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Travel trailer, pop up or canvas tent for off grid hunting lease

C

Close caller

Active Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Messages
126
I joined a hunting lease this year. Super excited about it. It’s 1:30 from my house. There’s an area where members are allowed to park their RV’s.

There’s no electric or sewer, so off grid. Debating on whether to get a travel trailer, pop up or perhaps a canvas tent with wood burner or buddy heater.

I like to go camping so would use the pop up or travel trailer some. I also lol like to save money and both are big expenses. Plus storage fees after the season. I already have a generator to use.

Anyone use a canvas tent for a couple months and have a nice comfortable setup? I’d have to bring in water and some other stuff to bring cook ect. Worst part would be using the woods for the bathroom, but honesty that doesn’t bother me much. No shower would be another negative. I don’t mind going a few days but it’s nice to clean up some and knock your odor down a bit.

A pop up seems like a nice compromise but I have had two buddies have their pop up destroyed by mice after leaving it up in the woods for a while.

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks
 
The popup will drive you nuts having to set it up and tear it down each time. You don't list a cargo trailer as an option but that is the route I went. I'm able to get a lot more use out of a converted cargo trailer than a dedicated camper. If designed right, you can take just about everything out and use it to haul stuff in and then put the beds/cots back in to go camping. I started with a 7x12 with v-nose and then my buddy and I upgraded to a 7x19 with v-nose to be able to haul a couple quads out West on hunting trips. You only have to do a couple things to a cargo trailer to make it livable - ventilation and insulation. Of course you can do more like adding windows, bathroom, kitchen, etc. My first one (which is about to go on the market again) has a propane fridge and is completely self-sufficient. It also has a plug for shore power when available (or generator).

Our hunting group also has a canvas wall tent that we use as a cook tent - not bad to setup and tear down if you are staying in one place for over a week. I wouldn't want to set it up and tear down for a weekend trip though.
 
Having stayed in @DanO's converted cargo trailer I will vouch that it is a sweet option when done right. And he definitely did it right!

If you don't mind the utilitarian look it's hard to beat!
 
@DanO that’s funny I was actually ordering some more stuff from you when I logged on my phone. Looks like I’m gonna be spending some time on YouTube watching DIY cargo trailers. Thanks! I didn’t think about that as an option.
 
Close caller said:
@DanO that’s funny I was actually ordering some more stuff from you when I logged on my phone. Looks like I’m gonna be spending some time on YouTube watching DIY cargo trailers. Thanks! I didn’t think about that as an option.
Click to expand...
Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers forum has a section dedicated to cargo trailer conversions: http://tnttt.com/
 
Anyone ever just leave a quality canvas tent up for a month or two? Just wondering how it would hold up as an option
 
I have a 7x12 that I will use on some hunts and trips. It’s primarily for hauling mower/ atv. A little insulation and mandatory air conditioning and it’ll be ready for hunting. @DanO I like the cook shed idea and plan to build a small awning on my trailer. I would definitely prefer not to cook in mine. I’ve got a small inverter generator that will run a window unit to cool it down (we don’t need heat here). For those quick weekend trips I may just run a microwave. On those trips I’m only in camp from an hour and a half after dark to about the same before daylight. @Close caller I wouldn’t buy something that I wouldn’t want to keep if I bailed on the lease. With exception of leaving one at a lease or on a lake people seldom use campers like they envision they would.
 
Hammock is always an option they can tend to get pretty pricy too tho for all the cold weather gear you would need. Depending where you lease is. I hammock a lot when we back pack and it’s awesome light weight easy to pack.
 
The lease is in mid south Ohio. So it gets cold but not like MN or northern MI cold. I have some backcountry camping stuff I use elk hunting but was looking for something a little more comfortable without breaking the bank. Researching DIY trailer conversions now. Thinking I’d spend a lot less with a canvas tent, camp stove or buddy Heater but a trailer would be nicer.
 
For sure man! Sounds like your on track! @DanO Sounds like his set up is nice! Mite get to see it here in a month. I’ve been wanting to rv with the wife and kids just can’t afford it at the moment lol I’m trying to get a 20-26’ fifth wheel and truck. So I can still get it into most places.
 
