Prepping from FALLON, NV

[arnaudgrunwald]

Hi Hi from Camp FAFA!

Last year our camp made a strategic move to rent storage in Fallon, NV instead of bringing everything back to SF. This year we therefore have to pack in Fallon ie rent a truck, do grocery and other kind of shopping, stay one night in Fallon.

I would like to get advice from the community about Fallon... in order of priority: 1) who rents trucks/ are they nice/ who can clean, 2) where to stay at, 2) have you ever done 100% of your BM prep from there (I assume they don't have to many costume stores though!)?

Thanks!
MonsieurArnaud

[unjonharley]

Google Fallon NV..

[arnaudgrunwald]

Smart man!
I did, but I am looking here for advice and experience from the community, and I am not sure Google can provide me that....

[Roundabout]

I stayed there last year the night before going into BRC. It worked out well. I bought dry ice there and filled up my water supply. The WallMart was well stocked. There is a place on the BM website that gives a very through rundown on each of the towns near BRC, including Fallon. It points out Burner friendly stores, and in general what is available in each town. http://www.burningman.com/preparation/t ... zdFEie9KSM

[lucky420]

I have done %100 of my burn from Fallon. I lived there for what seemed like forever...

No costume shops. There are thrift shops but selection is meh, but you might get lucky. Don't count on it. There is a fuckmart and Safeway. Couple of hardware stores. Several small motels and a couple of small casinos.

Not a big burner town but there are a few. That's one reason I moved back to Reno...

People are generally friendly I just needed to get the fuck out.

[lucky420]

Regarding rental trucks, budget used to have an office there but I believe it's gone now. Pretty sure the only place now is Uhaul.

And for shits sake don't tell Uhaul where you're going or they won't rent to you (I asked them 5 years ago).

Call Budget on Gentry in Reno and get the truck there. It's an extra trip I know and a little extra $ but worth it IMHO. Plus Budget has a cleaning deal.

[Agaton]

Regarding U-Haul and any rental agency, these days I would expect any rental vehicle to have a GPS beakon. The technology even exists to shut an engine off from an office far away.
From what I've been reading here, don't even think of usign U-Haul or Penske.
Sorry about the bad news.

[A-RockLeFrench]

Regarding U-Haul and any rental agency, these days I would expect any rental vehicle to have a GPS beakon. The technology even exists to shut an engine off from an office far away.
From what I've been reading here, don't even think of usign U-Haul or Penske.
Sorry about the bad news.

Pretty much any new car since the mid 2000's is hackable. No new hardware needed:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/busin ... .html?_r=0

We all better watch out... Especially those of us in rental or even borrowed vehicles. Even if it's an older car/truck it might still have one of these: http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/08/this- ... e-minutes/

When you pick up the truck you better make sure you look that thing over real good for any hacking tools, homing devices or even self destruct mechanisms. Depending on where you rent your truck of course...

[Elliot]

No hacking about it. I worked in trucking, and we could sit in the dispatch office and see on the computer where the truck was, how fast it was going and much more. We could tell which side of the street it was parked on (so I could go and repossess it). The truck would automatically report to the company computer via either cell phone frequency, or via satellite link if needed, where it was every hour -- or any time frequency we set it to.

The device is known as a Qual-com, but there are other brands. And no doubt smaller versions than on 18-wheelers.

Slam on the brakes hard? Dispatch knew. Idle the engine too long? It was recorded and reported in percentage per week. Pretty much anything.

[lucky420]

You really think they have Qual com on Uhauls?

[Meat Hunter]

Lucky,

I have done an internet search for dry ice in Fallon and am unable to locate a source.

Do you know of a retailer in Fallon that sells dry ice?

[Elliot]

You really think they have Qual com on Uhauls?

I have no idea. I'm just saying the technology is certainly available.
And I think I have read horror stories here on ePlaya about U-Haul and Penske cancelling reservations.

I wonder if I even read about one of those companies coming out to the Playa with a tow truck and repossessing a rental, but let's hope that was in a nightmare.

[A-RockLeFrench]

Lucky,

I have done an internet search for dry ice in Fallon and am unable to locate a source.

