I rented a U-Haul truck the other day, and the clerk handed me a stack of forms to fill out . The forms asked for the usual information. Name...check. Phone number...check. Address....hmmm. I put in my post office box number (which is how I get my mail these days), then continued filling out the remaining forms. I handed the papers back to the clerk. She looked them over and said, "We need your physical address here." I said, "I'm currently homeless." She gave me an empathetic look of concern and said, "Oh, I'm sorry", and moved on to the next page.
Homeless? Well, sort of I guess. I don't have a physical address. And I don't live in what most people would considered a home. But strangely, I feel more secure with this life style then I did when I lived in a house! For the first time in my life, I actually *own* my "home". And in a pinch, I can pack it all up and put it in a 5' x 10' storage unit where it will wait for me until I'm ready to set it up again. I actually feel like I will *never* be without a home now. I can lose my job or run into other financial hardship without having to worry about losing my home.
And since I am renting land from individuals, I can rely upon the goodness in people's hearts instead of the corporate policies of bankers. And that's a good feeling!
I'm still not sure whether I'm "homeless", but if I am, well, that's okay!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Path to the Tent Site
My tent site is tucked in the woods about 30 yards from where I park my truck. I followed an existing game trail from the parking area down to the tent site, and I used a wheel barrow to haul stuff in. The single wheel of the wheel barrow carrying 100+ lbs loads, together with rainy weather, turned the game trail into a muddy mess by the time I was done moving my stuff!
To make the trail more pleasant, I brought in five bags of pine bark mulch, which helped to build up the muddier areas. Then I covered the entire trail with pine needles from nearby trees. As a final touch, I placed a tiki torches every six or eight yards along the path. Sure is nice to be out of that mud!
To make the trail more pleasant, I brought in five bags of pine bark mulch, which helped to build up the muddier areas. Then I covered the entire trail with pine needles from nearby trees. As a final touch, I placed a tiki torches every six or eight yards along the path. Sure is nice to be out of that mud!
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| Path to my tent site |
Installing the Dry Well
One of the most convenient fixtures in my tent is a dump sink, which is simply a plastic bucket with a drain in the bottom. The sink drains to a dry well outside, which is just a hole filled with rocks. Here's how I installed the dump sink and dry well at my new location in Brandy Station.
The project starts by placing the dump sink at the proper location inside the tent (not shown), then running 1 1/4" PVC pipe down the tent wall to the outside. From there, I run two 10' lengths of pipe downhill, away from the tent.
I dig a trench for the pipe, being careful to remove the top layer of sod first so that I can replace it later.
Once the trench is finished, I place the pipe in the trench and see where it ends. That's where the dry well goes!
The dry well is just a hole in the ground large enough to accommodate around five gallons of water. I only use the dump sink for grey water (such as dish water, bathing water, urine, and so on) so five gallons is plenty of capacity.
With the pipe in place and the dry well dug, I can bury the pipe and replace the sod.
The last step is to fill the dry well with large rocks. This keeps the grey water below the surface where it can safely seep into the soil.
To finish the job, I soften the edges of the dry well with soil and sod. It gives the well a more natural look.
The project starts by placing the dump sink at the proper location inside the tent (not shown), then running 1 1/4" PVC pipe down the tent wall to the outside. From there, I run two 10' lengths of pipe downhill, away from the tent.
I dig a trench for the pipe, being careful to remove the top layer of sod first so that I can replace it later.
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| 1 1/4" PVC pipe running downhill from the dump sink inside the tent (not shown) |
The dry well is just a hole in the ground large enough to accommodate around five gallons of water. I only use the dump sink for grey water (such as dish water, bathing water, urine, and so on) so five gallons is plenty of capacity.
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| Five-gallon hole for the dry well |
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| Pipe buried and sod replaced |
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| Filling the dry well with rocks |
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| The finished dry well |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The 20-hour Work Week
Most anthropologists agree that stone age people worked around 20 hours per week for their basic food, shelter, and clothing needs. And that's with stone age technology. Give a caveman a chain saw and a poly tarp and watch out!
So how does this figure match up with the modern tent lifestyle?
The caveman had to hunt and gather their food. Let's modernize that a bit and give him a $15 per hour job and a grocery store instead. And let's take him out of the cave and put him into...hmmm...a canvas wall tent! :) Now, his 20 hours at $15 per hour brings in around $1200 per month, or about $1000 after taxes. Shelter (in the form of rent, propane, kerosene, firewood, and water) is about $200 per month. That leaves $800 for food and clothing.
Now, let's keep him eating like a caveman. That means cooking from scratch using basic ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, fish, poultry, a few meats, nuts and seeds, and so on. (By the way, there are some great caveman recipes out there!) This style of eating is very economical, so let's say $10 per day, or around $300 per month.
