First time burn: Camp ? RV ...... > or < or =

[TomServo]

Use your imagination, put in a little work, and you can avoid the overpriced RV. Porta-potties are provided. Showers are up to you. With an RV....both of those need to be pumped out. I'm more comfortable, in a solid shade structure, like a carport...than in an expensive assed vehicle you have to worry about getting scratched. And...I'm over $1000 richer. The playa is hostile, but there are cheap ways to stay comfortable.

[Captain Goddammit]

If you're going to be sensitive to some dust in your tent consider an rv, but the rv will be dusty soon anyways.

Not so! I keep my windows shut and the AC on and seal up everything that can leak dust in, and it does NOT get dusty inside. For what does get in, I simply run one of those old water-filled Rainbow vacuums a while (when I'm outside) and let it filter the air out. When everyone is choking in a white-out dust storm, I'm inside sipping a margarita and wiping a few fingerprints on the cabinets with Lemon Pledge. Unless I happen to be way across the playa when it hits... then I'm as screwed as everyone else!
My rig is a large, nice, 20-year-old truck camper that I paid less for than what people pay to rent an RV for a week. I have to drive a truck out there anyway to haul the trailer carrying all my BM shit... You could pull one of those pop-up tent trailers with your small car unless it's something stupid like a Smart car.
You can also live very well in a tent/yurt/dome if you set yourself up nice. Get/make a swamp cooler. Make a kitchen setup with some counter space and a "sink" made from a plastic tub that drains into a bucket. Get a nice little battery-powered electric shower pump and some sort of water heater. Bring a nice bed of some sort rather than tossing a sleeping bag on the ground. Air mattresses fold up into small cars nicely. Bring a spare and/or a patch kit. You've got all year to collect stuff and life is SO grand when you bring what you need to make Burning Man comfortable instead of torture!

[Elderberry]

So lets say by the powers of the great gods I can pull of saving that much money to rent a RV of any size

Key word RENT...

I have read on some threads that on the Playa logos/brand are frowned upon...

So if I rent.... is it custom to cover the big I AM CORPORATE logo?

http://www.nunativs.com/wp-content/uplo ... 00x169.jpg

First thing that came to my mind was the movie RV the movie

Some do, some don't.

JK

[bx1]

I gotta say this:

First, it is possible to keep an R.V. clean, or at least semi-clean enough that you can fully clean it after the burn. The real problem with renting is usually the time and energy required.

I rented an R.V. for the first time at the 2009 burn and I gotta tell ya, for everything it provided, it was quite a headache. I had to get it back 2 days after the burn and several problems delayed us. By the time we got home to SoCal we had less than half a day to fully clean it before turning it in. IT WAS HARD! Not mention I was freegin exhausted, I drove most of the way back so no sleep! Yeah we barely pulled it off. Now if you own your own R.V. and you take care of it enough to at least make it cleanable when you get home... Then that will work. Mainly because you can obviously take your time when you get home cleaning it, no need to rush like with a rental.

That's my two cents, hope it helps.

[bx1]

Oh and about corporate logos, as long as its not big and obnoxious I wouldn't really worry about it. Plenty of people don't cover it up anyway, it's not like they'll kick you out if you don't cover it up.

Of course having giant 30 foot banner advertising some business of yours might get some playa hate your way.

[theCryptofishist]

Oh and about corporate logos, as long as its not big and obnoxious I wouldn't really worry about it. Plenty of people don't cover it up anyway, it's not like they'll kick you out if you don't cover it up.

Technically true, but some of us really enjoy not being the target of advertising for that tiny sliver of the year and we remember that many people manage to cover up or make sly jokes with it.

[lucky420]

Our camp had some fun sitting around and looking at that Budget logo and figuring out how to change the words around. Using newsprint, blue painters tape and spray paint. Truck Rentals became Fuck Regrets...

[TomServo]

Our camp had some fun sitting around and looking at that Budget logo and figuring out how to change the words around. Using newsprint, blue painters tape and spray paint. Truck Rentals became Fuck Regrets...

