It certainly isn’t much, but when you have nothing else, it could be all you need.
In many emergencies, bugging out may not be the best option. Certainly it is not the best choice for every SHTF situation.
However, there may be situations where you need to leave your home or dwelling, get out of the city while you can, and lay low until/if sense ever returns to society.
You Tuber Kevin Coy shows you what may be the lowest cost, least effort way to build a viable survival shelter – which could also have uses for hunting, camping, play, etc.
He’s calling it a “micro-homestead.”
For the millions of Americans who can barely make it to the next paycheck, much less invest in high priced gear, supplies and stocks, it may be much better than nothing at all.
Here’s the set-up he came up with:
Of course, there are many other options, especially for those who have the means to purchase, build and develop more ideal structures and set-ups.
However, at 8×8, this building could likely be built without permit or on-grid approval in most areas, and could at least serve as a temporary structure until your dream getaway is ready to go!
Prepping requires time, energy, mental and physical effort and especially the mindset to plan ahead, make sacrifices in the “now” and put valuable resources towards insurance for the future. Many will contemplate taking action, but fewer still will actually be ready when the SHTF.
But the first step in this direction may prove to be the most important one you ever make…
Read more:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-by-Step Guide to Prepare You For Any Disaster
The Six Laws of Survival: Strategies For Beating the Worst Case Scenario
Why a Prepper Homestead Isn’t a Good Plan for Survival: “Raising Your Own Food Takes Time”
Are You Prepared to Survive in the Wilderness Alone? “Natural Shelter, Blend In”
Here’s Where You Absolutely Don’t Want to Be “When It All Turns Ugly”
That damn thing is just a storage shed. The storage building at the BOL holding all my supplies is bigger than a lot of CONVENIENCE STORES out there. The cabin is the size of 15 of those things put together. It might work for someone who doesn’t care about space. Not for me. I’ve got to have a certain amount of space.
I agree. If you have to stay there for a while you wouldn’t be able to move. My underground shelter is 24 x 26 and the adjoining storage room has food and purified water (and toilet paper) for 2 years.
So where does the “family” sleep? No room inside. Sleep outside where people can get at you? And the 22 is bullsh&t for survival. Need at least a 12 gage. There is barely room on the floor for one person to sleep. And where is the sleeping bag? And where is the food stocks? You would not be able to survive in there, no 12 gage, no sleeping bag and no food.
Oh, and did you notice that he was camped out right near a highway with cars and people going by?
I had a nicer treehouse when I was a kid.
Any shelter is better than none, but it would be better to have a 12′ x 7′ trailer filled with your supplies, ready to tow if you have to bug out; or move yet again if conditions change when you reach your BOL.
You could outfit a dual axle $7,000 toy hauler with supplies and equipment for less than $20k total and be ready for almost anything.
Even a basic trailer at Home Depot is only about $2,000 and could carry almost a couple thousand pounds of STUFF. The finish on trailers will allow them to weather the elements.
The shelter pictured above does not appear to be anything more than unfinished plywood. And it is not moveable. At least build it on a flatbed trailer so you can move it; and don’t forget the sealer.
Adapt or die. 🙂
In certain situations, there may not be a way to haul your retreat with you when you leave. Think of the people caught in hurricans, flooding, or riots.
As a child, my family spent the summer at a camp ground with no tent. This was our permanent home. My Mom made a big bed out of pine branches and needles for her 4 children. She cooked over a fire and cleaned our close in a large kettle.
Many of you have never experienced this kind of poverty and don’t know how to even start to set up a permanent camp like this. It is important to learn and accept that this could be your life in the future.
There was a family down the street from us, when I was a child, where the husband died young. The image of laundry hung out the window, on a line, in sub zero weather, to dry like crispy critters in the wind stays in my mind.
Mom and dad used to leave groceries on their front steps, and nevet ring the bell. She was poor but proud.
This is the America Hillary wanted for all Americans, but with no one to leave groceries in the cold.
Your “white privilege” is showing. 🙂
It be best to use something better on the exterior than particle board /subfloor board or after a few heavy rains they’re going to buckle and fall apart. But hey, its shelter anyways.