That leaves $500 per month for clothing! So what you end up with is a very healthy, well-dressed caveman working only 20 hours per week! :)
So how does this figure match up with the modern tent lifestyle?
The caveman had to hunt and gather their food. Let's modernize that a bit and give him a $15 per hour job and a grocery store instead. And let's take him out of the cave and put him into...hmmm...a canvas wall tent! :) Now, his 20 hours at $15 per hour brings in around $1200 per month, or about $1000 after taxes. Shelter (in the form of rent, propane, kerosene, firewood, and water) is about $200 per month. That leaves $800 for food and clothing.
Now, let's keep him eating like a caveman. That means cooking from scratch using basic ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, fish, poultry, a few meats, nuts and seeds, and so on. (By the way, there are some great caveman recipes out there!) This style of eating is very economical, so let's say $10 per day, or around $300 per month.
That leaves $500 per month for clothing! So what you end up with is a very healthy, well-dressed caveman working only 20 hours per week! :)
My First Night in Brandy Station
Last night I spent my first night at my new location near Brandy Station, Virginia. It's such a peaceful spot, right in the middle of a patch of evergreens.
My place is currently a disaster! You know how it is on moving day.
That's my front door in the photo, above, leaning against the tree. And the rainfly is just draped over the tent. Didn't even bother to stake it down, so I hope we don't get any strong winds for a while. I did tie the tent to the platform, but that's about it for now. I need to re-construct my rainfly support, then I'll stake out the tent at the same time I install the rainfly.
A thunderstorm came through about 4:30am this morning. Strongest rain I've experienced so far. Usually the rain will lull me to sleep, but these raindrops were so loud they kept me awake. I couldn't fully close the tent opening either, so there was a small puddle on the floor this morning.
The inside of my tent is even more disorganized than the outside. I've got work to do!
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| My "front yard" |
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A thunderstorm came through about 4:30am this morning. Strongest rain I've experienced so far. Usually the rain will lull me to sleep, but these raindrops were so loud they kept me awake. I couldn't fully close the tent opening either, so there was a small puddle on the floor this morning.
The inside of my tent is even more disorganized than the outside. I've got work to do!
Friday, April 27, 2012
A Tour of My Home
Welcome to a tour of my home! I live in a 12' x 14' canvas wall tent, and here's how the whole thing is put together!
My tent rests on top of a wooden platform that is constructed very much like a traditional deck. The platform rests on dry-stacked masonry blocks and is covered with 3/4" plywood (not shown). The wooden platform is not attached to the blocks, but just sits on top.
The tent itself has an internal metal frame fashioned from 1" metal conduit and welded angle brackets (not shown). The internal metal frame is not attached to the platform, but just sits on top. The only thing that holds the whole contraption together is gravity, some ropes that secure the bottom of the canvas to the platform, and more rope that attach the top of the tent to stakes in the ground. The stakes are 2 1/2' pieces of 3/4" metal conduit driven into the ground with only about 3" revealed. The ropes have a 300 lbs working load. It's like a scene from Gulliver's Travels!
Even though the canvas is waterproof, I still added a separate rainfly. My current rainfly is a 20' x 30' poly tarp. I'll upgrade it to a 25' x 30' vinyl tarp before winter. The rainfly is designed as a totally separate structure that flys a foot or so above the tent. This keeps snow loads off the metal tent frame, and allows air to circulate between the fly and canvas during summer months.
My initial design for the rainfly support consisted of two poles, one at front and one at back, connected by a strong rope and staked to the ground. It was sort of like a clothes line that the rainfly draped over. This design got me through one of the warmest Virginia winters in recent history! :) Actually, I'm very thankful that the winter of 2011-2012 produced so little snow in Virginia because I'm not sure how much load this structure would have tolerated. I upgraded this system in September of 2012 after a lot of trial-and-error. The new system is really just a beefed-up version of this original system.
With the platform built and my rainfly in place, I'm high and dry! I have never had any problems with moisture in the tent. And I'm prolonging the life of my canvas, albeit at the sacrifice of my protective rainfly. But then again, the tarp is 1/3 the cost of the canvas, and much easier to replace.
Now, to finish the exterior, I added a wooden and Plexiglas door that I custom-built to fit this particular tent, a small 3' x 4' porch, and stair steps up to the entrance. A kerosene lantern lights the way!
My original kitchen consisted of a piece of plywood between two shelves.
In October of 2012, I installed a new kitchen. The new kitchen is a definite improvement over my original make-shift setup.
I cook on a two-burner gas camping stove that is fuelled by a 20 lbs propane tank that stays outside the tent. A 10' adaptor hose connects the two. A single tank of fuel lasts more than two months, which is pretty good considering I heat most of my water on the gas stove.