Budge N fuck rentals

[Dr Helix]

We got "Ru Paul" out of "Uhaul"

[goddess_M]

Ok, so here we are BM virgins with limited funds and we are in Nashville, TN. This means driving all our supplies to BRC and hoping this all works out in our favor. Now one of us (me) has NEVER camped anywhere. Let me repeat that, I HAVE NEVER CAMPED ANYWHERE, not even in a sheet fort in the living room as a kid. I simply don't do sleeping on the ground (or any derivitive there of). But now as I approach 40, I feel as though I have to go where the spirit takes me and it is to BM.

But the tent vs. camper issue (wanted to build a yurt ), the showering , the cold at night...this has all led me to the edge of a despair. I have read & re-read many posts, blogs, forums, articles, etc. on these issues but still I feel as though my brain has become a whirling dervish and I am lost.

[TomServo]

RVs are a waste of time and money. If you dont like to get dirty....Burning Man probably isnt the place for you! This is where imagination takes over! You don't NEED a fucking house on wheels!

[AntiM]

Ok, so here we are BM virgins with limited funds and we are in Nashville, TN. This means driving all our supplies to BRC and hoping this all works out in our favor. Now one of us (me) has NEVER camped anywhere. Let me repeat that, I HAVE NEVER CAMPED ANYWHERE, not even in a sheet fort in the living room as a kid. I simply don't do sleeping on the ground (or any derivitive there of). But now as I approach 40, I feel as though I have to go where the spirit takes me and it is to BM.

But the tent vs. camper issue (wanted to build a yurt ), the showering , the cold at night...this has all led me to the edge of a despair. I have read & re-read many posts, blogs, forums, articles, etc. on these issues but still I feel as though my brain has become a whirling dervish and I am lost.

Start camping, even if it is a night in a sheet fort in your living room. Start trying alternative shower methods (wait for summer). The cold at night isn't that bad, we sleep beautifully under a plush blanket. Just go camping a couple times. You can do this.

[wraith]

Like the lady says, do some googling, find a state park near you, and get at least a couple nights camping in as soon as the weather won't kill you.


I assumed this is how everyone tested their gear and packing lists before the long drive to the burn, is it just me?

[mudpuppy000]

Ok, so here we are BM virgins with limited funds and we are in Nashville, TN. This means driving all our supplies to BRC and hoping this all works out in our favor. Now one of us (me) has NEVER camped anywhere. Let me repeat that, I HAVE NEVER CAMPED ANYWHERE, not even in a sheet fort in the living room as a kid. I simply don't do sleeping on the ground (or any derivitive there of). But now as I approach 40, I feel as though I have to go where the spirit takes me and it is to BM.

But the tent vs. camper issue (wanted to build a yurt ), the showering , the cold at night...this has all led me to the edge of a despair. I have read & re-read many posts, blogs, forums, articles, etc. on these issues but still I feel as though my brain has become a whirling dervish and I am lost.

Start camping, even if it is a night in a sheet fort in your living room. Start trying alternative shower methods (wait for summer). The cold at night isn't that bad, we sleep beautifully under a plush blanket. Just go camping a couple times. You can do this.

If funds aren't an issue, I think RV'ing is the way to go for you. I'd really try a few camping trips beforehand too before you decide to go to BRC. (even if you decide to RV it)

[dragonpilot]

Yes RV. Because........ SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER!!!! TOILET TOILET TOILET!!!!! BED BED BED!!!!! And this is coming from someone who built a hexayurt last year. Loved it as a community chill space. But I wouldn't trade my little camper for all the tents in the world. Doesn't have to be big or the lap of luxury. Mine's an ugly little cuss from the 70"s I bought for $500. But it has a SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER!!!! TOILET TOILET TOILET!!!!! BED BED BED!!!!! Hey just one man's opinion.

GREAT! Now I know where to go to take a crap and clean up! And, hey, mebbe take a nap, too!

[Lord Of Ruin]

Yurt, Yurt, Yurt....you can build one for around $500 and you can use it over and over and over. You can also decorate/paint it really cool...

Pretty close to ditto on a cheap/old trailer. So what's the upside of the yurt then?

[gyre]

Like this


Can I use my rv as a daily driver?
Wonder how it'll do on the track?

