Easy ways to do Burning Man for indivduals and couples

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:31 am

A goal for this year wll be: To bring "no" disposable food containers. Exception will be zipp-locs that are to messy to wash

StevenGoodman · Post by **StevenGoodman** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:14 pm

unjonharley wrote:A goal for this year wll be: To bring "no" disposable food containers. Exception will be zipp-locs that are to messy to wash

I always get curious about this, what is the big deal? No canned goods? I guess those are recyclable. No bacon? No sausage? No frozen hashbrowns for breakfast? I bring all of those in their packaging.

But I also generate less than one bag of trash in 10 days at BM. Most everything goes back in the container it came in; i.e. all the empty bottles of booze go back in their box, not trash. The empty beer cans get crushed and put back in the beer box.

If I can get it to BM I can get it home, and getting it home is easier, it is lighter.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:28 pm

Steve Goodman said<snip>

By planing for BM I can make my camp very small and comfortable.

Less camp = more fun.

And hardly any thing to deal with back in Or.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:37 pm

I had surprisingly little trash, too. Not even a full trash bag. I don't know what I did wrong!

B.

phil · Post by **phil** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:15 pm

The interesting thing about Burners and Burning Man is that every person thinks they have the one right way to do it, and that everyone else should do it that way, too.

:-)

Among the several reasons we bring a cargo van is that we can then haul back trash from a special friend or two that have bar camps and generate more volume in garbage than they brought. We never worry about having or generating waste at Burning Man, anathema I know to many Burners. We bring stemware and drink our port and wine from glass glasses, we bring table cloths for our dinner tables, and so on. And we don't demand that everyone else do it that way, too. No big deal.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:26 am

If your going single, Cut the bottoms out of your pockets so you will have some thhing to play with

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:41 pm

No canned goods? I guess those are recyclable. No bacon? No sausage? No frozen hashbrowns for breakfast? I bring all of those in their packaging.

I've found it easier to deal with many packaged items by taking them out and putting them in one container. Saves room when done properly and ,especially individually packaged like granola bars. It prevents me from chasing moop and dealing with trash too.

helitack · Post by **helitack** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:50 pm

How about a virtual on playa experience? Set up some kind of simulation/game software and everyone could build their own city, name their own streets, camp wherever they want, no fees, no tickets, no medicals...

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:40 pm

phil wrote: We bring stemware and drink our port and wine from glass glasses, we bring table cloths for our dinner tables, and so on. And we don't demand that everyone else do it that way, too. No big deal.

If bringing fine dining to the playa isn't art, I don't know what is!

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:49 pm

> no medicals...

Uh, isn't that when the _aliens_ come get us???? BMOrg isn't giving medicals anymore, is it?

Hoolie · Post by **Hoolie** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:40 pm

Here's a look at Camp Zoid:

Basically, it's a PVC frame with tarps lashed to it, and a Springbar tent. This was primarily a two-person camp, but the living space accommodated three more people later in the week. All-in-all, a pretty lightweight and manageable setup.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 3:18 pm

Hey! My Stromberg Chickens catalog just arrived in the mail.

Now what am I going to make with these StarPlates???

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 5:13 pm

Hoolie wrote:Here's a look at Camp Zoid:

>SNIP<

That looks totally accessible by wheelchair, too. Very nice.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 5:20 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:Hey! My Stromberg Chickens catalog just arrived in the mail.

Now what am I going to make with these StarPlates???

Doug, am I reading right? The plate and connecting members are 65 bucks? Louise is already planning the fabric panels.

Oh, it's only the metal connectors, not the framing. Hmmmm. ... .

Louise has suggested that if we build the all-wood one, someone would burn it for us on the playa. :->

Okay, so we'd buy the frame pieces and then put fabric as panel -- that looks _very_ interesting and lightweight.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 6:02 pm

Hey! My camp from 2006 is looking worse all the time!

Well, 2006 WAS my first time. Hopefully next time I will be able to actually do some advance planing and preparation!

