Advice and Information for Tent Nomad

[geogentry]

I fully understand about the age thing since i will be 69 in just a few months. Takes me three hours to get it setup. Well this one time i have setup alone. I think i will get faster.

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[Zephyr]

geogentry, I appreciate your perseverance, tenacity, and the knowledge your are sharing. Tents aren't a solution for 99% here. I know some of the downsides but I'm drawn to them anyway. They are elegant solutions to affordable, mobile housing. But, I also like having a backup place to retreat to. That'll probably be inside my pickup camper top or the cab if the weather gets really wild.

I have a 10' x 10' dome tent with a fly that takes a lot of effort and time to set up, especially by myself. The long poles are a pain. Yes, you will get quicker and more efficient with practice and experience but it will always be a chore. I'm 72. We need the exercise. But, when it's put up, you have a fairly roomy place to live and move around in, it's versatile, and paid for. Less mass to move form location to another. Closer to nature. There's a certain pride in not needing a wheeled, several ton, mobile apartment to live in.

Canvas rots when it's packed wet, nylon degrades with UV. Canvas is really heavy but it doesn't need a fly. Fly's require a lot more stakes and lines but your dome tent is more streamlined and cheaper. Wall tents flap in the wind but have more vertical sides. It's a trade off. I'm glad you found your solution.

 

[geogentry]

Zephyr,

I know most of the people on here are more interested in a van or a trailer or some type of hard shell to travel in. What I was trying to do was give up information for those people that are trapped but want to get on the road. A lot of people don't have the money or the means to buy a van or a truck or a new vehicle at all. So what do they do to get out? You can get a decent small tent from Coleman for about $60. Easy to shut up, and affordable. And I know some people are going to say well if I don't have any money how can I get that tent. Do like I did when I was getting ready. You eat ramen noodles for a couple weeks take that grocery money and buy that $60 tent. Once you have some type of shelter it makes getting on the road seem all the more possible.

There are trade-offs no matter what you travel in. Tents have to be set up. Trailers have to be leveled. Vans are easy because you Park and your Camp is setup. I traveled in a converted van for a couple years. My biggest problem is because I'm so tall it's very uncomfortable after a while to be stuffed into a van. I chose a tent so I could stand up. That's what makes this whole Nomad Adventure personal. Everyone chooses what makes them most comfortable.

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[Ken in Anaheim]

Geogentry, I, for one, am glad you started this thread and actively check it daily for updates/additions. Thanks !!

 

[StarliteRambler]

Good thread!

 

[mert3957]

Does anyone have a recommendation for what quality tent would be best? Can't afford the canvas ones that run $400 or so. I need to be able to stand up (5'6") in it and have room for a cot. My daughter has a common brand name cabin tent, not the cheapest (the pop up kind). In Utah she was inside the tent on a fairly heavy cot and the whole thing rolled with her in it. Don't know how hard the wind blew but am guessing Arizona gets the same kind of wind sometimes. I saw pictures last year of tents, kitchen shelters and shower tents flattened near Parker.

 

[wanderin.pat]

again don't make the guy ropes rigid.  put a heavy duty bungee in each guy rope.  this allows the tent/tarp to give in the wind and greatly reduces the stress on the material.  come by my camp at RTR and you can see.  highdesertranger

I followed this advice from HDR a couple of years back.  I've had tarp grommets tear out before the guy wires.  I also only use ratchet straps.  There CAN be some serious freakin wind out there.  The only winds I've seen worse were back when I lived on the coast of NC.  They call them hurricanes there.  In the desert, they call them windstorms!  Ok, the windstorms ARE NOT as bad as hurricanes, but they seem like it sometimes.  Especially when they blow dust.


Regards,

WP

 

[wanderin.pat]

Zephyr,

I know most of the people on here are more interested in a van or a trailer or some type of hard shell to travel in. What I was trying to do was give up information for those people that are trapped but want to get on the road. A lot of people don't have the money or the means to buy a van or a truck or a new vehicle at all.

I'm in a similar boat, geogentry.  My tow vehicle blew it's engine Labor Day, 2018.  I've been making do , but more topics about tent camping are appreciated by me.  

So, yeah, good topic.

Regards,

WP

 

[geogentry]

Does anyone have a recommendation for what quality tent would be best? Can't afford the canvas ones that run $400 or so. I need to be able to stand up (5'6") in it and have room for a cot. My daughter has a common brand name cabin tent, not the cheapest (the pop up kind). In Utah she was inside the tent on a fairly heavy cot and the whole thing rolled with her in it. Don't know how hard the wind blew but am guessing Arizona gets the same kind of wind sometimes. I saw pictures last year of tents, kitchen shelters and shower tents flattened near Parker.

