Preps Part 2 SHELTER

OK, as part of our ongoing preps check list.......today let's talk about shelter.


What kind of shelter do you have or plan to have for both bug out and permanence. Are you going to use a tent? What kind and why? Do you have a homestead that is off the beaten path?
How will you maintain it?

We have a 4 man tent which I need to waterproof..any good ideas? Is there a good product for this? As for permanence, we are in the process of finding a homestead in a northern state that will put us out of harms way, we hope. We want a basement so we can make a 'safe room' for fallout etc.
How about you?
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we will soon be building a self sufficient home in the middle of the nevada desert. there are so few people around here that we may never see another living soul after TSHTF. of course, as a long time nuke prepper, it will be an underground home, with at least 10 feet of dirt shielding overhead.

Thompson's Water Seal is excellent at waterproofing tents. You can apply with brush or roller but a cheap compression sprayer seems to work the best. Just set up the tent and spray and let dry.

Well I think a good preper should prepare for all aspects. That is if you can stay put or posibly have to bug out latter and then down to backpack , last is what you have on you.
On the stay put, we have an under ground shelter with bunk beds, bathroom, kitchen area, and stocked pantry. As for our BOB we have a set of survival gear in the main truck that stays there 24/7. as for shelter there are several small tents also tarps and a roll of 6 mill plastic. We have a small trayler with 2 large tents, large tarp and large roll of 6 mill plastic and a set of specal made poles and pegs for all of the above. I want go into all the gear ,just the shelter, to do that would take a thred all its own. We also have a travel trayler , self contained and ready to go.
Also for backpack, we have several with pack tents, small tarps, and plastic as well as all other gear. and last is small kits with emg. blankets , ponchos, and plastic.
We (my wife and I) have spend a lot of years seting all this up with a lot of reserch and many many practice trips.
If any are interested I would be glad to share all that we have done and a list of the gear and reasons for some that may seem strange.
Best to all
Trailfox

Bensam said:

Thompson's Water Seal is excellent at waterproofing tents. You can apply with brush or roller but a cheap compression sprayer seems to work the best. Just set up the tent and spray and let dry.

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For some reason, I thought Thompsons water sealer was taken off the market due to inhalation dangers.....am I wrong? Maybe this was just in Florida when I was there? Or maybe it was just the spray cans. Anyone know?
Now that I think about it, maybe that was the stuff that dirt=proofed furniture..I need my brain to wake up this morning.

Trailfox said:

Well I think a good preper should prepare for all aspects. That is if you can stay put or posibly have to bug out latter and then down to backpack , last is what you have on you.
On the stay put, we have an under ground shelter with bunk beds, bathroom, kitchen area, and stocked pantry. As for our BOB we have a set of survival gear in the main truck that stays there 24/7. as for shelter there are several small tents also tarps and a roll of 6 mill plastic. We have a small trayler with 2 large tents, large tarp and large roll of 6 mill plastic and a set of specal made poles and pegs for all of the above. I want go into all the gear ,just the shelter, to do that would take a thred all its own. We also have a travel trayler , self contained and ready to go.
Also for backpack, we have several with pack tents, small tarps, and plastic as well as all other gear. and last is small kits with emg. blankets , ponchos, and plastic.
We (my wife and I) have spend a lot of years seting all this up with a lot of reserch and many many practice trips.
If any are interested I would be glad to share all that we have done and a list of the gear and reasons for some that may seem strange.
Best to all
Trailfox

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WOW! Trailfox, you folks sound really organized. I would be really interested in your set up. Do tell!

As of right now, all I have for shelter are tents. I have a four man tent and also a 14x16 ft tent which could sleep a whole lot of people. I have numerous tarps and rolls of plastic just in case extra covering is needed on the tents. I have extra metal ploes that the tarps can be attached to.

I am looking to buy a travel trailer but with gas prices and the possiblity of no gas, a person would only be able to travel a short distance if they were hauling a trailer. You can get a lot more mileage in a 4 cylinder car than a big truck with a trailer attached to it.

I have a 3 person tent that rolls up small enough to carry on back pack for BO.

I also have two tarps for rain proofing.

I know several types of structures to build from materials found in the woods. These are so simple from a long branch propped up in the crook of a tree overlaid with branches then leaves to lean tos, to underground houses from logs of small trees. Shelter is the number one item of importance even more so than water in winter so I have spent considerable time in researching it.

There is COB building too which is time consuming but good if TSHTF and there is no modern building being done. You can build this yourself from the land you are on.

