The Home Base Herald Field Kit
The people behind The Home Base Herald are experienced land buyers. This is the equipment we use in the field and the services we rely on.
On This Page
GPS Lot Line App
Wilderness Visibility Gear
Self-Recovery Treads
Hazard Visibility Gear
Tick & Mosquito Control
Portable Tire Pump
Water Bottle (and gallons)
Sunscreen
The Drone We Use
Simple Measuring Wheel
Driving Glasses
Good Boots (Summer / Fall)
Good Boots (Winter / Mud)
Soil Auger
Reasonable Binoculars
Waders
First Aid Kit
Non-Negotiables
We cannot in good conscience send you into the field without these items. Please consider them before heading out.
The Best GPS Lot Line App
Vacant land isn’t usually “shown” in-person like a house. You’ll probably be on your own and you’ll need something better than Google Maps for two reasons: One, you will get frustrated if you drive all the way there and can’t find it. And two, when you arrive it probably won’t be obvious where the land begins and ends.
There are a few good options but we use the hunting app OnXHunt, specifically the Premium membership for its critical offline mapping feature.
Wilderness Visibility Gear
Basic Orange Beanie Hat
High Visibility Safety Vest
Classic land-buying mistake: viewing the property from the road only. Don’t do that, you’ve got to walk in and explore. But while you’re exploring, don’t let anyone mistake you for hunting game.
You can spend a lot of money on high-viz apparel (like this really nice Carhartt hoodie), but we prefer the hat and vest. They’re a fraction of the price and just as orange.
Important
Shopping for a Home Base is part research and part road trip. The fact is you’re going to be driving through the woods a lot. We store all of these items in the car, and recommend you do the same.
Vehicle Self-Recovery Treads
A no-brainer for anyone seeking rural / off-grid land or doing any viewings in the Spring (a.k.a. Mud Season).
Unless your vehicle is equipped with a winch, you need a solution to free yourself from unexpected deep mud. GoTreads are traction mats you deploy in front of your tires in the event you get stuck. They collapse into a small carrying case, which you should throw in the trunk and hope to never use.
Road Hazard Visibility Gear
RoadHero Collapsible Visibility Cones
About 20% of vacant land has frontage on state-maintained roads with narrow or non-existent pull-off areas and faster traffic. When you visit these, don’t just throw on your hazard lights and hope for the best. Deploy at least two visibility cones and, again, store them in your trunk until you need them.
Tick & Mosquito Control
If you’re viewing land in the Spring, Summer, or Fall you need to protect yourself from Lyme disease and mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika and West Nile.
We recommend aerosol products with at least 20% DEET. We store this spray can in our driver’s side door at all times.
Portable Tire Pump
Avid Power Portable Air Compressor
Often you’ll be traveling to rural areas with limited cell service, and using roads that are relatively rough on tires. And since driving on low tires can damage them, it’s important to have a backup plan.
This is Car & Driver’s pick for the best overall tire inflator. These things have gotten pretty fancy over the years, with integrated batteries you’ll never remember to charge in advance. The Avid Power has a battery but also—importantly—a backup cord that uses your vehicle’s 12-volt cigarette lighter outlet.
Cheap Water Bottle
18oz Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle
Don’t forget a water bottle! Especially if you’re hiking large acreage or doing viewings in the Summer. In addition to the bottle in your cupholder you should also keep at least one gallon jug in the trunk for emergencies.
No need to spend much money here. BPA-free, vacuum-insulated bottles are available for less than twenty bucks. Of course, we won’t judge if you upgrade to a really nice Stanley, or even the self-cleaning Larq.
Great Sunscreen
This is for driver fatigue, not the beach.
Again, you’re going to be driving around a lot, so this is a wise purchase for all seasons, not just Summer. Dab a little on your face before any long car ride and you’ll stay more alert. You want mineral sunscreen, not chemical.
Nice to Have
These items are optional but they’ve made our land-buying experiences much more fun and convenient. You may not need them all right away, so please bookmark the page and return to this section as needed. We keep our recommendations updated over time.
The Drone We Use
Did you know most drones require a Remote Pilot Certification from the FAA? Well not this one. At exactly 249 grams it’s just under the weight requirement for drone registration, meaning you can simply buy it and start flying.
If you want to explore large acreage by air, or you just think drones are cool, the Mini 4 Pro is the perfect tradeoff between performance, price, and weight. We think it’s the best option for most people, and we recommend the “Fly More” combo pack with RC controller.
Simple Measuring Wheel
In your search for the perfect parcel you will occasionally need to measure linear distance along the ground. For example, checking the road frontage to make sure there’s enough for your intended use, or measuring a flat area for the width of a driveway.
A measuring wheel is the tool for that. And while there are plenty of fancy options out there, the best one is the cheap, compact, battery-free Zozen. If you’re serious about your due diligence, keep one in the car with you.
Driving Glasses
Ask anyone that drives a lot and they’ll tell you eventually the windshield glare makes you go cross-eyed, especially if you’re tired.