I sleep on one of the most comfortable beds that I've ever owned! It sits on a sturdy frame made from 2 x 6s and a 3/4" plywood top, sort of like a workbench. The frame is pretty high, giving me plenty of storage underneath. The bedding consists of a futon mattress piled high with a variety of blankets and sleeping bags, and a feather comforter. It's a nest! And believe me, in the middle of those cold winter nights when the wood stove has burned down to coals, it's my best friend!
Okay, it's time to talk about my bathroom. This is where I always get a *lot* of questions, so let's get started!
Let me first say that my bathroom is...unconventional. And although it's fully functional (and by that I mean that you can do everything in this bathroom that you can in a modern American bathroom, and I mean *everything*) the way that you operate this bathroom is very different from what most people have ever experienced. (I actually give my first-time overnight guests a small training class on how to operate this bathroom!)
I'll add a separate post that goes into great detail about my bathing and personal hygiene, which is a *huge* topic, and one that I get asked about a lot. It's certainly deserves it's own post (in fact, the topic of solid human waste alone is probably worth an entire blog! :) ). But for now, let me just introduce you to how my bathroom is designed.
My bathroom consists of the following items and fixture:
In October of 2012, I installed a new bath. I'm really happy with this one.
In the winter I heat my tent with a Yukon II wood stove. It has a 2 cubic foot firebox which provides a 6 to 8 hour burn time. The stove is specially designed for tents. It's lightweight and easy to install and remove. In fact, I remove the stove in the spring to make room for a clothes closet and extra seating for guests.
The Yukon II has a tent heating capacity of 14' x 16' at zero degrees, and 10' x 12' at 30 below. It really does the job, even during those bitter-cold, windy winter nights, as long as you tend to it properly.
I ordered my canvas tent with a pre-installed stove jack in the back wall. The stove jack consists of a sewn-in piece of heat-resistant fabric with a 5" hole in the center, just the right size to receive the 5" stove pipe required by the Yukon II. I just run 5" stove pipe from the stove, right out through the stove jack, and then extend it out and up, well away from the tent and rainfly. I'll add a separate post on wood stove installation and usage when I set it up again in the fall.
Foundation and platform
My tent rests on top of a wooden platform that is constructed very much like a traditional deck. The platform rests on dry-stacked masonry blocks and is covered with 3/4" plywood (not shown). The wooden platform is not attached to the blocks, but just sits on top.
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| Masonry blocks and platform joists, ready for plywood subflooring |
Canvas tent
The tent itself has an internal metal frame fashioned from 1" metal conduit and welded angle brackets (not shown). The internal metal frame is not attached to the platform, but just sits on top. The only thing that holds the whole contraption together is gravity, some ropes that secure the bottom of the canvas to the platform, and more rope that attach the top of the tent to stakes in the ground. The stakes are 2 1/2' pieces of 3/4" metal conduit driven into the ground with only about 3" revealed. The ropes have a 300 lbs working load. It's like a scene from Gulliver's Travels!
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| The canvas inner sanctum |
Rainfly
Even though the canvas is waterproof, I still added a separate rainfly. My current rainfly is a 20' x 30' poly tarp. I'll upgrade it to a 25' x 30' vinyl tarp before winter. The rainfly is designed as a totally separate structure that flys a foot or so above the tent. This keeps snow loads off the metal tent frame, and allows air to circulate between the fly and canvas during summer months.
My initial design for the rainfly support consisted of two poles, one at front and one at back, connected by a strong rope and staked to the ground. It was sort of like a clothes line that the rainfly draped over. This design got me through one of the warmest Virginia winters in recent history! :) Actually, I'm very thankful that the winter of 2011-2012 produced so little snow in Virginia because I'm not sure how much load this structure would have tolerated. I upgraded this system in September of 2012 after a lot of trial-and-error. The new system is really just a beefed-up version of this original system.
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| 20' x 30' poly tarp serves as a rainfly |
Finished exterior
Now, to finish the exterior, I added a wooden and Plexiglas door that I custom-built to fit this particular tent, a small 3' x 4' porch, and stair steps up to the entrance. A kerosene lantern lights the way!
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| My front door |
Kitchen
My original kitchen consisted of a piece of plywood between two shelves.
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| Original kitchen |
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| New kitchen |
Bedroom
I sleep on one of the most comfortable beds that I've ever owned! It sits on a sturdy frame made from 2 x 6s and a 3/4" plywood top, sort of like a workbench. The frame is pretty high, giving me plenty of storage underneath. The bedding consists of a futon mattress piled high with a variety of blankets and sleeping bags, and a feather comforter. It's a nest! And believe me, in the middle of those cold winter nights when the wood stove has burned down to coals, it's my best friend!
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| Bedroom |
Bathroom
Okay, it's time to talk about my bathroom. This is where I always get a *lot* of questions, so let's get started!
