Portable hunting cabin
General Topic
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I'm thinking of selling my farm and downsizing. Haven't done it earlier because I don't want to move away from hunting ground. I can save about 110 acres for hunting, but need a place to stay. I don't want a permanent build but a comfortable place to stay when I want to hunt.
Campers are smaller than I want, and not really good for the cold weather. Thought about a smaller trailer house, but would rather have that cabin feel. Looked at some tiny homes. Would have to be daughter/granddaughter friendly too. Sleep 4-6.
Ideas on power/water/bathroom. Nice place to come in after the hunt to eat, watch TV play, cards, and sleep. Maybe move it once in a while. Don't want too rustic, been there done that, I want creature comforts.
What do guys have or suggest?
I lived in a travel trailer in Williston, ND in one of the coldest winters they ever had. Just have to prepare for it. That said, you’ll have to prepare for cold in any event, even if you built a cabin. If you don’t want a permanent structure, you’ll have to get a portable one. I I don’t know what’s available in Iowa, but down here there are portable buildings for sale in every town. If I were gonna commission one to be built, I think I would double the insulation and also insulate the floor, as well as underpinning the building so no varmints are tempted to call it home. Better windows than what they normally install would help to keep it comfortable also. They make them as spartan or as lavish as your budget.
I built a 1200 sq. ft. house on a slab, metal sides metal roof on my place. Like you, I wanted the comforts when I wasn’t hunting or working. I never regretted it and when I sold the place I think it was the house that helped to sell it. The wife of the buyer really liked it !
Thanks, I forgot my profile probably still says Iowa. When I retired from the Marine Corps I moved to Wisconsin, probably die here now. Unless I can find better work back in Iowa.
Anybody have pictures of portable hunting cabins they have? Be great to see them.
I suppose generator and outhouse, running water ideas?
I would say a heater is a must. I have a rustic cabin but we have a Coleman Oil Heater. We use kerosene in it. It's really nice. The kerosene is outside in one of those big blue plastic barrels and it runs inside (into the heater) through copper tubing. So there is no smell at all inside (or outside really). The heater itself is vented out via a chimney. I was just at my place last weekend and it was 26 F outside and 72 inside. I provided a google image link to what I'm talking about (https://images.app.goo.gl/k9TWmb7ibhQrdauy9). Mine is as old as that one in the link, if you can find something like that the rest won't matter. My floor isn't insulated, we've got single pane glass windows, and drafty non-insulated doors. The walls and ceiling are insulated but that's it.
As for bathroom, I think you probably want to look into a composting toilet so you can stay inside and warm. They run around $1K or less but I'm not sure about privacy in the size you're building
(https://www.shoptinyhouses.com/products/natures-head-dry-composting-toilet?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping) .
While I have an outhouse, I suspect that it supersedes new regulations. I don't know what you may run in to where you are but ours has been there for over 60 years.
You need to think about cooking. We have a propane 3-burner "stove". It just sits on a short table that we have covered with aluminum for easy cleanup. We also have propane lights.
Stove (https://www.agrisupply.com/triple-burner-cast-iron-stove/p/48591/) Lights (https://www.thecabindepot.com/products/falks-propane-single-wall-light)
Then you have to think about plumbing or bathing in general. For me, I bring drinking water with me for the weekend but I have a natural spring that I use for dishes and showering.
I have something similar to this, but it's not exact. Mine runs on 4 D batteries and I pump the water out to my shower house (which I converted a kids bus stop house into a shower). (https://www.amazon.com/KEDSUM-Detachable-Rechargeable-Batteries-Traveling/dp/B074ZK5K4P/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2TRHN9NIJFF46&dchild=1&keywords=battery+powered+water+pump+for+camping&qid=1607115577&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=battery+powered+water+pump%2Csporting%2C302&sr=1-7)
I then use a rechargeable portable jump started for some rudimentary power source. I can recharge cell phones or run small appliances.
If you are keeping 110 acres, I would take it slow and do it well. We inherited a large piece of remote land with a log cabin shell on it. The log shell was purchased commercially, and put on a concrete foundation with a good metal roof, and connected to power. Then they quit working on it. We inherited it 25 years later in 2006 ish.
We added a well pump in the creek the first year. tore out the stairway and replaced it with a ladder to increase the functional sq. ft then we tore the walls out except for the corner where we plumbed the bathroom. we moved the fireplace to a wall and out of the center of the cabin. we put in wood flooring tile in bathroom, sinks in the kitchen and bathroom, counters in the kitchen etc. etc.
the point being over the last 14 years we have converted it from an uninhabitable rat and bat hotel, to a desirable place to be, but it has taken 14 years so that we were only spending a couple of hundred dollars a month on the cabin.
It will be another 14 years before we have the loft cleaned up and finished, and the road in better shape, but the point is take your time do it well, and make it a family project to better it and learn to love the place.
It is a lifetime project and we are getting there, but have to commit to never getting rid of the place.
oz
Maybe you havent checked out the new 4 season fifth wheels. With a Honda generator and a Renogy 200 watt solar setup, with 2" foam insulated, skirting you would have your "portable hunting cabin".
