How can late-arriving RV's find the rest of their camp?

[eheartbeat]

Hi everyone, I'm a virgin burner so no idea how this works. We have 3 RV's in our camp, 2 coming up Sunday night and the 3rd coming up several days later and we don't know how the space reservation etiquette/ road layout works.

1. How should a camp go about reserving space for an RV? Is it even allowed? What's the etiquette like? Any specific markers we should bring?
2. How are the streets laid out in terms of camp area to passing lane ratio? Are there cases where it's impossible for a late arriving RV to even fit in certain spots? or get stuck somewhere?

Less importantly (but still a mind boggler), what's the best way to communicate location? We've heard of several options but all of them seem not entirely guaranteed (center camp bulletin, possible wifi at center camp, walkie talkies, possible cell phone reception)

Thanks! Greatly appreciate any advice :)

[Token]

Your early folks go and find a place to camp that can fit all 3 RVs.

They spread out their gear to use up the extra space.

They go to Playa Info and enter the details for your camp. Name, location etc. Let's call it Camp Voluptuous Tuna.

Late arrivals drive into the 6:00 area and pull over off the road and park. Bikes get unloaded and you pedal your clean ass to Center Camp and Playa Info and access the computers to find the camp Voluptuous Tuna.

You pedal your dusty ass back to the RV load up and go find your camp.

Easy!

[Dr. Pyro]

Token's advice is mostly good, but I would suggest have walkie talkies and beginning at a designated time, call one another. Say every two hours on the hour. But I would have some obscure frequency; do not use 4:20 or 1 or something that any brain dead stoned hippie burner would likely use. All you will get is some a-hole laughing his ass off high on shrooms and you'll never find your campmates.

[capjbadger]

Token's advice is mostly good, but I would suggest have walkie talkies and beginning at a designated time, call one another. Say every two hours on the hour. But I would have some obscure frequency; do not use 4:20 or 1 or something that any brain dead stoned hippie burner would likely use. All you will get is some a-hole laughing his ass off high on shrooms and you'll never find your campmates.

I seem to recal that channel 5 is reserved for 911 calls (as in "you're bleeding from the neck", not "you can't find your car keys")

-Badger

[AntiM]

They should park the RVs far enough apart to fit the third one between, or make an "L" shape and fill the spot for the third RV with stuff. Nailed down stuff, tent, art, what have you. Roping off the area invites criticism and headaches. Spreading out, not so much. The further back, the less hassle.

[Fire_Moose]

/reminds himself to look up Camp Voluptuous Tuna when he arrives.

[Token]

Token's advice is mostly good, but I would suggest have walkie talkies and beginning at a designated time, call one another. Say every two hours on the hour. But I would have some obscure frequency; do not use 4:20 or 1 or something that any brain dead stoned hippie burner would likely use. All you will get is some a-hole laughing his ass off high on shrooms and you'll never find your campmates.

I seem to recal that channel 5 is reserved for 911 calls (as in "you're bleeding from the neck", not "you can't find your car keys")

-Badger

Channel 5 is a voluntary reservation requested by the BORG for MURS radio only.

MURS has five total channels, 1-5.

FRS/GMRS (walki-talkies) and CB are unrestricted.

It is common to use channel 9 on public radio bands as an emergency channel but on Playa there is no monitoring agency to assist you on thise channels. Wild, wild west.

[theCryptofishist]

Also, bring sharpies and paper plates and tape and go to the ring road, no, not that Ring Road, but the actual road that rings the city, and write the address and name of hte camp with helpful arrows so that latecomers can find it that way too. Make sure that the final rv has enough food and water to survive if they never find the others and vice versa.
It's a brutal world out there....


Or not.

[Isotopia]

Doc's idea is a good one. Use either walkie talkies or meet at a predesignated place at a particular time. You should consider multiple meeting times and places on the off chance that something goes wrong.

[theCryptofishist]

So. For a high-tech idea. Two gps units, two phones. Advance team stakes out space and takes a gps reading. Sends text with reading to Team Beta. When Beta gets to playa, puts that reading into the unit and gets close. Certainly close enough for visual identification.

[ygmir]

have your early arrivals sprinkle patchouli and tofu crumbs as they drive in.........and follow the line of hippies.

[Token]

So. For a high-tech idea. Two gps units, two phones. Advance team stakes out space and takes a gps reading. Sends text with reading to Team Beta. When Beta gets to playa, puts that reading into the unit and gets close. Certainly close enough for visual identification.

For years Garmin has sold a walkie-talkie with GPS. When you talk to someone who has the same type of unit it shows you where they are on the GPS gizmo and vice versa.

[Eric]

Just to reiterate what everyone else had said on the space- fill it!! If you leave an empty space, someone will either use it or cause a scene if you don't let them use it. Making it look like you're using it will cut down on the drama.

You will also probably want to plan it so they can just turn & drive straight in once you've moved the stuff out of the way. They'll have to back out when its time to go, but with help that's fully do-able.

[ibdave]

I just pee on all four corners and nobody cross's the line.


Yes the walkie talkie works great...

