Pop up tent trailer vs. Wind? Virgin Q

[Lucidvegas]

Hello all. I was entertaining the thought of taking a tent trailer to my first burning man. But as I'm learning about the winds, 30-60 mph gust with legendary 100+ winds have had being reported, I was wondering if anyone has seen any problems with tent trailers on the playa?

I had my 10 ft coleman on the SW side of San Francisco one year before High Sierra Music festival, and I thought I would wake up with a badly damaged trailer it was so windy, but it survived! Wondering how it would fair on the playa.

If anyone has any insight that would be great. The search feature sucks as I tried looking for info previously posted.

Thanks,
Gabe

[Thecatman]

There are alot of pop up tent trailers at BM.
I can't answer how they hold up but since there are probably several thousand, my guess is they're good.
If you're concerned about wind, which is USUALLY stongest in the afternoon, but can occur any time, if it's not a hassel, collapse it.

[Trishntek]

If you have a source of shade for the day, you'll spend most of your time outside anyway. And like previously posted, collapse it while you're not using it. I would still anchor it to the ground.

[Leo]

I have had my 12' Coleman tent trailer at Burning Man for 2009 and 2010 and didn't have any problems with the wind. There were a few windstorms late at night last year where my trailer was buffeted by some intense wind, but I didn't see any damage or any need for additional anchors to the playa. I figure that the dry trailer weight is around 2,000 lbs and there is easily another 600 pounds of weight with the water and camping gear on board. The weight of the trailer, along with the 4 corner jacks should be sufficient to withstand the force of the wind. If you want some additional "insurance" you can install some guy lines from the perimeter corners of the bed extensions for additional anchorage.

Both years I was camped near J and 8:30, so the perimeter camps on the outer streets served as a windbreak. YMMV depending upon where you set up camp.

Many Coleman trailers come with an awning. Don't even think about bringing the Coleman awning to Burning Man as it is a P.O.S. and will become a kite with the slightest breeze. Bring a free-standing shade structure instead and make sure it is properly anchored.

The bigger concern is dust. I keep my tent trailer fully zipped up when I'm away from camp, so the dust inside of the trailer isn't much of an issue. Happy Trails!

[ygmir]

are there any specs, with said trailers, as to how much wind they are designed for?
That might be a place to start.

and, remember, with heavy dust, the wind there carries more energy.

I've seen many tent trailers, that seem to do fine.

you might consider setting it up inside the center camp tent, if you're concerned.

[Dr. Pyro]

This may be a useless suggestion, but let me try. If you are camping with or near somebody in an RV, try to set up your trailer using the RV as a wind block. It won't be perfect, nothing out there ever is. But we situate two RVs at our camp next to the shade structures and it seems to work fairly well.

[Freesponge]

We took a 12' Starcraft tent trailer to the burn last year and we had no issues with it. We only had problems with our shade structure but with the outriggers we had no issues with sway during the winds. If it doesn't have outriggers I would recommend bringing jackstands and trying your best to level it.
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE THE AWNING. Thats kinda common sense though. Make sure its always zipped up too but dust will still find its way in.

[teardropper]

Remember, the last two years have been pretty nice out there. Nothing compared to the legendary winds.

That said, I, too, see lots of tent campers on the playa. Last year a friend of mine was considering a tent camper. I went on an online forum for them and asked about the wind. These were all seasoned campers and seemed to like them very much. I used the 70 mph figure I have heard and every one said they would not recommend them for such conditions. Two years ago one our camp mates had one, but she traded it for a small trailer for last year. If I were to use one I would take all recommendations for securing it and minimizing exposure to the wind. If you already have it, take it, with the cautions from those that use them.

[Jackass]

I used mine last year for the first time vs. tents the years before. It rocked, i could change standing up and it made a great place for napping and getting out of the dust. I put mine up right next to a friends trailer and used them as a windbreak, I didn't even run guy wires off of the roof. Last burn had some awesome weather, very little wind. Still beats a tent by a long shot!

[Leo]

BUMP!

[TomServo]

A friend of mine brings his every year. Only complaint I've heard, is the dust. If you keep it closed, it should be fine.

[a figment]

we brought one two years ago, no problems occured,but winds did not seem real bad.

[RHoskies]

my lady and I took our 87' Coleman pop up last year and it worked amazing!
granted, the canvas is in great shape still. Its a good idea to bring some tape to maybe seal up some hard to fix seams, make sure you use some pieces of wood under the legs for support.

But personally I think this is one of the best ways to go. They are much cheaper than an RV, cheaper to GET to BM, usually very reliable and spacious enough.

Ours will be coming back this year!

[Thrivin]

my wife and I will be camping in a standard size pop up camper and using a Costco 10'X20' carport as our primary shade. We weren't planning on using the carport as shade for the camper (though come to think of it, maybe I should get another carport and put the camper inside it, though I would have to check heights). It would be for two tents of campmates, kitchen, hangout space. it seems like there are two main options. Either put the camper perpendicular on the 10' side or parallel on the 20' size.

my question is three fold: 1) any suggestions for how to orient the camper to the carport? Should it be perpendicular at one end or parallel along the 20' side of the carport? It seems like if we ran it parallel, we might get some shade in the camper in the early morning when we do most of our sleeping.

2) any suggestions for rigging shade for the popup camper?

3) what would be the best orientation for wind purposes?

[FIGJAM]

bump

[maeappel]

How did it go last year? I'm looking into purchasing a 1969 Apache that seems to be in good shape still. The price is about the same as a canvas 10x10 tent.

[Savannah]

Click "PM" under the nickname of the user who may have tried this. It's been a while, so they may not be checking this thread anymore--but some folks opt to get an email when they receive a PM, and so might respond that way.

If you're just not sure about the pop-up and get a (well-rated) 10 x 10 canvas tent instead, the tent will probably be fine with proper rebar staking, and with parking your vehicle south of the tent.

[theCryptofishist]

What does Virgin L say?

[stimator]

Do I need to pay for anything extra for a popup camper? Is there designated place for them? or do I set it up and then park my truck? I been reading and looking for help regarding this?

[stimator]

First time coming to the big burn. I have been to regional burns. I am bringing my pop up tent trailer. I was reading that vehicles are parked in one location. Are we able to unload the trailer and set up then park? Sounds stupid question, but I was thinking maybe the truck can stay hooked up the the trailer to charge the batteries and to proved more stability.

[Luigi]

I will try to answer your questions, but sounds like you should do some research on your own.

The Vehicle Pass is the only cost for your truck and trailer. Yes the trailer can and should stay attached to the truck. Unless you are in a theme camp, you just park in general camping and say hello to your neighbors.

A few years ago my friends had issues with an old tent trailer. It leaked bad allowing tons of dust in, and was not sturdy enough, it collapsed in the middle of the night during a wind event.