How To Build A Long Term Survival Shelter For Camping Uses
There are many things you must prepare in advance if you want to have a comfortable camping trip. Among them, you have to think about a place to rest and sleep for the duration of the trip. There is a variety of option available to consider from a simple tent to a modern RV. But should something unexpected happens and the shelter you intend to use is out of order, do you have a backup plan ready? In the case you are completely clueless about what to do in such a predicament, this article shall be of use to you. Down below is a step by step instruction on how to build a long term survival shelter for camping uses. Check it out so you don’t get caught off guard by the flow of the situation.
Depend on the environment around you and on-hand supplies, you will be able to assemble a wide range of survival shelters. Given the fact that you most likely have to improvise a shelter on the spot, try your best to be flexible. Strictly follow a guideline without considering your own conditions is really ill-advised. Feel free to make modifications to the designs as you see fit to better suit your personal needs and requirements. Remember to pay attention to your body state at the time too to avoid the possibility of overextending yourself.
See more article in same topic: Top 10 Must-have Items Of A Wilderness Survival Kit List
The necessary materials and tools
Contents
The necessary materials and tools for the job
In most of the time, the primary materials of a survival shelter are tree branches, logs, snow and so on. However, it’s a good idea to prepare a couple of manmade items like Paracord, lighter, tarp and alike. You might have to perform quite a bit of chopping, slicing and digging to get the shelter ready therefore dependable tools are needed. For a survival situation, you must have at least some of these things: a shovel, a hatchet, a knife, a multi-tool, …
Should building a shelter on your own is what you want from the start then you could go for more specialized stuff. A pair of heavy-duty gloves and a bivvy sack are excellent choices which greatly assist you with the building. Besides that, you can utilize any kind of survival-oriented items as you like though it’s best to keep everything light. Do remember to inspect the quality of the tools thoroughly nerveless. The last thing you want is for them to fail at a critical moment so be careful. Test the tools first to see whether they are good or not.
How To Build A Long Term Survival Shelter?
Step 1: Select a suitable camping site
Obviously, you cannot build a shelter wherever you want, you must choose a location that let you rest and sleep in peace. Therefore, muddy and wet/moisture surfaces are definitely a no go, the same can be said about bumpy grounds. Locating the shelter near a water source maybe nice but avoid setting up right next to it. The water could rise suddenly and flood your shelter in a heartbeat. The camping site must not directly below a steep cliff or lower than the ground nearby. An intense downpour is totally capable of delivering flash flood straight down to the lower grounds. In the case that you are out of options then you should consider digging drainage trenches.
Camping on the high grounds is not exactly a good idea either since it makes place vulnerable to heavy wind. The most logical place to build the shelter is on a flat ground covered by proximity terrains. This will let you start up a bonfire without much difficulty.
Step 2: Decide your needs and requirements
At this step, you have to take a closer look at the current situation to decide the characteristics of the shelter. For an example, you are alone or you got someone else at your side? How much time do you have to set up a shelter? The temperature at the moment and the state of the weather? Should you set up a fire inside or outside the shelter? These issues might not be really important for a short-term shelter but for a long-term one, you have to be thorough. A bit of carelessness and you will risk exposing your body to hypothermia or dehydration.
Step 3: Decide the design of shelter to build
There are many kinds of survival shelters, each of them possesses unique qualities for different situations. Base on the information you obtain from before, you will now decide the kind of shelter to use. Here is a list of popular shelter designs, check them out and see what shelter suit your current situation the most. It’s recommended to go after something that requires an acceptable amount of time and effort.
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Lean-To Shelter
Simple to build and plenty of room to spare, all it takes to build the Lean-To Shelter are tall trees and branches. Find yourself two tall trees that are about six to eight feet apart then collect some sturdy branches. Use Paracord to tie a long branch across the trees so they form a reverse U shaped frame. Finally, arrange branches along the bottom of the frame then secure them using the Paracord. Cover the shelter gaps with additional branches, bushes, debris or anything you have on hand. Slide in a sleeping pad and you should have a long-term shelter up and running.
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Wicki-Up Shelter
This kind of tent utilizes a lot of branches to form the frame as well. After that, you have to cover it with leaves and similar vegetation. Gather a few dozens of long branches and tie them together to make a funnel frame. Set it on the ground and cover the funnel in any kind of vegetation around you. Thanks to the vegetation layer, you shall have a well-ventilated shelter under the blazing sun. In the case you manage to gather fresh and moisture vegetation, you should be able to start a small fire within the tent too.
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Snow Cave Shelter
Ideal for winter shelter, a Snow Cave will cover you from the cold air and freezing wind. You have to pick a place with a deep snow bank and use the shovel to dig a tunnel into its side. Next, dig up and create a convenient place to lay your back down. The top of the resting compartment should be slightly away from the snow surface above. Poke a couple of holes for ventilation and you are set.
You may like to see this: 9 Reasons To Go Camping In The Winter
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Conclusion
And that is how to build a long term survival shelter for camping uses, fairly easy to take in, right? It could be tricky to get used to the techniques and the place is surely not as comfortable as your house. But should you ever find yourself in a precarious situation and in need of shelter then at least you know what to do.
