!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

dlskidmore said:


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


If you were living out of a backpacking tent, or out of the back of your truck, a yurt would be a definite step up!!!


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

texican said:


> If you were living out of a backpacking tent, or out of the back of your truck, a yurt would be a definite step up!!!


We're living in a very depressed neighborhood (several boarded up houses within sight of our porch) with a yard too shaded to grow anything but herbs. Onions are a two year crop here... I think a yurt on good land with promise of building in the future is a step up, but hubby is rather insistent about plumbing and internet...


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## imthedude (Jun 7, 2011)

i haven't for long-term but for a couple of weeks during elk season in the fall. wall tents are pretty nice if you equip them right and organization is there. it helps to have two different tents - one for cooking/eating and one for sleeping. or at the least to have a separate "porch" area to do your cooking/eating and store firewood in the dry. 

our elk camp is pretty nice. we do heavy tarps for the floors and carpet strips in the middle between cots. it stays really clean. the only time we've ever had an issue with mud was one time when we got about 5" of rain in an afternoon. otherwise it's nice inside. the floor option would be a great option and step up from the canvas tarps.

if you're looking at a big tent, the white canvas tent (i got mine from davis tent in denver) is much nicer than the old military GP-style tents. they get really hot. a fly is essential for staying dry in rain and snow (and also shading the tent and extending its life a little by keeping the sun off the fabric). 

it can be done and be done comfortably if you plan ahead a little.

good luck.


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## hannahbluehorse (Jul 28, 2012)

Like you, I live in upstate n.y. I bought 7 acres of soybean field 3 1/2 years ago and tried to live in a tent there that first summmer. I'd had previous success tenting elsewhere for as long as 6 weeks at a time in the summer. We bought a cheap nylon tent with a fly set up on a tarp groundcover and an aluminum framed canopy shelter. The canopy was crushed and shredded with the first big wind storms. We hoped the first was a fluke and set up the tent again. Repeat winds, over and over. Anyway our beautiful land is centered on a west to east wind tunnel -great for keeping the summer mosquitoes away. We are now building a beyond sturdy 12' x 24' shed that I call my "cottage". The muddy soybean field is now a productive hay field which could help pay for building materials which have skyrocketed in price. Know your location better than we did. Also, check with your town clerk regarding the laws regarding building codes and "camping" regulations. Here, you cannot stay on your own land more that 29 days at a time without a sewage system. But right across the river are many Amish with only outhouses.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

hannahbluehorse said:


> Know your location better than we did. Also, check with your town clerk regarding the laws regarding building codes and "camping" regulations. Here, you cannot stay on your own land more that 29 days at a time without a sewage system. But right across the river are many Amish with only outhouses.


Yeah, things can vary a lot between towns. it would not surprise me though if they just don't enforce around the Amish. They could defend themselves on religious freedom grounds...

You can get town laws changed. Make up a pamphlet about your "green initiative" and get signatures... "Support low-impact living in Springville!"


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## prairie hill (Jul 14, 2002)

Every fall, we go "semi-primitive" (no electric, carry water, no plumbing) tent camping for 9-10 days/nights. I know that's not exactly representative of "extended", but we've had some wildly variable conditions so have gained some helpful experience. 

We've camped in rain and lots of wind, when the temps were in the 80's (the tents get a lot hotter than the outside temps, of course) and when the temps dropped into the single digits. (We live in an area of wildly differing conditions; seems like it's becoming that way all over of late. We may be seeing that kind of conditions more often - things are getting weirder.) Three years ago, we got buckets of rain and wind followed by 9" of snow and ice, and after the snow arrived the temps through the week stayed in the low teens. When the wind blew (most the time) windchill was around 0. That was adventurous. :happy2: 

Before you pitch any tent near or under trees (which always seems nice, for extra protection, nevertheless...) PAY ATTENTION to the kind of trees. Some (like cottonwoods) - the branches tend to break more easily in wind, and you don't want your tent to get damaged or totally wrecked from falling branches, or somebody getting hurt from same.

For cold weather (we have gained far more experience regarding cold-weather camping, btw, than hot-weather) placing a tarp over the entire top of the tent helps a significant amount in cold or wet weather. We have a good rainfly with the tent we use, and we still put the tarp in between the tent and the rain fly. Aside from creating an extra layer between you and the elements, it also is extra insurance in the case of blowing rain or snow, that may cause moisture condensation to build up and invade your inside space. Not fun. 

For an extended time, pitching a tent on a raised (rough is ok) platform is most _definitely_ a good idea. If using a floored tent, USE A GROUND CLOTH NO MATTER WHAT you pitch on. Make sure the ground cloth edges are folded _under,_ and _underneath_ the edges of the tent floor, as anything sticking out will grab rain or snow - or even dew - and it'll go under the tent. 

