Just shading my tent... ?

[meibelline]

I have zero playa experience nor have I ever had to MacGyver shade...so in the interest of sounding ignorant AF; If JUST shading my tent is the goal, would trying to fit a 120"x120"x80” canvas tent under a 120” x120”x86" awning be a dumb idea?

I have a 10x10 Kodiak flex bow canvas tent and the awning I found looks kind of like this one; http://www.backcountry.com/kelty-shade-maker-2 except it's like a thick silver tarp. I'll have a minivan for windbreak. (That's a good idea...right??)

My concerns;
1) Breathing space between the tent and the awning - is 6" enough?
2) Both the tent and awning are 120"x120". Is that going to be ok?
3) Do I park the minivan to block the morning rays or the afternoon rays?
4) I was going to use FigJam's chainlink/hex head lagbolt to secure things. Do I need to secure both the tent and the awning with it?

Thank you in advance.

[Sham]

I'm no expert on shading, but the goal is to keep the sun completely off your tent during the time you want to sleep. It appears that the tent and the shade are the same size, and you'll be hammered with sun on that side of your tent.
I have often taken the easy way out and put my tent next to a large vehicle that would give me shade in the morning. My first year on the playa, I was out in the open, and before the sun came up, it was nice and comfy, then as soon as the sun hit, it was 100 degrees in the tent.

Plan your placement carefully and you may get away with a shade structure that size.

[BBadger]

That "awning" will only provide full shade when the sun is at high noon. At any other time of the day -- like morning, when you REALLY want to sleep -- the sun will be blaring down on your tent at an angle. You do need space between it and your tent, enough space that hot air can waft away, rather than linger. If you can't block sun from the sides, you may want to consider putting some emergency blankets to reflect light away from your tent too, but they're fragile, so you need to make sure they don't rip up.

If you can swing it, make a Monkey Hut or bring a carport. Carports are more car-portable (the poles can fit into ~6.5ft), but still take up a lot of space. Both will provide a large amount of shade that completely envelopes your tent. They also provide some wind protection and a nice place to keep your coolers and other stuff cool. You will REALLY appreciate it in the morning. I'd actually place more value on shade than having shelter, so invest in something that will keep you comfortable.

As with a carport, that "awning" REALLY needs to be guylined down. For shade structures such as pop up shade, which I expect your "awning" is, the shade structures lose integrity quickly if their uprights are not reinforced. Carports are bit stronger, but also need to be guylined down. Costco carports are nice because their feet have convenient holes that you can lag-bolt directly to the playa. Even so, you should add cross-bracing to help the structure maintain rigidity. Monkeyhuts don't generally need to be guylined down; they're meant to bow and flex. Yes, definitely use those lag-bolts and rope to make sure that everything, shade and tent, is bolted to the playa. Your van will provide some help, but you really need to guyline everything down.

For blocking light, you should block the morning sun, as you will probably be trying to get a little bit more sleep during that time. The afternoon sun doesn't really matter as much unless you want a mid-afternoon nap.