westcliffe01
Veteran Member
I personally find camping on the ground in cold damp conditions to be miserable.... The last time I went camping in high country in Colorado (2013) at 7500 ft elevation in June, it got down to the 30's at night and it rained a little every day. The campsite I had/was allocated sloped in 2 different directions with no level spot and of course there was no power to run an electric heater or lights, since if you have that 1 luxury, it can make quite a difference to the experience.
Of course anywhere my tent goes I have my truck too, this was not a trail/backpacking trip. Given that the tent site was so miserable, damp and cold, I left my tent up as a "showpiece" and slept in the bed of the truck every night. The campsite I was in did not allow anyone to sleep in a vehicle if it was not a "genuine" RV.... I could park the truck in such a way that it was level and I was 3 feet off the cold ground. Mosquitoes were not an issue, since sealing up the tailgate joints on a truck can take some doing, the bugs here in MI have no problem getting in around the edges of the tailgate and I think the record so far is about 130 bites on 1 person in 1 night (set in the upper peninsula on Lake Superior just 3 weeks ago)....
I have had my share of tent type hunting blinds and if my experience was anything to go by, they are a disaster if heavy snow or rain is possible. If high wind is possible, then they are usually ripped to shreds when you show up in the morning. Building a "trappers tar paper shack" seems a very worthwhile exercise compared to the fragility of a tent structure. At the very least have a hard roof with something substantial holding it up that can take high wind, snow and rain and a raised floor that has a robust vapor barrier in it. I built a 4x8 foot floor plan hunting blind / shelter and the only problem I had with it was with high wind blowing it over. Since the roof was 8 foot high and the floor only 4 foot wide, it was blown over twice by winds that probably exceeded 80mph.... Remember that a shelter of this size needs only 9 sheets of plywood (1 for each narrow end, 1 for the floor, 2 each for the long sides and 2 for the roof 2+1+4+2 = 9, You can get good quality 3/8 plywood for $15/sheet. The floor should ideally be 3/4. For framing you can rip 2x4's in half, its probably better than what is in most RVs for framing today. If you use construction adhesive between framing and plywood it increases the strength of the shelter dramatically. For roofing I use either rubber roofing from an RV surplus store or ice shield / roll roofing which is about $30/roll here. If you build when it is warm you can glue the roll roofing on with contact cement like what is used for the rubber roofing and it is way more robust than any amount of roofing nails when a big wind is blowing.
Put some pressure treated 2x4 skids underneath to keep the floor from ground contact. Paint the thing with exterior enamel, about $30/gal. Make sure to get all the end grain. Make the eaves overhang 4" at least to try to keep runoff off the walls. You can transport a shelter of this size with the smallest harbor freight trailer and if you support the frame on axle stands when you have it positioned, it will not have a tendency to tip over if you move to the back end of the trailer. I like to have hunting blinds/shelters be portable, since you never can tell how things will develop, what seems like the perfect spot could change on opening day after the first shot is fired....
In closing, it is my opinion that the further you are from your hunting property, the more reward you will get from having a "real" shelter there during the season. If it can be made large enough to hold a few people, even better. Outdoor experiences are better when they are shared with someone who has not had the experience before. It can be very affordable and building stick framed buildings does not require a PHD, just the ability to follow instructions or watch some youtube videos.
Of course anywhere my tent goes I have my truck too, this was not a trail/backpacking trip. Given that the tent site was so miserable, damp and cold, I left my tent up as a "showpiece" and slept in the bed of the truck every night. The campsite I was in did not allow anyone to sleep in a vehicle if it was not a "genuine" RV.... I could park the truck in such a way that it was level and I was 3 feet off the cold ground. Mosquitoes were not an issue, since sealing up the tailgate joints on a truck can take some doing, the bugs here in MI have no problem getting in around the edges of the tailgate and I think the record so far is about 130 bites on 1 person in 1 night (set in the upper peninsula on Lake Superior just 3 weeks ago)....
I have had my share of tent type hunting blinds and if my experience was anything to go by, they are a disaster if heavy snow or rain is possible. If high wind is possible, then they are usually ripped to shreds when you show up in the morning. Building a "trappers tar paper shack" seems a very worthwhile exercise compared to the fragility of a tent structure. At the very least have a hard roof with something substantial holding it up that can take high wind, snow and rain and a raised floor that has a robust vapor barrier in it. I built a 4x8 foot floor plan hunting blind / shelter and the only problem I had with it was with high wind blowing it over. Since the roof was 8 foot high and the floor only 4 foot wide, it was blown over twice by winds that probably exceeded 80mph.... Remember that a shelter of this size needs only 9 sheets of plywood (1 for each narrow end, 1 for the floor, 2 each for the long sides and 2 for the roof 2+1+4+2 = 9, You can get good quality 3/8 plywood for $15/sheet. The floor should ideally be 3/4. For framing you can rip 2x4's in half, its probably better than what is in most RVs for framing today. If you use construction adhesive between framing and plywood it increases the strength of the shelter dramatically. For roofing I use either rubber roofing from an RV surplus store or ice shield / roll roofing which is about $30/roll here. If you build when it is warm you can glue the roll roofing on with contact cement like what is used for the rubber roofing and it is way more robust than any amount of roofing nails when a big wind is blowing.
Put some pressure treated 2x4 skids underneath to keep the floor from ground contact. Paint the thing with exterior enamel, about $30/gal. Make sure to get all the end grain. Make the eaves overhang 4" at least to try to keep runoff off the walls. You can transport a shelter of this size with the smallest harbor freight trailer and if you support the frame on axle stands when you have it positioned, it will not have a tendency to tip over if you move to the back end of the trailer. I like to have hunting blinds/shelters be portable, since you never can tell how things will develop, what seems like the perfect spot could change on opening day after the first shot is fired....
In closing, it is my opinion that the further you are from your hunting property, the more reward you will get from having a "real" shelter there during the season. If it can be made large enough to hold a few people, even better. Outdoor experiences are better when they are shared with someone who has not had the experience before. It can be very affordable and building stick framed buildings does not require a PHD, just the ability to follow instructions or watch some youtube videos.