Yurt Newbie - Looking for semi-permanent living in a camping yurt?

[Orions_End]

Hello All!

I'm new to forum life in general (in fact, this is my first account on a forum) so please forgive me if this is a rather long and rambling question.

I'm rather new to yurts, but I've been heavily researching them for the past month or so. My beau and I are very interested in moving into one for nomadic living. I was hoping someone out here has had similar goals to ours (which I'll detail in a moment), or has had any experience with what we are trying to do.

Our primary goal is a portable living structure that is stable. I'm aware of the history of traditional Gers or Yurts, but the deeper I delve into the "manufactured" or "big company" yurts, they seem to have wide additions of bells and whistles (such as large glass windows) that would make them much more difficult to move and transport than we'd like.

We would need a yurt that not only -can be- set up by two people, but is essentially intended for that purpose without losing too many hours. Additionally it needs to be truly travel ready. The two main locations that it would be transported from are Maryland and an area of North Carolina off of the Albemarle sound. However, we want the ability to really travel with it for a true nomadic lifestyle.

We don't have any plans for wiring or pluming it, it would be truly off the grid with simple additions like an outdoor camp shower (think a plastic bag and nozzle), a humanure composting toilet, and a small woodstove inside. I'd like to think that if the frame itself is stable enough, we could make additions to it over time as needed if we decide to *ahem* "settle down".

Weight would also be a helpful factor, because we are considering this as a semi-permanent residence while we prepare for a livaboard situation on a sailboat (think 3-10 years on land heavily saving and learning to prepare for this). If it was small and light enough to be stored and transported in this fashion, we would be in heaven.

Our primary concern after quite a bit of research in the various companies is the predominance of the wooden and concrete platforms. Since we'll be moving this fellow around quite a bit (and quite often on borrowed property such as back yards or campgrounds) pouring concrete or constructing a wooden platform isn't really an option. I'm quite tempted to do an insulated/water resistant tarp for the flooring for weight and portability. I did see the straw platform, and that seems like a good semi-permanent (1-2 solution), but it would need to be repurchased at a second location.

In essence - is it possible to live for 3-5 years (or longer ideally) in a camping yurt? I've tagged a few companies that I know of who make yurts in this style, and I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with these.

Any other tips/tricks/advice would be very helpful! Thank you all dearly!

(Jeez this was long!)