Canvas Tents

Hey Chilcotin,

Great write up. Glad to see someone else thinks tents, especially wall tents, have merit in a post-event world.

Here is a pic from a BC company Deluxe Wall Tents. http://www.deluxewalltents.com/

I have a picture of my wall tent at my blog Mountainman's Mantra;

http://mtnmanblog.blogspot.ca/

The pioneers and the prospectors used cabin tents during the Cariboo Goldrush. Tent on top of a wood floor and partial walls.

Mountainman.

Great post mountain man. Picture is worth a thousand words.

I didn't realize you had a blog mountainman...

Some cool ideas. I'm going to harass you about that storage box in your suv again at the upcoming AB meeting.

mountainman, I have just viewed your blog. Excellent information here everyone!!!

Thanks.

Harass away. It did not take a degree in engineering nor did it take an architect or a committee to design or build. 🙂 I will pass on what knowledge I have.

Mountainman.

I love Canvas Tents as well, thanks for the post.
I have bought two Canvas Tents this past year, total cost $50 + one for free.
There are 3 season tents, will be buying a smoke hole setup and having it sewn in for me. Smoke Hole pricing was from $40-$55, sewing quoted was $80
for permanent setup I plan to insulate the wall tent with some Durofoam, it is shiny one side, dense, rigid 8x4 foam. The 1" stuff costs about $13 a sheet. Using either 2x4 wood or 2x4 metal studs, I will create an interior framework and then use some metal tape to close in the gaps.

Similar insulation setup to my camper and what a difference it has made. I have 2 small portable camp stoves, but will make a Rocket Mass Heater to keep the place warm after the fire goes out.
Here is a photo that I posted on my blog of what one of them looks like.


I also plan on putting a frame over it with a Heavy Canvas Cover, this way it will assist with cooling and heating as well as allowing the Tent to last longer.
This tent show is 8'x10' and a height of 7'
the other tent is 10x10, same height

Yes, tens of thousands for a Cabin/Cottage or a few hundred for a Canvas Home, people lived in tents their whole lives sometimes, it is not as bad as people think it is!

I wish I knew where I could set up such a place that didn't cost a fortune ... Land in southern AB is stupid expensive for land and BC is even worse.

My thought is that a BOL needs to be within a tank of gas of Calgary to be reasonable to reach. Especially as a person needs to go out there monthly to develop storage, clear land, and to ensure no one has snuck in to steal what you may need someday.

Dangphool,

You are soooooooo correct on the price for dirt around the Southwest part of our country. Ouch! As for where to get cheap tents, keep an eye on Kijiji. After the old timers die, their kids usually have no time for heavy, stinky old canvas tents. If you monitor Kijiji canvas tent are advertised from time-to-time. $10 - $50. Sometimes for free.

WildernessReturn,

Thanks for adding your comments. There was a post on the Ontario board that was almost hostile to the concept of using tents in a bugout scenario. Maybe the West is more accepting of the concept because less than 120 years ago tents were still used regularly.

I wanted to suggest to you if you are setting up a tent for long term use you may want to consider using a large tarp over top. Use a wood floor that extends 6" wider than your tent and a good 6' longer than your tent. Have a frame for your tent or inside your tent and a frame outside the tent for the tarp. Have the tarp go from the dirt flap up and over the tent down to the dirt flap on the other side. The tarp wants to be at least 6 feet longer than your tent. And the last part would be a tarp or partial tarp for the closed end (back) of the tent. This setup will give you an air gap (dead air) on the 3 sides of your tent to reduce heat loss due to convection/moving air. Also you get a covered porch up front. I would think a canvas tarp or a one of them heavier truckers tarps made from at least 10 ounce vinyl. Not them cheap blue tarps, they would not last more than one season, IMHO. The photo-album at Deluxe Tents has some good photos of wall tents setup for long-term use.

I like your idea for insulating. The army mods were definitely warmer when the white liners were installed. Every little bit helps.

Anyone else got pics of their tent setup???

Mountainman.

Another good reason for the "second skin" is to protect the canvas from UV... thats why the cheap plastic ones don't last... they rot.

Hey Mountain Man,
that fool in the Ontario section, argues with everyone.. everyone..
they have not been on for some time, so it has been nicer for a while.

I forgot to add in about the white liner as well, I did a test before and just by adding in the parachute liner it raised the temps another 10 degrees. Right now I am on the look out for a large covering canvas so it will assist in the heating and cooling department. Similar background to you and yes, make a little moat and plan on putting it on pallets that are tacked together with some insulation in the spaces between the boards.

Adding in some heavy clear vinyl or plexy with Velcro for fasteners, for the windows as well, so I can open the canvas up in winter to have more light. This tent pictured above cost me $25 including all the poles and rope, nice people.

When we were kids the UV protection was what,, 5-10 now the minimum recommended is about 55!

Mountain Man, your blog reminds me of mine, also similar background, your campsite is a mirror image of mine when I go camping, go Infantry! RCR here, 3 RCR

great info on tents !!!! mountain man i just had a look at your blog. awesome info thanks for sharing

Thanks for the kind words folks about my humble blog.

Yes, ground pounders all the way. Yes, tent living is an improvement from a hole in the ground, LOL. 🙂 We are all the same family, no matter which Regiment raised us. Although, we do have fun taunting each other from time-to-time. In the end we would band together against those that deserve it.

Yah, my camp pic was from a family camping trip, the young guy was only 5 then. He had a blast, living at that camp for a week. No electricity, he didn't care. He made friends with every kid within walking distance of our campsite.

Nice score on getting a good deal on your tentage!! The good deals are out there if you are looking.

Cheers,

Mountainman.

You've pretty much covered it in this thread, but I thought I would add my $0.25.

The Canadian Forces used/use modular and bell tents that are exceedingly effective. A 5 section military Mod (Modular) tent (6 arches, 15 purlons, 5 canvas middles, 2 canvas ends) can be fully built and raised by a team of 4-6 in less than 2 minutes in an emergency. Approximately a minute for full teardown of the tent itself with the same team in a bug-out situation. Same timeframe for a fully lined "8 man" bell tent. I can't stress enough just how effective these tents are at their jobs. The 8 person bell tent, also known as an Arctic Bell Tent, can house up to 12 persons, and with the liner can reach temperatures in excess of 80F in mild fall/spring temperatures with 8 people.

Half Shelters (known sometimes as Hoochie Shelters) are another very valuable tent. Can be set up as an A frame, lean to, paired with another/several others to create a conventional tent, or can be used as a ground sheet. There are dozens of uses for these Half Shelters, and they're relatively inexpensive from Dave's Surplus, or if you're in the Vancouver area, Westley's Surplus in New Westminster.

Having used all of these myself in one capacity or another, I strongly recommend keeping at minimum one Half Shelter per person on your team.

H

Hammer,, f A
thanks another ground pounder speaks up! Yes, Tents, hoochies and Mess style tents are very versatile and comparatively inexpensive compared to other structures.

Another often overlooked system is the Vehicle Tenting, as in the Queen Marry setups, the Radio Trucks or command vehicles, with Tentege off the back, side or both. Simply put, you can make your own, look for some already made or get real creative, with how you make them.

Now if you own your own land, or use some types of Government Lands, you can make some Salish Pit Huts, Salish Round Houses, which are a combination of underground and above ground structures. The Summer variety uses Canvas (pre white guy, bark and skins) Winter variety uses logs, saplings, bark or other material covered with sand, earth and sod, think Igloo but without the snow.