Off-grid cabin...dry run

[SIG383]

That's pretty sweet!

 

[MrNatural]

Sheds are not designed to live in. They are designed for storage. (well duh).

The tiny houses are very in vogue right now, but can cost about as much as a small house trailer.

My (considered) opinion is to think about going smaller, quicker, cheaper and designed for occupation. Go to Youtube and search for "Conestoga Hut". Can be built in a day for $200-400. Well insulated (sheds ain't). Room for two comfortably. Simplicity and cost allows several to be built and pre-positioned, built or unbuilt. Or the materials for one or more could be loaded onto a trailer and transported to your BOL in time of uncertainty. Additionally it in not nearly so attractive a target as would be a cabin or obvious storage shed. The components can be easily transported and assembled WAY off the beaten path. Obscurity is security.

Heck, build one in your back yard and try it out. The cost and effort is small and you can always use it for a storage shed if it doesn't pan out as a BO shelter.

I've only listed a few of the advantages I've thought of for this approach. There are many more. The low cost and simplicity add a great degree of flexibility that a more elaborate, more expensive shelter would not.

See:

 

[SIG383]

Mine isn't exactly going to be a shed. Just calling it that being in my backyard. I plan on having it insulated with electricity/lighting. It will definitly be designed to be lived in. Those huts are pretty sweet though and I wouldn't mind something like that when I have more property. Wonder how well that roof would stand up to wind and branches. I'm not home for long periods of time now so the last thing I want is for a branch to go through it and come home 6 months later to everything inside ruined...

 

[Martini_Up]

What's the fun in that? We already have a trailer for camping. We don't exactly like the idea of living in a trailer....a cabin is just a bit more like home. When I retire from the military, we plan on getting land and building there, with the goal of being as self-reliant as possible.

Fun, aye? OK, buy an old motorhome. Drive it to where you want to build your cabin. Gut the MH of it's:
Refrigerator (3 way - 120v, 12v and LP)
Stove / Oven (LP)
A/C (120v)
Generator 4.0 KW (buy LP conversion)
Inverter (120v t0 12v)
Toilet (put over the outhouse to keep smell down)

Take out the water storage tanks in the MH and create rain water catchers. You can then use the water lines in the MH to run water to the sink(s) you've ripped out and put into your outhouse / bathroom as well as kitchen. Then put the 12v water pump to run water to both....

Add solar and wind generators to the deep cell 12v batteries. I would increase the LP tank to 500 gal (vs. the typical 12-15 gal unit that usually comes in an older MH)

Install AC in roof of cabin.

Basically, you have transferred all of the amenities of the motorhome into your cabin.

Then take the stripped MH and build a technical assault vehicle. The big block V8 that usually come in them will serve you well for running over the hoards of zombies.

 

[SIG383]

LOL, I like the way you think

 

[jluck]

Our first cabin at the new property will be along the way your thinking. I am starting with a 20'x20'x14' metal carport (The kind you see everywhere with a "$795" sign on-but none are that cheap-)...

I will be putting ours on a 25x25' concrete pad biasing the building back to one corner leaving a 5' "porch" on two sides. I figure I will sheet the exterior with plywood and a vapor barrier then side it to the budget of the time. Once it is to a "dry box" state, I could survive with a cot and wood stove... Moving to the inside we will use rigid foam to get a decent R-value then sheet the inside and finish as money allows.

Once our real and final cabin is built this one will serve as a nice tack room/mini barn or left as a guest cottage.

I figure I can finish it with a partial loft for overflow sleeping quarters or storage for 5-6K.

 

[Thebastidge]

Don't put your batteries under the floor. Difficult to service them and batteries generate/leak hydrogen gas, which could be explosive in an area that doesn't have proper ventilation.

My definition of off-grid is "not permanently connected to a service provided by a utility." It can be connected to a grid, with off-grid capabilities, which is my desired end state. "no reliance on anything you can't produce yourself" is not just off-grid, it's PRIMITIVE.

I don't want to live primitive for the rest of my life. I have experienced living in a home with no indoor toilet: it sucks. I've lived in paces with no reliable electricity. It sucks.

It's much more practical to set things up on-grid and prep your off-grid capabilities using modern tools. If you end up with something that works less than stellar with the grid disconnected, you have plenty of opportunity to fix (just turn your service off for a week and try it.) Getting everything perfect without electrical service and THEN connecting to the grid is definitely going about it the hard way.

 

[erudne]

Those low R-value huts work great until mid-winter and the user discovers that they are living in a very expensive pup-tent. What then?
I have a friend that lives in an old mobile home, uses 6 cords of hardwood to heat the front room every winter, 6 cords.
think about that

 

[RVTECH]

Basically, you have transferred all of the amenities of the motorhome into your cabin.