I was looking at foam crete. Essentially they mix water with foaming soap and concrete. It creates a light weight concrete structure that can be formed into domes and strong structures.
For a bug out spot, if I was to build a shelter it would be a concrete dome with smooth rounded edges to take high winds like tornados and storms. Not a plywood death trap.
My chicken coop is more plush than that
Ya it is small but better than nothing. OSB board is shit in the weather, it needs some coat of paint. I noticed the porch cover is leaning toward the shed. bad design.
And ya my woodshed is made better. That looks like something a liberal would make lol.
Did I miss something, it seems we’re going to have a cell phone and laptop which I doubt would even work in a survival situation and we’re gonna use the john inside, but where was the beds? Trekker Out.
BTW there are nicer ice fishing shacks out on the lakes up here where I live. Trekker Out
I’d be grateful for that little place if it were all I had. Power and heat and shelter. We take a lot for granted.
Ya, i always find that amusing, electronics in the apocolips,,,,
Not sure what people are thinking, but i know for sure the only electronics ill be thinking about are the scanner, CB, a HAM and my little AM/FM, not that any of it will be working, but definitely not planning on any of it working, maybe my IPad too as it has a ton of books and field manuals etc on it, but my goal zero can charge that up,
This is Trumps bug out shelter. HAHAHA
Nailbanger – Maybe so but if you need a place to sleep on a cold rainy night would you rather have this little shed or none at all?
Yeah, but at least have a sleeping bag. I saw nothing. Not even a pillow.
My chicken coop is bigger than that. Build it at least 12′ by 12′. Even a chicken needs room to stretch it’s wings.
__
my coop is 8X16, made out of pallets…..
Seriously???? LOL… Hcks is living in that probably. I would not even store some preps in that shack. And any wood stove in that for heat, would be a death trap as you would die of carbon monoxide poisoning due to the smallness. Don’t waste your money on that. Check out these buildings instead>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYcL2fm-510
Zeus – that’s Hickies mom’s house. He lives in the basement beneath! And this is supposed to be a preppers site?
If HCKS is living in one of these more power to him.
I’m looking at getting two for a man cave/survival storage and shelter for some of the group coming to one of the BOL.
These suckers are well built and would make a great survival shelter. Remember these will be used to get out of the rain and snow, and a place to sleep and eat in. You will be working and pulling guard duty so sleeping and eating will be the only thing you will be doing in it.
Sgt.
Ya thats not a bad deal, but I would definately screw the siding on becaue most places nail it on and that is shit. Everyone who uses nails for siding around here eats shit in a few years! SCREW IT OR REDO IT!
Sarge, at the BOL the storage building my supplies are stored in is a metal building and the same size as the cabin.
Zeus, LOL! I could picture HCKS living in it. At the BOL the cabin alone is 3000 square feet. more room than I had in mind but I’m not complaining. That ‘survival shelter’ IS a freakin’ joke.
must be your cousins barn.
Several of my church families make these.
They would be a much better deal than that one in this article. Some of the single guys at church have lived in them until they get their homes built.
Not very movable, but neither is the one in the article.
I once lived for three months in something similar – only it was a mere 4×8. I admit I was damned glad to get out of it but I was just as glad to have had it. We’re talking about a survival shelter here, not a vacation cabin.
Oldfart
I agree. any port in a storm.
Sgt.
I drove through Wash DC a week or two ago, and saw dozens of people living in tents on the tiny land of a clover leaf. I could feel the pain.
That was under Obama.
A new paradigm is in order.
So true,better a small shelter than no shelter,,, thats why im glad i know people,,, pretty sure i could stay in a shack on one person or anothers farm or ranch in exchange for doing some sort of work,,, better than nowhere
Is this guy’s real name Kaczynski?
I saw Ted Kaczynski’s shack, it’s in a crime museum in Wash DC. It was bigger than this guys, but with no technology.
Interesting this guys emphasis on keeping his high tech running. Not that I haven’t accumulated alt energy tech myself.
Imagine what one tiny Texas Tornado would do to that shack. lol
“Micro-Homestead???”
