Box truck camping tips..

[Savannah]

I did nap for four hours in the back of a friend's box truck during an afternoon duststorm, with the door all the way down (not my first choice, understandably) but I was perfectly comfortable, and could see a little.

[FIGJAM]

It would be easy to add a cooler.

[Gusthefuss]

I thought I would stay in our groups cube van that we used to transport all our stuff but it was tough. People would roll the door up while I was resting and it would scare me awake everytime. Plus I didnt have any tables so all my stuff just went on the floor and got trampled. And its loud in there. We were by a sound camp with a propane poofer and it would light up the inside of the van with each blast thanks to the thin fiberglass roof.
Thats my two cents.

[Savannah]

I'm sorry you had a rough time of it, Gus. That's definitely worth bringing up--and maybe you'll prevent someone else's misery.

If a truck or van is to be used as a bedroom it should be dedicated (upon arrival) for that purpose, ideally by just 1 or 2 people who don't mind communicating about effectively sharing space. If additional people have used the van/truck as transport, there should probably be an off-loading of all supplies requiring constant access because opening a van (and especially a box truck) is very loud . . . and constant sleep interruptions make for emotional meltdowns.

I've always been the only one in my tent atmosphere, but even I can end up stepping on my stuff. I never brought camping furniture other than chairs (and sharing a dining table) until my 4th Burn, but now I do, & I recommend (where possible or practical) a folding cot, a tv tray (bedside table) and a wastebasket. The wastebasket can have stuffed packed in it the whole way there to make it less of a pain.

I often keep half my stuff in rubbermaid containers under the cot. This has the added bonus of keeping the cot from dumping me on the ground if I forget to make sure the outer legs are kicked out at the right angle before I go to bed.

A folding chair is also nice inside a living space, temporarily or not. (After a while, sitting on one's cot is not comfortable unless actually laying on it).

[AntiM]

We found a folding (roll up) teak garden table on clearance our first year, came in a carry bag. It has served as the main shade area "coffee table" for ten years now. Can't live without it.

[Workinonit]

Luckily, I'll have a 15amp outlet for my use. I was planning on getting a cheap box type fan.

Maybe what could work is building a simple rectangle frame the same height as the box fan from like 2x2s or something.. and stapling some kind of fabric to it to act as a filter? Set the box fan to blow outwards as a vent..

You need one of these
http://www.air-n-water.com/product/Surround.htm
It pulls max 90 watts which is really not much considering there are 100w light bulbs! I use one at burning man and get all my water from people's coolers! They want to get rid of it and I gladly cool myself with it as the swamp cooler actually makes cooler air with colder water! Win - Win for everyone!

Use heat pump air filters. For $5 they are cheap and you could make the frame premade to just jam them in there...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Filtrete-Dust-Reduction-filter/10721096

[junglesmacks]

Bump for people in the planning stage..

[Planet4]

My wife and I have camped in the back of a rental truck for two years and we're going for a third this year.

We've camped on playa in cargo vans, a geo-dome we built, a tent, and under a costco carport. We LOVE the moving van. This year we'll be on A near 9:30 so the sound may be an issue (I'm biting my nails about that) but we always bring earplugs... which don't really do much for richter-scale-level bass lines but what can you do?

So, our set up is this:

* Queen futon, all the way in the back (front? farthest from the roll up door). Covered up with a dust sheet in the day.
* Two sleeping bags, unzipped, as covers. One for warm nights, two for cold. And since it's a futon we are insulated on the bottom.
* Two TV tables we found at a thrift store near the roll up door. Jewelry, headlamps, other stuff is set on them as we enter or exit.
* Carpet strip on the floor near the futon
* A closet rod! We have a strut from our old geo dome, metal conduit with holes drilled in each end. I use rope to hang it from the wooden braces on either side of the truck near the roll up door and we hang our clothes. This creates a little separation wall of laundry between the bed and the door and keeps us from digging in tubs every time we want a costume change.
* We have a fluorescent lantern for lighting.
* Padlock LOCKED on the latch to prevent lock-ins (and to lock up if we feel like we need to protect our shitty TV tables)
* Bungee Cord cleverly wrapped around the outside latch so that we can hook it into the slot on the bumper that the latch fits into (more later).

What we want to improve upon:

* Bed frame. The futon rutches up at one end over a bump in the floor (where the gastank pipe is) so I want to build a simple frame to lift it up off the floor a bit (and give us under-bed storage).
* Lighting. If we can afford a power pack thingy (check "DPP-600HD Powerpack" on Amazon) we'll get plug in LED xmas lights for ambiance.
* Aesthetics. The moving vans are eyesores. We really need to come up with a good way to non-permanently beautify the outside of this huge thing. Any suggestions?

Door "locking" and ventilation.
So, we were also worried about ventilation. We use a bungee cord as a latch. If you get the tension right you can get inside, pull the roll up door closed most of the way, then hook the bungee into the slot that the door latch fits into. I can then use the tension to close the door all the way or hold it in place so there's about a foot gap. That lets in air if you need it but also allows for a fully closed door without worrying it'll roll up in the middle of the night and scare the playa off of you.

