If You Had to Live in a Tent

[Abracadabra]

If you had to live in a tent for let's say a year. What type of tent would you choose and why? I am still searching for a tent. Have been doing some reading and of course I'm still confused. Would like to have one that can hold up to strong winds and that we can keep warm in during let's say 10 degree weather. We will probably spend around $2000. We will want a large tent since we might need to live in it for a while. Oh, now let me clarify. We are not choosing to live in this tent now, we are looking for a possible time that we may have to live in it. I'm not a camper by any means. Used to camp out 25 years ago but my camping now is a nice hotel with all the amenities. Thank you for your advice.

[CurtisG]

I dont know about the cost,(looks like the nice ones that are advertised in Mother Earth News start at nearly $5000 yikes) but for a year, I'm thinking Yurt. The circular design is very wind resistant and they are nicely insulated.
Got kids? They would get a big bang out of living in a teepee. Having a fire inside and letting the smoke escape through the hole at the top makes it a good cold weather choice too.
Sometimes Sportsman's Guide has those "base camp" style tents that have an opening to allow a woodstove chimney to pass through. Again, I have no clue about the cost.

[Poltax]

I would choose a Wall Tent. Room to stand, have sitting area. You can also have a small wood stove in them, with a kitchen area depending on size. Guides and outfitters use them in the back country all the time. They stand up to all kinds of weather. Wall tents are available in several sizes or you can have one custom made to your specs. Windows, extra door, chimney insert, canvas floor. Google Wall Tents and you will find lots of resources.

They are heavy but you can move them if needed. Steel or wood frames. Best set up would be to build a wooden platform to put it on, with steel frame,if your not going to move it for awhile. Then use cots to sleep on. Sims or packing stove, they also have water heaters. Barrel style stove would also work.

If that would not work then I would go with a Kirkham tent or a Kodiak tent.

[mirkwood]

What circumstances do you think would put you in a tent?

[CurtisG]

What circumstances do you think would put you in a tent?
really angry wife.....or living on a nice piece of rural land while your house is being built....

[ghostcat]

The Tipi or the yurt would get my vote. I have owned an 18' tipi for the last 14 years. During that time I or members of my family have used it extensively in all kinds of conditions and weather. We have gone through micro bursts, below zero temperatures, torrential rains, and dust storms with nary a hitch. My son lived in ours for 3 months in comfort one summer while working as a camp councilor. As a family we have lived in it on several week long camp outs. A well set up tipis' ability to withstand high winds is impressive. We were once camped at a huge Scout encampment when a micro burst came through. The high winds shredded scores of the modern tents, flattened most of the wall tents, tore up and knocked down the circus tent style tents but left every one of the tipis virtually unscathed although one tipi which had not been staked down properly was picked up and moved 2 to 3 feet :l0 (44):.
I would feel almost as secure in a yurt although I don't know about its abilities to withstand high winds.

[constable01]

Military surplus, General Purpose medium tent. Rot/mildew resistant canvass, large enough to put bunks in, you can stand up an move freely inside, You can build a semi permanent frame from 2X4's. Already ready to accept a coal/wood burning heat stove that you could probably cook on too. If you get one of the newer modular tent it already has an aluminum frame is vinyl weatherproof fabric and has windows.

[Abracadabra]

What circumstances do you think would put you in a tent?

None at the moment but the time could come that we are told to leave our homes and flee to a safer location. I'm pretty sure that sleeping under a tree would not be something I would be fond of especially if it's pouring down rain or freezing temperatures. I don't know that our family would ever need one but in my mind I can't help but think it should be something to add to our preparedness. We already have 0 degree sleeping bags and a small tent that we've had for years and more camping provisions, but a really good tent might prove to be beneficial.

[DMGNUT]

Do you expect this might be used in your front yard (perhaps after an earthquake, etc) or do you think you'll drive to where ever you'll need it?
Regardless... maybe consider going with a nicer (but used, to save on the cost) tent trailer.
There are a lot of articles online from folks who use these in extreme conditions (cold included) with great success.
One that stood out to me (can't find the link now) was a family who had put an insulation blanket on the tent part of the camper (these are commercially made and they said it was nothing more than an additional layer of canvas and not too expensive).
They put an easy-up next to the camper (one side sheltered by the camper and walls on 2 other sides) and did all the cooking out side and the sleeping and hygiene related matters inside.
The article mentioned (with the added insulation) they could keep the inside at about 65 degrees when the outside temps dipped into the teens.
Although I don't have one, I've always wanted a large tee-pee (love the simplicity of design).
I've looked into the yurts, but dismissed them as being too involved for setting up (definitely a long term/ quasi-permanent structure).
I have a large wall tent (from Cabelas, which I bought second-hand for a great price) and a cylinder stove with water heater.
Despite my best intentions... I've never taken them out for that trial run...
We finally put a tent trailer on "the list" and will hopefully have one by mid-way through next year.

It's just a thought... if you don't have another trailer you're already intending to pull (if you have to go), pulling your tent behind you opens up extra space in you car or truck for other essentials... or if there's been an earthquake or EMP and you're not leaving, just open it up right next to the house. :smile (2):

[libertygranny]

Well, we all may need a tent before too long....just look at what has happened to the folks who live on houseboats on Lake Mead....forced out their homes because of the gov't shutdown! One article I read quoted one family who said they didn't have anywhere to go so they are in a motel for now, but they didn't know how long they could afford to stay in it. As I was reading the article I thought of this thread, with a tent and supplies they could maybe stay in someone's backyard or a state park for a lot less.

