shade structure help

[elijacob]

I'm thinking of sleeping in our cargo van and would like to cover it with a tarp. can you help me figure a way to secure my tarp to the ground?

The idea is to park my van facing North, with the 2 eastern wheels on top of one edge of my tarp, and then wrapping my tarp around the van (from east to west).

The tarp would extend out about six feet from the western edge of the van. I'd like to keep the tarp level as it extends west, i.e. have an open but shaded area about 6' feet wide under the tarp to the west of the van.

Is there any way that i can do this? One thing i'm thinking is actually creating a mini monkey hut (also parallel with the van), and attaching the tarp to the set of PVC pipes further from the van, but only a couple of feet down the pipes. would that work?
If not, can you suggest other ways to wrap a tarp around a van?
thanks
eli

[dragonpilot]

Have you considered the ever-popular Costco carport? Set it up, anchor it and you have instant shelter/shade. Sure it's goona be a bit more expensive than the tarp, but the easy of setup and benefits greatly outway the additional cost.

I think I read they run $200 or so. Do a SEARCH thru the threads here...there's been a fair amount of discussion on these and other shade structures.

[dragonpilot]

Here...I did the search for you:

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=24012

[phil]

Standing room is over-rated. :->

I'm not sure pvc pipes would be able to stand the stress of the wind on the tarp. My suggestion is wood 2x2s, which Louise and I used for a few years. Bring an extra pair just in case, but we never had any break. I did pick them myself to make sure no knots were big enough to be break points. You'll have to guy them, which is an aggravation, because you and everyone else will be tripping on them no matter how well you flag/light/mark them. C'est la vie.

Good luck, I think it's workable, and have fun.