We use sleeping bags in cold weather and found out a couple years ago how helpful the mylar "emergency blankets" (look like a big sheet of silver saran wrap, cheap and fold up into a small ziploc bag; we keep them in our emergency preparedness supply kits, too) are for reflecting body heat. We use them under our bags, and under a wool blanket over our bags. We bought stouter/ low-temp bags for this fall, so we'll experiment to see how much extra insulation we'll need. It's still excellent info to know - keep them handy and use mylar blankets! 

When it's cold and if you use an air mattress under regular bedding or bags, use a mylar blanket underneath the mattress _on top_ of some sort of additional insulation against the floor/ground. We use an old rectangular sleeping bag, opened up, directly on the floor, then a mylar blanket between it and the bottom of the mattress. The cold floor/ground temp will otherwise cause contraction and your mattress will go down, not to mention will absorb all that cold which you'll feel under you. If you use cots, use a mylar blanket under your bedding, it'll help reflect your body heat back to you, _and store stuff_ under your cot - the cold air will otherwise fill the space under your cot and you'll feel that.

The kind of tent you're speaking of, with the stove jack - having this kind is a huge advantage. You still need to keep an eye on the roof, though. You can build a barrel stove from a 30 gal or 55 gal drum, using a Vogalzang barrel stove kit, for under $100. If you use the "twin barrel" kit (increases cost by maybe $40), you'll make use of more heat inside the tent otherwise going out the flue, as the top one is used to hold and emanate more heat; the door is used only in the bottom one. We have the non-airtight version of the kit, but they make an airtight version too. There are varying opinions as to which to use - you load your stove a lot more with the non-airtight version. We have a welded flat platform on top of ours (we don't have the twin/double-decker stove setup) that we cook on and keep water kettles on, etc. Definitely love that! 

We camp "in community" with other campers during our fall campout and have two large canvas (no floor) tents similar to what you describe, for common events. We have stoves in both. If it gets too hot, we just roll up part of the wall (our military surplus tent does not have windows, our Denver Tent version has screened windows; helpful, naturally, if the bugs are bad.)

Speaking of bugs: flies, primarily; if you hang small baggies full of water at intervals just outside your tent, especially around the entrances, the light reflecting on the water helps a LOT to keep the flies out. Some say if you put a penny in each one, it helps more. Those multi-faceted eyes that flies have get over-stimulated from the glare, apparently, and they avoid it. It _works_. If they are inside your tent though, you gotta use the swatter! 

We have used a screen tent (10x12) as a cook tent for our own campsite (more what you'd be doing, I assume) using a propane camp stove and indoor/outdoor folding tables like the 4 or 5' ones; both work very well. We use a gas-grill size propane tank with a "tree" attached, standing just outside the cook tent - definitely helpful, as you thus have several "outlets" for propane appliances coming off the tree for use at the same time, and can keep a propane lantern on the top all the time. The propane hoses to use with a tree can be bought in varying lengths at most places. Alternately for cooking, we sometimes use a cast-iron propane burner like this one [ 3 BURNER CAST IRON STOVE GAS COOKER CAMPING LP PROPANE | eBay ] which works better for big pans. Sorry, not sure how to abbeviate a link.  (I use this outside at home for canning, because the house gets too hot.) 

We have used the screen tent for cooking and meals in some pretty inclimate weather; the only time it flat didn't work was when we had 9" of snow - the wind broke several poles during the storm, and we went to an alternative as we had no way to replace the poles til later. At any rate, snow can be swept off the roof of a smaller tent anyway, and should be. You can also use a decent sized one room tent as a cook tent, but take flammability into consideration. I wash dishes outside on an old card table with oilcloth over it, that I keep for that purpose. 

A open canopy-style setup for general shade/shelter is nice (although we have little success with those because of our wind) and probably ideal for a picnic table underneath. We'll be trying one again this fall - ours is a cheaper version of the 10x10 Easy-Up shelters. If you have trees, you can probably get a heavy-duty large (16x20 maybe) tarp and rig a shelter up that way instead. Then you have a tarp for other uses, too. We have accumulated several decent tarps over the last few years - my dream is to eventually have all canvas tarps except for what we use for ground cloths. We buy cheap ones for that.

If you are where you can set up this "system" - ie: on your own place - dig a pit away from everything else and use for disposal of waste - if you have sawmills anywhere close, obtain a sizable amount of sawdust, and shovel in layers over waste. Surround this area with at least a 4' fence rigged up with some semblance of gate for your use, to keep animals from getting into it. You can get toilet seats made for 5 gal buckets from preparedness places, which you'll just dump in your pit - or better yet - if this will be your place long-term - _build an outhouse_! 
Probably a lot more that I'm not thinking of, but hopefully this will be of some use. I am a camper at heart, so what you are doing appeals to me more than a camper! There's a place for each, I guess! :happy2:


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