Retreat housing: Camper or Cabin?

That's kinda what I meant. I would burn paper and pack out plastics.I would still keep a compost pile for the food scraps or other waste that composts well. I recently read somewhere about taping your own well by hand.

Re: How to tap a sand point well
How to Drill a Driven Point Well | eHow.com

The supplies are available locally. Of course that is assuming your water table is within 25ish feet.

As for power, I would go with no power at first. Used hurricane lamps are all over craigslist. Who cares if they get stolen. I would slowly go to solar. Maybe next would be a small array for lights. Next, maybe an addition to the array to cover a stove or A/C unit. I would use wood to heat. If your ole' lady can stand it, I would use wood to cook as well. Cooking outside in the summer keeps the cabin cool and adds to flavor.

 

There once was a house on the property, so there's an old well there. It has some water at the bottom. I'll have to get a plumber out there to check for flow rate and usability. That also means there's probably a septic system buried somewhere, but no one knows where.

If I go with the cabin, I'll get some thrift store furnishings and a small wood stove and pack everything else in when I go.
Power can be run, but I have no idea what it will cost. Power companies can be funny if you don't have a permanent residence - they may call it agricultural or industrial and then screw you with the rate and cost to run it, so I will go no-power at first. I sleep with a CPAP, so I'll need to bring a generator or deep cycle battery. And this time of year - I'd HAVE TO run at least a fan (that's why earth sheltered sounds soo nice).

Hopefully, I can get the girls into "camping" there a couple of times / year.
Then when the kids are out, maybe we can consider building something more permanent.
In the meantime, it will be a refuge if things get bad. With it's own logistical problems of course, but maybe over the years I can alleviate some of them with some clever caching

 

I checked the link you posted and think, for the listed pricing of those cabins, you couldn't do much better. If you have children, get the largest you feel you can afford, as you'll be glad later. Depending on how finished off the interior is, you could partition it off to suit your needs, or not, just hang some dividing curtains and camp out. Vandals would be my biggest worry. As you saw in those posted videos, you can do a lot with a small space.

I'd call the electric company and ask them to give you an estimate on how much it would cost for a hook up. Packing a generator back and forth along with fuel would get old fast. Leaving it there, unless well concealed, not so good of an idea.

As for the well, if it has water, it would probably be safe for use, but if you can get a sample and have it tested to be sure, that would be good. You don't plan to be taking long showers or running a dish or clothes washer, so it probably would supply all the weekend water you'd be needing. If in doubt of it's quality you can carry in bottled water for drinking.

Well, I've not much time right now, but your project really sparked my interest. BTW, I live at my retreat/homestead on 13 acres.

 

Saw the power pole;(questioned it too). It really depends on your "stage" in life I think like this because: My kids are grown and left the nest; thankfully my wife isn't into keeping score with money(i.e. bigger and bigger houses). ( infact she just left on her bicycle to attend a staff meeting at the hospital).
Truth be told:": I'm not as neat/organized as one would need to be to live in 14x14.but I figure: full book shelves make decent ballistic protection

 

Cool. Thanks for participating.
Many thanks to everyone who's offered advice thus far.

Still leaning towards a cabin...
But this guys makes an interesting case for an RV:

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Funny you should mention that. I've been in the process of restoring an old slide in truck camper I got for $600. All the time I've been wondering the exact thing. I've room for a couple rifles, but haven't figured out where to mount the reloading press. Barely room for me and my wife in there at the same time.

 

Just took my MIL to the airport in Columbus, Ohio this week for her return to her home in Florida and on the way home wife and I stopped at a place that sells campers. They also had park models, which we didn't look at, but they most likely run a little on the high side for what you are wanting.

What we did look at were the used campers that had been made especially for FEMA. These have no holding tanks for waste water, but have regular toilets not camper toilets in them. They also had more or less full sized refrigerators. The kitchens were small but with double sinks, microwaves, stoves w/ovens, some had regular tables not the built in booths. All were priced $3.8-5k. Self contained, (holding tanks included) were more.

These lower priced models were in rough shape but fixable. Probably not what you want, but thought about this thread when I looked at them as I thought about buying one to set up as a hunting cabin, only right now I don't have a place to do that.