Great on paper but without a through working knowledge of RV appliances & systems (especially solar & inverters) you might as well just use them for target practice. You don't simply 'remove' RV parts and transfer them to a cabin or whatever - they are not 'plug and play' like typical home appliances. You would be better off leaving the motorhome or trailer intact and functioning and use it as 'slave' to your house as opposed to trying to substitute what you no longer have with cannibalized RV parts.

 

[mjbskwim]

It would be easier to do as I have done and build a "shed" attached to the RV.Use it for a living/dining room and the RV part for cooking and sleeping,restroom activities. Actually cooking is done outside as much as possible.Keeps the smells down!
Most RVs are for 'summer fun' and have very little r-factor,so unless you have a way of insulating them they are not great for winter camping.
The good part is wind is your nemesis. Cut down the wind and you will up your comfort level. That is the thing that has helped me the most. Covering windows helps but creates a dark world to live in. And you are already living in a small area

There are many ways to heat and cook in a cabin. BBQ could be done with a good ventilation system.Same with propane cooking.Plenty of stoves out there that are easier to make work than a RV appliance.Make a little rocket stove for heating.(see You tube for 1000's of vids). Cheap heating right there.
Heck go buy a sink and a little water pump for doing dishes and washing hands. Showers can be made to do that outside. (hint,get a huge robe from an expensive hotel,think instant propane water heater)
Most of your cleaning can be done outside.Let the gray water go into the ground,using biodegradable soaps of course.
If I was to do a cabin,I would seriously look into putting a shipping container or 2 on the property first.
SO much more security and less worry when not at the cabin. 1000's of vids on making this happen also.

 

[SIG383]

This cabin/shed will be under 200ft2 so I don't have to get permits for it. The idea is to use it as a learning experience on what to do and not do once we get our property and build a larger cabin on.

 

[Thebastidge]

Conex living is good living with the right adaptations. I was always happier in a conex than a tent in Afghanistan. They have zero native insulation unless they're a refrigerated conex (unusual and more expensive.) But that steel wall is a nice level of security. Not by any means bullet-proof. We had a mortar land on top of a T-wall in Iraq next to our storage conexes. A piece went through one conex, the boxed contents (mostly computers) out the other side, and dented the outside of the next conex.

But all-steel constructions would make for a decent base to elaborate on. Putting in a woodstove with proper stovepipe ventilation, and running appropriate wiring and plumbing is not very hard- get a torch because hole saws are a pain.

Personally, I would build a wall with windows and a personnel door inside the main doors of the conex, and have a method for locking them in the open position as well. No one can lock you inside, but you can lock the thing up and make it less obvious as well as less attractive to thieves.

 

[Jamie6.5]

When considering battery power, consider charging rate/time, and service life, and compare that to the up-front cost.
I see people regularly advocating 12v deep cycle batteries, and they are pretty good. For an RV that is being driven regularly from place to place, or spend idle time in the carport hooked to a 110 service.
But they will be ruined in short order if you try to charge them too fast, and/or regularly undercharge them as a result of the charge rate vs time allotment.
If you need to charge batteries quickly, with a fuel burning generator for instance, you're far better off with golf cart batteries or forklift batteries. They can be charged at very high rates, like 10-20AH, and suffer no adverse effects.
When you're burning precious fuel to do the charging, one-two hours is vastly preferable to the 8 hours required to safely charge a deep cycle at the preferred 2 AH rate.
And when peak amperage capability is considered, two 6V golf cart batteries in series is capable of meeting or exceeding the best 12V auto/RV battery, but can be brought back to full charge in 2-4 hours.

Something to consider, but will cost 20-50% more up front.

 

[SIG383]

I agree on taking a conex over a tent! The CHUs that we were in in Iraq were not too bad, unless the A/C went out, then they turned into an over in that 120+ deg heat!

Primary power will be Solar and wind, connected to a battery bank of one kind or another with a regulator to make sure batteries don't charge too fast, etc. I also have a 4500 watt Honda generator that I can use if needed.

 

[Jamie6.5]

That's the nice thing about the golf cart batteries. You don't HAVE to charge them fast, a slow charge works fine too.
But if a high rate charge is required/preferred, you can do so without damaging them. 2-3 hours at >10 AH rate can kill a deep cycle 12V, sometimes after two or three charges.

 

[SIG383]

Thanks for the info there! I never knew that...

 

[Garg]

I agree, two 6 volt batteries wired in series (to make 12v) work better than 12v. Golf cart batteries are really good. I had mine disconnected for almost a year, hooked them back up, and bam, work great.

 

[SIG383]

is it just golf cart batteries or are there other types that are the same in that respect? Just want to know what to get

 

[Garg]

Forklift/golf cart are pretty much the same I believe, don't know much about them frankly. There are specialty type designed for solar/wind, but get out your check book, cuz you anit gonna be carrying around that kind of money LOL

 

[SIG383]

I'm sure the ones FOR solar/wind are about the same but just a different label so they can "justify" the extra expense...