RV Camper's Survival Guide

[Eric]

We use the fridge every year (and the microwave- never ever the stove, it makes the RV too hot for us). We've never been anal about sealing every gap in the RV- it's going to get dusty no matter what you do, it's just a matter of how dusty. We block most of the windows with reflective film (like you use as windshield shades in cars), but leave a couple accessible in case we want to air it out when we're there. We just close the top vents & don't bother going crazy with them.

It's all a matter of preference- as long as you're willing to put in a couple hours cleaning (or hire some day laborers for the basic work & then go in & do the finishing yourself like we do) you'll be fine.

[Pippi]

After taping every nook and cranny to prevent dust coming in, NEXT you should make sure the vents are closed before arriving on the playa!!!!! DOH!

The top vent above the RV cab had cracked en route and half of the vent ended up breaking off at some point after we arrived on the playa. I didn't notice until the second or third day after TONS of playa had swooped in and made itself comfortable.

Other than that, all of the advice that I got here on Eplaya to prepare my mamas RV (that she so kindly let us take to BM!) was stellar!

[Rusted Iron]

We left camp on a quick ice run and four hours later we retuned to a white Christmas camper. Yes, we left the vents open.

We just received a our placement notice and it is great, except it's a long long way from the nearest potapotty. I guess that means we'll have to come up with a way to keep visitors out of the camper's toilet... Bear trap?

[SnowBlind]

I guess that means we'll have to come up with a way to keep visitors out of the camper's toilet... Bear trap?

Saran wrap really taut over the toilet. It's almost invisible, and it will teach everybody a lesson. Well, at least any guys that pee standing up. Hillarity ensues...

[pink]

Yeah, but you have to clean it up!

I've used my van conversion's fridge every year-runs off of propane. One thing is to keep the fridge side shaded; not making it work harder. Last year the otter pops I brought frozen stayed frozen, but it took a long time to freeze new ones. A small cooler could work to get items cold, and then the fridge will keep them cold.

[ranger magnum]

I dont worry about the fridge vents. Dust is going to make its way in to your rv regardless. Run the fridge and dont worry about dust...

[AlakaLazlo]

Nice guide! Thanks for sharing. In that spirit, I’d like to offer a few more helpful RV hints.

If you are renting, buy an extra day on the front end to learn how everything works and to have some time if/when something doesn’t. My experience with rentals is there’s always something wrong and they don’t (or can’t) tell you what it is. Take the extra day to check everything... Look for worn belts, old tires, cracking hoses, generators that won’t run reliably, fridges that don’t get cold, and especially leaky tanks.

Have the rental provider give you a complete run-through of all the systems. Ask questions and take notes. Where’s the electrical breaker box? (If it uses fuses instead of breakers, ask for some spares or go buy a few!) How do you get the generator to run and how long will it run on a tank of gas? (Most won’t let you run the tank dry. They cut off at around 1/4 tank so you don’t get stranded. But find out for sure!) How do you shut off the propane? (A leak can be deadly!) How do you light the pilot for the heater? (Not something you want to try to figure out when you crawl home freezing at 5am...) And regardless of how well they teach you, make sure that you get a copy of the owner’s manual. Trust me, you will have to look at it more than once.

Pack carefully. Heavy stuff should go as low as possible. Balance the weight side to side and front to back. Overloading one axle (or one tire) can be very dangerous. Check the manual for GVW (gross vehicle waight) and make sure you don’t overload.

If you have your own RV, start checking everything it now. Carry spare parts: belts, hoses, fuses, bulbs, oil, trans fluid, anti-freeze, etc..

ALWAYS hide an extra key on the exterior somewhere safe. If you are renting, make sure you get 2 sets, or if they refuse, have a spare set made. It will cost you $2. If you lock yourself out, or lose your key, its going to cost hundreds to get a locksmith out there...

If you own, take a quick overnight trip in the next few weeks to make extra certain that everything works. Give yourself enough time to get it fixed without spending on "rush" jobs. If something is questionable, or intermittent, get it fixed now. Breaking down on the road can ruin your whole week. Getting something fixed in Reno from mid-week before the event on is almost impossible. The shops are over-booked and parts run out. You can easily lose 3-4 days getting something fixed up there.

