Critique Virgin Tent/Shade Buildout?

[Corbett3000]

Virgin burner here who’s looking for any/all constructive or...destructive...criticism on my tenting/shade setup:

Variables:

-I’m joining a full service camp with food, water, shower etc. but tent/shade is DIY.
-I’m going to be building out a foot print for two people in two separate tents.
-I’m mostly concerned with wind, sun and dust (ummm...who isn’t?).
-I don’t expect to have power at the tent so there’s that.
-I’m bussing in and out so I can’t manage to carry in too much on my flight/the bus.

Approach:

-One tent is my MountainSmith Trango 2 which is dust tight (no exposed venting/mesh) and the other is a crappy Coleman 4 person tent with lots of mesh.




-I plan to close of the mesh in the Coleman with ductape, fabric and safety pins. I don’t care if it’s a usable item after BM, it’s for a lady friend who doesn’t want to buy something like the Trango so I’m donating her my oldest tent that I don’t care if it turns to trash during/after.

-Both tents will be on tarps/pads.

-I’ll shade them collectively under a 10’x13’ “Keith Big Shade Shelter” and or a second 10’x10’ Big Agnes Onyx UL Tarp.




-Tents and shelters will be anchored directly to the playa using figjam’s recommended 14” lag bolt + chain link setup using a hammer drill w/ 3/8” socket attached. I’ll be drilling 20 lag bolts and will have one batter and a backup wrench if it runs out.

On the face of it it seems like this setup won’t blow away or fry. My questions if you’re willing:

Should I add Aluminet to cover the tarps as well?

Would you be concerned about the Tarps turning into kites even if they’re lag nut fixed to the play with 550lbs paracord securing them?

Without a cooling system, will we be fine heat wise at night? I’m sure it will be hot during the day, but the shade should be enough to keep it bearable for a nap no?

Thank you!

[lucky420]

I’m only going to weigh in on the day napping since I camp in a different set up (Kodiak, monkey hut)
I just throw some aluminet over the top of my Kodiak so it’s not very cool for day napping. I bring a twin roll away bed for under my monkey hut. That’s where I day nap. I’m shaded, there’s usually a bit of a breeze but not always, I love drifting off to the sounds of camp, the city, etc...
So if you have some good shade and a place to plop down during the day, you should be good

[Corbett3000]

Awesome thank you!

[Chowski]

My two cents - if you’re good friends maybe have one tent for sleeping only, keeping it zipped closed and clean most of the time, and one tent for supplies. The supply tent would be where you come in wasted at 1 am looking for That OneThing, pouring through boxes or finding a handle of alcohol or changing your dusty coat. One tent stays relatively dust-free all week and the other is a shit show. This will only work if you’re comfortable sleeping near each other, but if you sleep where your stuff is, it will become a dusty mess after the first night’s revels no matter what you do. Just an idea.

[Chowski]

Also critical is a little ground cover just under and extending out from your tent. A cozy rug is nice for napping in the shade, but a tarp will do. This is where you take off your boots, drop your coat, untangle your necklaces, pour yourself a cocktail. These kinds of activities are messy in your tent, and there’s no real cleaning once a tent is dirtied. You’ll want a shaded space just outside to get yourself together or baby wipe your armpits once the daytime temperature in your tent is unbearable (9am).

[Corbett3000]

Thank you brother. The clean tent dirty tent idea is pure gold.

[Canoe]

If you're going to try to seal with duct tape. Don't. You can't count on it holding in the playa heat.
Have a roll of Stucco Tape.

Use google to search eplaya for Solo Shade. There are a number of solutions that are proven for the playa winds.

For guy-lines on those shade structures or tents, double them up. With two guy-lines on an attachment point, they hold in position much better, so there's a lot less flopping around in the wind, for much lower dynamic loads. Unless you get a walk-in-the-park year, the winds can regularly be 35 mph, and 75 mph is not uncommon, and it can be higher - all bets are off under a micro-burst.

For sleep-in-time, you're looking to shade against the East (by 9am you're in an oven), South-East and South. Check out the alignment of the solo shade structures. There's also a few threads that contain the sunrise/sunset directions, and the dominant winds, to give you an idea on what you may want to do.
Here's the link to the thread with the sun/wind map for 2017, in case the embedded images don't work for you. Sun in 2019 shouldn't be materially different.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=78496&p=1137827#p1138417

From where and when the sun comes from.


Angle of sun and how long a shadow you can generate, so you can calculate how far under your shade structure you need to be to stay out of the sun.

[Token]

Other than the 4-season tent, none of the gear you listed would be considered Playa-strong.

The Coleman tent should be fine if there is stuff inside that will prevent it from flying away ... it might flatten down in strong winds provided it is secured well.

The commercial shade gizmos you posted ... those are good for a day in the park kind of setting.

Now, it doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, some folks get lucky, some years it’s calm and mellow out on the Playa.

But looking at those “kites” - one rogue dust devil, maybe a cold front with 40MPh winds ...

Be prepared in case they fail. Not necessarily blow away into the distance, but busted poles, rips, less than usable after they fail.

Who knows, could be fine, lots of folks using the terrible EZ-Up canopies without failures other than random dumb luck.

[Canoe]

p.s.
If you're going with a sleeping-tent and a dirty-tent, depending on what you do for shade, perhaps you could place the dirty-tent between the sleeping-tent and sunrise to keep the early morning sun off the sleeping-tent. Check that sun map.

[Zubeneschamali]

Those are pretty canopies, nestled between the noble trees in the quiet forest.

Poles look weak
Shade cloth looks thin - I get better sun protection using SPF 8
Paracord and lag bolts are a tight setup but i'd be worried about the fabric around the grommets. Maybe add a couple more tie off points between the factory locations

Nights cool down on playa, so actually think layers, warm clothing, and better to get yourself off the ground to sleep.

Days are hot. Bring hand misters, spray bottles, wrap damp cloth around your neck and wrists closest to your carotid and radial arteries.

[Canoe]

simple tarp shade

viewtopic.php?f=277&t=101553&p=1189721#p1189721