Do you know of a retailer in Fallon that sells dry ice?

Have you tried calling either the walfart or safeway and asking if they sell dry ice?

[trilobyte]

Moving storage to a location closer to the event - resourceful.

Not having done any research beforehand - radically unresourceful.
Not using the internet and its search engines and whatnot to do your own research (once you realized you forgot to do that beforehand) - even more radically unresourceful.

Hopefully you'll be able to figure out something in time.

[CaffeineGirl]

The staff at the RV rental place we have used for 11 years laugh about people who rent and claim they have not gone to burningman. No GPS tracker involved. It is the rental period, mileage, and the dust that gets them. Even if you really clean the interior, there is still the engine compartment, air filter, ventilation system, etc. etc. IMHO way better to just pay the cleaning deposit, than lie, get slammed, and be denied future rentals.

[lucky420]

Lucky,

I have done an internet search for dry ice in Fallon and am unable to locate a source.

Do you know of a retailer in Fallon that sells dry ice?

Yes try fuckmart or Safeway. They should have it...

Yep the truck rental places anywhere here in the west pretty much know where you're headed by the dates.

And to the original op, you might think about storage in Fernley or East Sparks.

[Roundabout]

I have done an internet search for dry ice in Fallon and am unable to locate a source.

Do you know of a retailer in Fallon that sells dry ice?

There is a huge "beverage" store on the main drag in town where I bought dry ice last year. I forget the exact name, but several locals sent me there when I was asking about dry ice. Walmart did not have dry ice.

[lucky420]

I have done an internet search for dry ice in Fallon and am unable to locate a source.

Do you know of a retailer in Fallon that sells dry ice?

There is a huge "beverage" store on the main drag in town where I bought dry ice last year. I forget the exact name, but several locals sent me there when I was asking about dry ice. Walmart did not have dry ice.

The main drag is called Williams ave which is really part of highway 50. The store you're talking about is on west Williams, there's a Burger King in front of it...

[Meat Hunter]

Thanks for the dry ice suggestions for Fallon.

I have already located my initial source of dry ice here in Central Mississippi. And, I will use your suggestions for topping-off to replace the dry ice that evaporated during my four/five day drive.

To date, I have finished the pre-cooking, vacuum packing, and freezing of all the meats, vegetables and other cook-able foods that I will require + several days extra (just in case we get rained in at the end). All I will need to cook with and dine well will be a pot of boiling water and a few paper plates.

[Meat Hunter]

I have already identified secondary dry ice sources in Henderson, Las Vegas, and Reno.

I will give Williams a call when I enter Nevada to verify that they still stock dry ice. Ans, if they are out when I arrive in Fallon, there are many retailers in Reno.

[Elliot]

Make sure you have good ventilation in the vehicle if you carry dry ice inside it. Dry ice is Carbon Dioxide, which is not particularly toxic, but it can displace the oxygen you breathe.

[Meat Hunter]

Elliot,

As always, thank you for your wisdom.

My plan was and is to transport my dry ice cooler in my trailer behind the car and with the drain valve very slightly open so that the dry ice can off-gas though the vent into the natural air and not burst the cooler.

Before purchasing and loading the dry ice, it is my intent to thoroughly chill my 65 qt. Yeti cooler in my 34 deg. walk-in cooler for several days so that there will not be as much cooler-heat to dissipate. The morning that I depart, it is my intention to then load my pre-frozen 10 deg. food. I am hoping that this arrangement and with a topping-off with more dry ice in either Las Vegas, Fallon, or Reno that I just might be able to keep the food frozen for 10 days. We shall just have to wait and see....

As you know, Yeti coolers are resistant to the damaging effects of dry ice that can crack thin wall ice chests. Yeti advises that since I will be carrying such a large amount of dry ice for so many days that I should line the cooler with several thickness of corrugated paper board.

The drive is only 33 hrs. -- If one were to drive straight through. However, being in my dotage and driving alone, I will be much more comfortable if I break the trip up into 4 days and arrive as fresh as a fresh plucked daisy.

See you in August.

