Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Post by zaphodsotherhead on Mar 26, 2004 7:41:22 GMT -5
This is going to my first roo and I'm soooo excited...we were thinking of bringing a minivan and taking out the back seats to make room for a bed and all...has anyone done this at before? did it work well or not?
the only thing that I'm worried about is that it might get too hot inside the car...but I was thinking that if we put a tarp canopy over the entire vehicle that may help keep it a little cooler...and I don't mind sleeping with the windows/door open either...any suggestions from some veterans would be great though...
i was also wondering if we'd be able to bring the citronella type tiki torches...
-You're exactly right about the heat. You are basically camping out in an open field in Tennessee in the middle of the summer, so you want to try to get your tent in some shade if possible. For me this ends up meaning I put my tent in the shade of my car. The sun can feel really hot when you went to sleep at dawn and plan to go back to the show at noon (you may be sleeping more during daylight than night hours).
-all of the supplies (food, clothes, beer etc.) will take up some room. I tend to store this stuff in my car. I'm pretty trusting of the Bonnaroo crowd and have never had any kind of theft problems, but it is still nice to be able to lock everything of value up in the car just to be safe. I think by sleeping comfortably in your minivan you might be displacing all your food, clothes etc. to places they might be less secure.
Just a few thoughts, I'm sure you could make it work.
I gotta agree with Faletti on his first point. The heat is a definite killer... so if you decide to make a go of your plan, just keep your vehicle shaded as much as possible!
Yeah, you really oughta get the tent. Wal-Mart has amazing deals on decent gear; $35 for a 10x12 shade tent; $30 for a tent. And bring all the tarps you can afford, along with some twine, rope, and/or bungees.
And think about a hat, too.
Final thought. Sunscreen works way better if you can put it on in the cool of the morning and rub in some fresh before you go out. Even if you *never* use sunscreen, make this the exception. And that applies in line, too...a LOT of left-arm sunburns on drivers stuck on the way in.
Post by jambandjohn on Mar 29, 2004 2:13:46 GMT -5
Have tried the sleeping the van thing before. Think of it as a large metal oven with wheels... Leave the windows open? The bugs will eat you alive. Buy or borrow the tent, it'll make for a happier time. As for the sunscreen, I've have to have a spot removed and I wouldn't wish the experience on anybody. Put it on early, use a lot of it on and add more thru out the day. Besides most sun screen is scented and after a couple of showerless days it will almost be a public service....
Post by BonnarooPaul on Mar 30, 2004 14:58:47 GMT -5
i've always wanted a Kenmore self-cleaning oven with optional cd player and leather interior...ha ha ha... yeah it gets hot..actually even in my tent it was hot...
make sure that if you get a tent, you get one with a shade over it
Post by JayFromRochester on Mar 30, 2004 17:09:24 GMT -5
The most comfortable place to sleep last year turned out not to be my huge airmattress in my tent, but the army cot one of the boys set up in the shade/screen house. By 7 or 8 in the morning your regular tent would be 90 or 100 degrees, but that screen house would still be, relatively, cool. By day three, as soon as someone got of that cot someone else would dive on it for their turn at a quick nap.
Hell, I even slept under my truck the first afternoon after we set up because that was the only place I could find any real shade.
Post by JayFromRochester on Mar 31, 2004 10:08:34 GMT -5
Yup. A Ranger 4x4.
It was still kind of close quarters, but it sure beat baking in that tent and staying awake anymore just wasn't an option. At that point, between working till noon on Wed., traveling to Tenn., waiting in line, and setting up camp, I hadn't had any sleep at all in 30 or 32 hours.
Last year we took a huge tent that's large enough to park a car under and it was open on all four sides. I'm sure there's a technical name for it but I don't know it so we'll just call it an extremely large tent. On one of the sides we did not put the poles up so that we would be shaded from the early morning sun. We used beach chairs to sleep on and it was great because we were covered overhead if it rained. We never got hot b/c we had a constant breeze coming in from all the open sides around us. It was a pretty sweet setup. I don't think I could do it any other way.
We slept in our van at last year's Roo. We built a frame for a twin mattress that was high enough to stash some tupperware (one for clothes and ish and one for foodstuffs) and 2 1/2 gallon water jugs. Set up a 10' x 10' screen house on the back and left the hatch open, did a bit of tarp draping (thanks to our neighbors), and were fine most of the weekend. A bit toasty but tolerable. Hoping we can afford an RV this 'round.
Not to beat a dead horse,but...don't sleep in your car. Aside from the heat, you have to be carefull not to leave your doors open a lot, as you car battery could run low over 3/4 days of opening & closing. Also, not to be a smartass, but why would you want to sleep in your car if you can sleep outside?