If you plan to run your generator, I suggest changing the oil and filter before you head up. Then run it for an hour or so to check for leaks and steady voltage. Clean out the air filter from time to time as well. Carry extra oil. A spare regulator/control board can be a good investment.

Check for leaks... If your rig leaks from anywhere, and you can’t get it fixed before you go, then bring a leak pan that you can secure to the ground. Or you can put a tarp under your rig.

Anyone with their own RV should get some towing coverage. AAA RV coverage is the bare minimum, but I’d recommend something with more range (e.g. Good Sam). I speak from experience on this one... I broke down between the Playa and Gerlach coming home and had to have my rig flat-bedded to the nearest repair place that could fix it... which just happened to be more than 100 miles away. That would have cost thousands but for Good Sam.

Travel light! Don’t carry all your food and water going up. Buy it in Reno. 50ish gallons of house water plus drinking water for 2 can weigh more than 500lbs. Why lug it all up hill?

Similarly, dump your tanks once off the Playa. There is a dump station in the rest stop one exit down the 80 heading west. It gets full on from time to time. The next stops are in Reno.

If its hot out - and it always is - keep a close eye on your water and oil temperature, especially going up the Auburn grade. High altitude and hot temps are very tough on your rig. If things start getting hot, use the truck lane, drop a gear, slow down, turn off your AC (ouch) and go slow. Better to get there an hour later than blow a motor.

You can do everything you want to try to keep your rig dust free... but you will fail. We use painters plastic on the floors and seating areas, covered with plastic runners on the floor and old blankets on the seats. Make sure all your windows and vents are closed before you drive onto the Playa. Turn off the AC. Having a ground cover (carpet, or even just a heavy tarp) makes a huge difference. Shoes off in the rig helps too...

I am not a big fan of using RV awnings on the Playa. Winds can go from 0 - 60 in just a few seconds. But one thing is for certain; if you are going to use your awning, never EVER leave camp without rolling it back up first. If your awning is out and a big storm hits, you can kiss it (and possibly the side of your RV) goodbye.

My rig isn’t huge and doesn’t have a lot of storage space. So I like to carry a small tent that I use for storage on the Playa. Once I’m parked, I off-load as much as possible. Extra drinking water, costume bins, gas cans, anything that I don’t need access to all the time. Really make things more pleasant.

Make certain you are legal! Make sure your registration, tags, and insurance cards are all current. Check to make sure and all your lights and signals work. Same goes for your trailer. No need to get pulled over and searched because you had a burned out tail light...

Finally, the one thing that will get absolutely covered in dust is your air filter. I highly recommend you - at a minimum - stop as soon as practical once you are off the Playa and get as much dust our of yours as you can. Bang it on the ground and blow it our with some compressed air. You gas milage and power will be vastly improved.

[ranger magnum]

Not sure if this fits here, but i couldnt find a better place.

Ive said this before and ill say it again: heat kills your rv (or any other heavy vehicle). One of the tricks the bus companies use on their rigs that drive between vegas and LA is the use of misters.

A mister is simply some spray nozzles (usually 4) that spray a fine mist of water on the surface of the radiator. This is done with some 1/4" plastic tubing, a pump (like a windsheild waser pump), 4 spray nozzles and a water source.

The idea is similiar to a swamp cooler in that you use water to externally cool the radiator. The water removes heat as it evaporates. Turbo charged vehicles respond exceptionally well to this, and is used frequently in extreme or racing conditions. The downside is there is only a finite amount of water that can be used, and as such must be used sparingly.

With an rv, there is usually a pretty big water supply available, and that is the fresh water system. Some rvs have 80 to 100 gallon tanks. Of course this system should only be used when pulling grades in the middle of the day. A well set up system will only use a quart or less per minute.

The best way to build a misting system is to use irrigation parts. Everything needed is available at the depot, lowes, or any lawn and garden store. For the pump, use one from a windsheild washer. You will need around 20 feet of tubing, 4 "T" fittings, and some fogger heads. Most rv water tanks have a drain valve. You will want to tap into this for the water supply.

Design your system so that the fogger heads mist as much of the radiator as possible. Adjust them so that there is little to no water dripping on the floor when they spray on a hot radiator. Ideally you want all the water to evaporate as soon as it hits the radiator.

