What Is The Best Type Of Shelter?

My fall back is my suv. Very good shelter if it comes down to it. Take out the back seat and you'll be amazed at how much more room you have.

solid shelters are the best

you really don't want to try to live in a gaseous or liquid shelter. They don't stay together very long

Me to. If I raise the back seats in my F-150 there is a HUGE amount of room...but there is really no chance of building a fire inside the vehicle (a candle perhaps).

Last Edited by Mental Case on 07/08/2020 01:11 PM

cave

My emergency heating is a UCO Candlelier. Holds 3 specialized candles. The top of the thing will get extremely hot. Hot enough to melt snow. Wait for a sale. The candles are not cheap.

From NE Ohio I can be in Tenn in 10 hours.

hills are good. when it rains the ground might get super saturated if you dont have tarp.

I'm thinking a shelter for 3 months to a year...it would be tough to do that in a vehicle.

covid camper

movable is key

D.C Beard has a fun book called Shelters, Shacks and Shanties. You can do a search and find it pretty easy, can't link here.

I've built a shelter based on the ideas in The $50 and Up Underground House, dug into a hillside and put up a pole frame. That's at least as much work as a log cabin.

Debris huts are fairly quick to build and I slept soundly without any blankets through frosty autumn nights. It would be my first shelter to build until I could get something more substantial.

Your best temporary shelter is whats called a Super Shelter and its easy to build. Problem is you need a ton of firewood. Do a search on utube to see what I'm talking about.

Earth sheltered is a good idea; but takes lots of materials to keep rain and snow run-off away, and lots of digging to prepare your site. Primitive shelters are likely to have water problems from rain etc. Probably want to use insulated chimney to keep roof from heat-cycling. Lots of plastic and concrete, as well as insulation to make a proper dwelling.

Tents are pretty decent longterm shelter. Especially when pitched upon a raised & insulated platform. Yurt is very roomy. Large USGI tents with stove flap and liner are pretty affordable. Can buy stove flap sections and sew into existing canvas tent or a hd tarp you might rig as a roof section.

Cabins can be erected with partial walls of earth. Pit cabin... Dig out a 3-5' deep area for your living space, erect short cabin wall and pitched roof over the excavation. Line the hole with styrfoam sheeting, cover w/6mil visqueen, put down insulated floor base, like 6x6 constructed forklift pallets, then install 3/4" plywood for flooring. Insulate the walls like you did the floor and frame walls 8-10' and insulate. Roof at pitch for heavy loads. 2x6 framing or 2x8 even better. Certainly want to install water handling plastic and drain piping, or do 2' or longer roof overhang.


"Living in the woods" takes in a lot of territory... If you own the property, could have your gear trucked in on your site in couple of full-size shipping containers. These can be used in many ways as basis for housing. Install on prepared site and use as your first floor, like an above ground basement, with stick-frame house built using the containers as foundation.


If you are bugged-out, probably want to lay low during year one... Tent living is quiet and fast to erect. Maybe your containers have chainsaws and sawmilling jigs to make beams and lumber? Run that stuff before you need it, or sometime in year 2. A 4x4 crewcab diesel with a dual axle trailer can haul quite a lot of gear. Have to work with seasonal weather, unless you are in the South.

Lumber will store very well for a season or two, if kept off the ground and covered by a good tarp.

underground with escape tunnels like the animals do I live in the woods here with.

Thatched hut. Made with minimal tools. Easy to erect so moving wont be an issue. You can camouflage it anywhere. Build a Dakota fire pit and carry some dryer hose fir ventilation.

[link to youtu.be (secure)]

Interesting...Thanks! I had never heard of that book.

I like the sound of that but the escape tunnels sound like alot of work.

I'd rather make the entrance small so nothing bigger than me could possibly get in.