Advice needed for quality Shade cloth by the Roll

[moonrise]

I've done some searching on eplaya and the internet, but I cannot seem to find the best shade cloth by the roll.

My neighbor/campmate told me about it, he said it was the newest stuff, 70% shade protection, color tan. He had it set up with tall 2x2 wood stakes over his van and extending out at the end for about 6 feet for a nifty shade area. This worked very well, but he cannot remember where he got his.

I'm considering doing something similar with shade cloth over my truck and long horse trailer.
Total length is 38 feet long, plus I'd like to make it a little wide along one side of the horse trailer for cooking and a shade area.

So far I have found 70% shade cloth, in black. $360.00 ttl inc tax n ship for a 20x100 foot roll at gemplers.com
I'm sure that would cover the entire rig with some to spare (I can sew it by hand where needed)
(If anyone has suggestions for the best thread for sewing it, that would be great!)

The ONLY thing that bugs me about this shade cloth is the color black, the company says black 'absorbs' the sun and lighter colors defeclt sun onto unwanted areas, perhaps this is true, but my neighbor's was tan and my head is stuck on that color. Tan costs MUCH much more; I have been taught lighter is better for heat deflection. Perhaps I am over reacting to black?
I recall Center Camp uses black shade cloth on much of the overhead areas, does anyone know the reason for this?

Any helpful suggestions for a lower priced roll and/or can explain why black is touted as good, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! Moon

[essjay]

I bought from these guys this year for perimeter shading around our dome (6'x50') I was very happy with their product and customer service.

http://www.creativeshelters.com/Tarps/Mesh-Tarps.aspx

I bought black 73% shade, but they also have other colors, including tan at 73%

[motskyroonmatick]

Hey Moonrise,
I purchase all of my shade cloth here. --> http://obcnw.com/nico-shadefabric.aspx I think there are more competitive options out there but they are three miles from my house which helps because I can talk directly to a person when ordering. They will sew the edges and install grommets and I really recommend getting the 3 grommet corners. It really helps sturdy things up. I agree with your take on using another color besides black and I think it has a noticeable effect on temperature under the shade. Unless there is no other option financially I would not buy black shade cloth. I have never seen tan shade on a roll there but they do have green or did a year ago. They would have no problem creating a custom shape because they make nursery stock truck tarps that have various large flaps on them. In my experience the knit shade is vastly superior to the cross woven shade cloth. My gut reaction is that you could get a custom piece of shade made to suit your purpose for a lower cost than ordering a while roll from Gemplers and then having to spend $ to grommet it and sew the cut edges. Get multiple bids. You might run in to a killer deal that you can share with us.

[thisisthatwhichis]

Here is the shade cloth we used at the BoobieBar....

You might have to call them, I don't see the 75% Tan listed in their price list.........


http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/gr ... -cloth.htm

[BBadger]

At my house we use the 40% white to shade plants during the heat of the day, while still providing diffuse lighting. It's decent even in 100+F degree weather, but you might want something denser. Black will spare you the intensity of direct bombardment, but still absorb the heat and radiate it back out.

You can't use their silver tarps? They're sun blocking, unlike those cheapo semi-transparent ones. The wind might play with them a bit.

See if you can find some Aluminet shade cloth. It's supposed to be pretty good.

[moonrise]

Thank you for the good suggestions. Please keep them coming!

so far it seems:
Knit is better than woven for lasting durability.
Black was NOT touted as being a good choice; contrary to gemplers suggestion.

Soon, I'll be working on a design with freinds who know playa conditions better than I do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
on another note...at first I was concerned I wouldn't like the horse trailer, it has many open vents, these actually 'breathed' and afterall it is designed to keep horses/animals/livestock alive...well it did the trick and kept me alive! I didn't bother to set up my carport & tent, and the 'potential metal box oven horse trailer' did not get too hot for me nor too cold, the good weather played a big role in this and I KNOW BETTER! than to ignore having some shade or roast, but it seemed to work well and minimal dust, go figure?
I really like the horse trailer, it has many nooks, shelves, crannies, hooks and what not, for cooking, showering, storing, inside and out! It has a lot of character and with just a handful more small additions, it'll be perfect!


ETA:

BBadger, I posted just after yours, not sure what you mean by silver tarps? The costco types?

I could also set up my carport over the horse trailer, but what a hassle and the carports don't seem to 'breathe".

