Many people prefer living close to nature. They want to live off-grid as well. For such individuals, living in a tent is a good solution.
The only problem is that living in a tent long-term and short-term are two completely different things. It is essential to understand what extra measures you have to take to live in a tent long term.
I will share with you the tips which you should follow for the same.
How to live in a tent long term?
The tips which you should follow to live in a tent long term are choosing the right tent, selecting the right location, arranging food, grabbing a cooking solution, maintaining the right temperature, cleaning the tent, taking care of personal hygiene, choosing the right sleeping bag, storing the gear, arranging for drinking water in selecting the clothing carefully.
I will go into the details of all the steps below. Once you go through the steps, living in a tent for the long term becomes possible and easy.
1. Choose the right tent:
The very important which you need to do is to choose the right tent. It is always good to select a bigger tent when you plan to live in it for the long term.
For example, if you’re living alone, choosing a two-person tent is a good idea. If two persons want to live in it, choosing a three-person tent is a good idea.
When you’re living it in the longer term, you will need ample storage space and more space to move around as well. That is why, while choosing the tent you have to choose a bigger one.
2. Select the right location:
After you have chosen the tent, it is now time to choose the right location. There are a few things that will determine the ideal location for long-term tent living. I will highlight these below.
• Terrain:
You have to 1st and foremost decide whether you want to choose the countryside campsite or whether you have to select a campsite by a lake or a picnic spot.
You have to decide which terrain you prefer and after that choose one.
• Weather:
Since you plan to live in the tent for longer than, it is essential to look at the weather that year. Once you do so, choosing weather-appropriate gear becomes easy.
• Campsite amenities:
Additionally, you have to look at the amenities on the campsite as well. If it has renewable sources of energy or water fixture, or garbage disposal mechanism, that is undoubtedly an advantage.
Thus, when you weigh the different campsite locations on these three parameters, choosing the right one for living long-term in tent can undoubtedly become possible.
3. Arrange food:
how do you plan on feeding yourself in the long run?
If you’re in the wilderness, you might think about catching fish or hunting.
On the other hand, you can go with the canned food as well. You can easily cook the canned and raw food on the bonfire.
Similarly, you can buy ready-to-eat packets as well for months to come. Once you do so, heating them and eating them is easy.
You can also opt for a solar-powered cooker to cook the ingredients or the ready-to-eat packets you want.
You need to understand that storing frozen food packets is not that much of an easy task. You might have to keep a portable refrigerator for the same, which can prove to be costly.
There are numerous ways to feed yourself when living in a tent in the longer run.
Before you start doing so, it is essential to look at the options I have highlighted above and then arrange your food.
4. Grab a cooking solution:
There are numerous cooking solutions that you can opt for. I touched on some of the above. However, the entire range of cooking solutions that you have are:
• Camping stoves
• Solar cooker
• Bonfires
• Induction cooktop powered by a solar generator
• And so on
You have to choose the cooking solution that is suitable not only for long-term use but also for cooking various types of ingredients.
Depending on the cooking solution, you might have to opt for specific utensils. You have to consider this factor and then choose the cooking solution.
5. Maintain the right temperature:
When you’re living in the tent for the longer term, you have to maintain the right temperature inside the tent. It is a matter of time before you face inclement weather. That is why; there are a few tips which you have to follow to maintain the right temperature. These include:
• You should choose a 4 season tent. It will allow you to maintain the right temperature easily.
• For keeping the tents cool, it is good to choose one with plenty of ventilation inlets and outlets. That will ensure that you remain comfortable inside the tent.
• For keeping the tent warm, you can use a tent footprint, rainfly, insulation blankets, and so on.
You have to arrange all these in advance before you start living in the tent.
With these steps, it is easy to maintain the right temperature inside the tent.
6. Keep the tent clean:
Maintaining proper hygiene in the tent is pretty essential. You have to think about taking the garbage out and disposing of it regularly.
If the campsite provides you with such a mechanism, that is an advantage.
Besides that, you have to clean the interior as well as the exterior walls of the tent. You can do so with a mild soap and water solution.
You need to work towards washing the sleeping bag and keeping it clean to maintain proper hygiene inside the tent.
Fortunately, doing so requires a bit of effort and some supplies.
7. Take care of personal hygiene:
Personal hygiene is extremely important when you’re living in a tent in the longer run. For the same, you will need things like:
• Portable camping toilets
• Wet wipes
• Shower tent
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• And so on
With the help of all these items, it becomes easier for you to maintain personal hygiene while living in a tent.
8. Choose the right sleeping bag:
You need a sleeping bag inside the tent to ensure that you can sleep appropriately. The 0° sleeping bag is the perfect option since you can use it around the year.
Apart from that, you have to use a sleeping bag liner as well. It will help you gain more comfort and insulation when you need the same.
It is another thing to take care of before living in a tent in the longer term.
9. Store your gear properly:
When you’re living in the tent in the longer run, it is crucial to take care of your gear as well. So, you need a tent which has ample storage space like vestibules, compartments, and so on.
As for the documents, you can keep them in your backpack and lock up your backpack as well. Some campsites have lockers as well. You can store the precious gear in those lockers as well.
As a general rule of thumb, you have to keep as little gear with you as possible when living in the tent for the longer run.
10. Arrange for drinking water:
While it is comparatively easier to get water for bathing and other such applications, getting drinking water is not easy.
You can collect rainwater, or you can buy bottles of potable water.
There are water purification funnels as well as tablets that you can use as well.
Many campsites offer access to portable drinking water as well.
These are the solutions which you have 2 arrange for drinking water.
11. Choose clothing carefully:
clothing collection is becoming larger and larger over the years. However, when living in a tent for a long time, you need to go with need-based clothing rather than fashion-based.
You have to choose the clothing options according to the season because the storage space you have is pretty limited.
It is another change which you have to make when you plan to live in a tent in the longer term.
With these tips, it will become easier for you to live in the tent in the longer run.
In case you’re wondering why you should try out this lifestyle, I will answer this question below.
What are advantages of living in a tent long term?
There are numerous advantages of living in a tent in the longer run. These are:
1. Living close to nature:
The advantage of living in a tent in the long run is that you can live close to nature. You can easily select the campsite which you want.
Once you choose the campsite right, it will become easier to enjoy nature than stay in urban centers.
2. Staying off-grid:
Many people are attempting to live off-grid. If you truly want to live off-grid, it is a good idea to live in the tent in the longer run. That way, you can live anonymous without any modern-day un-necessities.
3. Staying in unpolluted surroundings:
The pollution in urban areas is regularly increasing. If you wish to live in safe surroundings, it is a much better idea to live in a tent at a remote location.
4. Affordable living:
When living in a tent in the longer run, you can save a lot of money on rent, unnecessary expenses, and positions.
These are the advantages of living in a tent in the longer run.
With the help of my guide above, it will undoubtedly become easier to live in the tent in the longer run.
Besides highlighting the tent lifestyle, I will also highlight various accessories related to tents. I have covered Qube tent here. I have also covered pod tents, motorcycle tent in my post here and here.