[Thecatman]

I will give Williams a call when I enter Nevada

Williams is the main east/west street through Fallon, as well as Carson City

[BBadger]

Before purchasing and loading the dry ice, it is my intent to thoroughly chill my 65 qt. Yeti cooler in my 34 deg. walk-in cooler for several days so that there will not be as much cooler-heat to dissipate. The morning that I depart, it is my intention to then load my pre-frozen 10 deg. food. I am hoping that this arrangement and with a topping-off with more dry ice in either Las Vegas, Fallon, or Reno that I just might be able to keep the food frozen for 10 days. We shall just have to wait and see....

Why are you pre-chilling an insulated cooler? It's like pre-wetting a cup expecting it to help hold water better. If your cooler is retaining and conducting so much heat that it makes any significant difference to pre-chill it, it's a broken cooler and you should buy a new one.

[A-RockLeFrench]

my 34 deg. walk-in cooler

You have a walk-in cooler? What? In your house?

Or do you work in a restaurant?

I really do not try to covet other people's material possessions but god damn it, It would be truly amazing to have a walk-in cooler at home...

Why are you pre-chilling an insulated cooler? It's like pre-wetting a cup expecting it to help hold water better. If your cooler is retaining and conducting so much heat that it makes any significant difference to pre-chill it, it's a broken cooler and you should buy a new one.

A cooler isn't vacuum sealed, even with a yeti there is heat transfer through walls and insulation. Thermal insulation doesn't cancel out heat transfer, it just slows it down. By dropping a bunch of cold food into a warm cooler you will raise the temperature of your food.. A few degrees or so? I really have no idea. But when trying to keep something's temperature as low as possible its best to minimize things that could accelerate the heat transfer.

In the catering and banquet world it's not terribly uncommon to pre-warm hot-boxes and pre-chill coolers for long trips or hold times. From experience I know that this does a make a difference.

From the Yeti site:

"Pre-cool your YETI – When starting with a warm cooler, a lot of ice is required to lower the core temperature of the heavily insulated walls. Prior to loading your YETI Cooler, store it in a cool environment or use a sacrificial bag of ice."

[Meat Hunter]

A-RockLeFrench,

Yes. I do have a walk-in cooler.

We live on a semi-self sufficient farm deep in the Mississippi woods and the walk-in cooler is used to chill/age large-body game animals and to hold large quantities of freshly harvested vegetables prior to their being processed into meal-size units and frozen. In this way, we are able to harvest 100% of our meat, vegetable, and fruit requirements and have a surplus to gift to our neighbors and friends.

I designed and built the 6'w x 10'l x 7'h walk-in cooler in an un-used section of my work shop using mostly re-purposed and DIY store materials myself -- Except for the 4" of sprayed-on foam insulation on all 6 sides and the CoolBot micro computer which tricks a home-style window air conditioner to cool as low as 32 deg.

[Elliot]

... ...

Why are you pre-chilling an insulated cooler? It's like pre-wetting a cup expecting it to help hold water better. If your cooler is retaining and conducting so much heat that it makes any significant difference to pre-chill it, it's a broken cooler and you should buy a new one.

My vote is against you on this one, BBadger. I'm with the French guy, and the info from the manufacturer. It simply makes sense to me.

[Thecatman]

I have already identified secondary dry ice sources in Henderson, Las Vegas, and Reno.

Crystal Ice at 1345 W. 4th St, just west of Keystone Ave in Reno sells dry ice and are very burner friendly. They send several semis/tractor-trailers a day to supply the event.

This is the building you'd be looking for.

[Meat Hunter]

Thecatman,

Thank you for the information regarding Crystal Ice in Reno.

Since I will be pulling a short wheelbase trailer that notoriously difficult to back up in confined spaces, that large parking area and loading dock looks inviting.

For sure, Crystal Ice will be my pre-Playa dry ice source.

[lucky420]

Thecatman,

Thank you for the information regarding Crystal Ice in Reno.

Since I will be pulling a short wheelbase trailer that notoriously difficult to back up in confined spaces, that large parking area and loading dock looks inviting.

For sure, Crystal Ice will be my pre-Playa dry ice source.

So your coming through Reno then?