full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

[TNONMYMIND]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

nycgrrl: I'm (we're) still at it! can you believe it's been over 3 years since we began this adventure.
It's actually Beaver Lake, Arkansas. We do use a heater in the tent and the cot is working out pretty good.
When we do stay in a motel and I sleep in a real bed, it doesn't feel right to me.(ha)
No regrets/concerns, just wish we had a better way to keep ice in the coolers last longer. Even with a bigger vehicle, space is limited, so a bigger cooler wouldn't be an option at this time...the cooler weather will help some. have thought of buying a portable ice maker, or even a dorm size fridge, but then we're locked in to electric sites in campgrounds...

[Manduke]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

I would suggest looking into a smaller vehicle like a minivan or cargo van, maybe a pick up with a cap, just to cut out the tent, and allow you to camp inside of cities, or in walmart parking lots. (because they have wifi) You're going to have a vehicle anyway right? may as well get one you can sleep in. after all you're going to have to make money somewhere, do you want to leave your camp unattended? or do you want to have to pay to use campgrounds when you can't just pitch in the woods, in states such as new jersey?

I only recently chose this van living as my own, but it's working for me so far. maybe you can learn a few things, or get ideas from my style of life?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_N...S4SNJXGtM0nZdQ

[MrMacnCheese]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

I have spent quite a bit of time looking for information on full-time tent camping and hit on the right search terms (full-time tent) yesterday. I read through all 7 pages and I'm a little overwhelmed but much more hopeful. Do you have any basic lessons for me after this much time? Also, are there particular sites or blogs you use?

[Manduke]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

i don't see it being an issue, it's not far from my lifestyle, though i went with the van to help with diversity. it's not overly large, fits all my stuff, and i never have to worry about where i'm going to pitch my tent. assuming you aren't planning to backpack across the country, you might want to look into at least a minivan, as i'm assuming you'll want to see all the big cities this country has to offer, and sleeping in a tent isn't going to allow for that.

[markkee]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

Living in a van seems easier because you can always pack up and leave on short notice.

[MrMacnCheese]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

i don't see it being an issue, it's not far from my lifestyle, though i went with the van to help with diversity. it's not overly large, fits all my stuff, and i never have to worry about where i'm going to pitch my tent. assuming you aren't planning to backpack across the country, you might want to look into at least a minivan, as i'm assuming you'll want to see all the big cities this country has to offer, and sleeping in a tent isn't going to allow for that.

Thank you for your good effort to help. My difference from you is that I do not want to see "all the big cities". Other than DC, probably none of them. Usually, I'll be spending time near smaller towns and/or on National Forest or BLM land. The basic plan for my travels is to spend up to two weeks at a time in "dispersed" camping for free on those Federal lands, exploring the area or just taking care of myself in camp, then moving on. Winters go by rather nicely on the BLM LTVAs (Long Term Visitor Areas) in Arizona or California ($180 for up to seven months), with plenty of vandwellers and Rvers if I want company and plenty of space for the times I want solitude.

I have camped and traveled in a minivan, and that's what I'll do again if my life works out better than I expect. Besides my own experience, I am in touch with several good resources on vandwelling. I know how to set up a minivan for my own comfort easily, quickly, and cheaply. However, my life is not going that direction. I have medical conditions that are disabling. What I expect is to get a disability check at the minimum amount, in which case I will not have the money to buy, equip, maintain, and fuel a minivan the distances I want to travel. I can spend the occasional night or two when I'm in town in a smaller car, carefully chosen for mpg, reliability and a specific space format. I'll carry a tent to expand my space most of the time as described above.

[Manduke]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

Keeping your ice longer. I use 2 coolers, one runs on 12v which isn't very dependable for travel or not starting the vehicle for long periods. However my other cooler, is a regular coleman, that i have insulated with the silver board insulation, during average temperatures, if i get ice on sunday, it's melted but still ice cold on friday. I'll post a video in the next week or so, that shows this, and explains how i have done it.

[AdanClinton]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

If full-time tent living at outdoors ,it's natural life ,but if in the central city ,there are local ordinances or laws preventing this type of living.

[Manduke]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

I've never been approached for a breaking a law while sleeping in my van.

[MrMacnCheese]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

If full-time tent living at outdoors ,it's natural life ,but if in the central city ,there are local ordinances or laws preventing this type of living.

As far as actually pitching tents, laws exist in some places and tent-compatible spaces may be scarce. Those laws exist it to attack the homeless, so avoid places where the homeless collect. If the camper can acquire a vehicle with a sleeping space, most of that goes away, even though sleeping in vehicles may also be illegal. The worst that happened to me in that respect (back in the 1980s) was that I was asked to move along. That's avoidable. Cities, by their nature, have many more resources for food, toileting, and other life functions than natural places, so life in urban areas requires less equipment. I don't really think of that as camping, but it's doable.

[Johnny Test]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

Malamute, why is the tipi more comfortable then the wall tent?

[TNONMYMIND]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

new update: October we dog/house sat for my ex and his wife...when they got back they wanted us to stay on for a while...
it turned out to be another 2 months...helped with a few jobs that needed doing at their place in exchange for a room to sleep in in the house
and cooking indoors...left December 17, went to a state park just at the edge of Austin, Tx...stayed 10 days there. Christmas day we had 74*
and overcast weather...temps dropped overnight and rain started so we packed up and left for "greener pastures" and to get our mail
which was long overdue...New Year's was celebrated at Eisenhower state park on lake texoma (Denison,Tx)
we are now headed back to south-east texas to avoid the colder temps and rain headed our way again...
going to work our way to Arizona hopefully in the next week or so...
As we are no longer using the canvas tent we are working on places to go in AZ that have electric for warmth/cooling and light at night.
campgrounds are a bit more expensive than what we pay in texas and other parts of the country... Corp of Engineers facilities are non-existent
there...we may have to just wander around Texas this winter...not a bad thing as there are quite a few parks yet to be explored here...

[Irate Mormon]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

TN, what happened to the canvas tent, and what are you using in place of it?

[Malamute]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

Malamute, why is the tipi more comfortable then the wall tent?

Sorry I missed this. Tipis are more comfortable because of being able to have an open fire inside, having more space, and having good storage space around the edges of the interior. Mine was 16', which isn't all usable floor space, but a good size for all around use and can accommodate 3 or 4 beds easily, more if squeezing in and not having a fire. Being able to have a fire while its raining or other unpleasantness outside is really nice. In zero deg outside weather, I was shirtsleeves comfortable inside with the fire. Any real tipi has a liner, which allow good draft of the smoke, and keeps drafts away from the living space. A tipi without a liner is not really a tipi. Its a complete package, or it isn't really working right.

[Ozzmoe]

Re: full-time tent living...anyone doing it?

My wife and I are full-time tent campers. We go from park to park camping. Currently we are at the Highlands Hammock S.P. in Sebring, Fla. At the end of this month we are leaving for Arkansas to hunt for some Diamond's at the Crater of Diamonds S.P. So far our Kodiak 10x10 Flexbow Deluxe tent has keep us dry. Being flexible and adjusting to the weather condition's have made things very comfortable for us.