Has anyone ever used a resin storage unit on the Playa?

Clar-i-ty · Post by **Clar-i-ty** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:14 pm

So I just had a thought that would be cheaper than a trailer but sturdier than a tent: A 10x8 Plastic Resin Storage shed. Has anyone done this with any success? I thought I could put some carpet down, rebar that baby in and have a bit of a love shack thing going.

Post by **mdmf007** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:00 pm

One of our campmates used a prefabbed plastic garden storage shed. Came in like 6 panels, he ductaped all of the side seams to keep out the dust, and taped two large furnace filters over the vents to keep dust out.

WOrked great. The best part was his air lock. He had a large refrigerator box with a door cut in it and a jury rigged latch to hold it closed. You go in that - shut it behind you. Open the door to the shed and enter. This would keep the dust out during the storms, and in the calm was not necessary.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 6:09 am

I've looked at some of those plastic buildings- There's a whole potting shed with workbenches, skylights and an angled window-wall that I was drooling over- But BEFORE buying, be sure to see how the segments fit together. If they slot into each other, try to envision what they'd do in a playa-scale windblast; If the tabs shear off, you're kinda screwed. Also be sure to factor in the sun exposure.

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 6:33 am

How would you cool it? Wouldn't it be hot without air-flow?

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:40 am

Portable Dickey Oven(TM)

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:52 am

You could build a hexayurt for about the same price.

Clar-i-ty · Post by **Clar-i-ty** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:18 am

Hmmm a yurt...that's not a bad idea either...

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:42 am

I'd suggest paying a neighbor to let you sleep in their garden shed for a week. Make sure you do it during a heat wave. Simulate a windstorm by having a friend load a shop-vac with powdered gypsum, attach the hose to the exhaust port, and try to blow the dust into the seams; have another friend pound on the sides with a whiffle bat, then try to push the thing over.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:25 pm

have another friend pound on the sides with a whiffle bat,

making sure that another is playing bad music on a 1000 Watt stereo.

Wait.... why the fuck am I going to the playa if I can experience the sensation at home?

Clar-i-ty · Post by **Clar-i-ty** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:44 pm

It just occured to me how much one could do with this idea. Little houses made of ticky-tacky, with picket fences. All I would need is a June Cleaver do, some petty coat skirts.

Actually a trial run is a good idea. And trust me, where I live it's lots of bad music a lotta the time. I should ask my next door neighbor to wonder in drunk in the middle of the night though to get the full effect.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:56 am

How about a surplus JOTS- Handicapped-accessible sized, to accomodate a cot- They've got vents in the eaves and a swell springloaded door that even locks! Just add spinny roof vent, tinted heartshaped van windows and EL to taste.... A great way to make new friends!

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 6:23 am

That thing will get way too hot on the playa. Just make a cardboard dome and burn it at the end of the week. Use double ply cardboard, 1/2 x 1 wood strips to reinforce bottom and seams, maybe some duct tape inside to block seams. (Dont forget to remove duct tape before burning)

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:16 pm

Got any design plans for something like that Toolmaker? I have been kicking around different shelter ideas for next year (considering that my tent didn't survive this year) and a burnable dome sounds like it might be a plan.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:10 pm

Would putting a car port over the shed work?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:45 pm

Sure. And put both of those in a carport of an Eichler house. Fits the theme, anyway.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 5:37 am

Toolmaker wrote:That thing will get way too hot on the playa. Just make a cardboard dome and burn it at the end of the week. Use double ply cardboard, 1/2 x 1 wood strips to reinforce bottom and seams, maybe some duct tape inside to block seams. (Dont forget to remove duct tape before burning)

Another approach is to make your Burnable Dome out of cardboard tubes- I still have a small heap of 'em that the criminally wasteful screenprinting company that I briefly worked for threw out in great quantities. (asking around at local printers will probably get you plenty.) I punch holes in both ends, zipstrip them together in triangular clusters and then glue cardboard or burnable cloth on for shade- You can create a freestanding structure, or envelop your car. If you have a roof rack, slide tubes underneath and lash 'em on as a starter and then build out and down to the ground. A tube frame can also just be covered with shadecloth or tarps like a "regular" dome. At week's end simply snip the zipties (wire cutters are very handy for this) and remove them, then head for the burn crib!

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:40 am

BitterDan wrote:Got any design plans for something like that Toolmaker? I have been kicking around different shelter ideas for next year (considering that my tent didn't survive this year) and a burnable dome sounds like it might be a plan.

Here are a couple links to get ya started taken from the body of one of my outgoing emails.
------------------------------
While poking around the net I came across the "rhino grip" fasteners for tarp, cloth, chute etc. I am not sure if this place has the best prices available but I thought some of you might want to take a peek.
http://www.shelters-to-go.com/accessories.shtml
I have not personally looked at them so they could be total garbage. The material is described as fiberglass filled nylon, this sounds kinda like something I worked with in the past and that material was kinda sturdy, light, and weather resistant so I may try a few out when I get the tax return and get a round chute.