Nope … that there is an Outhouse – notice the updated fart fan … has a nice tube vent sticking out the side of it. ツ
No satellite dish on the roof? How do I get the cartoon network?Count me out!
.
. Seriously though, it looks awfully small, even for survival needs. I guess if it’s that or nothing maybe it wouldn’t look so bad.
Does it come with a needlepoint doily to hang on the wall?
“Shack Sweet Shack”
Does it come with a needlepoint doily to hang on the wall?
“Shack Sweet Shack”
I could make that for you 🙂
I lived in my car for just over a month about 30 years ago. This place looks like Buckingham Palace.
Just looking at his setup, I see several positive things and some areas where definite improvements can be made.
1. His stove: I noticed that he has two 90 degree bends in the pipe. That’s probably not a good idea. He’d be better off with venting it through the roof. He could cut a whole in the sheet metal for that with no problem and it would work a lot better.
2. His shelter is going to be cold and he’s going to have to keep that stove running hot in cold weather. Specifically, he needs to seal the open spaces between his roof and the walls. All of his heat is going to go right out those cracks otherwise.
3. Everything looks really “messy” in the way he has things hooked up. He should definitely look into making the setup a little more organized. For instance, the concrete board he’s using as insulation between his stove and the wall. Why not go ahead and attach it to the wall so it doesn’t look like he just stuck it up there as an afterthought?
4. Thanks, but I prefer to take care of the bodily functions out away from where I prepare food, eat and sleep. One could just as easily make an improvised toilet with a 5 gallon pail, a seat and an entrenching tool. What’s he going to do? Haul his sewage around with him? I don’t understand what he’s trying to accomplish with this contraption at all.
5. I like the idea of a water heater…but not so sure about the “washing machine”. A scrub board and wash tub would work just as well I think. Also….sun shower bladders are easy to come by and a few pieces of PVC pipe and a shower curtain make a good shower stall and don’t take up much room when disassembled.
6. I wonder just how much wind this thing could handle before it fell over?
7. What does it weigh? In my experience, several sheets of plywood can get pretty heavy pretty quickly. Then you add on all of the gadgets and other stuff and it’s not long before you would pretty much fill up a pickup bed…..which would mean you’d need a trailer. So now I’m thinking……Why not just buy a good used trailer and be done with it? He doesn’t say how long it takes to set this whole thing up. But I have to think that a travel trailer would be much more efficient.
It’s built and looks so bad no one would want to take it by force! The guy is a genius!
Of course … I’d Jusf set it on fire just to see
The roaches file out of the Motel!!!
I’ve seen kiddie tree houses bigger than that. Lets see. It’s not fireproof. Sure as shit
not bulletproof. Not even big enough for the Keebler elf. Scratch that one off the list.
Imagine taking a dump in the compost toilet in there, with your family next to you and smelling that all night. Yee-gads.. That kind of shack is meant for some remote 2 day hunting shack deep in the wilderness, for one person, just to get out of the rain or wind. Its people like this that give Preppers a bad name. When you say you are living off the Grid, people think you are living in a box like that. Oh My!!
A grizzly bear could knock that over with one ass scratch.
Seriously though, if that shack was in San Francisco in your back yard, you could rent it out for about $800 a month. People are renting space in their yards for tents to be set up for rental property. Do a search on that. Some are getting $1000 a month for tent space in back yards in San Fran. No Kidding.
@Zeus….
As they say……”There’s a sucker born every minute.”
The only appealing thing is being able to break it down, and throw it in the back of a truck.
good god! what a joke. Go buy an old RV, tar it over, and bury it in the side of a hill. That shack would not last 30 second with some ‘towel-head’, yelling ‘alliee -in-the-outhouse’looking to make you a X-tion offering to the camel god.
SmokinOkie, LMAO! Welcome back. Good one.
It beats living in a tent. But if a bear can get in it, I’ll pass, thanks.
It’s probably better then a tent? Longer lasting, stronger, getting a stovepipe out a nylon tent . And what sparks from campfires do to nylon anything expecialy jackets. Sit around a campfire in a nylon coat for a while and see what happens. You get a 1000 little spark melt holes.