All this effort is worth it, if done right.

[swamiD]

lotsa great info. let me add a bit (excuse if i duplicate a previous post).

bring a piece of 4'x4' plywood to lay on the sand underneath your generator...that'll help minimize the amount of dust sucked up while running the gen. if you still have the option-get an RV with no slide-outs, they let in a ton of dust. climb on top of the RV and put small towels in the crank open vents...then clamp them down. this will minimize dust, heat and keep the rv dark for those much-needed afternoon naps. as others have said- a 5gal sunshower is wonderful. i usually take my melted ice water from my cooler, pop it in the sunshower, set it outside and in an hour you have HOT water for a shower in the RV. every time you buy more ice for the cooler-you're setting up for the next sun shower. i never use my onboard water heater.

your tanks will fill up quicker than you expect, even with just 2 people judiciously using the potty...i usually find the RV flush trucks on saturday morning and pay the $ to empty the tanks. well worth it to me.

put a flashing light on the outside of your rv at night...one of those red beacons will suffice. thankfully i had one on the rv during the epic dust storm after the temple burn in 08. it was dark, dusty, the signs were stolen and i had never been so disoriented in my life. after passing my rv 3 times i finally saw the beacon faintly thru the dust.

reflective shades for the front window, towels over the side cab windows and any way you can seal the cab from the rest of the rv will help keep it much cooler. class b's are easy to seal off-just hang a thick blanket from the overcab bed.

lastly, invite peeps into your a/c oasis in the afternoon, serve them a yummy dust free meal and share the love.

swami D

[ranger magnum]

Love the tips swami d!

Home depot sells flashing led beacons for use in the construction world. I have one of those. They come with rechargable batteries and a 110v charger

[shroom]

nice lists everyone! thanks!

[johnphoton]

Just thought I'd pass along my experience over the years in either renting various motorhomes or bringing out my own camper van.

- Make sure your batteries for the cabin are fully charged and functional. One year, the moho I rented had low cabin batteries. Without charged batteries, nothing worked - including the generator and propane fridge. Tossing out all that spoiled food really sucked. Good thing my body was well adapted to surviving off of tequila, beer and Gatorade

- Bring backup in case your RV systems fail. In the case of a failed fridge like I had, you'll want an ice chest or two. Another time, the propane system on my camper developed a leak en route to the playa so I had no stove for my food. Had to cook my food at the gayboy stud camp next door. They forced me to wear a dress and parade around for them while they raped me with their eyes. Seeing my bulging tummy protrude outward from the sleek dress left me both devastated and shamed.

- Don't forget the deodorizing liquid to put in the toilet and gray water. After a few days in the heat, they'll begin to stink bad.

- Depending on the size of your RV, consider bringing a small generator to power the cabin. The generator in my RV is super noisy so I just run a 2,000 watt Honda a few feet away from rig. For a big RV, you'll need 3,000 watts or more.

- Bring extra oil and a funnel for the generator. Generators have shutoffs if the oil drops below a certain level. An RV with no generator is no fun.

- In addition to your main RV doors, keep your storage doors closed and well sealed. It's easy to leave a door on the side away from camp open and next thing you know, you've got a mountain of dust in there covering all the extra stuff that the owner leaves in there for 4th of July barbecues.

- Cover your slideouts tracks with a tarp or something. In 2009 - a really bad dust year - when it came time to leave, I couldn't get my slideouts to close from all the dust gunking up the tracks. Uh oh. After a lot of pushing and shoving (preceded by a mild panic), we got them to close. Usually this isn't an issue but not being able to drive your RV home is kind of a big deal so it's worth expending the effort.

- Though it's been said, try to use the RV toilet as little as possible. Really. Even for peeing. It will smell like hell even with the deodorizing liquid and getting an RV dump tanker to come is a pain in the ass. You can spend days just finding one, the guy won't come over when he says he will and you'll end up sitting around all day waiting for him. If you're not careful, by the end of the week, you'll spend more time looking for a dump vehicle than doing important stuff like shirtcocking or photographing boobs with your telephoto lens.

