Custom Built Camp Structure

Ideas, advice, tips, and tricks regarding shelter, shade, tents, and camping. Yes, this includes RV's too.
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theCryptofishist
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by theCryptofishist » Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:53 pm

GreyCoyote wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:"In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
What? No sliding UP the stairs? Conservationist!!! :mrgreen:
I suppose you're going to claim that your room will clean itself!
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Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

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GreyCoyote
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by GreyCoyote » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:20 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:
GreyCoyote wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:"In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
What? No sliding UP the stairs? Conservationist!!! :mrgreen:
I suppose you're going to claim that your room will clean itself!

Never underestimate the power of a leaf-blower and an open stairwell... :mrgreen:
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Savannah
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Savannah » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:07 pm

GreyCoyote wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:"In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
What? No sliding UP the stairs? Conservationist!!! :mrgreen:
:lol: x 2
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Captain Goddammit
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:28 pm

A topic at the Goddammit residence lately has been why the hell houses only have stairs and no slide.
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theCryptofishist
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by theCryptofishist » Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:19 pm

firepole...
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FossaFerox
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by FossaFerox » Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:32 pm

stripper pole...
ygmir wrote:Everyone loves you there, and no one cares a shit about you..........all at once. and vice versa.

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Captain Goddammit
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:41 pm

FossaFerox wrote:stripper pole...
Who says we ain't got one of those!
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Canoe
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Canoe » Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:28 pm

> A topic at the Goddammit residence lately has been why the hell houses only have stairs and no slide.
- Grandma
- midnight trips to the loo

If you must have it, cheaper to keep a supply of those half-size plastic toboggans at the top.
At least cheaper than adding in a slide; not necessarily cheaper if you factor in medical bills & lost income.

And it has been done.
http://dornob.com/why-take-the-stairs-w ... n-instead/
My favourite is a very wide stair (near the width of the room), with a slide to one side. Stairs also double as "bleachers" for home theatre.
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Swope904
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Swope904 » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:02 pm

I don't even know where this thread even went anymore lol.

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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Eric » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:35 pm

Swope904 wrote:I don't even know where this thread even went anymore lol.
It's called "thread drift", it happens a lot. You'll get used to it - it's a big part of what keeps the board interesting.
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theCryptofishist
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by theCryptofishist » Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:14 pm

Eric wrote:
Swope904 wrote:I don't even know where this thread even went anymore lol.
It's called "thread drift", it happens a lot. You'll get used to it - it's a big part of what keeps the board interesting.
Thing of us as very wise puppies. We have a lot of good ideas about how to do well at the event, and we're happy to share. But we gotta tumble around and chase our tails, too. There is seldom any malice in it.
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"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

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FossaFerox
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by FossaFerox » Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:56 pm

theCryptofishist wrote: Thing of us as very wise puppies. We have a lot of good ideas about how to do well at the event, and we're happy to share. But we gotta tumble around and chase our tails, too. There is seldom any malice in it.
*glances at his own avatar*

Sounds about right...
ygmir wrote:Everyone loves you there, and no one cares a shit about you..........all at once. and vice versa.

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Swope904
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Swope904 » Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:34 am

Eric wrote:
Swope904 wrote:I don't even know where this thread even went anymore lol.
It's called "thread drift", it happens a lot. You'll get used to it - it's a big part of what keeps the board interesting.
haha yeah I hear you. Im quite familiar with thread drifting. I was just making a joke. :mrgreen:

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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by mdmf007 » Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:16 pm

Swope - you must be new to eplaya, thread drift from Camp set ups to Sparkle Ponies and the best beer on playa is o be expected. Simply steer it back to where you want your thread to go.

My two cents on camp structures and feel free to chime in folks:
1. You will never have as much labor setting up as promised
2. You will never have as much labor tearing down as promised
3. If your using tarp or fabric of any type tie them down tight, the sound of a flapping tarp at 4 in the morning is like a baby crying when your drunk and have a headache and it will shred the tarp.
4. Over build it
5. Make it simple (see 1 and 2 above)
6. Build a mock up of a section at home if you cant build the whole thing - makes life easier on playa

Time on playa is precious, you will have just a week for execution and I have seen too many virgins burn 2/3rds of a week easy fighting camp setups just to give in and go have fun while there is still some time left.

stay dusty.

MDMF
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by FossaFerox » Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:25 pm

Oh man, the lack of labor out there... It doesn't even come down to people's intentions or willingness to pull their own weight, after a while the sheer reality of the situation means you're getting less productive man-hours than you'd ever plan going in.

