RV Shade Structure

[RedManRising]

I have a thirty foot motor home and have been reading lots of the advice about building a shade structure over it. I am looking at a 30'x60' heavy duty silver tarp and want to get some feedback on whether it is a good choice. Aluminet is too cost prohibitive.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Sigman-30-ft-x ... 202759054/

Above link is product I am considering.

Planning to face front of RV North and cover windows with Reflectix bubble insulation. Would anchor tarp to the ground on West side at an angle, run it over RV with a 2 foot air gap from roof, and then anchor with guy wires for a shallower angle on the east side. Considering building an arched frame for the whole thing but that may be overkill.

Thoughts? Advice?

[RedManRising]

I am also considering a 30'x60' silver/black tarp, found here.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/BOEN-40-ft-x-6 ... 205165899/

[caffeineslinger]

You might be better off using camo netting instead. One of the nice things about aluminet is the wind will pass though it. A 30' by 60' tarp makes a pretty big sail.

[RedManRising]

I definitely agree with the huge sail factor and have been thinking about how to build a frame structure and do dynamic rigging at the ground. Aluminet would be so much better but has a huge cost for very large panels. Will look into the cost of camo netting.

[RedManRising]

I checked into the camo netting as advised and it is extremely expensive for something in the size of 30x60 or 40x60. Literally thousands of dollars rather than about $350 for a 40x60 extra heavy duty silver/brown tarp with grommets every 18".

[danibel]

I checked into the camo netting as advised and it is extremely expensive for something in the size of 30x60 or 40x60. Literally thousands of dollars rather than about $350 for a 40x60 extra heavy duty silver/brown tarp with grommets every 18".

You better anchor that sucker every 18 inches and double anchor the corners. It also should be extremely tight. No waffly wavy stuff.

[RedManRising]

I know that shading the RV will make a difference in terms of keeping it cooler. However, it seems that the vast majority of RVs at BRC are not shaded. Is it going to make enough of a difference to make it worth the expense or would my money be better spent building a good 12v swamp cooler with a solar array?

[caffeineslinger]

It seems a bit overkill and a monumental project to me. How much time do you plan on spending in your RV during the day anyways?

I once considered increasing the height of a carport to cover my RV but decide just doing simple things like covering the window and using a swamp cooler were good enough. If I make my RV too comfortable I might spend too much time in there. Your friends will definitely want to spend too much time in there.

[Token]

I just run my generator when needed and the AC.

Works great.

[danibel]

I know that shading the RV will make a difference in terms of keeping it cooler. However, it seems that the vast majority of RVs at BRC are not shaded. Is it going to make enough of a difference to make it worth the expense or would my money be better spent building a good 12v swamp cooler with a solar array?

I don't have an rv - I have a cargo van. I put it under shade, but I don't have a central air conditioner to run, and it's not that tall. We use reflective shades cut to the windows on all of them. I think it really helps to keep the heat out.

Seems like a huge amount of work/expense when, yes you are right, very few people shade an RV.

[RedManRising]

Hopefully, I will spend as little time as possible in there, just sleeping, eating and the occasional shower. I'm a bit of a night person anyway so hope to be out nights and sleeping during the day when it is hot. I'm pretty fair skinned, not sure they make an SPF high enough to keep me from getting burned. LOL

Running the generator with the A/C on will keep in cool. I just did it last month in 109 degree weather in Phoenix, but fuel management was not the issue there that it will be on the playa. Plus, I don't want to annoy the crap out of my neighbors running a generator too much. The Onan generator in the RV is quieter than most but it still makes noise. The A/C does a better job of keeping things cool than it does of cooling down a very hot vehicle. If I started it early enough in the day, before it got hot, it would stay nice until things cooled off outside at night.

[caffeineslinger]

I'm a bit of a night person anyway so hope to be out nights and sleeping during the day when it is hot.

In addition to the Reflectix windows and 12v swamp cooler, I find a battery operated fan blowing across my junk very effective for afternoon naps.

[RedManRising]

Okay, I have given up the idea of building shade entirely over the RV (too much of a wind sail issue). However, I have come up with another crazy idea that I want to run by those who have more experience.

Let me see if I can accurately describe my plan.

Using 1" EMT conduit and connectors made for the purpose, I am thinking of building a 20x30 shade structure, 10' tall, with the 30' length running against and along the 30' length of the RV. I would, of course, stake this down with a significant number of 2' rebar stakes and ratchet ties. The roof would be flat, although I am contemplating the shallow gable roof fittings for slope in case it rains. Ideally, the two 30' sides would be open and the tarp would cover the two 20' sides to the ground. Then, one entirior 10x10 section (the one in front of the RV door) would have vertical tarps to make walls (the idea being a vestibule outside the RV door that might help to reduce (not eliminate) dust in the RV.