I have two friends that used to work for an Americorps program in NH. They lived in canvas tents set on wooden platforms with woodstoves even in the winter. I have no idea what the cost of those was,but they were neat.
 
DanO said:
The popup will drive you nuts having to set it up and tear it down each time. You don't list a cargo trailer as an option but that is the route I went. I'm able to get a lot more use out of a converted cargo trailer than a dedicated camper. If designed right, you can take just about everything out and use it to haul stuff in and then put the beds/cots back in to go camping. I started with a 7x12 with v-nose and then my buddy and I upgraded to a 7x19 with v-nose to be able to haul a couple quads out West on hunting trips. You only have to do a couple things to a cargo trailer to make it livable - ventilation and insulation. Of course you can do more like adding windows, bathroom, kitchen, etc. My first one (which is about to go on the market again) has a propane fridge and is completely self-sufficient. It also has a plug for shore power when available (or generator).

Our hunting group also has a canvas wall tent that we use as a cook tent - not bad to setup and tear down if you are staying in one place for over a week. I wouldn't want to set it up and tear down for a weekend trip though.
Click to expand...
I was wondering how long it will take for cargo trailer camping showing up here on the forum. I have been looking into those for almost a year and watched a lot of videos on converting one. Right now, my longest drive for hunting is 40 minutes, so I don’t really “need” any mobile shelter. That’s the reason I have not pulled the trigger on one.
 
I had a travel trailer on my old farm for years. It's not ideal but it worked ok for the purpose. I would bring water down in a 275 gallon poly tank and use it to fill the camper with water for showers. I put a grinder pump on the waste and ran all waste into a small hole in the ground (poor mans septic). I highly recommend an inverter style generator if you go this route. Nothing worse than a loud generator around camp. Mice are an issue with any camp in the woods, just prepare with traps and keep them baited with poison but you will still get them. I've found a couple of snake skin sheds in the oven over the years
 
I spent 12 seasons hunting out of a wall tent, near the high peaks of the ADKs, in everything from 70* to -10*, snow and rain, if your going to try a tent in cold conditions a true canvas wall tent is a must, condensation is your enemy in anything else. A quality canvas tent with a proper rain fly and good wood stove will take any conditions head on. I used Davis tents out of Colorado, bomb proof, they now live in barrels in my basement, I bought a camp on a lease. I also tried the travel trailer route, still have and use that for summer family outings. For comfort a travel trailer is gonna be far better than any tent, the main problem is dealing with soaking wet clothes and muddy boots and such, when the furnace is running they burn a decent amount of propane quick, and it’s hard to dry clothes compared to a wood stove in a wall tent. My main problem with tents were regulating wood stoves, your either burning up or freezing to death, they heat up in like 2 minutes and go cold just as fast, it’s real hard to find that sweet spot and hence your up every 2 hours all night fighting with it. Non vented propane heaters produce condensation and wont dry clothes not to mention I never fully trusted those things, a couple nights or something in a pinch maybe but for a big canvas wall tent they wont work. If your going to have more than a couple guys and hunting in a lot of nasty weather with tons of wet clothes and such I would get a good canvas tent with a quality wood stove. If I was hunting alone or with just one other guy then maybe a travel trailer. Hope this helps, converting an eclosed cargo trailer was next on my list but found a camp instead.
 
It’s more money but I’m starting lean towards a camper or travel trailer for the comforts of a furnace and bathroom, shower. I’lol just have to have plenty of fuel to run the generator.

I do like the idea of the wood burner and canvas tent but getting up every couple hours to put wood in will get old quick I’m guessing
 
I found a nice used one for $7k, it was like brand new, we use it in the summer for family camping trips and its perfect, its super nice when its starts raining and everbody is running for there cars with tents and you can go inside and take a nap or grab an ice cream from the freezer , the gas fridge and freezer in that thing is one of my favorite parts.
 
Where do you hunt? What kind of temps are we talking about during hunting season? I've seen some pretty sweet deer camps made from a system of homemade panels that assemble on site - kind of a step up from the canvas tent.
 
I’ve been looking quite a bit but just can’t find something I want.
 
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