[mirkwood]

Some good advice offered in the above posts on tents. I have nothing better to add, except you get what you pay for.

[mgriffith]

Whatever kind of tent you get, DO NOT get one with a floor. If you have to live in your tent for a while, after a few weeks, the grass under the floor will turn into a smelly slimy mass of rotting vegetation. It's better to have a grass floor that gradually turns to dirt as the grass dies from lack of sunlight.

Also get cots, and lots of plastic tubs. If you can keep everything off the ground, you can have a river flowing through your tent and everything will stay dry, including you. I've done that. :)

Mark

[ZDMZ]

My first thought was to get a Harry Potter tent that is bigger on the inside than on the outside. But, I don't know where to get one. :wink (2):
I have lived in my teardrop trailer for a week and would not want to stay in it much longer than that. Bigger would be a LOT better.
Stayed in a Springbar tent (about a 8x10 footer) with one other person for a week and it was pretty comfortable. I think a wall type tent would work fairly well for longer periods of time.

For a year stay....wow....that would be tough. I would probable want a second tent for STUFF, and a third tent as a kitchen. Keep the first tent as the bedroom in an effort to keep it less cluttered and more comfortable.

[signseeker]

What circumstances do you think would put you in a tent?

Call-out. :cheers2:

[DMGNUT]

Do my eyes deceive me?
Hey Signseeker, welcome back.

[mgriffith]

For a year stay....wow....that would be tough. I would probable want a second tent for STUFF, and a third tent as a kitchen. Keep the first tent as the bedroom in an effort to keep it less cluttered and more comfortable.

The answer to long term tent living is.....you don't live in the tent like you live in your house. You live "out of doors" and the tent is where you sleep.

Think of living in a large porch with a roof over your head and three or maybe four sides open to the world. Next to you is a door into your house. You live on the porch, reading, eating, maybe napping....everything else you would do. At night, you retreat into your house and sleep. That is long term tent living. Trying to live in a tent will drive you nuts, like cabin fever. You have to get outside, see the sun, feel the air on your face, take in deep breaths.

You don't cook or eat in the tent. You have a campfire next to your porch or a large fireplace attached to the porch, and you cook there. You have a large table under your porch where you eat, read, play cards, sit around and talk with friends, whatever.

You also have the entire area around your porch to roam and use as you see fit. Have a garden, play games, go hiking, etc. During bad weather, you stay under your porch. Sure, in the winter you need to wear proper clothing, and maybe spend more time sitting around the fire. You might even close off two or three sides of the porch to better protect you from the weather, but are able to take those down when the weather improves. If living outside doesn't appeal to your or your spouse, and you would rather have, as you said, three tents for 1) living, 2) cooking and 3) sleeping, know that you will spend all your time doing nothing more than gathering and cutting wood and tending to the three fires to keep your abodes warm. Outside living means you live outside, with proper clothing and you keep a very small campfire going to heat up when you are ready to cook, or to warm you up in very cold weather. You don't have a fire in the tent at all, unless someone is in there sick, or just before you go to bed to warm it up. Then it dies down at night and you sleep very well with lots of blankets, but that is another subject all together.

At night, you retreat into your tent, change into bed clothes, and relax in bed, maybe read a book, and then go to sleep. Next morning, you get up, change into day/work clothes, and start all over. Under extreme weather conditions, like very cold weather, you might spend a day or two in the tent hunkered down. Your tent should have some sort of heater to keep you relatively warm during those times and give you some place to fix simple meals. And simple is the word. A tent stove won't put out enough heat to fry things, or cook large meals. If you did get it that hot, you would not be able to get near it, and it will start fires inside your tent. Not something you would like. You can heat up already cooked food or make soup. As soon as you can you go back outside.

The porch can easily be made with a large tarp and supports, either existing trees, or poles you put up and stake down. Large tarps are heavy and take a lot of support, and they tend to be a problem in strong winds. But they are enjoyable. Even a small 10x10 tarp gives you more room than you have in your tent and without the claustrophobic tendencies. Of course a large pavilion type of structure with a nice large fireplace or wood stove vented to the roof would be ideal.

Remember, it's not tent living, it's tent sleeping and the living happens outside. Learn to live with the weather.

Mark

[arbilad]

Call-out. :cheers2:

Very good to see you, Sign.

[signseeker]

Living in a tent for a year? I'd get an RV. Or a cave.

Since I've been away from glo my views of how things will pan out have changed a great deal. Tent-living doesn't jive with what I'm preparing for.

[arbilad]

Living in a tent for a year? I'd get an RV. Or a cave.

Since I've been away from glo my views of how things will pan out have changed a great deal. Tent-living doesn't jive with what I'm preparing for.

My only tent is a cheap tent bought for under $50, and it works for the short campouts I do. So far I haven't felt inspired to get anything else.

[NoGreaterLove]

If it came down to something like that, I would just dig a hole on my property and build a shelter.

[mirkwood]

I have a nice tent for camping. I would do for longer term shelter in my backyard if I could not use my house. Long term shelter would be built on location.

[mgriffith]

I have a nice tent for camping. I would do for longer term shelter in my backyard if I could not use my house. Long term shelter would be built on location.

That's exactly what I would do. Living in a tent for a long period of time will eventually destroy the tent. The combination of sun and weather will ruin the fabric, so unless you have the ability, and the material, to sew together a new tent, your shelter will slowly disintegrate around you.

But the tent will give you enough time, if you have the skills, to build a more durable shelter.

Mark