Oh, if you think your going to have the rv shit tanks emptied during your stay at camp brc, make sure your set up is with in 25 feet of the road and easy access so they don't drag the shit hose over someone's tent.. Cost is $75.00 each time and you better have a smoking hottie that flirts with the shit truck driver and lot's of cold PBR. don't even get me started about your Generator and neighbors....

[gyre]

Officially you aren't allowed to save space after opening.


Fishy, nurburgring?

[swampdog]

one point that hasn't been responded to - the roads are always open and do not get camped on. Within each block it's open season. Many (most?) non-placed small campers manage to get a space fronting on a street. This is recommended, especially if if you have late arrivals.

I know it's hard to visualize, I worried about it my virgin year. Trust me, when you get there it's all quite obvious.

You might want to agree in advance on some generic target location - 3 o'clock side, 9 o'clock side, as close in as possible, as far out as possible, near a keyhole, etc. Look on eplaya for the person who's posted a map with camps on it - see if any of the camps sound like fun neighbors. You WILL NOT be able to plan exactly where you want to be, but you can narrow it down a bit.

[Token]

10:00 - Loud Motha Focka

9:00 - Perverts and Sexual Deviants

8:00 - Gender role and identity confused

7:30 - Queer As Folk

6:00 - Center Camp freakshow, ghetto and petting zoo

5:00 - Quiet! No generators, there are children here, get off my lawn.

4:30 - Really Awesome Camping, DPW Ghetto.

3:00 - Fuckos, villains, instigators, and barbarians.

2:00 - Loud Motha Focka

[Dr. Pyro]

You left one out:

3:30 Barbie dolls, wine, and hedonists

[Token]

Oh Doc, which part of Fuckos, villains and instigators does not apply?

[ygmir]

he's only including the ones with orange merkins.

[AntiM]

Officially you aren't allowed to save space after opening.


Fishy, nurburgring?

Saving space for one more camper/tent/RV, that's usually allowed. One or two people roping off a huge area for a camp, not cool.

[Ugly Dougly]

Use your RVs as a windbreak.

[Token]

Officially you aren't allowed to save space after opening.


Fishy, nurburgring?

Saving space for one more camper/tent/RV, that's usually allowed. One or two people roping off a huge area for a camp, not cool.

Allowed? Cool and Uncool?

Here is the Real Rules(tm):

Once gate opens any real-estate designated for camping is first come first serve no restrictions. This includes areas marked blue for theme camps. If a theme camp didn't show up early and stake their boundaries, tough luck.

You cant adjudicate common sense, good manners or doing the right thing.

[Lassen Forge]

You left one out:

3:30 Barbie dolls, wine, and hedonists

Um.... Doc... You forgot one, too...

3:30 Barbie Dolls, wine, hedonists, and DOOM. ;)

Here is the Real Rules(tm):

Once gate opens any real-estate designated for camping is first come first serve no restrictions. This includes areas marked blue for theme camps. If a theme camp didn't show up early and stake their boundaries, tough luck.

You cant adjudicate common sense, good manners or doing the right thing.

True true that, but... it doesn't take a lot of imagination to set up the preliminary camp area so when your latecomers arrive shuff can be compacted to fit the new arrival. Now, if they're arriving in a 53' wanderlodge, all bets are off...

Look at the map, and Token's pretty cool cribsheet. Figure out a spot where you kinda want to target, and let everyone know. FRS radio or CB - come up with a codeword *ahead of time* that the 3 of you know, so when they call you letting you know they're at 8 mile, you can confirm with your codeword to make sure it's realy you they're talking to (or vice versa - takes out the yahoo factor). Also it gives YOU time to comperss your camp to squeeze in the remainnig VW van...

[portaplaya]

Most camps want frontage along the street. Very few people are going to complain if you extend into the center of the block. But laying each of the RV's out like this will cause complaints and leave a vacant half block behind the RV's

(Note the empty inner blocks for the non-theme camp areas in this image)


Aerial Burning Man 2004 by thebesinc, on Flickr

An "L" shape extending into the block works great and the late RV's just have to nose in where the first RV has already parked 50' in, parallel to the street. The early RV just has to tell potential neighbors to leave the area clear between it and the road for RV's that are coming later.

Code: Select all

    Street
 __
|rv|
|  |
|__|
 __
|rv|
|  |
|__|  ______
    |1st rv|
      ------
inner part of block

[Timezone LaFontaine]

Aerial Burning Man 2004 by thebesinc, on Flickr

My god, look at the size of that airplane sculpture parked on top of center camp!

[trystanthegypsy]

Road flares.

[SilverOrange]

4:30 - Really Awesome Camping, DPW Ghetto.

This year 4:30 will be a kinder, gentler place. The DPW Ghetto has been relocated to 5:45 & F.

[Token]

4:30 - Really Awesome Camping, DPW Ghetto.

This year 4:30 will be a kinder, gentler place. The DPW Ghetto has been relocated to 5:45 & F.

NooooooooooÅ

[swampdog]

In porta-playa's diagram, you want the 2 end to end RVs on the windward side to block wind for the camp