- Don't worry about running the generator so much that you run out of gas. If you fill up in Fernley, you should have plenty of gas to run the gennie and get back into town. If you're worried about it, fill up in Empire and then run the stupid thing to your heart's content.

- Bring an extra set of keys! Plus bring an extra key to the doors. Guaranteed, some knucklehead in your camp will take off with the keys and you'll be screwed.

- Cover the dashboard with a blanket or something to keep off the dust. You don't need it while you're there and it's a major pain to clean afterward. Just cover it up and be done with it.

- You've rented a kickass moho and you're all ready to roll on your oh-so-bitchen Burning Man road trip with your bro-ski's. You head out the street and go to plug in your ipod but... no mini-jack input on the radio! Not even a fucken CD player! Sorry Jack, but motorhomes have been slow adapt to the digital music age so you're likely to find a cassette player if you're lucky. Ask ahead of time what to expect. You may have to pick up one of those cassette to minijack adapters before you head out or maybe even your dad's 8 track tape collection - nothing like that track break during that Led Zep guitar solo to bring you right back to 1976.

- Bring a large carpet or astroturf to place right outside the door. Bigger is better. It keeps the dust down somewhat from being tracked in plus it makes for a more cozy place to kick back and enjoy your home in the dustfuck that is Burning Man.

- Chicks dig guys with motorhomes. Always have a chilled, sweet alcoholic beverage on hand to ply and persuade your prospective paramours.

- If you've got enough money to rent an RV, you've got enough to pay someone to clean it for you. The $100 or so I pay to have my housecleaners return the rig to spotless condition is the best BM money I'll spend.

Johnny Photon

[ranger magnum]

Well put.

In addition to attracting scantily clad sparkleponies, mohos also attract hippies. Often naked ones who sit on the couch your buddy sleeps on. For this I advise hippy repellant. Can be as simple as a stick of deoderant, or a toothbrush. Sometimes more drastic measures are needed, like a GOP or NRA bumper sticker.

[BraveNewWorld]

I guess that means we'll have to come up with a way to keep visitors out of the camper's toilet... Bear trap?

Saran wrap really taut over the toilet. It's almost invisible, and it will teach everybody a lesson. Well, at least any guys that pee standing up. Hillarity ensues...

Haha! I was considering just duct taping the toilet seat shut so as to discourage anyone from 'accidentally' using it.. (myself included!).

[LostinReno]

This will be the first time we've camped in a trailer with a bumpout. Should we tape the external gaps were the rubber stripping is? Anybody have any experiences with bumpouts? We're already going to put a strip of tape over the track. We just traded in our old trailer, taking our new one out there. It's like ripping a band aid off a scab. Lets just the dirty part over with! LOL.

[skippy3k]

Some trailers seal better than others, so it's hard to say. On our trailer, I am more concerned about the gaps created when the slide-out is "in". I can see big gaps near the bottom corners when it's retracted, so I will need to stuff them with rags for the drive onto the playa. You may want to check that out on yours.

Also, at least for our trailer, when the slide-out is "in", we can't access the bathroom. Keep this in mind if it's the same for you because the Gate crew may want to search the bathroom to make sure you aren't sneaking people in. Therefore, they may ask to extend the slide-out. If you've got rags stuffed in the cracks, you could either lose them (resulting in a lot of dust entering the RV during the drive to your camp) or have them get jammed in the tracks.

I tend to get all freaked out and distracted during the search process, so I know I'll forget to remove and replace my rags in the cracks before extending the slide-out. Therefore, I've put a note on the slide-out switch to remind me.

[LostinReno]

Thanks for the tips Skippy, ours doesn't block anything but the stereo cabinet. I'd never have thought about the drive out there. I'll look for gaps in the AM

[crstophr]

Heading into my 5th year bringing an old travel trailer to the playa. Just a few notes of my own:

The fridge runs on propane and requires good ventilation to run efficiently. The vents are designed for passive convection for air circulation. Unfortunately on the hot playa my RV fridge temp would get over 50 degrees in the sun. I recently installed a simple thermostatically controlled 12v fan that actively pushes air through the fridge vents and it made a huge difference in efficiency. It now stays under 40. Best $35 I ever spent on the trailer. Inside the fridge you can place a battery powered fan that helps circulate air and even out temps as well. Do these two things and you'll have a MUCH happier fridge. Also make sure the rig is level or you can damage the fridge. Yep, the fridge won't run if the battery dies.