Post by fluffhead720 on Apr 26, 2004 13:46:47 GMT -5
The first Roo I slept in a tent the first night only to be awaken at 8am by the heat. The rest of Roo I found that sleeping in the car with the windows cracked was excellentee!!!
It be great with a minivan then you could leave the back open where your sleeping. It should help you keep cool.
I'll be passed out in my trunk this year. There is a little door in the backseat that allows me to put my legs through it. Used it once last year at Phish, and had a great night sleep.
Post by spacebunny on May 17, 2004 11:23:02 GMT -5
I dont see why you'd WANT to sleep in your car. Not only will it be hotter than balls in there, it's just not camping. If you can't afford a tent or something like that, feel free to head over to my site We'll have a few tents and a screenhouse. Anyone is welcome, the more the merrier!
check out ebay for tents.......i bought a great 6x5x4 footer w/ rain cover (water proof...resistant) for $10.....yeah i know i'm a cheap b*st*rd.....but, i now have a tent
I see I wasn't the only person with this thought. My issue is that I'm flying in to TN and then renting a small SUV. I just don't see how I'm going to lug a tent or tarp with me (I'm coming alone too). Any suggestions? This is my first time at Bonnaroo and actually my first experience of this kind. Am I screwed?
Post by TimewarpShakti on Jun 2, 2004 23:53:24 GMT -5
I'm flying in -- and I'm bringing a tent (a decent one doesn't take up that much space and isn't that heavy).
I'm flying southwest airlines which allows THREE checked in bags:
bag one: a large rubbermaid plastic bin into which my 50 quart 5 day cooler fits perfectly. In the cooler will be: my tent wrapped around a bottle of rum... or two. The tent mallet, extra stakes, and the tarps.
bag two: a large duffle bag in which I have: a chair or two, my air mattress and pump, a large patio umbrella (a great deal from Big Lots for $6), and most of my other odds and ends, including a set of sheets
Bag three: shoes (I'm SUCH a girl) , my sleeping bag, any clothes that don't fit into my carry on (and any toiletries that shouldn't go on board).
I'm pretty sure I could squeeze it all into 2 bags if I had too...
Holy cow! Talk about making me feel unprepared!!! (That was me who posted above under NewRoo). I've never done anything like this - in fact, I don't even go camping (raised in Oregon too, can you believe it?!) - so, I don't know what to bring and how to bring it. I figured I'd find some type of grocery store on the way in from Nashville and stock up on stuff that doesn't need to go in a cooler. I was trying to go light - figured on my backpack for clothes and stuff (I'm with you on the shoes sister!) and maybe a sleeping bag and pillow. Man! I don't know if reading all these posts is helping me or making me freak out even more!!!!
Post by TimewarpShakti on Jun 3, 2004 1:18:32 GMT -5
you NEED a tent unless someone has room for you in theirs.
get one.
Walmart has a pretty nice one for $40 right now.
get a tarp/groundcover for UNDER your tent
try to get one for OVER.
you need something to sleep on in your tent - sleeping bag at minimum -- air mattress = much better.
unless you want to pay the OVER price for bottles of cold water: get a cooler. A five day cooler is not going to need to be fed as many bags of ice. ice is EXPENSIVE at roo and requires waiting in a line for a half hour.
You'll be fine no matter what...but it is better to be prepared for anything. Keep it light. I am sure you can find someone's screen house to crash in. If I were you I would bring some duct tape, or rope, or an exta tarp and you can contribute to the campsite. Stop by and see me and my buddy! We got plenty of room. We will have a Red Sox flag a'wavin high. Good Luck!
Post by Capttrips25 on Jun 3, 2004 13:54:23 GMT -5
we did something like that at Roo, I have an S10 pick up with one of those camper shells on the back. we put a matress in the back and a shade tent extended out the back. I used a SILVER plastic trarp over the truck to reflect heat and a fan that plugs in a cigarette lighter to vent the heat out. It worked well because it cooled off after dark and the only problem we had was all the dew that formed inside and made everthing damp.
its all good and we will servive, after all, its just camping. The worst thing would be that all yer stuff got wet and you couldn't sleep at all.
Holy cow! Talk about making me feel unprepared!!! (That was me who posted above under NewRoo). I've never done anything like this - in fact, I don't even go camping (raised in Oregon too, can you believe it?!) - so, I don't know what to bring and how to bring it. I figured I'd find some type of grocery store on the way in from Nashville and stock up on stuff that doesn't need to go in a cooler. I was trying to go light - figured on my backpack for clothes and stuff (I'm with you on the shoes sister!) and maybe a sleeping bag and pillow. Man! I don't know if reading all these posts is helping me or making me freak out even more!!!!
Babyroo, you're welcome to chill with my group and a cold one .. look for the Purdue gold/black P flag stuck to the top of one of our RVs and say hi!