Here is another interesting design for clips..
http://www.shelter-systems.com/gripclips/products.html
The Grip Clip, which do you think would work best?

http://www.ozarkdome.com/giftdome.html
http://www.cccoe.net/stars/5mdome.html
http://www.monkeyc.org/dome/
Yes, they are CARDBOARD. BURNABLE! You can get alot of your material free!

Tire domes.. how cute.
http://buzzard.ups.edu/playdome.html

Oh yeah.. a neat idea to save time connecting smaller "personal" domes. Have your connecters pre-assembled.
http://www.alt-eng.com/DomePage/DomePor ... glass.html

One of the must see shelter sites.
http://www.geocities.com/potatotrap/tech/bluetarp.htm
----------------------

There are other sites out there too, there is a dome thread somewhere that has a bunch and Bob was kind enough to put together that last site. The method I plan on using to mark my cardboard is to just use a string and pencil when drawing my arcs. Who needs a compass when a string works just as good?

As far as your tent not surviving, sorry to hear that. My tent made out OK though I wound up giving it away. It was a 40 dollar special from sportsmans guide, their house brand. It held up in the duststorms for 11 days. Alot of what helped was where I setup right behind a van and other vehicles to break the wind.

In all honesty I only used my tent for "secure" storage of my stuff. Some of the best parts of my burn was sleeping outside on a couch looking up at Uberman or crashing out in the fucko dome under a chute with some nice cool air and dust blowing through.

Oh a final thought about tents AND resin shelters.. I had a bottle of Cuervo I was saving up for a gift to someone. This bottle had BLOWN UP! I figure if a bottle of booze can go in a grey tent from the heat who knows what might happen in a darker tent or resin oven shelter. The daytime heat can cause lotsa stuff to blow. A campmate had a bottle of wine go during their trip TO the playa. So be mindful of where and how you pack and store.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:04 am

Just saying that your typical suburban storage unit would not look out of place. Same material (HDPE) and fabrication as the portable toilets, to boot.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:20 am

thanks Toolmaker, i'll check out some of those links. I had a decent 6-man tent that just could not take the big storm we had on Thursday. I ended up gorilla-taping it back together and it held well enough to get me through the burn. As I broke it down I noticed that EVERY connection point was broken so I ended up just trashing the remains of the tent when I got home.

So next year I was looking into building a small conduit dome (we already have a 30-foot dome but that's mostly for gathering) or a hexa-yurt. The only problem with hexayurts is the 8-foot lengths of material that I'd need to haul on top of my car. Otherwise they seem like a great shelter for the playa.

A campmate had a bottle of wine go during their trip TO the playa. So be mindful of where and how you pack and store.

I was warning campmates about carrying a keg from sea level over Donner Pass. While it didn't rupture, I have heard horror stories of it happening in the past.

Clar-i-ty · Post by **Clar-i-ty** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:37 pm

I like the cardboard tube idea, but I would worry about it's durability in a wind storm. It sounds interesting though. I may try it.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:07 am

Clar-i-ty wrote:cheaper than a trailer but sturdier than a tent:

Portable carport. About $150. Best burny thing I ever bought.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:29 am

We have one of those carports too an we are buying at least one more for 2008. Very good shelter for your shelter. We mainly use it as our kitchen area. Still hot in there because of the translucency of the covering but better than nothing at all. A tent inside one of those carports will let you sleep another hour or so (as opposed to no shelter for your shelter). I am actually thinking about rigging up some Reflectix material for the top to block out some more of that oppressive heat. I'll let you know how that turns out.

So far nothing has been as effective as our dome. Opaque canvas covering makes it not-so-bad inside. We are considering having a custom covering made for the dome but we are a bunch of lazy bastards and we haven't got around to making measurements.

dewnorth · Post by **dewnorth** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:35 pm

How well would a plastic resin storage shed work (assuming it is sturdy) if you:

1) blew foam insulation in it and
2) made the outside silver somehow? (use some good glue and stick on mylar emergency blankets, or something else?) Other ideas???????

That way, maybe you'd have good durability of a storage shed, and the insulating qualities of a hexi?

But I'm a virgin. So please disregard.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:41 pm

Clar-i-ty wrote:It just occured to me how much one could do with this idea. Little houses made of ticky-tacky, with picket fences. All I would need is a June Cleaver do, some petty coat skirts.

It's been done. Watch Malcolm in the Middle:
http://www.skatinplace.com/MalcomatBurningMan.htm

SilverOrange · Post by **SilverOrange** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:45 pm

I've used a bong, does that count?

Has anyone ever used a resin storage unit on the Playa?

Has anyone ever used a resin storage unit on the Playa?

Re: Has anyone ever used a resin storage unit on the Playa?

Insulate the shed & make silver????