Many of these FEMA campers (they also had larger single wide trailers) were in this rough shape because the people that used them didn't take care of their free gift or government hand out, go figure? But like I said, a little TLC and they could be fine for weekending.

 

Thanks Trapper!
Where are you geographically? I wonder if any made there way up to VA.

Just to update:
Had a plumber come out and look at the old well, and he didn't give it much of a chance. Said that it was a bored well that someone tried to make into a drilled well by sinking a pipe up the middle. Neither "chamber" had more than a few inches of water. For good measure, I'm going to buy one of those old fashioned pitcher pumps (harbor freight $39) and see if I can get anything out of it myself. I can't see using more than 10 gallons in a weekend, so I'm holding out hope.
There is a stream running through the property, so that's another option.
I'd hate to spend 5k to drill a new well.

No one knows where the old septic tank is, though I'm sure there must be one buried somewhere.

All this means that as of now, I'll have to go with some sort of "dry" toilet, whether it be a composting toilet, or an old fashioned outhouse. The thought of filling a camper fresh water tank and draining and carting off the black water doesn't excite me. I have visions of Robin Williams from the movie RV. I actually have a similar story that happened to me (but that's a bit OT - and gross...)

I hadn't thought of a park model until you mentioned it. Those would be great if the price were right.

 

For a reloading bench (I don't think Fort even mentioned this, but I will share it anyways), think of a mobile approach.

The guy that taught me to reload had his press mounted to a steel stand that was welded together. He did it so he could test rounds at the range. If you think about it, only the press and powder charger (if you use one) need to be affixed to anything. Everything else can be packed away safely in a box. I have been collecting extra equipment with this purpose (reloading equipment is like anything else... you can't have too much). I want to make a portable station with a steel stand for mounting a press. Great for the campsite, BO site, hunting cabin, whatever. You can move you reloading operation from the garage, to the kitchen, to the bathroom if you so desire.

 

I'm in southern Ohio. Look around for camper dealers that sell used stuff.

If the well is less than 21' the pitcher pump should pull it out. Take bottled water for drinking unless the well is tested clean.

An outhouse, if you don't tell the county about it. Kind of cool in winter.

If it has been several years since a house was there then there, might not be a septic tank, if there was no inside plumbing. Even then might only be a cesspool. Careful where you step, those things can cave in.

Those park models are nice. We stayed in one down south for a couple days years back. Shingle roof, regular siding and furnish the way you want. Might be a magnet for thieves thinking of stealing your stuff.

I only watch the first few minutes of the movie RV and shut it off, my nerves can only take so much of Robin Williams.

As for a reloading bench in an RV, I have a Lyman hand press that can be screwed to almost any thing or just hand held, that is just the ticket for that field trip.

 

Uggh. Hopefully it will make itself known before that happens.

 

I will tell you, I am excited for you Fortunateson. This is a great step and I think you are going to enjoy it.

Congrats

 

Thanks man. I appreciate the sentiment.

As I had mentioned to Melbo - everyone on this board is absolutely top notch - that includes the PITAs (and you know who you are
Seriously - some great people here.

 

you can use a long pointed metal rod around the site of the old house to determine if there was a septic tank... just grid the area into 2 ft grids and ease the pointed rod down til you hit the tank.... if no tank you are out the cost for the rod (rebar)... just a thought...

 

You can get a 55 gal plastic drum an use for a lot less than buying a septic tank. Perfect for a plave with minimal use. Had a river camp rigged up like than an never had a minutes trouble out of it as long as you treat it

 

I just skimmed over this thread, so I didn't see a definite Cabin vs. Camper solution. Both have upsides, both have down sides.

For keeping your camper in place, I have seen people that leave their campers at RV parks make a removable tongue. Basically the "A" part of the tongue is cut off then a bracket is bolted/wielded on to allow you to attach the tongue at anytime. So you park the camper and when you leave to go home, you take the tongue with you. May not be perfect but it will definatly make it harder for the casual thief to take the whole camper.

I've seen decent campers going for 2-4k around here, even cheaper if you want one that you need to "fix up".
There is some good info in these podcasts:
Setting Up A Low Cost Bug Out Location (BOL) | The Survival Podcast
Setting Up A Bug Out Location | The Survival Podcast