Let me first say that my bathroom is...unconventional. And although it's fully functional (and by that I mean that you can do everything in this bathroom that you can in a modern American bathroom, and I mean *everything*) the way that you operate this bathroom is very different from what most people have ever experienced. (I actually give my first-time overnight guests a small training class on how to operate this bathroom!)
I'll add a separate post that goes into great detail about my bathing and personal hygiene, which is a *huge* topic, and one that I get asked about a lot. It's certainly deserves it's own post (in fact, the topic of solid human waste alone is probably worth an entire blog! :) ). But for now, let me just introduce you to how my bathroom is designed.
My bathroom consists of the following items and fixture:
- Earth closet (EC, a.k.a. toilet). You can read all about my tent toilet in a separate post.
- Dump sink. This is one of the most convenient fixtures in my bathroom. The dump sink is plumbed to a dry well. I use the dump sink for grey water. It sure beats going outdoors to dump waste water, and it's more sanitary.
- Water containers. I carry in my water, and sit the water containers in my bathroom.
- Wash tub. I do all of my washing in a white enamel wash tub.
- Hot water pot. I use a stainless steel pot for hot water. I heat the water on my gas stove, then sit the pot on the bathroom vanity.
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| Original bathroom |
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| New bathroom |
Wood stove
In the winter I heat my tent with a Yukon II wood stove. It has a 2 cubic foot firebox which provides a 6 to 8 hour burn time. The stove is specially designed for tents. It's lightweight and easy to install and remove. In fact, I remove the stove in the spring to make room for a clothes closet and extra seating for guests.
The Yukon II has a tent heating capacity of 14' x 16' at zero degrees, and 10' x 12' at 30 below. It really does the job, even during those bitter-cold, windy winter nights, as long as you tend to it properly.
I ordered my canvas tent with a pre-installed stove jack in the back wall. The stove jack consists of a sewn-in piece of heat-resistant fabric with a 5" hole in the center, just the right size to receive the 5" stove pipe required by the Yukon II. I just run 5" stove pipe from the stove, right out through the stove jack, and then extend it out and up, well away from the tent and rainfly. I'll add a separate post on wood stove installation and usage when I set it up again in the fall.
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| Wood stove |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Why a Wall Tent?
The idea of owning a portable house is very appealing to me. It frees me from having to own land and allows me to rent land instead. And full home ownership and portability meet two of my main requirements for housing. So I began searching for ideas on portable housing.
And a great way to get some ideas is to do a Google Image search for "portable housing"! Wow! (Give it a try, seriously!) I spent hours looking through the images. Running through the various pros and cons in my mind. Imagining what it would be like to actually live in some of those structures.
As I browsed and let my imagination go, I found myself attracted to one type of structure in particular: the tipi.
I just couldn't get away from the idea of living in a tipi! It's very portable, very economical, and to me it's very aesthetically appealing. And the more I thought about a fabric house, the more I liked it! From a maintenance standpoint, I could just replace the outer fabric every few years for a few hundred dollars and a few hours work. And the lack of insullation was both good and bad. It meant that I would stay very close to nature, hearing the morning song birds and evening raindrops (which I love!) and that I would immediately feel Winter's cold and Summer's heat (which is not so good)
But the tipi has some design problems. The opening at the top means that rain will enter and heat will leave. And the inside space is less than ideal for the human form. What was needed was a sealed roof, straighter walls, and a lower ceiling. Something like...a yurt!
Now we're talking! (And I sure do like the idea of an actual door!) But man, those yurt kits sure are expensive for what you get. And building one is kinda tricky with everything being round and all. Even building the circular platform seemed more complicated than it needed to be. Too bad it's not all square like...a wall tent!
Yep, a wall tent. A square tipi with straight walls, a sealed roof, and a low ceiling. I'll take it!
And a great way to get some ideas is to do a Google Image search for "portable housing"! Wow! (Give it a try, seriously!) I spent hours looking through the images. Running through the various pros and cons in my mind. Imagining what it would be like to actually live in some of those structures.
As I browsed and let my imagination go, I found myself attracted to one type of structure in particular: the tipi.
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| Tipi |
I just couldn't get away from the idea of living in a tipi! It's very portable, very economical, and to me it's very aesthetically appealing. And the more I thought about a fabric house, the more I liked it! From a maintenance standpoint, I could just replace the outer fabric every few years for a few hundred dollars and a few hours work. And the lack of insullation was both good and bad. It meant that I would stay very close to nature, hearing the morning song birds and evening raindrops (which I love!) and that I would immediately feel Winter's cold and Summer's heat (which is not so good)
But the tipi has some design problems. The opening at the top means that rain will enter and heat will leave. And the inside space is less than ideal for the human form. What was needed was a sealed roof, straighter walls, and a lower ceiling. Something like...a yurt!
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| Yurt |
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| Wall tent |
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