I wouldn’t be buried in that thing…..cremated…maybe!
If you are looking for cheap housing look to the survival masters, the Lakota people. Their sweat lodge was originally designed as a semi-permanent shelter for their elders. It can be built in a matter of hours from willow poles, rope, blankets and tarps. They last for years. Numerous you tubes on how to build.
Hahahahahaha…. Preppers…. A funny bunch…
We already have ice fishing houses better than that, and trailers or sleds to haul them, up in the Norse country.
I am building the sand bag dwelling because it can stop .50 cal gun fire. This is the design that I am building on my 2 acres BOL.. With solar, Water tank and green house.cement will be packed between the bags, the total Sq is 1,000 Sq . ft plus a peremiter traps and a massive pit bull for yard protection.. This is my plan..America will not be getting great again. America will fall and it’s engineered by design..
HCKS..
Hahahahahahaha…..What a tard…
hay its a start=roof/heat /solar…..a lot of keyboard nay sayers here,
Need more room .START A NEW STRUCTURE A FEW FEET AWAY .Cut door/make walls/roof and continue.
Yes it is small and it is a budget build so I guess all of the incouridgment from you is nice to read. When living on a fixed income you need to be flexible.
A refrigerator box under an overpass is better than this…..Jesus if you are going to build anything, do it right or don’t bother wasting your time.
It’s not a shed or shack. It’s an efficient micro homestead.
I hate to be critical of anyone’s effort, however this is really weak! In the world of prepping one of the big points that is made is that we should develop our skills! Carpentry should be high on that list! The material selection is poor and construction techniques poor. Even if one is being budget conscience rather than building something that will deteriorate into non-uasability within a short period of time, a person could start small and build over a period of time with more quality.
In this case I would have started with a modular frame work of dimensional lumber and covered it with metal roofing panels. It would provide the portability the author is desiring and actually at a lesser weight! It could easily be carried in the back of a truck, once it was assembled it could be improved over a period of time by adding insulation and wall boards. It could morph into a structure that could last for many years rather than barely a season.
Looking at the accouterments that appear important for the author it appears he is more of an “armchair” prepper who is more concerned about technology and shitting inside rather than actually building a basic survival shelter that would provide adequate in the short term and possibly be a starting point for something more sustainable over a period of time. At least he is sharing his ideas and making some type of effort, but in all reality this article has no real content of value and would be a poor starting point for someone really wanting to build a survival shelter. It is kind of like taking weight lifting advice from a Fat man at the gym on the first day of his new membership!
Tim, let me tell you how it worked for me. Granted I didn’t have anyone shooting at me but I didn’t have a Home Depot down the street either.
I had taken my family to Alaska to make our fortune. After a couple of years of piddly-ass no-pay jobs We were living in a pick-up with no camper-shell. I saw an ad for a fish-packing plant in Valdez that said they were working two twelve-hour shifts and needed more help.
When we got there we found out that they were working one 4-hour shift and not every day either. We didn’t even have enough money to go back to Palmer so we continued to huddle together in the pick-up and eat fish I caught from the airport creek.
Since it’s common practice for summer fish-hippies (that was us) to set up camp-sites on almost any unused piece of ground, we laid claim to a spot in a grove of small trees and started looking for whatever building material we could find.
The City Dump, known locally as the “Supply Center” yielded a few sheets of splintered plywood and some pallets. I laid the best sheet of plywood down for a floor and erected three walls to protect us from the wind. I tacked random boards across the top and spread a couple of layers of plastic over them.
We got to stretch out that night!
Next day another trip to the Supply Center and more plywood – plus some broken pieces of 2″ rigid plastic foam. Our chateau grew in height and now we could stand up in it too. By cherry-picking pieces of plywood I put together the fourth wall with a door in it. The foam was glued to the walls for insulation. BTW, Valdez doesn’t get terribly cold. The bay keeps the temperature right around 32° in the coldest winter.
Since winter was upon us and since Valdez gets huge amounts of snow I was making a bit of money by shoveling it off local roofs. It was enough to feed us and provide enough gasoline to get to the store and to the supply center where we ‘scored’ a low camper-shell. It was pretty beat-up but I managed to clean it up and mount it on the pick-up, giving us even more room.
