Earlier quoted context omitted.
The floor is a standard 42" pallet.
So how are you supposed to sleep in one of these?
fetal position
Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
31–40 of 64 posts
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#32"No Place For The Living" seems... rather the opposite of the intended message. On a more technical level, many pallets are chemically treated to prevent insect damage. The chemicals used for this treatment can be quite hazardous; sleeping on top of a damp, chemically treated pallet is practically a worst case.
> sleeping on top of a damp, chemically treated pallet is practically a worst case. Worse than sleeping out in the rain?
Is it wise to compound homelessness with chronic health issues and permanent disability? Methyl Bromide is frequently used for pest mitigation of pallets and their contents, and pallet cargo can also leak onto pallets (and you won't be none the wiser).
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
But if you are going to build a pod why not build a slightly bigger pod that fits you?
It looks like there is a hinged floor that folds down and is covered by a tarp. That should get to about 80"
Ah, you're right. That's not at all clear without parsing through all the instructions - there should really be a photo of one set up.
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#34Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#35Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#36Curious about the pathology of homelessness and chronic sleep deprivation.
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#37Good idea. Poor execution. 5/10.
What would you do differently?
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#38"Unlike a tent, an Occupod is a solid mobile sleeping platform that rolls down a sidewalk and provides safe sheltered sleeping at night." Unlike an Occupod, a tent isn't easily rolled off a cliff or into traffic while the occupant is too high to notice. There's so much wrong with the execution of this, I don't know where to start.
Yeah my vision was of the things being set on fire either accidentally by the occupant or by some sociopathic passerby.
Plus we should not be encouraging shantytowns, mobile or otherwise.
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#39Interesting but I think I'd rather have a backpack carrying a tent, sleeping bag, and pad. That's a fine shelter used by backpackers everywhere in all sorts of severe conditions, with much easier and less conspicuous mobility than rolling this thing around.
Indeed - they are also easier and simpler to replace as needed - and take less looking after. I wonder how long these will last without upkeep? How far can they be pushed, and if left static, where would they be left without risk?
From my own observations, I'd say that owning big 'things' like this is just going to cause trouble for the average homeless person. If it is 'good' then they will be at risk of others on the street taking it from them, or passers-by destroying it for fun.
Also not sure I'd want to be inside something like that with the kind of people you get in city centres at night, walking by - people have been known to set fire to sleeping homeless people, or at very least urinate on them. So this could either be a perceived risk or something that you might not want to use after a short period.
Remember - people sleeping rough aren't /just/ looking for somewhere to sleep. If they were then they'd be camping out in the woods etc (I know some do), but often they have other issues (drink, drugs or mental health problems) and they base themselves centrally to have access to drink/drugs/money/support.
While I applaud the concept, I'd far rather see some more holistic support for the 'homeless'. And while I'm left leaning, even capitalists should see that costs of not supporting those with issues, can be far higher than the cost of supporting them (I read before that the average homeless person 'costs' Camden council (who look after Soho in London) about £16k - while those they can get into a hostel and provide support to 'only' cost about £6k.
Re: Show HN: Occupod – a solid mobile sleeping shelter
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is so bad about chemicals?
Skin burns, lung damage?
People smoke and do lots of other stuff that is unhealthy in the long term but that gives them what they need short term. I'm pretty sure that given the choice between sleeping in the rain (which I could not) and sleeping in a shelter with some probability (probably unknown to me) of issues in the longer term I would pick the shelter.
Also, I thought the design was rather light on ventilation and I wonder how you'd deal with things like mold and fungi. All in all this is a crappy solution for a real problem, props to the person that came up with it but in reality this is not a solution, merely more problems and a way to declare the problem solved so we can pretend it is no longer a problem.
Btw, look for the letters "HT" on pallets when you want to re-purpose them, that indicates the wood was heat treated rather than chemically treated.