I have an old ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere, that no one would ever suspect has anything of value in it.....asll as many options to take care of "home invaders". My dearly departed husband was a Marine in VN......he fine tuned the skills I already had. Retreat to a tent....I think NOT!!
Edited to add: anybody got a few extra high E wires off an old piano???

Perhaps a lot of you folks are just a whole lot tougher than I am. Either that, or you haven't spent much time living in a tent. Tents are great for overnight lodging when you're moving from Point-A to Point-B. They are a poor choice for anything long term. (I'm talking about modern tents. Old designs used by various tribes are something completely different. They are more like temporary homes - not intended to be moved often.) You might not have any other choice, but I sure wouldn't PLAN on that. Don't think in terms of camping on a nice sunny Spring day. Think in terms of having the flu on a cold and rainey day.

Like I said though, maybe you all are just a lot tougher than I am ... and maybe you enjoy living like that.

We have spent many a week or longer in tents and loved every bit of it, we even found a good way to heat it in the winter by placeing large rocks in the camp fire and place an iorn pot or skillet upside down on the flour of the tent and put one of the hot rocks on it. depending on the size of the rock it will give off heat for a long time and when it starts to cool down just change rocks!

If we absolutely HAD to leave, we purchased a RV that could sleep 4, and a 4x4 pickup to pull it with. With everything we could pack into both, the two of us would pull the trailer to a sister's extremely secluded property 1 1/2 hours away. They've got two 3-room cabins and an A-frame on the property. It's so secluded that there's not even a driveway to get back to it; you've just got to know the access points. There are even a couple caves on the property that they just recently discovered. A large clean creek runs through the land too.

Stephen,

BO in my tent to me is a few days in nature. If I have to be out of my house longer than that I will be building something more permanant like COB or underground or something.

Christian for Israel said:

we will soon be building a self sufficient home in the middle of the nevada desert. there are so few people around here that we may never see another living soul after TSHTF. of course, as a long time nuke prepper, it will be an underground home, with at least 10 feet of dirt shielding overhead.

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I'm curious as to how you'll deal with water needs??


nanna

Onebyone said:

Stephen,

BO in my tent to me is a few days in nature. If I have to be out of my house longer than that I will be building something more permanant like COB or underground or something.

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What is COB?

I've lived in a tent, and found it to be a comfortable existance.
Of course, I was much younger then.
I have a six person tent, and tarps for over, and under.
I don't plan to leave my home, but if I HAD TO, I'd take my tent to state land, or national forest land, nearby.
Thanks for the tip on the heated rocks, Trailfox.

What is COB?

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Of course what I build after a SHTF would be much smaller unless I had a group with me and they helped.

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/HTML/DC_cob.htm

Another Cob site, http://www.cobworks.com/explanation.htm
Anyone know someone who has lived in a tipi?

Heating a tent and cooking in a tent;

Needed ;1 rectangular steel plate about 2 foot x 3 foot x 1/4 thick.
Several lengths of stovepipe,one section with a damper, one elbow and a length of wire to support the stove pipe.

Dig a rectangular hole inside the tent along the back wall a foot or so away from the canvas, slightly smaller then the steel plate and about a foot deep.The 2'
length will be across the back of the tent and the 3' length will be into the interior of the tent.On the backside of the hole,dig a narrow trench to accomodate the
stovepipe and deep enough to cover the pipe with at least 4" of dirt.The trench will extend at least 3' past the outside of the tent.
Lay the first pipe with the damper in the trench and with the damper knob inside the tent.The end of the pipe should extend about 1 or 2 in. into the hole.
add pipe until 3' or so past the tent.Connect the elbow and run pipe upwards
and use some limbs and wire to help support the pipe. Inside the tent,lay the
steel plate across the hole so that the sides and back are covered with the plate.
The front will be open to the hole.To build a fire,prop up the front of the plate,start a fire,set the plate back down,feed the fire by dropping fire wood into the front hole,shoving the wood towards the back.The draft will suck combustion air thru the front and out thru the stovepipe in the ground and to the outside.
A small fire in the hole will keep the tent nice and warm and allow you to cook on the plate with no smoke in the tent.Any leakage around the edges can be covered with dirt.
Just a reminder from Indian lore;"White man build big fire,sit far away,Indian
build small fire,sit close.

Tent- with a great rain fly and extra tarps. Down sleeping bags in waterproof sacks.

If my tent gets lost, then makeshift shelter out of twigs and fur and cedar branches, utilizing moss and other local vegitation. Could be fun!