Then one day a guy came by and offered me a 16′ travel trailer in trade for the camper-shell. It had a propane stove and a toilet and even a wall-mounted propane radiant heater! None of that worked but I managed to make them work well enough so we could live almost like humans again
So, our original abode of an 8x4x4 3-place ‘coffin’ grew to 8x4x8, then expanded to a beat-up camper and eventually to a trailer with a leaky roof but a warm heater. As I said above, we didn’t have anyone shooting at us so some might not consider our effort a true “survival” situation but when my five-year old daughter woke up one morning with her blanket frozen to the wall I thought it was pretty close.
I’ll never go through anything like that again since I’m nearly 83 and in poor health. I hope you avoid it too but as a belated student of history, I know someone will get to enjoy something like it in the future. Good luck and God bless America!
Oldfart, very interesting story, and spoken like a true survivalist, sounds like you need to be writing some of these articles. I do know that when it comes to survival, the first priority in a shelter is heat and a place to lay down. I ain’t no spring chicken, but love to hear stories from elders and people who have real first hand experience. Trekker Out. Tell Us More!
Just had a 14 x 32 “skid home” made my self . All metal , insulated floor, one set of double doors to keep my utv in . Amish built , will fit it out this spring . 35 Years of outfitter tents and fish houses are over !!!
This is OK for a summer fun shack, but, its pretty much just an outhouse with some amenities. I don’t want to be critical because the guy has put a little thinking into it, however, I have some criticism.
Thermal: A tin roof with gaps like that will leak heat like crazy. You’d have to run that little stove red allover to keep that place warm and then as soon as the fire is out, its cold again. The tin is fine, however, put a layer of insulation on the underside. In fact, the whole shack should be insulated. 1″ foil faced foam does not cost that much and is reasonably durable. Could be glued to the inside in such a way as to make it still able to assemble/disassemble.
Anchorage: Not the city in Alaska. If a big wind comes along, those batteries and stove are likely going to be on top of you. You better have some screw anchors holding that box down or its going to be on its side.
Wow, it just keeps getting better! I built that shelter as a prototype and left it out in the weather for over a year.I took it apart and reused it into a tinyhouse project.That is also on my youtube channel.I was contacted by over a dozen producers to be on various episodes of tinyhouse and survival shows.My family and I were on T.V.. That launched a whole new business for us that created the income to allow us to retire (in our 40’s )to the beach where we are building another home mortgage free! You can also see that on my youtube channel. You just never know what will come from an idea. 😉
Kevin what would you use this building for, since there are no beds and the only seat would be on the John. Trekker Out
Think camping/backpacking, fold up chairs inflatable pads space saving multiuse like a hard tent.this building is panelized and screws together in 4×8 sections to stack in a truck or trailer and transport to any local to be assembled fast and easy. it was a prototype to get a feel for space and use. Not the final solution just an idea generator. It held up great in four seasons of weather just as a raw shell.
Here’s a rough estimate of materials using Home Depot prices and cheapest acceptable materials for the shelter as shown. I did not include door and window trim or roofing fasteners. Or the lift-up awning which appears to be the size of another wall. Likely need another $50.
material number price total
4 by 8 exterior plywood 9 12.55 112.95
flooring -5/8″ ply 2 16 32
floor joist- 2 by 8 8 8.77 70.16
galvanized nails-lb box 2 3.68 7.36
2 by 4 studs-walls 24 3.25 78
window, sliding 1 54 54
corrugated metal roof 4 14.97 59.88
hasp w/screws 1 3.97 3.97
door hinge – gate style 2 4.97 9.94
grand total 428.26
I copied and pasted from a spreadsheet so the columns are going to be off.
Also not included are interior items such as the stove, toilet, shelves, cement board around stove, etc. It’s late in the day for too much more number crunching.
Yes, I know it would be better built with screws instead of nails; the exercise was for cheapest usable materials. As a trial in seeing what can be done for not much money, this little building is interesting.
As a comparison, a 10′ x10′ wooden garden shed kit can be purchased at for about $600.