car tent tarp combo

[Woody Kusherman]

Hey all,
1st time BM attendee's here. Me and my girl will be making the trip up to the playa from Vegas and the DIYer in me already has an easy idea for a monkey hut.

I drive a Subaru Baja, laugh all you want but it's my little 28.5 MPG getting swiss army knife :)

So i was thinking white tarp for a shade area, anchored to my car, and I noticed it's not really that much more for large tarp, say in the 20 x 40' range that would cover the whole car, and in the name of keeping it simple, strongly anchored, and encompassing all our shit in a slightly less dust filled area, I'm thinking why not unroll a little bit of the 20 foot side of the tarp onto the playa, drive my front wheels onto it right in the middle, set my tent up about 10 feet behind my tailgate, anchored down securely w/ rebar, and yes I've read all the safety stuff about it :) then unroll the 40 foot worth of tarp over my car and tent and anchor it down all around. Cut a slit in one side for a door and i might be good for a week in extreme weather conditions?

I have idea's for supporting the inside of the tarp a big away from the car and tent so there accessible all around, but i wont bother you with all the technical details.

Actually be better to do that all in reverse, anchor tent first since the car is moveable but you get the general idea of what I'm going for.

My girl was then gonna art up the tarp, she paints and such.

Any advice on my general idea from those who've been there and done that? Is this an ok plot of land to take up and such?



Also kinda curious about arriving, how do they fill up the shape the city ends up taking? I'm wondering how folks go about getting out of that long line and to the camps they've chosen to be apart of?



~peace~

[Packoderm]

You can put together something for cheap. http://www.creativeshelters.com/Canopy- ... -Kits.aspx

[mudpuppy000]

You'll want to keep the tarp or any ropes from contacting your car or it will scratch the hell out of the paint. You might want to look into monkey huts also, they're well proven out there.

As far as where to camp, there's spaces reserved for theme camps but besides that you can camp in any open spot. Usually a good idea to talk to your neighbors first and see what they're up to. Don't want to camp next to a place that's going to be blasting music till dawn.

The shape of the city is all laid out before anyone arrives. There's spaces and streets marked off that get filled in as people arrive. If you're meeting a camp you need to find out their approximate address and once you know that it's pretty easy to find anyone.

[teardropper]

Welcome. I dunno', I think your Subaru sounds fine. Should hold your stuff. They all have roof racks, don't they? Use ratchet straps, not bungees to secure to the top. Seriously.

The city is all laid out, with radial streets like a clock, like 6 o'clock or 3:30 and the circular streets the letters of the alphabet and then topically named for the theme, like Baghdad for B, so an address would be 3:30 and Baghdad. That is of he 2005 Burn, but they're basically the same. Except for theme camps you can camp anywhere there is space. Just ask your neighbors.

Your tarp may present some problems. That's a pretty big sail. Wind is the problem. It's windy most of the time, a little, and you should prepare for winds up to 70 mph. Has happened, though not for a couple of years. I've seen lot's of stuff blow down or sail away to Oz in less than that. Someone else may have some actual experience with a large tarp and give you suggestions. At the least you need to really think it through.

Standard advice: read every thing. First Timers, Survival. Then ask.

[Packoderm]

Hey Mudpuppy, this is Zeke. What about a Northpole Party Shade?

[teardropper]

That is what I use. Only the last two years, though, and Juplaya, and have not experienced really big winds. But I THINK it will do OK in the wind. Long rebar stakes, good wind shedding shape. You can pitch a tent inside and sleep a little longer in the morning.

[mudpuppy000]

Hey Mudpuppy, this is Zeke. What about a Northpole Party Shade?

If you can find one they're great. I'll be using mine again this year. My first year I also made a lean-to against my SUV with a tarp. Worked ok, but even with a tall vehicle there wasn't much space underneath it.

[phil]

So i was thinking white tarp for a shade area, anchored to my car,
>SNIP<
cover the whole car,
>SNIP<
in a slightly less dust filled area,
>SNIP<
drive my front wheels onto it right in the middle,
>SNIP<
then unroll the 40 foot worth of tarp over my car and tent and anchor it down all around. Cut a slit in one side for a door and i might be good for a week in extreme weather conditions?
>SNIP<
Also kinda curious about arriving, how do they fill up the shape the city ends up taking? I'm wondering how folks go about getting out of that long line and to the camps they've chosen to be apart of?

Nothing is going to be slightly less dust-filled. Nothing.

You will want to have standing headroom under the tarp.

Slits have a way of growing what with the wind and all.

Overall, I'd say go for it and see how it works. The worst that can happen is that it will fail disastrously, sandpaper the paint on your car, and destroy your tent and all that's under the tarp. Plus maybe wreck your neighbors' sites if they're in the way. Give it a shot and see how it works. I would recommend a back up tarp of some kind that's smaller but still provides shade.

As others have said, BRC is marked out and you can camp in the areas that are shown as camping areas on your map. Please do not camp in theme camp areas; others have suggested picking a place and checking with your neighbors before you pitch your camp. Almost everyone is welcoming, but no use aggravating those who want to stake a claim even though they're not allowed to.

Theme camps are allowed to claim areas, but all the theme camps I know of have filled their sites completely. So find a place, ask around to make sure you're not in a theme area, and set up your stuff. Most people will offer to give you a hand. Burning Man is a wonderful place to visit.

I'm sorry to say there's no way to avoid the line to get to your camp sooner. I've inquired about that myself, and there's no practical way to have an express lane - everyone would crowd into it and jam it up. I've accepted the inevitable and decided just to enjoy the wait.

Your shade area sounds very creative, and I hope your artistic friends do a wonderful job artsying it up.

[theCryptofishist]

Is "your girl" going to art up the tarp in situ? Perhaps not a good idea, she should make sure her "arting up" materials cannot get on the playa and be problematic for clean up. Glitter, for instance, should not be a part of her plan. Admittedly, that's more for tarting up, but it's an illustration.

[TomServo]

If you don't give a shit about your cars paint, and dont mind sacrificing a few feet of tarp, lay your tarp(blue or silver) out. and drive over the back end of the tarp. Pull the tarp over your Subaru and anchor it somehow on the front side. If you have a removable anteanna, remove it. Just my two cents...BUT! anchoring it to your vehicle is a good idea!


oh yeah...dont paint the tarp! paint flakes off and becomes moop. maybe paint on cloth sheets with fabric paint, and use them over the tarps or as doors.

[AntiM]

Some painter's drop cloths are good for painting on, they're sturdy, clothlike, and take grpmmets for hanging. Clean up paint is a bitch out there, what with the greywater issue and all. Shiny things distracting her will be worse. Even the years I take painting supplies, I have yet to touch them on the playa.

[Bob]

Agree that cheap plastic tarp will scratch your paint if the wind gets under it. Noisy when they flap in the wind, too.

If the idea is to protect the car, the only way I've seen that succeed was by driving over a gigantic tarp and wrapping up the car like a Xmas present. Think the gal used a car cover as well underneath the tarp.

Try REI, they have lightweight coated nylon tarps you could anchor partly to the Subaru rack and partly to poles. Rig it as flat as you can so it doesn't catch the wind.

[viajera80]

I agree with AntiM, go with a drop cloth or even some large garden netting instead. Tarps block the light, but they also catch the wind and flap around and make a racket that might keep you up at night (if the music doesn't).

[gyre]

If white, it must be light blocking.
They all need to be.

Blankets over the car might protect with contact.
They need to not move.

There are plastics and dyes or paints that won't flake.
They have to match each other.