Avoid #2 in the RV potty. Don't use the orange or green bio friendly holding tank chemical either. Get the blue stuff... there's a reason they only use that in the JOTS.

I run the honda type gennies during the hot parts of the day and leave them off in the evenings and morning. Dual win for having AC and charging batteries at (hopefully) a far less annoying part of the day.

Forget about real dust proofing. It's only going to drive you crazy and make you miserable when you fail.

Our water system rocks. 55 gallon barrel hooked up to an RV water pump and 12v battery. Run the hose into the RV intake. The RV fresh water tank is only used as backup and extra capacity. Used conservatively 55 gallons lasts a long time. If you have excess at the end you can spray it evenly across the playa as it's pure fresh water and helps keep the dust down. Also saves fuel as you'll be hauling less weight back.

Shower: water on and quick rinse, water off. Lather up body and shampoo hair. Water on, rinse, water off and done.

Propane based hot water heaters are pure exquisite luxury.

Evap ponds get a bad rep mainly due to ill planned usage. An 8x10 pond will handle grey water from single RV with 2 people taking DAILY yet conservative showers. Bring a sacrificial broom and spread it out when it starts to pool up. It's surface area that they need for good evaporation. Bring a big garbage bag and just wad it up and take it away when done. Use the thickest (mil) black plastic you can get your hands on. You can get an RV dump cap that lets you fit a garden hose to the outlet and run it into the evap pond. Just leave the valve open on the grey water (not black!) The most important thing is to leave enough time to allow the water to evap for the last day or two. If you leave on Sunday shut your valve on Saturday morning and let any new grey water collect in the holding tank. Evap ponds are 15 min to setup 15 min to tear down and you'll reuse the wood frame for many years. You just have to manage it properly... many don't.

[Xdominant]

Wow. I only wished I knew all this before I rented an RV back in 2000 for that burn. Read through the whole thread and Michaels RV page. Really good stuff for the general case and LOTS clearly learned through hard lessons for the playa case. I for one wanna say thanx to all for sharing your experiences and apparent expertise. Even though I'm tenting this year And I'll also note the vibe of this thread is good, low on snark and just generally pleasant. Thanks Again!

[wasp]

We rented an RV being out-of-country types. We had a $1000 cleaning deposit to recoup if possible for the inside of the vehicle.

One thing that helped prevent dust getting in everywhere was creating a plastic atrium at the entry way, using plastic sheeting and no-residue duct tape. I made it on the way in, so it gave me something to do in the long line up going in.

A double flap prevented dust flying in every time we opened the door.

It wasn't perfect: I was a burgin, so I had no idea how much dust we would bring in on our clothes. But it did help overall. Next time, I will take my clothes all off before I go through the door.

[FIGJAM]

Hiro Takashowa say: There MUST be dust!!!!

[pink]

Heading into my 5th year bringing an old travel trailer to the playa. Just a few notes of my own:

The fridge runs on propane and requires good ventilation to run efficiently. The vents are designed for passive convection for air circulation. Unfortunately on the hot playa my RV fridge temp would get over 50 degrees in the sun. I recently installed a simple thermostatically controlled 12v fan that actively pushes air through the fridge vents and it made a huge difference in efficiency. It now stays under 40. Best $35 I ever spent on the trailer. Inside the fridge you can place a battery powered fan that helps circulate air and even out temps as well. Do these two things and you'll have a MUCH happier fridge. Also make sure the rig is level or you can damage the fridge. Yep, the fridge won't run if the battery dies.

Avoid #2 in the RV potty. Don't use the orange or green bio friendly holding tank chemical either. Get the blue stuff... there's a reason they only use that in the JOTS.

I run the honda type gennies during the hot parts of the day and leave them off in the evenings and morning. Dual win for having AC and charging batteries at (hopefully) a far less annoying part of the day.

Forget about real dust proofing. It's only going to drive you crazy and make you miserable when you fail.