We recommend lightweight, polarized, prescription sunglasses from Zenni Optical. They’re so affordable that you can buy multiple pairs for the price of one traditional retail frame.
Good Boots (Summer / Fall)
Again, never view land from the road only. You’ve got to hike in.
In the Summer and Fall you’ll want a water-resistant but breathable hiking boot, and the best and most famous pair is the Merrell Moab, a.k.a. “Mother of All Boots.”
There are a few different models but make sure to choose one with “GTX” in the name. This signifies Gore-Tex, which lets moisture out but not in.
Good Boots (Winter / Mud)
Land transacts all year long, including Winter and Spring (Mud Season). In fact, those are great times to buy given the reduced competition.
We use tall duck boots in the Winter and muddy Spring conditions.
Auger
You might think this is overkill, until you start pricing out perc tests….
A “perc” or percolation test is necessary if you want to attach your RV or Tiny House to a septic system. An engineer will charge about $500 even if you don’t close on the property.
But you can learn a heck of a lot from a $30 hand auger! Dig a deep hole and pull up some soil. Is it sandy or loamy? Great, get the test to confirm. Is it clay or soaked? Save your $500 and move on.
Reasonable Binoculars
Bushnell Powerview 2 8x21 Binoculars
Every time we forget the binoculars at home we seem to regret it.
It’s tempting to overspend here, and if you simply must have a $400 Nikon pair then we understand. But for identifying distant landmarks or occasional wildlife, these cheap Bushnells are compact, sturdy, and perfectly adequate.
Waders
Remember how we said it’s not enough to view land from the road, you’ve got to hike in? Well sometimes parcels are bisected by creeks or even rivers, and the only way past is through….
If you need waders, we recommend these. They’re cheap and ugly, but 100% waterproof.
First Aid Kit
ThriAid 330-Piece First Aid Kit
Please don’t do anything in your search for land that might necessitate first aid. It’s just real estate, don’t hurt yourself.
That said, things come up, and this is the kit we keep in our cars (and home). It’s complete, compact, easy to use, and easy to find.
Glamping Business Tools
Wish your Home Base could pay for itself? It’s possible! In fact many landowner turn their purchase into a profitable investment by converting it to a camping or “glamping” side-business. Here are the best tools to make that a reality.
Campsite Rental Marketplace
Hipcamp is like Airbnb for RVs and tents, and it’s one of the best tools to monetize your land when you’re not using it or before fully developing it.
A few easy improvements like a parking area, picnic table, or tenting platform go a long way. Or you can go all-out with full hookups, electricity, running water, etc. We’ve found the vast majority of campers are respectful, low-key, and less demanding than Airbnb guests, and the income is more than enough to cover annual property taxes.
RV Rental Marketplace
RVshare is a robust platform for renting RVs from owners on a short-term basis. We think it will help you in two separate stages of your RVing journey: Before purchasing your rig RVshare is like the ultimate overnight test-drive, allowing you to experience the realities of the model you’ve got your eye on. Then, once you acquire your RV and Home Base, you can easily monetize the land, the RV, or both of them together in one package.
Secondary Rental Marketplace
Believe it or not, Vrbo has campers on its platform as well. This is a great tool that probably won’t replace Hipcamp or RVshare, but there’s no reason not to use all of them simultaneously for better occupancy.
Business Checking
If your glamping business is contained within an LLC or another legal entity, you’ll want to keep your business funds separated from your personal money using a business checking account.
We’ve tried them all and BlueVine is the best. Setup is easy, payments are painless, interest rates are competitive, and deposits are protected up to $3 million rather than the standard $250,000 limit.
Website Builder
If your glamping business generates a loyal following, you may be tempted to take it “off-platform,” meaning your guests book directly through you and there’s no cut going to Hipcamp, RVshare, or VRBO.
To make that happen, you’ll need a website. We built this one with Squarespace. We’ve tried all their competitors and Squarespace is definitely the easiest website builder for non-experts available today.
Electronic Signature Software
When you run any business you’ll eventually have to sign a contract or two, and maybe even send out a few of your own.
Electronic signatures are easiest. Everybody’s heard of DocuSign, but we find PandaDoc a little easier to use. It’s cheaper too!
Newsletter Tools
Do you want to build a newsletter just like The Home Base Herald? Here are the products and services we couldn’t live without.
Software Platform
Beehiiv is a relatively new software platform that’s built for subscriber growth. There are so many features we don’t even use them all, but the most important ones are a drag-and-drop text and layout editor, built-in monetization features, and workflow automations to keep your audiences engaged and organized.
If you’re starting a newsletter, Beehiiv is the most obvious choice available today.
Virtual Assistant
We use Wing virtual assistants as a flexible, on-demand helpers that can scale up quickly as we need them. They can handle just about any administrative task, like receiving calls, answering emails, working with spreadsheets, or tracking expenses.
The Home Base Herald may earn a commission from purchases of some of the items on this page, but not all of them. We promote the products and services we think are great, not the ones with the best affiliate programs.
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