MikeVDS wrote:May I ask why you're not going with your original plan? It sounds great to me. You do need to know what you're getting into and can be rough, but if you have the time and resources to set-up and test your equipment before you come the first plan sounds better. If you plan on working out the bugs at burningman, then go with the revised plan until you have adequate testing.
I am switching gears because I think I'd rather focus my energies on the event itself, not how impressive I can make my camp. At this point, I'm still going to be a solo Burner. I have some friends that are "We're so there" but have yet to even look into buying ticket. So with that in mind, I figure it is a safer bet to plan on going light with an easy one man set-up that requires minimal maintenance to maximize my time there exploring rather than counting on what amounts to a doubtful maybe in having extra hands to set up something larger.
It would suck to invest time, money and energies into building a 20 foot yurt only to find myself having to rely on finding someone to help me set it up once I got on the Playa. I understand that kind of giving is a part of the community, but I do not want to be that guy having to take advantage of it because original plans didn't work out at the last minute.
I have done the massive camping before with the SCA. Shade pavilions on the tourney grounds, living pavilions, heavy camp furniture, wardrobes, etc. There's not to much modification necessary for Burning Man then say prepping for Gulf Wars or Pensic. So I am no stranger to the grand campsite and I remember that while its nice to have and very inviting for others, it can be a huge pain in the ass to maintain.
Plus, after a week (or more) you still gotta take it all down and repack it just so, and hope it all fits back in the truck.
Between the time since I posted the first message and now, I have set up an appointment with a welder friend to look at modifying a ladder rack for my truck into a cargo rack/observation deck. So...even though I am saying "small and light, small and light", my mind is still looking at "big and fun, big and fun" because a 20 foot windmill mast starting on top of a deck already 10 feet off the ground would be better than a 20 foot mast on the ground and what a great place to utilize as an anchor point for stuff...
