Advice on shade structure please

[Red Eco]

Hi there eplaya. Long time listener. First time caller.

So, after years (and years and years) of dreaming, the missus and I are finally making it to the playa ... !

Been doing much research into possible shade options. We are flying into San Fran on the 23rd of August. We are coming from Australia, so we need to minimize the amount of gear we are bringing. We will be renting a cargo van directly from the airport.

Given this, what I'm thinking is picking up a shade cloth at Harbor Freight on our way through Reno. This one looks good: http://www.harborfreight.com/8-ft-x-16- ... 60582.html

The idea is then to put rope through the grommets at each end. The rope at one end would be draped over the roof of the van, over the side and then tied to the wheels. The other end would then be secured to the playa with rebar.

Below is an approximate image of what I'm thinking (taken from http://www.softcom.net/users/rocksci/bman/shelter.htm), except instead of squashing the tarp into the doors, it would be tied to the wheels of the car (on opposite side of where the actual shade would be):



Any thoughts on this set up?

The other option is to rope both sides of tarp to the playa with rebar, rather than having one side tied to the wheels.

Thanks team!

Marty

[GreyCoyote]

Just a few quick comments:

1). Don't count on Harbor Freight having what you need. Half of the burners coming from that direction will beat you to it and there isn't a lot of backstock. Suggest you purchase what you need now and ship it in, or bring it with you on the flight. If you don't hold it in your hand, you don't control it.

2). The tarp is likely to scratch the bejeepers out of the van where it touches the top and sides. That could be an expensive fix if they catch it.

3). Are you *sure* the cargo van will be there when you get in? Lots of times these outfits will suddenly realize you are going to burning man and the reservation gets cancelled. All I'm saying is make SURE you have this deal well and truly inked to prevent nasty surprises.

[Drawingablank]

I would just like to stress #2 above, Wind + dust trapped between tarp and vehicle = sandpaper which is often in motion. Which can pretty much strip all the paint off in a week.

[FIGJAM]

Especially the ropes going over the van.

[Red Eco]

Thanks all. That is really helpful. Responses below.

Just a few quick comments:

1). Don't count on Harbor Freight having what you need. Half of the burners coming from that direction will beat you to it and there isn't a lot of backstock. Suggest you purchase what you need now and ship it in, or bring it with you on the flight. If you don't hold it in your hand, you don't control it.

Noted. Thanks. Will look into getting something before the event.

2). The tarp is likely to scratch the bejeepers out of the van where it touches the top and sides. That could be an expensive fix if they catch it.

That's what I thought. Will look at other options, including roping the other end of the tarp to the playa.

3). Are you *sure* the cargo van will be there when you get in? Lots of times these outfits will suddenly realize you are going to burning man and the reservation gets cancelled. All I'm saying is make SURE you have this deal well and truly inked to prevent nasty surprises.

I've been very up front with them that I am taking it to Burning Man and they seem to have no problems with it. The company even has a guy that looks after all BM van rental inquiries, and has said that they will be giving us a 10% discount for taking it to BM! So that seems like a good bet In the unlikely event of that failing, we will pick up a tent and look around until we can find some kind of rental vehicle ... but I don't expect that option to be necessary.