Rustic Hunting Accommodations - Yes or No?

And how rustic?

I have a 50yo Coleman travel Trailer, think it's the 24' Traveller from the best I can tell. I've rednecked the roof with steel welding sheets and tarp to keep it mostly leak free and always airtight. Have recently laid down some prior home carpet on floor. No electricity and no running water, use a battery lantern for nighttime lighting, 1200 lumens, Heat Hog for propane related heating and battery powered pump for twin size mattress. As Clark Griswold said, "she's not much to look at but she's a beaut to me", lol. Any drinks brought out are courtesy of my ice chest. Keeps me out of paying those $125-150 nights at the in town motels....For 1-2 night stays, it fits the bill for sure....

Not rustic at all.
I spent a lot of money to sleep on the ground in a tent in Mozambique.

Sounds good to me

It is rare for me to stay in a Motel. I might stay in a cheap cabin type accommodation on occasion if it is my only option, but again, not often.

Cabelas Alaskan for base camp if I am rollin.



My East Texas camp has a vintage 13 ft camper that doubles as my stand. Solar, Propane, 12 volt TV. Generator and portable AC for when I visit during hot summer.



Young County Camp is an old Winnebago camper I bought off a forum member for 750 bucks because it was located on another lease close to mine. The guys in the house next to me have electricity and starlink available so I have a large TV. Microwave, Heat/Cool window unit, Ice Box etc. No running water though.

Like it!!!

👍👍

This is how I normally do it.

We had a lease trailer for decades. A 1966 Airstream 26’ Overlander. It was great. Shower and fridge worked, but heat and ac had to be added. I believe it’s the only thing with wheels that I sold for more than I paid. After we got it, the wife never missed a chance to go to the lease.

First lease, slept in jungle hammock/truck on rough nights.
Until stretched hammock too tight & rope broke.
Started using a trailer, leaked, & rat infested that was left thar.
Camping twas as rustic as me grammor.
Wife & kids wanted ta come with. She found a Shasta camper.
We kept it @ leases, address twas 201 Crazyville Ave.
WMA hunts was a tent. Colman stove, lantern & the likes.
Roughest camping, woke up, (actually didn't get much sleep)
Temps were in single digits. Snow covered everything.
Was driving a Suzuki Sermeri no top. So couldn't heat up truck.
Across the main drive, friend in camper gave invite ta a [_]] of .
He was about ta check on me ta see if i was still kicken, whin he seen me moving about.
Warmred up a tad, & went sat in stand, ice on trees archery hunt.
They offered a heavier sleeping bag for next night's camping.

Camping on Sabine, throw lines for cats/frog gigging. Jungle hammock/ army cot.
Canno/Johnboat. 14fter with 10horse merry motor. We looked for dead branches for fire
during day, & slept. @ night run lines & frog gigging.

Old & decrepit, still like camping in tent. Just takes longer ta get motor running.
Whin got off leases, (out priced), two, maybe three times pulled Shasta ta WMA,
but went back ta tent camping.

They called me caveman. Hunted hogs @ night, flash light off,
(hog can see the light going threw woods), ease towards em, 1,100acre lease, .

If I can deploy to the sandbox and live in a GP small for 4 months then rustic hunting / camping should be a breeze.

No hotels here either.

Home for usually about 14 days every year elk hunting. We do about a week at at time.
2 cots, a cookstove/oven combo and wood stove for heat.

We have an old Airstream at the lease. Mostly stripped down on the inside, couple windows busted and no elec or plumbing. But, it is mostly watertight and good place to get out of the wind or rain

If its just me and I'm not at the lease I sleep on top my chuckwagon or next to it on a cot.

I'f I'm toting kids or friends for a couple days I have a couple Kodiak canvas tents.

Looks like two Kodiak Canvas tents. I love mine except when it is time to go home and the canvas is wet. I am paranoid that mine is going to mildew but so far it has not.

I've had mine for 8 years maybe and no problems yet but I make sure its dry before I pack it.

One of those is actually my brothers. He rarely uses it and and rolled ot up wet once so its got some mildew. Still pretty solid though.

They are great tents.

I don't mind spartan accommodations but I do not like Rodent or Spider infested lodging. Most RV's and Mobile Homes left on rural properties tend to fall into one or the other category.

If I can swing it, I like to haul a travel trailer. We did it the last two times up in the mountains and as much as I fought the idea of it, it was nice....much better than staying in a 3 season tent. In warmer weather a tent is nice but when the temps drop I get over it pretty quick. Still, alot of times thats the only option you have.

I do enjoy a nice Canvas tent when set up properly....you get the rustic feeling and the comfort.


If I was doing more off grid camping, I would invest in one of those small RV's that you can tow behind a Jeep. Off Road tires and suspension, enough room to get out of the weather and easy to tow up logging roads and fire breaks. Not cheap but IMO thats the best compromise between comfort, towability and utility.