You are a Marine? Just get a GP Medium with liner. Good to go!
I agree with Lou, you can buy Fifth wheels designed to live in the cold.. Heated under bellys, special insulated walls(condensation has alway been the issue with travel trailers) and heated water tanks and holding tanks. A nice one will run you 85 grand or so but it will truly be a 4 season home and you will be mobile. Shawn
Norseman 's Link
Peco, spent way too many nights in a GP tent. Spent 30 days in Bridgeport , CA in support of cold weather training in 85, those liners don’t keep you that warm. Those stoves would run out of fuel during the night and someone would have to go out and change the Jerry can. Ah, memories.
I’ll look at the 5th wheels.
Amish cabin, delivered to your site. All different sizes and styles to choose from. Set it up on patio blocks to level. Finish it off inside the way you like, add insulation, a wood stove and ac. Portable, comfortable, and can be moved to another location. Cheap compared to the travel trailers.
Look at slightly used 5th wheels. Lots of people get them, go on a trip or two, decide it isn't for them. I've bought four campers that way over the years, saved a bunch, sold the 32 footer for almost what we paid after two years, when we built a permanent cabin. The one parked beside me in an RV park where I'm hunting in MO had four slideouts, two bathrooms, roomy for a family of four to live comfortably while dad is here on a 7 month work assignment.
Deerslayer, I like the looks of those and will check them out. During bow season I would use it a few timesa week. During gun season the boys come back to hunt, and hopefully the grandkids eventually will as well. During that season will stay for most of it. We are all 6'3" ranging from 220 to 250. Don't want to feel cramped. Need room to stretch out.
I don't want a permanent structure. The hassle of building permits and foundations, plumbing, etc.
I have about 3/8 to half mile road frontage, so access would be easy.
https://www.richsportablecabins.com/pages
spray insulation is incredible. You might have it sprayed before they deliver it, as the spray insulation folks would probably be cheaper if they don't have to go to a remote location.
And if you go with a good insulation then go with good windows!
Comfortable sleeping units(spring /fall) made to come apart for transport
Comfortable sleeping units(spring /fall) made to come apart for transport
Beats a wall tent , skylight is handy
Beats a wall tent , skylight is handy
Gunny, A small kitchen area, living area, and you could go with building bunk beds for sleeping. I've also seen where guys have put 2 cabins together either side by side or end to end to gain more space.
I know you're looking for non-permanent options, but just a thought, you could permit, run water/power and install septic as though it will be permanent and use those with whatever option you choose and then when/if it comes time to sell the property, those improvements will add value that you can re-coup or even profit from. The portable house will be useful while you have it, but it will likely be worth a fraction of the purchase price when you sell it.
I am planning on building a cabin in the coming years and I stubbed utilities on-site and am going to build a Conex shipping container space for some living and storing tools/materials in, while I build the permanent place.
12x20 Amish built log cabin. Wired to be powered with a Honda or Yamaha inverter generator. Propane heat and shower for now. All the amenities of home except outhouse.
Gunny,
I know you asked about 5th wheels, and you are not looking for rustic, but just thought maybe this might be worth thinking about...
Semi-permanent as they are built off-site and hauled in. In 2011 had a 26x14’ built. Just sold it this summer and it cost me less than $280 a year to use based off of the difference between what we paid and what we sold it for.
Had them build us a 40X20’. Less than $12K for the shell. I wired it for a plug in generator, insulated and put up OSB Board for paneling. Less than an additional $3K. I have a separate bathroom and shower room.
Cabin is propane heater, backup electric. Very comfortable for a simple man like me. Adult steel bunks sleep four.
I had a fifth wheel, a late 90s model. Just not enough room to move around.
We can take this to another property if we sell, or it adds nice value if we sell the property with everything. Just a thought, good luck!
Habitat, what's the size of the one pictured?
A lot of schools buy portable classrooms, use them for a few years until a bond issue gets approved and then sell them. They usually are one big room with a 1/2 bath (toilet and sink). You would have to add a small septic tank/laterals (or a storage tank if you can find someone with a pumping service nearby) and a generator. Could add a shower to the bathroom and add a kitchen area. And they are made to be moved so that shouldn't be a problem.
You might also look at the portable fish houses lots of guys use them as campers. Good for all weather and can be moved easy.
They're called Ice Castles - "You can camp in an IC, but you can't fish out of an RV." I actually have one, Little Jigger, that I use exclusively for ice fishing, but I could use it as a one man/one woman shack for a weekend getaway. They do make some pretty large and luxurious models, e.g. King's Castle, 8' x 24'. But what's nice is you can do custom floor plans; options include pull out awnings, beds on hydraulic lifts, bathroom, AC, etc.
Gunny, are you in central or southern WI? I just started looking around at farms shoot me a PM if your not way up north.
Frank/Habitat, That makes a very nice cabin. Good job and I assume your gas problem worked out well.
Ben, thanks. Yes, a 250 gallon tank installed. That size or less can be just 10’ away in MO.