Mert4957-

If your daughter's tent actually rolled with her in it. Then the tent Stakes where the problem. The stakes that come with tents are useless unless you're setting up your tents in some idealistic location. No matter what tent you buy get the longest landscaping stakes you can. There are other options that have been discussed on other threads. You need to find something that is not going to come out of the ground easier than it went in.

Dimensions. If you can stand or not and fit your cot inside. That is somethingyou will have to look at and decide what is right for you. I know why i bought the size tent i have right now. Personal preferences.

Durability. This is where the expense comes into play. Based on my experience, being on my fourth tent in only one year, a four season tent is what i suggest is needed. They are just made to withstand more stress and strain. Do you really need something life that? Depends on where you camp. I lost one tent, almost, in the Santa Fe NF. No major storm. In fact i was just on the fringe. After repairs it got killed in a small camp in the Nevada desert. And i lost another tent in the same place a couple months later. (That is now my testing ground) The best 3 season tent brand that i have tried was a Coleman. They rate them for 35+ mph winds. Good/bad is that the will lay down flat in heavy winds. If you are inside when that happens it is a bit uncomfortable. But they will break eventually. BUT four season tents are more expensive. I took my Alaskan guide to my testing ground. [It is a county controlled camp site with no time limit] it withstood the wind. It didn't even begin to fall down. I was there for 4 weeks. I experienced the winds, couple walls of dust, rain for four days, and sleet that last 3 or 4 hours. No damage no discomfort.

If money is very tight then my own recommendation would be a Coleman. If you can stand to eat a lot of ramen noodles, like i did, save the extra money and get a four season tent.



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[Zephyr]

geogentry, I just watched this video on YouTube:

Cabela's Alaskan Guide Model Tent Storm Test. Hurricane Force Winds hit Kodiak Island Alaska

I'm convinced it's worth the money. Another important feature is that I wouldn't have to crawl out of the tent at night. I usually get leg cramps about the same time I'm crawling.

 

[abnorm]

I used a new-to-me SCREW as tarp/tent anchor out in the desert LTVA and RTR this year...…..never lost a single anchor for the 4 months.....and it was WINDY out there...…………..I used about 20 anchors to block the wind at the YARC camp-fire alone

I found these at HomeDepot ($1.61ea.)…….SPAX screws.....3/8"x8"....they have a 1/2" Hex head......AND a very aggressive/sharp thread.....I use the standard cordless driver "most" of us carry and a socket....(Oh NO!....Sometimes it takes 3 or 4X to "find" the exact spot/angle to screw-it-in )…...BUTT it doesn't take much strength to install and remove these...……....""uh there's that little-bitty switch right there""

For the tent loop I add a 2" fender washer before anchoring...….Here's my typical anchor set-up for my large heavy COOLAROO...….

 

[shadowmoss]

Thanks for putting in the name of these. Ever since I saw you putting these in at YARC camp I have wanted to get some but my hazy descriptions weren't enough to let anyone tell me where they are. Now I know.

 

[abnorm]

HiYa Shadowmoss……...Great meeting you this year...….Your "tablecloth" is still in use as a SunShade ….bring-it-on...…..

The screws are "engineered"...….they're used for reinforcing structures...…..generally a bottom-shelf item at the Depot

 

[shadowmoss]

Isle 14, Bay 001, $1.70 at the Payson Home Depot. I now am in possession of 6. I'll use a couple to anchor my awning in the motorhome.

 

[highdesertranger]

rocks be damned, I got the solution now. I have a Makita Rotor Hammer I will predrill the holes before I screw it the Earth Anchors. highdesertranger

 

[StarliteRambler]

Something worth doing is worth doing right:

https://www.amazon.com/ShelterAuger...ocphy=9009669&hvtargid=pla-273753423251&psc=1

 

[bullfrog]

The auger type work well in sand but not so well in desert pavement especially if it has larger rocks, I use a large socket that fits over the loop eye to run them in soft sand. I carry the screws as well for the rocky areas.

 

[highdesertranger]

someone else posted something like those the other day. I don't see how you would install those in rocky ground.

I use these and still run into problems sometimes hence the rotor hammer.

https://americanea.americommerce.com/PE18-anchor-18-inch-Penetrator-with-1-inch-hex-head.htm

highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

I like the 18" rebar stakes with the welded loop on the side. I got them in Quartzsite at the H&H? (blue building on Kuehn st). They work in most soil types.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah I have a bunch of the rebar ones I made and they do work in most circumstances. they must be 1/2 inch minimum(#4) any thing smaller(#3) doesn't work it bends to easy. actually #4 will bend too. yes 18 inch length minimum.

I also have some made out of spikes(big nails) they work ok but are not long enough.

highdesertranger