# Need Deer Camp Ideas



## codybear (Jun 27, 2002)

I purchased a vacant chunk of land in a very remote area of da UP and looking for some inexpensive ideas on how to build a deer camp there, including some type of cabin. Money is tight now so a septic field will probably be out of the question for at least the first few years as may a well. There is no electricity in the area either. I know some of you have some very uniquely constructed, low cost camps and would appreciate any low cost, budget ideas you have. Feel free to provide links and/or photos. Also, are there any other low cost ideas other than a outhouse? 

Thanks a million
CB


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## cmpdad (Jan 4, 2006)

I knew of someone that got a used construction office trailer really cheap. He paid aroud 450.00. Paneled on the inside,plus its wired. Good luck!


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## jwoody (Dec 2, 2006)

An old travel trailer put on blocks and a deck built on it. It is also not a bad idea to build a roof on 4x4 posts over it as well. Should be cheap and the ones I have been to have been nice. You will also want to install a plaque heater and some gas lights. Also a camp I go to has a generator about 75' away with a dirt burm towards the camp to keep down on the noise. A simple electric light run on a battery is a must for the outhouse.

That set up won't win a beauty contest but I was wishing I was in that camp I just described as I was writing!!


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Keep checking craigslist or ebay. It may take a while to gather materials for a camp and a heat source but you will. I've seen entire buildings come up that need to be moved from little to no money.

I bought a wood stove for my pole barn off this site and I just bought a cultipacker off craigslist today but that's another story.

Congrats on your new property. What county?


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## eddiejohn4 (Dec 23, 2005)

Two fifty gallon barrels and some pvc and you have a septic tank You canalso build a tank using cinder blocks. there are many books on this subject. I made my own on some prop I used to have . . . You can drive your own well, depending on how deep the water table is. ask some of your neighbors if you have some.

A good all weather military tent makes a good camp.


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## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

codybear said:


> I purchased a vacant chunk of land in a very remote area of da UP and looking for some inexpensive ideas on how to build a deer camp there, including some type of cabin. Money is tight now so a septic field will probably be out of the question for at least the first few years as may a well. There is no electricity in the area either. I know some of you have some very uniquely constructed, low cost camps and would appreciate any low cost, budget ideas you have. Feel free to provide links and/or photos. Also, are there any other low cost ideas other than a outhouse?
> Thanks a million
> CB


Codybear, when you talked about "some type of cabin", just what did you have in mind? It appears that you'd rather have a cabin or, you probably would have said travel trailer. Also, you didn't mention how many other guests that may be hunting with you, which would definately make a difference on size.
Check with the building inspector for the area and find out just how large a building you can build without a building permit. I think in my area it has to be less than 200 sq. ft. That's not large, but it would work for a temp.
I would suggest that you consider what you plan to cover the outside with also. Wood, will certainly create upkeep and repairs. Shingles vs: Metal roof, one piece steel door too, can make a difference also.
I built a storage shed, which was 12'x16'. One thing that I hate is to have to move alot of snow to get into a shed, so I raised it off the ground and built a ramp. Its setting on deck pads and 4x4's. I installed fence prior to the decking to eliminate digging vermin. When I built this, I got to thinking about the inside and how it could be used as a cabin. Fold down bunk beds would free up considerable space during non-sleeping hours. You don't need much of a sink, as you probably don't intend on a septic system any time soon. Fold up counters and a small table. Shelving is the easy part for storage.
Heat? Wood, LP, just about what ever you'd like. It doesn't take much to heat a 12'x16' area.
How big did you really want to go? How easy would it be to get a travel trailer in and out? They have some good deals on them (new) right now. Just understand that you may have to leave it there until spring. Parking one there perminately, will certainly create a day when you wish there was some way to get rid of it.
Gas lights can be dangerous if used improperly, but work very well. You certainly wouldn't need much of a generator for a small cabin or travel trailer. Its the GAS to run it that will hurt!
Help us out........... what are you actually considering?


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

Sell it and take your $$$ out of State!