I wonder if I can actually get a decent, after market roof rack for my Saturn Wagon? (I got it from my brother, and still haven't figured out why he didn't get a roof rack on it-- or why his replacement car was a sedan instead of a wagon...

)

B.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:01 am

phil wrote:
Ugly Dougly wrote:Hey! My Stromberg Chickens catalog just arrived in the mail.

Now what am I going to make with these StarPlates???
Doug, am I reading right? The plate and connecting members are 65 bucks? Louise is already planning the fabric panels.

Oh, it's only the metal connectors, not the framing. Hmmmm. ... .

Louise has suggested that if we build the all-wood one, someone would burn it for us on the playa. :->

Okay, so we'd buy the frame pieces and then put fabric as panel -- that looks _very_ interesting and lightweight.

Yep, I got my plates years ago when the set was $35, but it's still a great system. You just need a truck than can carry 25 2x4's and whatever covering material you choose. Bring an electric drill with a hex bit and a socket set as backup, plus a step ladder. Nothing to it.

Hoolie · Post by **Hoolie** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:45 am

phil wrote:That looks totally accessible by wheelchair, too. Very nice.

Thanks. I hadn't thought about that, but you're right.

By the way, this structure did very well in the windstorms...never showing any signs of stress. The key is it's a partial tension structure. The tarps are lashed tightly to the frame and to the ground with ropes which simultaneously holds it together and holds it in place. Aluminum rods at the top corners of the frame added additional stability. Also, the sidewalls are shade net, which lets the wind filter through...although I think solid tarps would be ok too.

With two walls, it was important to orient them with the path of the sun to maximize shade. But the tent also acted as a back wall which provided some shade as well.

Hoolie · Post by **Hoolie** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:48 am

Ugly Dougly wrote:Yep, I got my plates years ago when the set was $35, but it's still a great system. You just need a truck than can carry 25 2x4's and whatever covering material you choose. Bring an electric drill with a hex bit and a socket set as backup, plus a step ladder. Nothing to it.

I really like the looks of that too. But I'm thinking 2x2's would be sufficient for a frame with a cloth/canvas/tarp cover...provided the lengths of the wood are short enough (maybe 6'?). What do you think?

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:57 pm

According to an article I found on line (Mother Earth News) starplates are designed to be used with 6' long 2x2s, as well as 8' 2x4s. (In the article they used 10' long 2x6s with no problem.) So, yes, using the 2x2s should be okay.

B.

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 4:30 pm

Okay, first timers, here's what Burning Man is all about:

http://roxik.com/pictaps/?pid=a248992

For more info click the about me link after you're bored. You can roll your own, too.

CapSmashy · Post by **CapSmashy** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:07 pm

Hoolie....I think you just saved me some more money and effort on my camp design.

I owe ya a drink my fine sir.

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:15 pm

Our shade structure is an opaque roof tarp, a couple of semi-opaque sides, and chain-link fence rails that form the peak roof and uprights. It's 10 feet by 10 feet, and as you can see from this photo, quite a few people can squeeze in. This is during our fashion give-away.

I like the height because the roof gets hot and being so high, I'm not getting any of the heat through to my head. Having side flaps on two sides means we still get plenty of breeze and don't trap heat under the shade (like a tent does).

We taped each leg to a piece of rebar, so no guylines for tripping over, and no outlying rebar to tie the guylines to.

martinevans · Post by **martinevans** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:54 am

Martin from the UK here ...

Flying in so pretty well everything (except shelter) bought in South San Francisco, Daly City, or picked up on the way.

So, the question - copper tube that's used for plumbing.
Over here comes in 15 mm (called 1/2 inch) or 22mm (called "doesn't fit to inches").

Usable? For structures?

I've already worked out I'll be building - thanks to Makezine - a bicycle stand to hold 'em while repairing 'em (yessir, I'm honorary bike tech. for Quixotes Cabaret), but is it available? In the UK it's v. cheap and at any do-it-yourself warehouse, but Home Depot US doesn't like showing me prices for stuff like this . . .