I looked at Aluminet, the prices were quadruple, nice stuff buuuut, waaaay too costly for my budget. (one roll was over $1,000.00!!) I have enjoyed time under aluminet, wow, nice coool winds are what I felt. (someday, someday!)

I might save money and do just fine with 60%, in any color.

Motz, what % do you use at Stag camp?????? isn't it black/60%? (sorry, I cannot re-read the thread while in edit mode)

[BBadger]

Can you spray-paint silver coating on a black tarp? You only need a thin layer and you can even put a message on it!

[Kriten]

Its been a wile since I have ordered any but here is some Aluminet Shade Cloth. It is a fair price and works nicely. It has a cool feature, lockstitch construction that prevents unfinished edges from unraveling. With 70% shade allows 30% light transmission. You can get it with fabricated edges and gromits every 2 feet.

[moonrise]

Wow! I appreciate the website finds....please keep them coming!

BBadger, I think it would mess with the breeze facter to spray paint over knit shade colth, and I'm not at ease with a (noisy) tarp, the 'sail' factor alone spooks me. Please don't give up trying, I know you're here to help!

Kriten, That site seems like a potential winner....do you KNOW my campmate neighbor? (he's a great guy) Interestingly, he called what looked like shade cloth 'aluminet' but I knew the difference, what is good is that he pointed out the 70% factor...now I'm seeing 75%!

I wonder, what's the difference between 60% and 70/75% FEEL like? Anyone that knows, please post...the horsey trailer is a metal BOX afterall, zero insulation what-so-ever...(LOTS of quilts for sleeping, if/when I'm there, lol)

edit: spelling

[Bin Noddin]

I got 60% aluminet, custom sized, from Gothic Arch (see TITWI's post above) to drape over my van (that I slept in) and extend a bit beyond it for a small "porch" area. I think 70% would have made things a little more bearable on the hottest days. These folks were good to work with, both on line and over the phone, are cool with burners and shipped real fast.

[Kriten]

The trick is to have balance between shade density and shade distance. Because aluminet has a natural ability to reduce sun and heat a 70% mixture is great to have. It will give you enough shade to cool your metal hull wile eliminating the fear of a sailing event. If you give a birth of about 12" - 18" that will also add to the effectiveness, as that will allow air to flow between the shade cloth and your hull. Keeping the heat build-up of the cloth off your hull and providing air to cool your structure.

[Kriten]

do you KNOW my campmate neighbor? (he's a great guy) Interestingly

Maybe whats his name.

[Packoderm]

I've found that black mesh blocks and absorbs the heat, but the heat is released through the cloth as it rises upward. My black mesh turned tan by the second day anyway.

[essjay]

I recommend you go with the highest %. You want shade - you aren't trying to grow crops. You can get 73% in tan if that is the color you want - though I've also had good success with black.

[moonrise]

Great, helpful answers everyone...thank you!

packoderm, funny you mention black turns to tan, you might save me a bundle )'(it'll make up for that time you tricked me, haha, after ticket buying day, you're a good prankster! no hard feelings)'(

I'm all ears, please keep 'em coming.

kriten, PM on the way...he's popular, hehehe...

[motskyroonmatick]

My Shade for Stag Camp is Green knit 70%. It does the job but 80 or 90% would be better. I will admit to having several pieces of black shade cloth but these were purchased before I experienced the radiating heat that black shade cloth produces and I have never built a shade frame for them. Aluminet is universally considered to be the best shade cloth available. I have never found it in a price range that was acceptable to me though.

[essjay]

packoderm, funny you mention black turns to tan, you might save me a bundle

Yeah - after a good dust-storm, the black turns (mostly) to playa color on the outside.

[Packoderm]

Great, helpful answers everyone...thank you!

packoderm, funny you mention black turns to tan, you might save me a bundle )'(it'll make up for that time you tricked me, haha, after ticket buying day, you're a good prankster! no hard feelings)'(

I'm all ears, please keep 'em coming.

kriten, PM on the way...he's popular, hehehe...

I'm sorry, but I don't remember a prank about buying tickets. Are you confusing me with somebody else?

[Packoderm]

I've found the coolest shade by a gusseted peaked roof with one layer of black shade mesh over the peak, and 10x10 silver tarps strung flat underneath. You can kind of see it in this photo. You can also see the piece of vertical mesh in the forefront that was up for a few hours which is still black, and you can see other black mesh that has been up for several days, and it looks tan/silver. The 20x20 blue/white mesh in the background cost $40 at Ace hardware. It's not as strong as the black mesh, but it's not bad.