Our water system rocks. 55 gallon barrel hooked up to an RV water pump and 12v battery. Run the hose into the RV intake. The RV fresh water tank is only used as backup and extra capacity. Used conservatively 55 gallons lasts a long time. If you have excess at the end you can spray it evenly across the playa as it's pure fresh water and helps keep the dust down. Also saves fuel as you'll be hauling less weight back.

Shower: water on and quick rinse, water off. Lather up body and shampoo hair. Water on, rinse, water off and done.

Propane based hot water heaters are pure exquisite luxury.

Evap ponds get a bad rep mainly due to ill planned usage. An 8x10 pond will handle grey water from single RV with 2 people taking DAILY yet conservative showers. Bring a sacrificial broom and spread it out when it starts to pool up. It's surface area that they need for good evaporation. Bring a big garbage bag and just wad it up and take it away when done. Use the thickest (mil) black plastic you can get your hands on. You can get an RV dump cap that lets you fit a garden hose to the outlet and run it into the evap pond. Just leave the valve open on the grey water (not black!) The most important thing is to leave enough time to allow the water to evap for the last day or two. If you leave on Sunday shut your valve on Saturday morning and let any new grey water collect in the holding tank. Evap ponds are 15 min to setup 15 min to tear down and you'll reuse the wood frame for many years. You just have to manage it properly... many don't.

Where do you put the first fan? My van's fridge is tiny so the inside fan may not be doable. Is it on the outside of the fridge vents?

[Rusted Iron]

After spending several weekends getting the new camper playa-ready the truck broke down just outside of Wadswoth. (If you ever have a chance to buy a 2003 Ford F-250, don't.)

We ended up camping in our enclosed utility trailer that a friend towed. Plenty of headroom and none of those pesky windows and vents.

[FIGJAM]

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?f=286&t=39734

[edbrez]

I couldn't attache the .pdf files to a post, so I linked to a rudimentary page on my website. If someone has a better suggestion, I'm open to it. This was what I typed up last year for some new RV campers at BM. Hope it helps here too. I'd love to beef this up, get it on the BM website, and make it a playa gift of sorts. Here is the link to the RV camping survival guide and the Burning Man addendum:

http://www.titanradiator.com/rv/rv.html

Cheers.

This is extremely useful, thank u

[illy dilly]

My favorite RV at Burning Man tip:

Turn off the water pump when you are not using it, then use dishwater or ice melt for flushing the toilet. The last place I want my freshwater to go is down the john.

This seems like it would increase the chance of overflowing either Black or Grey water tank.
I always banked on the idea that we have a 100 gallon fresh, 45 gallon black, and 55 gallon grey. Fresh water is filled into blue 7 gallon jugs then drank, and mostly peed into porta potties. Only 'emergency' and 3am pees in the toilet. We don't shower in the RV at Burning Man. I don't fire up the water heater, so people aren't enticed to shower.
We'll typically go through 1 blue 7 gallon every day or two.
If liquids are only removed from the RV, there is very little chance of overflowing the Black or Grey.

[KestrelSF]

If you own your own older RV, I'd suggest getting a heat shield for your starter. They are cheap and easy to install. It gets hot enough to melt them just sitting there. We spent an extra couple of days and few hundred dollars learning this lesson! Hey it can't hurt!

You can get United Site Services to come dump out your RV by paying them ahead of time. Well worth it. They are great guys. For gods sake, tip the driver something decent. They have the shittiest job on the playa, literally.

Meco Reno will come fill water tanks, but they need 4 RV minimum to make a reservation. You can rent a 500 gallon water container from them for the week.

See our camp wiki for more info http://desertparadise.org/wiki/pages/P9M6Y1H2/RV_Services.html

[Canoe]

... to come dump out your RV by paying them ahead of time. ...
will come fill water tanks, but they need 4 RV minimum to make a reservation...

In 2010, on-playa, I just flagged down the RV service guys...
... they still around?

[theCryptofishist]

... to come dump out your RV by paying them ahead of time. ...
will come fill water tanks, but they need 4 RV minimum to make a reservation...

In 2010, on-playa, I just flagged down the RV service guys...
... they still around?

Yes, but there are more people asking for the service. And you can spend hours, a large chunk of your day, waiting and finding one.

[tatonka]

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