Martin
PS Love the thread - can't wait to create a structure using bungee cord, six bits of aluminium tube and a !load! of bunting.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:28 pm

I can't figure out how to get the price on a half-inch, but home depot's web site offers a six-foot length of 3/8 inch for US$4.99 each.

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/copperpipe.html
says half-inch inside diameter copper pipe is $13 for a 4-foot length. It's Type M, "hard." There are, according to the site, two types -rigid and flexible, so I assume you'll want the rigid kind. Whether it's structural or not, I have no clue. Others will comment on that.

Good luck and have fun.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:16 am

My shelter was a bit unorthodox, but it held up. I parked my Subaru Outback Wagon parallel and adjacent to my 10-person mother-of-all-tents to provide wind block and sun shade. I took 10' PVC pipes and fastened them to my roof rack with hose clamps. I extended PVC fore and aft and over both sides of the car and, on the driver side next to my tent, the PVC extended far enough to cover the width of the tent. With me so far? Using PVC 90 degree connectors and PVC "legs" I had a structure that totally encapsulated the car and the tent. The whole thing was covered by billboard vinyl secured wth grommets and zip-ties and staked down with re-bar. What I liked was having a little "garage" outside the tent where I had a pee funnel and pee jug, and I could get in and out of the car when needed.

It looked like total shit, I must say.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:07 pm

It couldn't have looked much worse than my camp-- a Saturn station wagon the color of a fresh bruise (I have no idea why my brother, the original owner, chose that color), an off the shelf dome tent, and some sort of burlap-like stuff strung partly over the car and over some poles as a half-assed shade structure. The lone decortation was an inflatable Ralphie Wiggums doll strapped to the shade structure. Sometimes my old Schwinn Speedster was visible. (The biggest thing I did right was to point the opening of the tent at my car. Even so, during the biggest windstorm, my tent appenantly unzipped itself while I was away. Oh well, if I didn't want to get dirty, I could always have stayed away from the desert.)

B.

anniefannie · Post by **anniefannie** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:11 pm

guys - how about e-z ups? i took them to the playa everytime - with rebar at teh corners - they do really well for shade - i use those cotton tapestries for teh side walls instead of the plastic kind - more colorful, you can even cut slits in them for the wind to blow thru....there are even green man tapestry prints for this years 2007 Green man theme..... :roll:

takewithfood · Post by **takewithfood** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:46 pm

Here was my first burn shade attempt...

The Silvacool (www.commercialsolutions.ca) tarps made the tent fairly comfortable but the huge difference was inside the car. The interior was only in the mid 70's on a brutal day. I opened the hatch, lashed the car tarp and tent tarp together for a make shift roof for a shade area. Later I added a ground tarp in between the two for sitting...forgot the damn chair.

Overall for a one person camp it worked out fairly well considering I only had two weeks to plan. I also arrived in the middle of the night so the heat was not a problem...(apologies if I ran over anyone's foot.

)

...now back to the drawing board...Aluminet anyone?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:25 am

For a small camp, A person could use one of those cheap/small microwaves..Hook a inverter to your van battery for the three four min. it would take to heat a perecooked meal..You would have to start the van to keep the power up..I do not have a micowrave...Don't like the way it changes the food structure.. Boiling bags work good too..

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:33 am

unjonharley wrote:For a small camp, A person could use one of those cheap/small microwaves..Hook a inverter to your van battery for the three four min. it would take to heat a perecooked meal..You would have to start the van to keep the power up..I do not have a micowrave...Don't like the way it changes the food structure.. Boiling bags work good too..

Erm, micorwaves and car batteries could be problematic, although it can be done. Personally, we use deep cell or marine batteries and don't risk the battery in our vehicle which we need to exit the playa in!

Good general site for inverter questions:
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/invert ... #microwave

Yeah, boiling bags are great. I so gots to get me a vacuum sealer.

Easy ways to do Burning Man for indivduals and couples

Copper tubing - viable for shelters?

shade....