I guess what I had (still have, packed somewhere) was a medium sized tent. I don't recall if I got it at a K-Mart or ShopKo, but it was relatively inexpensive. I had a huge cooler filled with water and ice and a cot in it, plus I bought foot long aluminum stakes, and had it partially sheltered by my car, so it didn't blow away. (The zipper, however, did come open during a dust storm... or maybe I left it open?) I'd like to try something else if I ever get to go again, maybe a converted school bus (converted both to being a motor home and to run using waste vegetable oil, given the way fuel prices are headed!) Setting up a tent under the desert sun is not so pleasant if you come from the northern states, like I do! Plus, an old futon or mattress of some sort would probably be nicer than the cot was. (Although, considering the ground out there, a cot is a definite improvement over a sleeping bag spread out on the playa!)
Of course, it is all largely a matter of preference. A guy was camped near me in a tent about half the size of mine, and he seemed perfectly happy, as did the people in the r.v. (who I hardly ever saw, come to think of it. I don't know if they just didn't spend any time in their camp, or if they were up to something in that r.v. of theirs...
)
"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
A storage tent/guest tent ain't a bad idea. The other thing about size is the mass vs. wind. The larger tent's are like bowing parasol's when the wind hits them. More parts, more joints, more ways for something to break...
)'(