Tents

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:06 pm

MikeVDS wrote:The more shade the better. Camo netting I've seen is probably about 80-90% shade. 100% is better but avoiding 90% of that radiated energy is nice.

Ya gotta be careful, though. One year someone used two layers of 60% netting and had 120% shade - ice formed in the tent.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:29 pm

Good point, but it's more convenient than running to ice camp all the time.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:23 pm

Mr M is so correct, when the sun rises you have about 2 hours until your tent is an oven in the direct sun. Put it in shade, or park a rig on the south east side of your tent and you can get at least 4 hours out of it until your a sweaty naked mess. We are lucky that we get to crash in an insulated reefer. with the thermostat et to 60 (its highest setting).
Before that it was trucks, and tents.

So shade / shade and more shade

later all

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:25 pm

So shade / shade and more shade

And, don't forget, shade!

B. (just making sure!)

Fex · Post by **Fex** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:59 pm

So, from the perspective of shade vs air circulation...

I'm making a quonset hut with tan shade cloth and a silvicool tarp (havent bought the tarp yet). The shadecloth's only 75% and I want total hard sunblock on top, with the mesh on either side. a 12' wide tarp will give me 4' of mesh sidewalls, is that enough to get good breeze? I want the sunblock as comprehensive as possible, but don't want to get smothery. I can find sun tarps that'll leave me 4,5, or 6' of shade mesh on the sidewalls... do I want to maximize the sunblock or the air?

Pardon me for being vacuous, but I've never camped in a desert... everywhere I go the trees take care of the sun for me.

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:06 am

Air, you want air. Our first structures worked well enough, but had little airflow and were ovens. Now we have a big two carport/doubled-up camo netting affair which gives us a good bit of shade plus a breeze in the middle common area.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:57 am

Air is not needed if the heat does not conduct through the material you use. If it does, that is when you make an oven. You can either have a breeze going through your structure or shade it well and keep the heat hitting the shade from getting into your structure. Lots of different ways to do that.

Moonpie · Post by **Moonpie** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:43 pm

GREAT discussions!!! Very much thanks all....I can see that I can get a tent that zips up but it ends up being an oven inside. If I don't zip up then I'm covered with playa dust! I guess I'll have to come up with some compromise...I know netting on the sides ain't gonna work...

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:27 pm

From my experience with typical camping tents (the little to large dome tents), even if they are opened up, you'll still cook. They are too small a space that you need a pretty strong breeze to keep you cool. And that kind of breeze can't be expected out there.

If you want to be able to count on staying cool during the day in sleeping quarters, you'll need more than just a tent that opens up.

falk · Post by **falk** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:18 pm

gyre wrote:You need a tent that closes up.
Many new tents don't.

IMHO, this is very important. All Coleman tents I was able to find are about half mesh nowadays. The dust will get right in and it will be no fun to sleep there. Same with all the tents I found at REI, so it's not a cheap vs expensive thing.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:26 pm

falk wrote:IMHO, this is very important. All Coleman tents I was able to find are about half mesh nowadays. The dust will get right in and it will be no fun to sleep there. Same with all the tents I found at REI, so it's not a cheap vs expensive thing.

Funny how everyone has a different idea of what is important. I've never found dust coming in through the mesh to be a big deal. I like having a little airflow.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:23 pm

You know, I still have no idea if I was bothered by the dust coming through the mesh on my tent or not-- SINCE THE D---ED ZIPPER CAME OPEN DURING THE BIG DUST STORM LAST YEAR WHILE I WAS AWAY!!!! (I still have no idea how that happened. I had major tent dust the rest of the week, and resorted to sleeping with my dust mask on at least a few times. Not too comfy, not at all.)

B.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:29 pm

BAS - try getting trashed before you got to sleep that helps keep you asleep.

Maybe someone was digging through your stuff.
We noticed that during the dust storms our neighbor would go crazy and run off. Apparently he was rifling through peoples things using the dust storm as a distraction / cover. He got the crap beat out of him by a pissed off resident that caught him.

We were at about 5:15 between E and F

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:40 pm

Well, if someone went through my stuff, they didn't do a very good job of it. The bottle of high quality vodka was still there, as well as the other one or two items people might have found interesting (actually, the vodka was the only really interesting thing, come to think of it).

I think what might have happened was I didn't get the zipper all the way closed when I left, and the loose part flapped enough in the wind to pull it the rest of the way open.

I need to come up with a better camp plan for next time. Maybe I can come up with a dome for over the tent, and off-set the doors. (Still would prefer a bus, but it is getting a little late for me to come up with the money and still have time to tear out seats and put in stuff. [Oh, sure, some of YOU are handy enough to get 'er done in time-- don't rub it in!

])

B. (Waiting for his med.s to take effect.)

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:09 pm

Moonpie wrote: If I don't zip up then I'm covered with playa dust!

The dust wont kill you but the heat could.

Fex · Post by **Fex** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:16 pm

I was sorta thinking about using my truck as a storage locker and setting up my hammock in the shade hut without using a tent. Any inherent problem with a setup like that?

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:48 pm

Fex wrote:I was sorta thinking about using my truck as a storage locker and setting up my hammock in the shade hut without using a tent. Any inherent problem with a setup like that?

You better have a heavy blanket cause it gets cold at night. And something to block the wind, which does sometimes pick up when you might want to sleep. Last year I slept on a futon my first night after driving all day. Best sleep I'd had in weeks. The conditions aren't always ideal for that setup, though.

The years I slept in the back of my truck were the most comfortable by far.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:58 pm

The years I slept in the back of my truck were the most comfortable by far.

Maybe I should reconsider getting a truck as my next daily driver. Years ago I was considering one, but finally decided on a mini-station wagon. I still really like mini-station wagons, but am thinking of trying bio-diesel for my next vehicle. Diesel mini-wagons are hard to find (although I KNOW some have been made! Mercedes, maybe Volkswagen), smaller trucks might be easier to find.

Darn, I am rambling. I must need to get back to bed!

G'night!

B.

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