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## codybear (Jun 27, 2002)

Luv2hunteup- Its in Chippewa County
uptracker- Hidy Hoe Neighbor 

ENCORE- Good job reading deeper into my post. Your right, I would rather have some type of cabin. There is alot of year around activities in the area, included stocked trout ponds, ORV Trails, smelt dipping creeks, etc so I plan on taking the family there during the off hunting season. I would need it to accomidate at least 4 people (prefer at least 800sq ft or less if it has a loft that could be used for sleeping quarters).. The reason I said no well or septic to begin with is because that would free more funds up for a better cabin. A mouse infested trailer is out of the question :lol: . I've been looking at bare bone cabin kits, which I can probably afford, its everythig else related such as clearing out a spot for it, having it trucked there, wiring it, generator, kitchen, heat source, paying someone to put it together, etc, etc, etc.. They dont include any of that in the prices so the cabins then look affordable but when you look deeper into it, the related nichols and dimes really add up.

During deer season my son-in-law was logging a piece down the road and the owner just built himself a huge steel roof pole building but the owner wasnt there so I have no idea what the inside even looked like. To be honest, my budget is going to be about $20 grand but that has to be complete. There is already a road going in, just nothing cleared for a building yet. I probably wont be there during the peak of the winter (late Dec-March)..

I'm kinda stuck on which route to go, hence the reason for this thread.. 

Thanks again
CB


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## Gramps (Jan 19, 2007)

We did the same thing as you years ago in the UP, my dad bought an 18 ft old but in good shape travel trailer for $600.00, we took it up the first year and set it on blocks, we built a gable roof over it supported with 4x4s,we also put up 3 sides around it, we used a Honda 2500 generator with a box built around it with an opening for the exhaust, we dug a 4 ft. hole and put a garbage can and some rocks in it, we ran some drain tile pipe from the toilet to the garbage can and covered it up, worked great. The stove worked on propane, everything else ran off the generator. The next year we pre fabbed an addition at my brothers shop, and took it up on a trailer, we built the floor up there due to the weight and put it on blocks also, once the addition was complete( took us 4 days ) we wired everything, installed a fan forced propane wall heater, covered the whole place with rolled roofing. It was a nice little cabin and as far as i know it still stands today, the cost to build was around $2800.00 including trailer, All our windows and doors were garbaged picked (saved lots of money)rolled roofing is cheap, used OSB for everything but the roof, also very cheap. Hope this helped you out.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Here's a kit option for you. I've been thinking about putting a sauna building in and have looked at one of these kits.

http://www.panelconcepts.com/


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## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

Consider ALL of your long term goals ! Will it only be used as a hunting cabin and how much total time will you spend there? Will you be considering building a pole barn for the toys in the future? An outhouse works well, but make sure that you plant it about 100' from any place that you might consider putting a well later.
For snow considerations, build it up off the ground a couple blocks. Nothing like a hard snow and water seeping inside the bottom of the doors.


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## codybear (Jun 27, 2002)

Luv2hunteup said:


> Here's a kit option for you. I've been thinking about putting a sauna building in and have looked at one of these kits.
> 
> http://www.panelconcepts.com/


Thats the exact place I was looking at and refering to in my above post. Of the cabin kits they have, they seem to have the best prices I have been able to find. However, the minimum size I want runs around $18,000 but those are base prices. That still seems like alot for a 600 sq ft base kit where you still need to add and consider delivery, roof type (shingle or steel), loft, electric wiring, kitchen kit, foundation kit, etc, etc,...

My thoughts, and I havent looked it from all angles yet, was to buy something like a pole barn or over sized garage kit (can be had for under $7000 delivered) and then there is still $13,000 left over to cover a foundation, elecrtical wiring, partitioning off the inside and making seperate rooms, etc.. Might even be enough left to hire someone to do alot of the work (maybe). I built a 30x32 garage a few years ago, including the cement for under $7000 complete.
The other option may be as someone suggested above is to buy a newer mobile home and drive it up there when I go and just save up. I have a 40x80 pole barn here to store it in. 

I dont know yet, still searching my options.

CB


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## tadmdad (Sep 18, 2006)

uptracker said:


> Sell it and take your $$$ out of State!


Ok Nathan, don't be so negative!! :yikes:

Small Print: Even though it's true


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## flip69 (Jan 10, 2003)

check out coventry log homes on the net.


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## PA BUCK 2 (Oct 17, 2006)

A friend of mine has a camp up in Michigamme. He has a fish camp each spring.... I have been there 2 years in a row. Each long weekend- the group built a cabin along with other camp chores.... He has one bigger cabin and I think 4 smaller cabins.... Very cool place, solar lights, outhouse, saunu. I will send a PM with some more information.