[Bob]

DPW used to use International Greenhouse for the black & green knit shade cloth tarps, taped & grommeted along the edges, for the Cafe, not sure who they use now.

Black or green is fine.

Paint will flake off.

[Packoderm]

Paint will flake off.

Unless it is unintentional overspray. Then it's on forever.

[Bob]

True.

[moonrise]

packoderm wrote:

[/quote]
I'm sorry, but I don't remember a prank about buying tickets. Are you confusing me with somebody else?[/quote]

Thanks for the photo below pack, it is helpful. I live in a remote-ish area, no realistically priced stores and such here. So it's online or a two hour trip to Reno, those are my choices. Kinda sucks! ('cept Reno decomp is soon! Imma goin' for sure...)

You don't remember packoderm? You posted some hokey written thing about getting our spot back in line on ticket launch day and we'd be refunded the difference if we had been bumped. I sent that in and HQ/ticketing told me I was duped, on eplaya!! haha, it was only a $40 differnce, BUT if I had just taken my own screen shot I'd have been given back the $40...it was funny and no harm done. I should've READ it carefully, it was a fake. (did you write it btw?) Someone did a gooood job, whoever it was. We all had a chuckle.

Bob, thanks man! I'm gathering as much info as possible, before I make the leap and spring for this shade cloth.

News flash!! Key Man was kind enough to gift me some burlap pieces, this is getting interesting...I pay shipping and they're mine to incorporate into this shade project. I have no clue how they'll be added, but planning and feild testing are going to be paramount...my encampment may look like a gypsies home!

[Packoderm]

It wasn't me who wrote the prank. I'd like to take credit for it, but it wasn't me.

[junglesmacks]

You posted some hokey written thing about getting our spot back in line on ticket launch day and we'd be refunded the difference if we had been bumped. I sent that in and HQ/ticketing told me I was duped, on eplaya!!

Ummm... you must have caught the BORG on a semi-humorous day, because they just shined you on. I myself wrote a letter about being bumped, and received an instant $70 refund from a tier 2 back down to a tier 1 ticket price as did many others..

Ruh roh!

[moonrise]

You posted some hokey written thing about getting our spot back in line on ticket launch day and we'd be refunded the difference if we had been bumped. I sent that in and HQ/ticketing told me I was duped, on eplaya!!

Ummm... you must have caught the BORG on a semi-humorous day, because they just shined you on. I myself wrote a letter about being bumped, and received an instant $70 refund from a tier 2 back down to a tier 1 ticket price as did many others..

Ruh roh!

Hiya JS! Yea, I remember because I was following your lead and everyone elses... I just wish I hadn't sent a copy of that prank letter (I don't care who posted it) and they'd have probably refunded me for my bump.
I just read the ticket I bought for $240, I think that was 2010 tier 2 pricing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions for shade cloth (and the extra widgets and wingdings)
Please keep 'em coming!

[Bob]

Woven truck tarps are heavier than knit mesh but work fine if you have the means to hold it up, we used a couple on the Cafe in '97.

[moonrise]

I'm looking forward to getting together with the on playa exerienced mechanics I've come to know and dicussing some improvement on my original, low key design idea. I'll be bringing the truck & trailer in and we'll have time to discuss a possible EMT frame, based on my needs.

OR just keep it simple/smart and stick with the tall 2x2's of wood and duct tape them to T posts, then the knit (or other type tarps) could be tightly attached in the manner my campmate did....he used everything and anything, from duct tape, to strong twine, to mini ratchet straps to attach the cloth to the tops of the 2x2s (I think I'd sand the tops of my 2x2s smooth, his cut through the cloth and need sewing yearly I am guessing)

It's the weekend, and I haven't been able to call any of the suppliers. I appreciate all of the suggestions and websites......!!

[dr.placebo]

I got a 20x20 piece of 80% shade cloth that worked well:

http://www.gemplers.com/product/127619- ... h-80-Shade

You can also get rolls and custom sizes from:

http://www.catalogclearance.com/product ... cloth.html

The above sites are two of the least expensive I've found so far, but I have no commercial interest in any particular supplier.

[Packoderm]

I just hosed down 8 pieces of black mesh screen. I'm amazed how clean they come by just spraying water on them. They were filthy and smelled like playa dust. I laid one at a time on the lawn, sprayed it down, flipped it, sprayed it again going especially heavy on the seams, and then draped it over the lumber rack on my truck for a final spraying to get rid of the grass debris and then let them dry in the sun. They're like brand spanking new again.