my tent

[highdesertranger]

Ken in Anaheim asked about my winter sleeping accommodations so instead of hijacking the other thread here you go. 
in the winter I sleep in my cot too.  come by my camp at RTR and you can check it out.  many have seen my current set up and I really don't have any good pics.

when I used to have a lot of buddies with me and I was in colder climates I have a huge military tent,  18x36 and a wood burning stove.   I use some of the poles for my tarp system.  I do want a cargo trailer to build out half and use the other half for my equipment. here's some pics of my tent.  I could literally park 6 vehicles inside.  I have been thinking of bringing it to the RTR but it's very labor intensive to set up.


setting up


finishing touches,  good thing too.  I know the sky looks blue but..........





this is what we woke up to the next morning



firing up the wood burner to take the chill off.

highdesertranger

 

[HalfShadows]

Hi HDR. Is that a Gp Large? I have a GP small and a Gp small Artic. I use the The Artic for sleeping in and the regular gp small for cooking and lounging. They hold up to high winds and blizzards nicely. The key is keeping the guy ropes tight. I brought a sack of coal with me once up into the rockies one winter and burned it in my little pot belly Korean era stove. It was blizzarding out and I had half of one of the doors rolled back. We were in our Tee shirts playing cards watching the blizzard outside. Had a small thermometer dangling down from the center pole at about waste high reading 98 degrees.

 

[highdesertranger]

yes the GP large. it is the rubberized canvas model. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

How big a cargo trailer? There are two of us but you still have a dog right? It takes about 6' for a sleeping area unless you sleep across (east/west) which makes for a wide trailer. Hauling the tent probably takes up 2' as my 10'x14' with poles and stakes sets in a corner that is maybe 18"x36"x36" plus the lenght of the poles extended to the ceiling. Lots of things to consider especially if going into back country to boondock. How big is your current open trailer and can you haul everything at once? What is the shortest time you have ever stayed in the tent and what is the setup/takedown time with how many people? How hard is it to find flat ground large enough for it? Do you clear ground before you set up? Do you trench the tent? I'm impressed with your effort to make a portable home but I think you are gonna work yourself to death!

 

[QinReno]

HDR, you must travel with an official Entourage. I can't see it taking less than 3 or 4 people minimum to put that thing up. I was camping down in the Sierra last week, and the people next door had a large 8-10 man tent and it was at least 6'2" high when assembled. It literally took 2 of them a full hour to get it up.

 

[HalfShadows]

I don't know how cold it gets in the area you set up but, I used to go out in 20-30 below and set up. Always made sure I had a stick of parafin to rub on the zippers to prevent them from freezing and locking up

 

[highdesertranger]

the military says it takes 6 people to set up. but remember these are the ones they don't want to give guns to. I have done it with 3 guys before but it's not something I want to repeat, that was one long day. highdesertranger

 

[QinReno]

.... done it with 3 guys ... 

So that means 4 people and still a PITN. Ha, so you *do* have an Entourage.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

yes the GP large.  it is the rubberized canvas model.  highdesertranger

I've been to circuses with smaller tents than that 

 

[travelaround]

I like big tents but that one is a bit more than I could handle. My brother used to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains in a big canvas tent on a deck. It was a nice setup for a semi-permanent dwelling. He had military camoflage netting on the roof.

 

[Jack]

Yeah. My jaw is on the floor. You're in a whole other class, hdr. If there's one person I can safely cross off my list to worry about, it's you. Where do you keep your ark?!

 

[RoamerRV428]

huge amt of space inside. impressive tent! nice pics

 

[tav-2020]

i have serious tent envy...but not tent set-up envy
are you set-up in a mostly permanent place? (not asking for where, just wondering how often you break and move)

 

[highdesertranger]

I haven't used it since 2009.  that's when we only had 3 people to set it up and we only set it up as a 18x18.  here's some pics,




you can see an option is to leave the sides rolled up




highdesertranger

 

[tav-2020]

thanks for the extra pics...a shame that it does not get used, would be a great compound for long term set-up.
i can imagine how heavy it must be though, and takes a fair amount of cargo space to transport probably

bring it to rtr2020, if there is one, and i will help set-up! LOL ... should be on the road and there by then

 

[tx2sturgis]

That's the garage for his M60 Patton Military Tank.

 

[Anhedonic]

I used to camp in a Korean-war-era GP Medium back in my medievalist days. That thing was bulletproof and treated with chemicals that are definitely not OSHA approved. You could put that tent away wet for a year and nothing would grow on it.

Setup was a beast and it weighed at several hundred pounds, but we never had to worry about weather.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

THANKS HDR. I don't want to hijack your thread either....but....how do you camp in the winter (say, in Q'site) by yourself ? Sleep in your truck?, a small tent? under a tarp?

 

[highdesertranger]

I have slept in the cab of my truck when it's raining and my tarp is not set up,  like when I am traveling from one place to another.  I am almost 6'2" it's very uncomfortable.  I am going to remove the back seat and build a box in it's place.  this will make it more comfortable as the box will have a larger surface area.  here's a couple of pics from 2016 RTR,


this is my main tarp it is 17'x23' and it's made out of rubberized canvas.  I use the rack on my truck and some of my military poles to rig it.  it is very strong.  of course heavy duty bungees are in place so the tarp gives in the wind.


here the wall is up and my cot is up against the wall.  since then I got an EZ type shelter with 3 walls and sleep in that.  last year Timotea and I both slept under it.  sorry I don't have any pictures of that set up.  stop by my camp and check it out.  highdesertranger

 

[Smitty716]

Very nice ,