Cold Camping Tent camping, deluxe style

lostinaz

lostinaz

Senior Member
I do not have an RV (yet, though I do lust after an Expedition Range Camp http://www.expeditionrangecamps.com/), but I do have 20 acres in the mountains of southern UT. We are developing a tent site. I am planning a platform to set up the tent on, and stay up out of the snow or mud if the weather turns on us. The tent will have to be substantial, like either a military style (GP or Temper) or a heavy canvas style. A yurt would be nice if we could find a deal on one. We may have to live in this situation one day for a long time, thus it needs to withstand the elements, so no lightweight nylon.

My plan is to purchase a metal cargo container for storage. They are inexpensive for the space, and I can use it to securely pre-position supplies and the tent, of course. Water will be an issue since we don't have a well.
The land has some slope to it so we could place a water tank uphill of the camp site, and I could truck water in until we are able to get the funds to dig our own well.
For lighting, I used to bring Coleman propane lights when I went camping, but now I prefer to take battery powered fluorescent or led lights. They make no noise, last a long time, and the prices on them have gone way down. Plus I would much rather use the propane for even cooking. We have a 25 watt folding solar panel that I use to charge a Duracell battery jumpcharger with an inverter. This in turn can be used to charge small (AA and AAA) batteries, or directly power AC or 12v LED shoplights, and it even has a built in jump starter, compressor and radio.
 
Last edited:
G

gillmanNSF

Veteran Member
That's a nice rig. I especially like what appears to be a wood burning stove pipe. Prior to getting the RV I was seriously contemplating one of the large tents with a wood burning stove from Cabelas such as this one:

s7_519278_imageset_02


I did end up purchasing a Zodi X-40 Outfitter Hot Shower in anticipation of getting the large tent. I was thinking I'd should sell it now, but after looking at it again, I decided to keep it, just in case.

5146.jpg


There are some other nice tent set-ups at Cabela's such as these:

s7_519783_imageset_01


s7_518302_imageset_01


s7_519273_imageset_01
 
Straycat

Straycat

Veteran Member
DH and I will be sewing our own canvas tent. A couple good friends of ours have already done a few (intensively field tested) and have the industrial sewing machine for it. Our roll of canvas is on the way, the thread is sitting in my sewing cabinet, and we have a place to spread out tables and get the work done.

Our good friends will be lending their expertise to us, as well as to the other couple in our SCA household for their tent, plus we'll all work together for the kitchen tent.

We also have break-down medieval wooden bedsteads to sleep off the ground, bed curtains for extra warmth, other durable wooden furniture for the camp, and a fantastic non-electric camp kitchen setup. We have a shower tent and camp showers. We can be reasonably comfortable with camp living, if needed, and all of it breaks down and transports easily.
 
F

FREEBIRD

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Straycat---Please describe your kitchen set-up! I'm trying to look at ways to set that up without the "modern" conveniences.
 
Straycat

Straycat

Veteran Member
For one thing, we do a lot of Dutch oven cooking. We have several Dutch ovens of different sizes and even a metal table made specifically for Dutch oven cooking without having to squat before the fire. We plan to invest in a clockwork rotisserie spit that sits in front of the fire.

We also have a regular 2-burner propane stove and a double sink setup with running water in which water from a 5-gallon container is moved via foot pump to the faucet and drains via hose to a second container. We have a propane coffeemaker for luxury, but can also do it with a percolator on the fire. :D

We have hand-crank blenders, hand-crank food choppers and a hand-crank grinder, several large heavy-duty coolers, stout garbage can with tight-fitting lid, carefully organized bins of kitchen and eating utensils, and enough folding tables to have space for food preparation.

We take turns with cooking and cleanup.

We use a separate tent for the kitchen, so we have enough room to move around and remain organized. Right now our dining area consists of breakdown wooden tables and chairs in the open, but the new kitchen tent we'll be making will include a good-sized flap to cover the dining area in inclement weather.
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
FREEBIRD said:
Straycat---Please describe your kitchen set-up! I'm trying to look at ways to set that up without the "modern" conveniences.
Click to expand...

I have to find away to post photos, but we have an old Montgomery Wards dining fly (circa 1964) we use and it so simple a design I'm surprised no one is making today. It uses aluminum telescopic poles on the ends and the end poles attach at the top to a ridge pole the whole thing is 12 feet long, the tarp is much wider but it gives us all the shelter we need and has stood up to high winds. We use it as our kitchen and dining area and at night we have the Coleman lantern's hanging from ridge pole with short chain's using shower clips or hooks as some call them. We also have a home made chuck-box and I too, do Dutch Oven cooking great stuff and if you get a small fire going you can have a hot meal with bread pie, cake, or what ever you have to work with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top