Any other tips?

[Savannah]

Bedframe one-third of the way down the page:
http://www.playatech.com/product_list.php

Only a little peripheral storage under that one, so also consider two REI cots or Walmart cots or army surplus cots . . . or enter double cot into Google. Double cots exist! Or so I've discovered in the last 20 seconds. I really love stuffing rubbermaid containers under my REI cot.

Speaking of REI, there are some battery powered lanterns there with good reviews. I will probably be bringing one this year for tent illumination. Stronger than little lights, which are gorgeous, admittedly.

AA or AAA battery powered LED or christmas lights could eliminate or mitigate the need for a powerpack. I considered a powerpack myself, and still might for electrical appliances (but it's a waste for tiny lights in my opinion--consider saving the powerpack for stuff that can only be powered by AC/DC.) After much reading, I've decided I would never buy a powerpack online, because the process of returning a defective one looks like absolute murder on Amazon, for example. Time-consuming, expensive, confusing, and then the selling company sometime balks, etc. What a mess.

The fresh, well-rated powerpack brands are apparently quite good, but they have to be charged fully every month or so, and should not go too long from manufacture to first charge . . . or they become duds. So if I ever buy a powerpack, I'm buying it mid-August from an automotive store or Kmart (or similar), with a 30+ day return policy (or more) so I can easily return it if things go wrong.

[FIGJAM]

I bought a power pack last year when I was testing my power needs.

It SEEMED to be the perfect salution.

Got it home and started reading the manual.

Low number of amp hours of use.

Up to 32 hours to recharge it.

If you need a little power for a lot of hours, like a couple of strings of LEDs it may be ok.

I took mine back.

[Planet4]

Good to know about the powerpacks. I liked the idea of them over batteries because we go through a TON of batteries already (mini-flashlights, lanterns, bike lights, radios, etc. etc.) and it's starting to make me uncomfortable.

So the power pack plus rechargeable batteries looked like the solution... but if it's that much of a hassle I'm back to square one.

Anyway! Thanks for the playatech post. I'll be lost in there for a while.

[MyDearFriend]

I was amazed at how much light I got with one string of solar xmas lights; you might want to try those, if you are going through too many batteries.

[Zode]

Thank you all for the amazingly helpful tips on this post (and keeping it bumped). Heading out to Burning Man for the first time this year (eek!) and have had a 16' Budget Rental truck reserved since April. Definitely wouldn't have thought of half the stuff listed. So please, keep the tips coming.

[yumyumms]

I did the 16' truck last yr for my first burn and will be doing the exact same thing this year.

I bought a queen sized mattress from a thrift store and slept QUITE comfortably.

[The Bee]

earplugs... which don't really do much for richter-scale-level bass lines but what can you do?

Heh. No kidding! Last year we camped somewhere around 2:30 and G, and the base lines rattled our little van all night. Finally, I discovered that the license-plate frame was loose and after I tightened it up the rattles diminished somewhat.

Aesthetics. The moving vans are eyesores. We really need to come up with a good way to non-permanently beautify the outside of this huge thing. Any suggestions?

I totally appreciate this. I feel just a bit discouraged when I see Rolling Billboards all over the playa, and I feel a kind of elation when I see one decorated or disguised. Take a cue from Christo, and wrap the truck in something. I suppose the easy solution is to tie-dye bed sheets and drape them over the truck, and the complex solution is to project a laser show on the side of the truck.

[junglesmacks]

Bump a rump as we get closer..

[junglesmacks]

Ooooo I just saw this now. Is this basically the same design as the Figjam swamp cooler? I was under the impression that the FJ style needed to stay outside the living area and be ducted inside. Since I can't cut into the side of the truck, I need a device that will stay inside permanently.

Or.. if I built some kind of rig to shut the door and seal the opening.. leave the cooler outside yet ducted in through the door opening.. hmmmmm..

The other part of the cooling equation is that the roof is sheet metal and heats up with the sun and radiates heat like craaaazy. I need some type of shade structure over the top of the truck..

Luckily, I'll have a 15amp outlet for my use. I was planning on getting a cheap box type fan.

Maybe what could work is building a simple rectangle frame the same height as the box fan from like 2x2s or something.. and stapling some kind of fabric to it to act as a filter? Set the box fan to blow outwards as a vent..

You need one of these
http://www.air-n-water.com/product/Surround.htm
It pulls max 90 watts which is really not much considering there are 100w light bulbs! I use one at burning man and get all my water from people's coolers! They want to get rid of it and I gladly cool myself with it as the swamp cooler actually makes cooler air with colder water! Win - Win for everyone!

Use heat pump air filters. For $5 they are cheap and you could make the frame premade to just jam them in there...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Filtrete-Dust-Reduction-filter/10721096

[FIGJAM]

If you build the unicooler, you can just set it on one side of the open back door.

If you want to get fancy, pull the door down onto the top of the cooler and hang a skirt across the rest of the door opening, leaving a 1ft. gap opposite the cooler.

This would be very effective.