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## Kearly Shuffle (Sep 15, 2006)

Here is what our cabin looks like. My Great-Grandfather built it back in the 1940's. It has been updated a few times over the years. Electricity, a bathroom added with running water...But the structure itself has never changed...


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## yooperkenny (Jul 13, 2004)

Our log cabin in Houghton County was in the ballpark of what you're thinking about spending. It's 20' x 20' with an 8' porch in front, metal roof at 12/12 pitch, and woodstove for heat. 

We have an outhouse, which was he first thing we built when we bought the property. There's no indoor plumbing, because the inspector told us that any plumbing necessitates a drain field. We used a popup camper for deer camp for years and also during the construction until the cabin was finished. 










Me and my wife, son and some friends built it with help from a professional carpenter at critical junctures. We started in May 2005 and were in by deer season later that year. The logs alone (UP red pine) were $5k, which is a fraction of what you'll pay one of the high profile log home outfits up here. Feel free to pm or email me - Good Luck!


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## malainse (Sep 2, 2002)

Check with the building inspector.... Then you know what you can and can not do in that area...


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## mwp (Feb 18, 2004)

CodyBear clear your PM box,i tried to send you something!!


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## codybear (Jun 27, 2002)

mwp said:


> CodyBear clear your PM box,i tried to send you something!!


Sorry, I didnt realize it was full and just emptied it if you want to try again

CB


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Here's a link to an outhouse website. Ground water contamination is a real threat to your health.

http://www.lifewater.org/resources/privies.html#PR

I'm not sure where you are building but here's some help. You can expand your search to suit your needs.

http://www.hire-contractors.com/Additions/Rudyard/MI


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## dewman22 (Jan 3, 2008)

I am in the same predicament. My brother and I recently purchased 20 acres in Lake County and were wanting to put up a cabin also. The only problem is that we have already talked to the county inspecter and the cabin has to be a minimum 800 sq. ft. and have a well & septic:yikes:, alittle excessive if ya ask me:sad:. All we wanted was something simple and rustic......any suggestions?


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## dewman22 (Jan 3, 2008)

dewman22 said:


> I am in the same predicament. My brother and I recently purchased 20 acres in Lake County and were wanting to put up a cabin also. The only problem is that we have already talked to the county inspecter and the cabin has to be a minimum 800 sq. ft. and have a well & septic:yikes:, alittle excessive if ya ask me:sad:. All we wanted was something simple and rustic......any suggestions?


Any at all :help:.


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

Build a STORAGE building and slowly turn it into living space over the next few years. Put few, if any windows in it now. 

Your zoning administrator will be back to his coffee and donuts and bigger fish and soon forget about you.


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## dusoc (Jan 1, 2008)

dewman22 said:


> I am in the same predicament. My brother and I recently purchased 20 acres in Lake County and were wanting to put up a cabin also. The only problem is that we have already talked to the county inspecter and the cabin has to be a minimum 800 sq. ft. and have a well & septic:yikes:, alittle excessive if ya ask me:sad:. All we wanted was something simple and rustic......any suggestions?


That sounds odd. I guess it all depends on the county, wheather they have a tradition of deer camps. In my area I think the law reads that if a living structure has electricity and water then it has to be at least 800 sq. ft. and have a septic system. Small camps without electricity don't require a permit. Some areas with city slickers calling the shots have very restrictive laws on building, even on backwoods hunting property. If you choose to skirt the law by living in an "out building" or by putting in a trailer make sure you set up your camp away from the road where it can't be seen by nosey people. 


In my area, outhouses without vaults are illegal for new construction, but as long as they are old they are grandfathered. I'd say about 90% of the camps in my area have outhouses. I know of a few property owners that built new big cabins in the past 10 years and they were inspected, and they built plain old outhouses. The inspectors don't seem to care. I guess that if you are way back in the woods away from electricity and other houses that ground water contamination is not an issue. One guy I know put in a portapoti and another put in a vault for his outhouse. Those things stink like crap and must be pumped out periodicly, but are an option.


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## yooperkenny (Jul 13, 2004)

Nice cabins, guys! We don't use a generator either - once the construction was done, the generator went home. We installed propane lights and a cast iron blind stove we bought from Cabelas and they work great. 