[kraig]

We're going back for our 7th burn this year, and still having the debate about RV v. Tent v. Yurt. We've tented 5 times, did an RV last time, and probably will build a yurt this year. For as much space as an RV takes up, it really isn't that big inside...and definitely not private if you have 4 or 5 people in it. On the upside, even when our RV's generator died, we did still have a functioning propane refrigerator. And there was zero setup when we arrived in the middle of the night and wanted to start sleeping.

The yurt of course feels far more in the spirit of Burning Man, something that we create and is personal to us. And a heck of a lot less expensive.

To help some of our newbies visualize the space difference, i created the following image below that shows to H12 hexayurts next to the 31 foot El Monte RV we had. EACH H12 Yurt has about the same amount of usable space (168 sq. ft) as a 31 foot RV (175 sq ft).

Yurt vs RV2.jpg

[vargaso]

If you don't mind not having a built in shower, then I recommend renting a cargo van and sleeping in that. I just checked on Budget Rentals and it's $505 for a week, way cheaper than an RV. If you're into it, I'd highly recommend using $100 of the money you're saving and build a monkey hut to go over the van (instructions here: http://www.chromatest.net/Lovemonkey/). That's the method I've been using for a few years with our minivan, it's AWESOME. I did the tent thing my first few years, screw that. A van will carry all your stuff (just bring a small tent to stow your gear while on the playa) and sleeping in the van is nice and quiet, dust free and with the monkey hut, cool enough to sleep until noon. You can even move the van during the day to use the monkey hut as a shade structure. And of course, a van is smaller than an RV, so you won't have to worry about driving a large vehicle.

And on a personal note, a van is less of an eyesore than an RV. That's just my opinion. Anyway, hope this helps.

[dragonpilot]

El Monte with a small amount of painter's tape becomes Full Monte...

[HappySarah]

I was a virgin last year, and went with the RV option. RV is not as luxurious as people think. It comes with lots of downsides including: high costs and many unexpected hidden ones, you can’t use the toilet and the shower everyday or you will live in a stinky little place that will make you sick (remember Burning Man doesn’t have a dumping station so you have to use the RV water very conservatively and make sure not to fill up the grey water tank), sharing a small space between 3-4 people could become very uncomfortable, you really need to be close friends with whoever you’re sharing the RV with because you would want to kill each other by the end of the week, RV gets dirty very easily and it’s VERY hard to clean after the burn, and lastly, driving the RV is a real hassle and could be a horror experience!
I am so building a yurt this year!
The upsides of the RV were having an air conditioning in the day time and sleeping comfortably, not fearing the sand storms, having some privacy when you need it, and my fav one was having a fridge and a freezer that work ALL the time because they work on propane. I am a huge foodie and the only reason that will encourage me to rent an RV again would be having the fridge and the freezer! I premade and froze gourmet meals last year for me and my friends and we had good food every day and shared it with our camp!
I would only go with an RV again if I could afford sharing it with one more person only, and this one more person has to be my bf or a really close friend who I know very well  unfortunately, this option is still out of my budget 

[Mojojita]

Sarah - you don't have to do without a freezer if you don't have an RV or a generator. Look up the dry ice thread. I have kept ice cream, tri-tip, pork loin, etc. frozen for 10 days on playa with a very well insulated dry ice chest.

[Captain Goddammit]

Driving something with an automatic transmission, power everything, and a panoramic view is a hassle? How?
You can do all sorts of other things, like buying a cheap used trailer or camper that has that awesome fridge. If you bring more water in big barrels (then pour the grey water into barrels too) like I do, you CAN use the shower every day and NOT have a stinky rig. By the way, you shouldn't have a stinky rig if you put the chemicals in the holding tanks that you are supposed to.

[cow dog]

ac, shower, freezer, towing 300 gals water, the only way to go, plus chicks love a personal pottie. fyi, plenty of cheap disposable shitbox rvs, trailers, hit the boards here every end of july first of aug. here in reno, called burner specials, some people buy them use them, store them for 35 a month use again

[HappySarah]

Mojojita, thanks for the advice. Actually, I brought two coolers, dry ice, and ice packs last year in case the RV fridge stops working, but we didn't need them. I remember reading tens of pages in the dry ice thread and they were full of great advice! I will most likely go with the dry ice method this year now that I am building a yurt.