Bungee balls to attach the tarp for tension with a little give. A network of ropes over the tarp, under tension, staked to ground, to provide additional reinforcement.

Comments? Advice?

[danibel]

1" EMT is not thick enough. Go thicker and you are on to a good plan (ala black rock hardware type of shade).

Here is a picture of my "double" with my van underneath. It's 8 feet tall. They do a very neat thing and drill holes in the legs and then weld set bolts so that the legs slip over rebar and tighten. Less rebar to trip on, but my friend has made a similar structure using "feet" for the poles and then pounds rebar into the "feet." I also use ratchet straps on the corners, because, condition alpha.

A flat roof must be extremely tight, and it will not shed rain. Even a slightly peaked roof would allow the rain to run off. I am okay with a flat top roof, I just know the water must be pushed off if I am ever on playa during a downpour.

[danibel]

Oh. walls of tarp would be a concern. Shade cloth is better because of it's ability to not catch the breeze (too much anyway).

Check the black rock hardware website for ideas. Unfortunately they are already sold out for the year.

[RedManRising]

Would 1-3/8" chain link top rail pipe cut it?

[lightblue22]

We shaded our RV last year and absolutely recommend it. It kept our RV icy cool with AC in the morning and early afternoon which allowed us to get much needed sleep. We have gone to BM in RVs for the last 4 years so we could definitely tell the difference. We also had a 30' RV and invested in aluminet, which cost about $400 for a piece big enough (but its such tough stuff we'll have it forever so for our camp its worth it). To elevate the tarp we placed 3 large ikea coffee tables on top of the RV (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/produ ... #/20104290), tied and staked them down really well, then placed the aluminet over the RV and also tied and staked down the sides of the aluminet. The aluminet needs to be raised above the RV so that the air can properly circulate. For us it was a game changer - cost is high, yes, but worth it.

[oly14]

I'm building a shade structure for my box truck 'camper' this year. Unlike an RV, there is nothing but aluminum skin and it gets really hot inside once the sun comes up. I'm building my 10' x 30' x 11' structure with fence top rail and shade cloth to mitigate wind load. The top and the south side will be covered, I'm leaving the rest open.

[tamarakay]

We built a huge monkey hut to park an airstream under. But then our camp got so popular we have to use the big hut for our public space. Now we tent camp in the smaller hut and actually enjoy that so much better than the trailer.

[RedManRising]

tamarakay, how did you pull off a monkey hut that large? What materials did you use? What size was it? How did it hold up under the wind?

[tamarakay]

Pvc and shade cloth! It is 35 feet long and 21 feet wide. We used a slightly larger pvc and where we sleeved it together we have a smaller circumference pvc pipe

1 1/2 inch pvc with 1 inch shoved inside for Reinforcement. A riff on love monkeys hut, but larger lol
Then we use 90% shade cloth. This will be its third trip to the playa and it has held up beautifully. It didn't blink an eye at last years hail storm. It even survived a Texas hail storm. Looking for a picture to link in here.

[tamarakay]

Here you go. That's the two of em.

[tamarakay]

You can sorta see the spines in this one


And this is a link to our dye day festivities. You can see some better pictures of it in amongst the throngs of happy people.
http://s1282.photobucket.com/user/Tamar ... t=3&page=4

[RedManRising]

THAT. IS. AWESOME!!!!!

[tamarakay]

THAT. IS. AWESOME!!!!!

We love it. Come on by dye with dignity at 7&geek and check it out. Monday at 11 we start our big public dye event. Other afternoons we will have snow cones and board games. Wednesday at 11 we are hosting gaminwench and her singing for scaredy cats.

[RedManRising]

Okay, from the pictures and your dimensions, I am deducing that you had 8 splines 5' apart for the 35' length, and each spline was about 36' long (based in the 11.5' radius) or did you just do 40'?

[tamarakay]

We just did 40 so no cuts.

[RedManRising]

Ordered a carton of 50 of the 3/8" x 14" hex head lag screws recommended by Figjam as shade structure stakes. Will use two links of chain (the screw through one) and drive flush with playa with a cordless impact driver leaving one link up as the attach point for ratchet ties. $73 for a carton of the lags, including tax and shipping. Will have extras to share with camp mates. Works out to a $1.46 per stake, which is cheaper than rebar and much safer. Really excited to try this out.

[caffeineslinger]

I have done this and love it. You will too. Thanks Figjam!

[FIGJAM]