My son keeps lobbying for more modern conveniences like electricity and TV, but I'm standing my ground with the hope that he'll eventually realize that the real beauty of a "wilderness retreat" is that it isn't constructed by just taking components of your modern year-round home and transplanting them into the woods. This quote from Sigurd Olson speaks to that:

*...there were other reasons I liked the Snowbank cabin, and one of these was the feeling it gave me of coming down to earth and getting at the real and elemental business of living. Here all sham and superfluity disappeared and I felt as Thoreau did when he said, "Drive life into a corner and reduce it to its simplest terms." This was no spot for fancy or unnecessary equipment, this was a place for moccasins, buckskin and homespun wool. Nor was this a place for fancy thoughts, for here life was simple and complete and thoughts evolved about the primitive things one had to do in the woods, not with the complicated problems of society...*

Here's the complete article along with many more thoughts about wilderness: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/JMC/Olson/articles/columns/snowbank_cabin.htm


Here are some more pics of our cabin, one showing our new buck pole and one from the inside with my son and his buddy hamming it up soon after arriving at camp on November 14th:









Cody Bear - Did you get my PM?
Nick Adams - Is that cabin in Gogebic County?


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## codybear (Jun 27, 2002)

For security purposes, what are your thoughts as far as cabin location. Would it be better/safer to have the cabin visible from the main road or totally secluded farther back off the road? I would prefer to have it set way back but thats exactly what a burglar would probably want so knowone driving by could see.. Also I would think the farther back off the road, the more huntable ground you are eating up.

Thanks
CB


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## Ansel (Mar 30, 2002)

Just a word of caution, a buddy of mine is building a deer camp on the down low, nothing fancy but none the less a camp in remote area of the UP. He never got a building permint, someone told on him and now he is in a world of red tape. I would put out a trailer until you ready to do something permanent, then when you are...do it right. He wished he had. Instead of saving a few $$$, it has cost him much more.


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## dusoc (Jan 1, 2008)

codybear said:


> For security purposes, what are your thoughts as far as cabin location. Would it be better/safer to have the cabin visible from the main road or totally secluded farther back off the road? I would prefer to have it set way back but thats exactly what a burglar would probably want so knowone driving by could see.. Also I would think the farther back off the road, the more huntable ground you are eating up.
> 
> Thanks
> CB


I'd recomend building it out of sight and don't put anything at your front gate that would indicate that there is a building back there eithor. Having it close to the road where people can see it is not good. You don't want anybody to know it's there and you also don't want anybody to know when you're there eithor.


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## Macker13 (Oct 1, 2007)

Ansel said:


> Just a word of caution, a buddy of mine is building a deer camp on the down low, nothing fancy but none the less a camp in remote area of the UP. He never got a building permint, someone told on him and now he is in a world of red tape. I would put out a trailer until you ready to do something permanent, then when you are...do it right. He wished he had. Instead of saving a few $$$, it has cost him much more.


I second this line of thinking. After years of tent hunting the U.P. we decided we wanted a place to put a trailer and store the tent camp. I was suprised at the number of townships that are stopping trailer camps thru zoning enforcement. I have no problem with that and just looked in areas where this was still legal, but the days of putting up backwoods primitive camps in the U.P. are probably numbered.


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## Nick Adams (Mar 10, 2005)

yooperkenny said:


> Nick Adams - Is that cabin in Gogebic County?


No, it's in Iron.

Was up to Snowbank Lake (NE of Ely, MN) about 10 years ago, managing a nearby timber sale for a private landowner. Nice place

-na


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## Copper116 (Sep 3, 2007)

In the beginning, we started with an old camper and no running water either. My solution was to use food grade blue plastic water barrels. I drilled out the bung on one side and inserted a tire valve stem. The other side a spigot with hose. We'd pre-fill the barrels in town and then bring them to camp. Using a 12v pump, we could pressurize the barrel(s) to supply the pressure to run a shower, faucets, etc. It worked pretty well. Freezing is a major concern but we only used it until the really cold weather set in. You could always get a small garden shed, place the filled barrels inside and put in a small heater of some type (depending on your source of power i.e. propane, kerosene etc) to prevent freezing and still have pressurized water throughout the year.


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## Grouseman2 (Dec 28, 2001)

OP what did you end up doing?


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