It turns out sitting in a car for 9 hours a day for 2+ days in a row isn't a great way to warm up for a massive construction project and that building stuff in the dark is HARD. Everybody did what they could, but it took twice as long as I'd expected and I had budgeted for things to go poorly. My body was sore and every single one of my fingers was bleeding around the cuticles by the time we finished.

Then when it came time to leave and we had to break camp between the temple burn and the ominous approaching storm... oh man. Nightmare mode engaged. We put our 4 vehicle drivers and 4 backup vehicle drivers to bed which left 5 guys breaking down a 13 person camp in the middle of the night while doing everything as quietly as possible. Oh, and I was the only one strong enough to pull the rebar. I pulled over 300 feet of rebar out of the playa by hand. My legs and back were sore for days.
ygmir wrote:Everyone loves you there, and no one cares a shit about you..........all at once. and vice versa.

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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:31 pm

My mission for 2014 is to do as little as possible, on-site at least. I want my rig all scienced out so that I roll to a stop and I'm in business. Plug and freekin' play.
It'll take a bunch of work here at home to make that happen, but as MDMF said, playa time is precious. And teardown sucks.
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by tatonka » Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:00 pm

Arriving At BM
Image


I put 4 boxes on top of the camper then tarps all the way around , except for the door area just a shade tarp there . The camper door faced East so I seen the sun rise every morning , the wind came from the West and went right around us. I had all the tarps and poles anchored down with 14" lag bolts right to the ground. Never took a pic of the camp all done :(

Image
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by AntiM » Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:01 pm

Work gloves, work gloves. MyLarry prefers leather, other camp mates like mechanic gloves. Get them, break them in, learn to love them.

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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Lonesomebri » Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:10 pm

Okay, so I've started building the indoor slide out of 2 inch PVC...
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Canoe
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Canoe » Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:18 pm

Lonesomebri, you haven't said if you're using salted or un-salted butter...
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by FossaFerox » Fri Dec 20, 2013 6:45 pm

AntiM wrote:Work gloves, work gloves. MyLarry prefers leather, other camp mates like mechanic gloves. Get them, break them in, learn to love them.
I was wearing gloves. But I strung and tied off 19 guylines. Tying the knots under high tension compressed my cuticles through the gloves and they were so dry from the tiny bit of dust that got on my hands coming through the gate (damn those dust angels) that they split wide open. A lot of lemon water and coconut body butter had them behaving like fingers again after 36 hours, but man did setup suck.

My advice? Moisturize the shit out of your hands before putting your gloves on in the first place.
ygmir wrote:Everyone loves you there, and no one cares a shit about you..........all at once. and vice versa.

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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by ranger magnum » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:00 pm

- I need a minim of 24" steaks...

I think a 32oz Porterhouse would be better....
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Captain Goddammit
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:08 pm

I wonder if ratchet straps would be a good way to go? Big lag bolts screwed in with an impact gun, with ratchets.
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by FIGJAM » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:12 pm

You know how it is with impacts.

If you don't get a good one they don't have enough torque.

My heavy drill has never let me down. 8)
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:19 pm

You know I never thought of it… I've got a really big gear-reduction drill… I should bring it.
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by TT120 » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:23 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:I wonder if ratchet straps would be a good way to go? Big lag bolts screwed in with an impact gun, with ratchets.
I've used them and they work quite well. The Figjam lag bolts work well with them and they're easier to see than rope so you don't strangle yourself on them at night.
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burner von braun
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by burner von braun » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:33 pm

Has anyone screwed lagbolts into the playa using only a socket wrench? I purposely brought several lagbolts with me to test that out this year, but got distracted by fire-breathing dragons. Until now I have been camping without power tools, but like FG's lagbolt\chain link configuration. Just wondering how big of a PITA it is using a wrench.
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by Captain Goddammit » Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:54 pm

burner von braun wrote: I have been camping without power tools
WHAT??!!! How is that possible???
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tatonka
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by tatonka » Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:11 pm

burner von braun wrote:Has anyone screwed lagbolts into the playa using only a socket wrench? I purposely brought several lagbolts with me to test that out this year, but got distracted by fire-breathing dragons. Until now I have been camping without power tools, but like FG's lagbolt\chain link configuration. Just wondering how big of a PITA it is using a wrench.
I hammered mine in about 10" or so and then used a vise grip to twist them in ( forgot my socket :( ) had 14' lag bolts
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Re: Custom Built Camp Structure

Post by burner von braun » Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:44 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
burner von braun wrote: I have been camping without power tools
WHAT??!!! How is that possible???
Yeah.. I know.. pretty lame..
..it's just that there wasn't any room left in the truck; what with the box fans and all. :D



..and tatonka, I really like your 'old school' rig. I recall you posting as you were searching around. It suits you very well!

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