[BoyScoutGirl]

Resurrecting this venerable thread to ask two relevant questions:

1) Say I rent a 16' box truck. I throw my gear in the back - not all that much considering I've taken the train in. I buy some food, more than enough water, throw that in the back. Still plenty of space. So I pick up some furniture I've reserved via CraigsList or Freecycle. Couch goes here, maybe mattress goes there. Perfect!

Except... the truck is still 80% empty and I have to drive 130 miles to BRC. How do I keep everything in the back from sliding all over the place? How do I keep the couch from crushing the water (or - gasp - the beer!)?

and b) Instead of introducing wall-sized advertisements into my camp, I would love to cover the sides of my box truck abode with something arty. Or at least snarky. I've seen a few images of people using painting tape to spice up the sides of trucks, but I was thinking more like a big tie-dyed sheet. Does anybody have any suggestions for affixing a sheet to the side of a truck? Tape will deteriorate, I expect, and magnets won't hold...

[lucky420]

unless you're driving like a bat-out-of-hell your stuff shouldn't roll around to much. The road from REno to BRC is fairly straight and not very hilly (except just past Nixon). Just tretis your stuff, it'll be fine.

Super strong magnets should hold a tapestry/sheet just fine. I rent Budget for bm and there really isn't anyplace on the outside of the box to attach clips or anything.

[Savannah]

If I was worried, I would tip the couch on its back and shove the top of it against the wall, then corral some of the stuff between the couch and the wall in the little pocket this would create, and secure with some rope to the walls (rope is cheap, and you should have some anyway). Box trucks often have places to tie things to the wall.

Or use ratchet straps creatively. Or some combo.

We're supposed to minimize glass (i.e. don't bring beer, soda, etc in glass--use cans) but a little glass might be necessary if you bring quality liquor. If you need to cushion that, spend 50 cents on a newspaper in Reno. And keep the plastic bags around them just in case.

[junglesmacks]

Super strong magnets should hold a tapestry/sheet just fine. I rent Budget for bm and there really isn't anyplace on the outside of the box to attach clips or anything.

On the inside walls of the truck there are these wooden rails that run the length of the box which are perfect for stringing a cord across and safety pinning a sheet to for a makeshift curtain. Works fine.

Regarding your stuff sliding around, don't worry about it. Some things will shift a little but nothing of consequence. Just wedge things as best you can.

[lucky420]

I'm talking about decorating the outside of the box truck, you know, to hide the label...

[FIGJAM]

I'm talking about decorating the outside of the box truck, you know, to hide the label...

Sent a PM on how to cover the outside.

Repost it here if you want to share.

[Bob]

Bizarre custom. Everybody knows it's a rental truck. If anyone asks, tell them your cutesy-poo logo alteration blew off, and just make another drink.

[junglesmacks]

DUH. Sorry. Just got back from camping since Thursday in the middle of 10k drunken Floridians in the middle of nowhere. Last thing I remember, I believe I was directing traffic with a hard hat and safety vest on. There may or may not be pictures to prove.

The box itself is fiberglass with a sheet metal roof.. so no, magnets won't hold. As long as you wipe the surface before you stick it, I've seen many people just tape giant sheets of newsprint to the sides of the truck and then paint/draw/whatever on that.

I'm talking about decorating the outside of the box truck, you know, to hide the label...

Sent a PM on how to cover the outside.

Repost it here if you want to share.

Why so secretive?? Spit it out!

[FIGJAM]

It was a long post and I did'nt want to retype it.

THE JIST is to put 5 shark bite clips at the top and bottom of the cover with 1/4" cord going from these over and under the truck.

Then sinch and tie with a trucker knot to stretch it tight.

Do a cover for both sides samey same.

It's how I saved the movie theater next door my first year.

I took about 20mins. after they had fought it for 3hrs!

Have to cut short pieces of cord to fold the edge of the cloth over, then that goes at the back of the jaws in the shark clips to prevent slippage.

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=HPIC,HPIC:2011-50,HPIC:en&q=tarp+clips#q=tarp+clips&hl=en&rls=HPIC,HPIC:2011-50,HPIC:en&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&psj=1&ei=cL7CT-X8MITe2QWTzvGIAQ&ved=0COkBEK0E&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=76db592f797d9a72&biw=1360&bih=589

[BoyScoutGirl]

I found some that look like sharks!



FIGJAM, I wonder, does the material you wrap the tarp edge around need to be sections of 1/4" rope or will anything moderately thick do? My impression is the key is to lead the tension around in the wrap, so anything you can fold the tarp/sheet over should do - even a piece of cardboard. Like this:



Or do I want the teeth of the clip clamping the rope piece through the two layers of tarp, instead of the tarp-wrapped rope piece wedged into the back of the clip?

[lucky420]

i never got the pm

[FIGJAM]

Sorry Lucky 420, it was'nt for you this time.

ensisismada, the cord will work best.

In your pic, you can see that gap at the back of the jaws.

With the clothe folded over a piece of cord the width of the jaws, the cord goes across that gap.

When the jaws are tightened down on the clothe, nothing can slip out because of the cord in the gap.

Hope this helps.