20 years ago I bought a 29.5-foot fifth wheel. Have used it for vacations, going to the lake on weekends. Always had a place to park it so there was no storage fee. As time passed started taking it to the lease. We have electricity and access to water, so it did not take too much effort to hook electric for 50 amp service. Ran some pvc pipe and have water. Have Dish at home so for a small fee added service at the lease. Have all the convenience of home. The wife and kids come out from time to time. We have enjoyed this lease for 23 years, so I guess it has been worth the effort.

I've been in some of the worst camps compared to those listed above but mostly early in my hunting career while hunting with my dad & his friends. Started off in ~'63 in an old fish camp with hand laid stone "bunk" house about 8' x 20' (3 cots down each side and one across the end), no electricity on old metal army cots with cotton mattress, wool blanket, so cold had to sleep with all clothes on (way before any insulated clothing or boots), The "kitchen" was about 14' square with butane fridge & cook top, table with chairs. single pane windows on all sides with one door.

graduated to 2 old canvas round (teepee style) army tents with bunk metal army cots, the "kitchen" was the same thing with the butane fridge & cook top, table & chairs. I almost dreaded spending the night due to how cold it was in the bunk tent.

My dad and one of his buddies, bought an old 60's 68 passenger school bus that they gutted and converted to an RV (didn't run) with the same metal army cots, butane cook top & fridge. At least this new lease had electricity and we could run a small electric heater (that merely kept ice from forming on the inside, barely). We used this at the next 4 leases over about a 15 year time frame.

next lease had an actual camp house ... well, sort of anyway. It had a 8' x 14-16' portable building (same metal army bunks, butane cook top & fridge) with a small butane dearborne heater that was turned off by the last person in bed.

after college, I got my own lease and bought a cabover camper that I set up on pallets outside a small barn the LO built. no electricity there either but had better sleep since I had a decent (for the time) sleeping bag.

my dad moved to another lease with some other buddies (most of his previous group had died or quit hunting) that had a small rock house with water (well) and electricity. I took my son there when he was small to get the the deer camp experience and dropped my lease to join this one. We hunted there until the LO passed and his kids decided their friends needed a place to hunt instead of us.

I have roughed it more often than I've had a nice place to stay. recently I have used our travel trailer that had most of the comforts of home ... I prefer this by far.

Have you ever used that on a hunting trip?

Started by sleeping in the bed of the truck with a tarp draped over the bed. Not good or comfortable. Moved up to a pop-up camper. Better but not good. One night a severe thunderstorm was approaching from the NW. Dark, dark cloud and continuous rolling thunder. I was in the camper and when the wind, rain hit water started spraying in around the door frame like water from a hose. High wind that was coming in hard gusts. I grabbed a towel and tried to knock down the spay of water and a very high gust hit. The extensions on each side were extended and started flapping like wings.
I expected it to take off like a kite and was hoping they would find my remains. Survived the storm, on the ground, and got rid of the pop-up. Bought an old worn out travel trailer and over the years upgraded to nice campers. Nice and comfortable. If I did not have a nice camper, camp house to stay in, would stay in a hotel. A good one.

For years we tent camped when we hunted in OK. A few years back, we built a 10x20 shack with a porch. Eventually, we built an outdoor cook station to go with it. My wife considers it too rustic and won't go. My son, BIL and I consider it 5 star accommodations.

That is what I'm talking about - 5 star as far as I'm concerned.

6K sq ft house. I didn't pay for it. 1/4 mi from my hunting area, by ATV.

Drive in Deer Camp:







Canoe in Bear Camp:

Still hunting the same ranch but with improved accommodations. This was a ranch house built in the 1800's, no electricity, propane provided the lights, refrigerator, and hot water. It was very drafty and basically the same temp as outside with lots of critters sharing the same home.

Is that ranch east of 35 outside of Millet?

webb

Actually more than I can count. I have also logged over 30,000 miles on her. Bought her new in 2010. I just take of the things I own, if that is the reason for your question.

Dang, thing looks brand new!

Like Bobo said, Webb Co, east of Laredo.

Thanks

If I took some close ups of all of dents and guards falling off. Doors inside have been replaced, walls have fallen down inside, floods from toilet breaking, water pump being replace, blowouts on the road, fans and skylight being replaced, new antenna, replaced all outside marker lights ……etc but I ALWAYS take it to get repaired.

started out with an old 8x16 box truck. work in progress...

Slept in the back seat of the truck many times, will not get a hotel!

that old stove is bad [censored]!!!

It is a mid 30s coleman air o gas, it has a big tank and pump just like the camping stoves but bigger. it weighs a ton! works pretty good for cooking breakfast and coffee, have not tried the oven yet though

Damn it, Now you have me looking for one for my container cabin

I never got the whole Airstream thing, until I saw Superduty’s post. Very nice.

Started with a previously owned POS pickup bed camper. Wife and I spent a couple of nights in it. Both wound up with crabs (pubic lice). Had to be fumigated. Next was a 16 ft camper . It was ok. Built an out house.

Then found a 60 ft trailer house for sale about 3 miles from my place. Bought it for $6,000 and had it pulled to my place. Had a well dug and sewer system. Heater has never worked but has a cast iron stove in the living room. At very best, it can be called a poor white trash trailer house with window AC. Needs new carpet.

