How To Desert Proof Your Bus

[lapeer20m]

i've taken my bus(s) to bm the past 3 years. Here are my thoughts:

YOU CANNOT KEEP THE PLAYA OUT!
Trying to keep the playa out will ruin your burner experience because you'll constantly be working toward a goal that is not worth the effort.

if you bus is stationary for any period of time, put a rug or tarp on the ground outside the door. This seemed to help a lot.


I build my buses so they come apart easily inside. Every year i come home from the burn, i take EVERYTHING out o fthe bus, park the front tires on a curb and spray out the inside with a garden hose from the ceiling to the floor.

I like to put rugs on the floor for people to walk on at BM, then i roll up and throw the rugs away before i leave nevada. That way you have a realitively clean floor for the ride home. The cloth material that covers my couch and other seats is removable. I would also suggest that you find a suitable material to cover your furniture in...something you can sit on while at bm, then remove for the ride home. riding home surrounded by playa dust can be less than desirable.

as far as air filtration......I've considered attempting to use a hepa air filter unit to keep the air clean inside the bus, but this is only necessary during a big dust storm. I've found that if you button down the hatches ie: close all windows/doors during a dust storm the enviroment inside the bus is very tollerable.

Enjoy the burn! Spend a week cleaning the bus out sometime after yo uarrive home.

 

[lapeer20m]

i didn't do anything to the air filter on the bus other than try and change it after the burn. The only time the bus gets hot is climbing the rockies.

 

[hoser-SKO]

Ok I give up what is "Burning Man" lmao

 

[Steve-SKO]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_man

 

[Elliot Naess]

Burning Man - Welcome Home

Hardest part for Old #35 (white with red stripe) was climbing from I-80 to Black Rock
City. That's a loooong hard pull! Best done at dawn when it is cool, but you can see.

The KazBus (party bus above) has gone thru several starters out there, but it is in
constant stop-and-start use. Exact reason for failed starters is unknown.

What dust?

 

[the_experience03]

Heat, flywheel out of whack (missing teeth make quick work of starters), low cranking power....the possibilities are endless.

Someday I will make it to Burningman.....someday. Maybe I can bring a fleet of my own buses and make my own art display.

 

[Elliot Naess]

Yes, the starter problem could be anything, like you say. Not likely related to
the Playa. I just tossed it out there in case it rang a bell for some desert rat who
knows more about deserts and starters and... I'm rambling. Just thinking
about BM makes me giddy!

Here's my definition of Burning Man:

Burning Man is a giant amusement park, where the VISITORS invent, create, bring,
install and operate all the rides, entertainment and other attractions THEMSELVES.
For one week.

 

[Elliot Naess]

Serpent Mother by the artist collaborative Flaming Lotus Girls.

This should give you a sense of the spectacular art at Burning Man!
The head and neck move, and the giant mouth opens and closes. The entire snake
is equipped with propane nozzles and the flames can be controlled to “dance” to
music. Yes, they go thru quite a lot of propane in a week!

Photo by Tristan Savatier -
http://www.playa-dust.com

[The photo is copyrighted. I sure hope Mr. Savatier doesn't mind that I copied it
from his web site to show you guys.]

 

[the_experience03]

What does Al Gore think about BM? It sure seems to me that art like that is contributing to global warming on a grand scale.

 

[Steve-SKO]

What does Al Gore think about BM? It sure seems to me that art like that is contributing to global warming on a grand scale.

It can't use as much fuel as he does traveling around the world promoting his movie!

 

[Elliot Naess]

Well, it's utterly trivial of course. But even so, they are starting to do things to "offset"
the impact -- if chiefly for the value of the symbolism. And this year's BM theme is The
Green Man -- green as in environmental concerns.

Now. You probably think you have seen bonfires and fireworks before. I thought I had.
Hoo boy!

