Preparing to live out of a tent...

[Falkin88]

Come July of this year I will be living out of a tent until October. I've thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to roughly the New Hampshire/Maine border plus numerous other backpacking trips so living out of a tent is nothing new to me but this time it is a little different.

The lease on my current apartment expires in July and I’m going to be getting married in October. Since it’s only roughly one hundred days between my lease expiring and my getting married I’ve decided it’s not worth it to sublet an apartment in town. My fiance is currently renting a house from her parents that we will both be living in together after we are married but because of our religious beliefs we will not be living together before we are married.

I’m going to be camping out on her parents’ property so I will have access to electricity and water plus shower and bathroom facilities during the day if I need. Essentially I am going to be using this as practice for an extended SHTF situation. When the weather starts to warm up there is a large unused garden plot on the property that I have permission to cultivate so I’ll be planting a garden there. I also have access from the property to Stephens Creek and from there I am able to paddle my kayak all the way down to Lake Monroe if I wanted to so I’ll have ample fishing opportunities.

My plan is to attempt to use the grid utilities as little as possible and see how self-sufficient I can be off of the property. I am pretty much looking for any suggestions, ideas, or thoughts people have. I also plan on documenting my experience as I go along. So what think you?

 

[snapping turtle]

MOngolian yurt's......

Yurt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pacific Yurts-What is a Yurt?

I have lived in one. It can be moved and they are the stuff dreams are made of.

If you can build a deck you can build a yurt,

 

[Bill B]

Make sure you have a plan in place for a major storm, and be extra vigilant with your hygene.
I look forward to reading your experiences.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

You might also be able to rent a "substantial" tent from an outfitter.

I don't think that Dicks or Gander Mountain do this, though. Cabela's and/or Bass Pro MIGHT.

I know that Galyan's USED to when they were in business.

Oh, and be prepared to run an extension cord to power an ocsillating fan. Tent camping during the dog days is MISERABLE.

And public kudos to you for sticking up for your beliefs and not cohabitating before marriage.


-J-

 

[starbreather]

I hope you the best of luck, keep us posted on how things are going. +1 for maintaining your beliefs in a world whom seems to be lacking much.

 

[Leadeye]

Interesting experiment, be sure to pack plenty of tick repellent. Late July and Early August are bad for seed ticks. Keep us posted.

 

[grunt soldier]

definitely gonna be a good test for you. if your not moving the tent i would say buy one of the big versions with multiple rooms. buy a solar shower. it will be hot to say the least. good luck man and definitely keep us posted as you can

 

[ATOMonkey]

Look up "swamp cooler" for creature comforts.

 

[originalhonkey]

good luck and have fun

 

[PistolBob]

Sounds like fun to me...what's your girlfriend think?

 

[6birds]

Get either a small tarp, or extra rain fly for you tent, the UV is going to nuke the one you have in 4 months of summer daylight, replace your guy ropes too.

Get a good cot and 4" mattress, you'll be off the ground and sleep better, and can store stuff under the bunk.

Sheets and balnkets will work better than a bag for that length of time, in my opinion.

Hit www.24hourcampfire and look around the Back Pack Section, there are a few guys over there that are full time tenters.

A small stove is going to rock for the first cold evenings in September, you may want to think on that as the summer progresses.

A daily blog for "Backpacker" magazine, with a few gear reviews, could really make it fun, maybe end up with some gadgets before it's all done.

 

[oldbikelvr]

Build yourself a composting toilet. Build a platform for a toilet seat and put a 5 gallon bucket underneath. You can keep TP in a coffee can with a lid. When you do your business, cover it with a scoop of sawdust or ashes, or even grass clippings. I used one of these for a few months and it worked well.

 

[kycrawler]

i lived in a 24 ft dutchman camper trailer for 2 years while i was building a house i would suggest looking in your area for a cheap camper try craigslist i bought mine for $1700 propane fridge and furnace . i still have it and one of my friends lived in it for about 6 months after he ets'd from the army loads nicer than a tent . You may also consider building a mini barn about 8x12 should be sufficent and you could move it to your new house when your done

 

[jason867]

I think he wants to test himself living in a tent, in case he has to do it again in the future on little notice.

 

[darinb]

+100 on standing by your religious beliefs. You are going to live a possible dream of myself and I suspect others on here for those 100 days. I cant recommend a good tent since the most I have ever stayed in a tent was 5 days. I pray you have a great marriage and time spent in the tent. If you want you could find a cheap popup or trailer type camper but IMO that would ruin the fun

 

[DanO]

I secnd the YURT idea. Go to Tinyhouseblog.com and search yurts. There are a lot of DIY yurts there where people have lived in them for extended times. Make a "Humanure" composting toilet and put in a small wood stove and you will be set.

 

[Bazooka Joe]

What about a teepee? No ones mentiones that. I know a guy that lived in one for years in Idaho. They started calling him crazy. Then he adopted a coyote pup, now everyone calls him crazy coyote. Anyways, teepee is a goo idea as well as a yurt.

 

[Icarry2]

The TeePee is a great idea, I have lived in one for a length of time, even in the dead of winter, -22 deg F and done very well.

The tarp idea over the tent is also a good idea, maybe use a "pop up" style that can be moved away from the tent for more "dry space" if the weather is rainy. Otherwise it will also keep your tent cool in the hot days.

And +1 for the no-cohabitation..

Harbor Frieght has a small solar cell setup which could power LED lights and or other items..

Rain water could be used for drinking, washing, irrigation of your garden water, of course you should practice your water purification technics for your drinking and cooking water.

Simple Green is a great biodegradable all purpose cleaner. I have used it to wash closed, my person, and many other things..

Please keep us informed! Best of luck! Oh and Congrats on the engagement.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Bully for you!

 

[Falkin88]

Sorry I haven’t posted in here for a few days. My plan is to setup a wall tent that my dad gave me which he used to use when he was helping my uncle build his cabin in Montana. It’s in a little rough shape but overall it’s still very much useable. The only thing that it really lacks is that it was never designed for a stove but I have a Go-lite Shangri-la 3 with a TI Goat stove jack along with a Kifaru para stove that I use for winter camping so if it gets cold enough that I actually need a stove I’ll just use the Go-lite. My plan for the really hot nights is to use my Hennessey Hammock to sleep in. As far as severe weather I can setup just a basic dome tent under a carport and tarp off the sides and if it’s a really bad storm I can always go into the basement at her parents’ house.
My plan though is to really try and use the house amenities as little as possible. Really this won’t be a huge leap for me since I have spent greater amounts of time in the outdoors being a backpacking guide at camps but the key difference here is that I am still having to interact a lot with the everyday world because I will be taking summer classes at IU and working while I undertake this so I won’t really be able to take on my usual guide like appearance. Also I am trying to do it as self-sufficient as possible using only what I have in place between now and then unless absolutely necessary.