Probably will sell it and and the 133 acres of land, South of Bowie, in the next couple of years. But, not just yet. It’s still my sanity spot to get out of the metroplex. Grandsons and I use the shooting range and we enjoy tossing out food to the fish in the ponds.

Need rain badly.

These old pictures bring back memories.

I backpack hunt so - pretty rustic - a tent. No hotels, trailers, or even vehicles where I am.

We've got an OLD mountain cabin over 100 years old that almost never gets used and is more than 10 miles (1 hour ATV/UTV drive up an old stagecoach trail) away from any other structure. It's decently rodent proof and we keep the basics including sleeping bags in plastic bins. Also keep dry firewood and the cabin has a pot belly stove to keep the place warm. Every now and then, we'll spend a night in it while elk hunting just to be that much closer to the action the next morning. Certainly not would not be my first choice for staying a week, but it's far superior to some of the tent hunters I see out in CO.

I've done rustic for a long time (and sometimes downright suffering), and my back doesn't really appreciate it anymore. About 13 years ago, we decided that comfort was a bit more meaningful. And rarely a year goes by when this thing hasn't been covered in deer blood. Over 38k miles and counting.

Nice set up.

couple of the ranchwagens... mabey more rusty then rustic lol.

Ive been looking at either clam or accordion pop up shell camper for my truck. Alot easier to navigate BLM and NF

diesel heater?

I was wondering the very same thing, but I would have said east of 35 and close to Los Angeles.

yeah, they are a gamechanger for cold weather camping. i think whole setup was $120. everything in 1 vechical makes getting back in nf and blm land a lot easier

yelp, Im full blown in on the diesel heater research right now trying to figure out best buy.

i think the 5k and 8k are the exact same unit. if you are going to be camped out for few days you're going to want to run off a second battery, they draw about 10amp for start up and shutdown witch is about 15min, once warmed up draw about 1 1/2amps an hour.

ranchwagen, looks like youre new on our forum. Welcome aboard. Bobo is your new best friend so you are starting off on the right foot.

Thank you

ha!! Daughters are pushing hard to hunt with me out west, more, and honestly some states have pretty exceptional youth tag opportunities.

My wife suggested that my way of rolling out a canvas bed roll on ground or back of the truck is probably not the best way to keep the daughters engaged when we are 2-3 days in on a hard hunt. She wants me to buy Supertramp Camper or OEV camper… I want more of a less fragile GFC or Dirtbox.

Thank you, sir.

Thanks freerange, i have lurked for a little wile to kinda "read the room" so to say. alot of great info on this forum! i am relative new to hunting but have always been an outdoors person, have learned alot from here. i did not see a sticky for new members to introduce themselves...so i just jumped in

I dont think there is a sticky but often guys will start a thread with a little bio. Then guys will ask sweet or unsweet tea, high fence/low fence etc. They usually wont ask about politics cause nobody figures anyone will admit to being on the "other side".
Probably smart to lurk and read the room instead of jumping in and giving a bad first impression. That gets you a vote from me.
Nowwww, what was the topic?

Truck Camping!!!!!! Expedition/overland style

My current set up:






Insulated and finished out ceiling, built a bed that that folds up in front of Ranger during transport, added a shore plug and lighting, I'm good. A lot of room, clean, dry and warm. We have a finished out cabin for cooking, so this is all I need. I started out wanting a fold down rear door/ramp. Glad I went with this. It's a whole lot easier to open up in a parking lot, easy to load gear from the back without the ramp in the way.

onlysmith&wesson, know a hunter that had built a rig like that.
Meet him @ OSBWMA, Twas nice set up.

Few pictures of my cabin:

fire place is legit

Mule Deer Camp. I can't sleep on the ground anymore...these hammocks are great for my back...

Started out in the back of a truck, then a tent. Current lease has this little structure.

Nothing rustic there...

he needs some art work from Tara Banks.

I’ve given two away, I tried so hard to love them. would save me 2-3lbs, i just cant sleep on my back. Im envious though half set uptime and half the weight
, 100x easier set up foot print

That's glorious!

My Dad had a client that was an Ag or shop teacher (i misremember which), that's students converted small (10x10 maybe) portable buildings into small camp houses that were wired to run lights off of 12v deep cycle marine battery, with a small cabinet, and a pair of bunks on one wall. Lost that during Hurricane Ike, so I bought a Capri cowboy camper that we put in the back of my old V-10 Super Duty. That sucker went all over the place on hunts, Then the old man and my Uncle Bill took it on a fishing trip to Rockport, and got t-boned which killed both the truck and camper. Our next lease had a camphouse so it didn't much matter. Then my Dad and other uncle bought our current place, and we have a small toyhauler that is used strictly for sleeping as my Uncle built a 30x30 metal building on a slab to house side by sides, 4 wheelers, tractor, etc. Which has since had a full bathroom installed, a full kitchen, satellite tv. so we are hardly roughing it these days. They both talked about building a cabin so Mom and Aunt Debbie would enjoy visiting. But, after Dad passed that talk has kinda faded away.