 

[Crazy]

Al Gore is liar and a hippopotamus, I mean a hypicrite . He flys around in a private jet and his utility bill is 30 times what mine is. Give me a break. He drives a hybrid just like Kerry and that ever so sweet wife of his. I'll believe it when I see it. He's got some nerve telling everyone how to live their lives when he is an energy hog. I think he is full of hot air and every time he opens his mouth, he contributes to global warming. My 2 cents. Some stuff to read.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... id=5072659

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=al ... ility+bill


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=al ... gle+Search


At least he did do something for our benefit. He invented the internet.

 

[oldog12]

... I think Al Gore's hot air is a major component to global warming...

 

[the_experience03]

From someone who makes their living off batteries (me!): Hybrid cars are all well and good, but the batteries are almost exlusively nickel metal hydride in chemistry. Where does nickel come from? Smelting (that's coal fired electricity, baby!) nickel from strip mines.


The green man....how about a green man torch powered by veggie oil burning copper tubing?

 

[hoser-SKO]

Al Gore didnt invent the internet so you can add liar to the list

 

[lapeer20m]

Al Gore didnt invent the internet so you can add liar to the list

you're joking right? everyone knows al gore invented the internet!


don't forget the most important rule at burningman

SAFETY THIRD!

It's suprising that with more than 30 thousand people in the desert for a week in the middle of nowhere with no power, no running water, Tons of fire "art" and no OSHA that more people don't get killed. I don't know the official numbers, but i think burningman only kills about 1 person every year or two.

 

[Elliot Naess]

SAFETY THIRD!

The Burning Man organizers go to great length to inform all potensial participants of
the nature of the event. They insist you read The Survival Guide, which is all over their
web site, and when you buy a ticket they send you a printed Survival Guide.

One fundamental concept is RADICAL SELF RELIANCE. They also spell out that PARTICIPANTS
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN SURVIVAL, SAFETY AND COMFORT.

In everyday life, I'm agast at how careless people are -- how little they analyze their
immediate environment and act accordingly -- seemingly relying on "the system" to
keep them safe, or patch them up afterwards. At Burning Man, YOU are the system.

Burning Man is not for everyone.

That said, Burning Man DOES have an extensive emergency services department -
- first aid stations and so forth.

Besides all the official information on http://www.burningman.com, their forum ("e-playa") is a
good source of information. It's huge; it makes ours look like fart in the desert.

An other amazing thing is how many different kinds of people participate in BM. ALL
kinds of people, you might say. I stumbled across the fact that there was a Quaker
"Friends Meeting" (church service) out there.

But Burning Man is definitely not for everyone.

 

[Branden-SKO]

I've been twice, and my bus is cooler inside than outside when it's really hot. I've also taken it to Montana in the summer, and it's plenty comfortable to leave my dog onboard during the day. I did two things: first, I coated the roof with Kool-Seal or similar product (Lowes and Home Despot have it). It's a white roof treatment that includes some type of ceramic bead additive (which can also be added by itself to any paint--good idea if you are painting for the playa) to increase reflectivity.

I also got heat-reflective mirroring for the windows. Also available at Home Depot, it's easy to apply to the flat windows of a bus. There are several types, I got one with some mirror coating, but not as radical as it could be as I wanted as much clarity from the inside (I didn't want tinted windows). The mirroring is cool looking, and it decreases heat absorption significantly.

I think each treatment is supposed to reduce heat absorption by over 90%, and if you crack the windows for air circulation you'll get some fresh air and most of the reflectivity. When it blows, though, and the dust is up, I agree with previous posts: batten down the hatches.

No problems with filters, though I have them replaced every year.

Have fun, be careful if you are driving it as an art car on the playa. Takes a LOT of concentration, and there are morons trying to get hit everywhere.

Branden

 

[lapeer20m]

did you make it to the burn this year? how did it go?

 

[Branden-SKO]

We made it, the new roof deck was a champ, as was the bus. I did start getting some noise that I think is a loose belt (screeching, then subsiding) coming from what I think is a cooling fan. It kicks on when the engine is running hard (uphill, etc.), and off after a little while. By the time we made it back to Seattle it was clearly having a tough time engaging. I'm bringing it in this week! Other than that, a perfect trip. The playa was great, and campmates said they saw your bus there (maybe the old one?). Did you go?

Branden