UPDATE ON REPLY INSTRUCTIONS: It'll make it a LOT easier if we track replies in a google form. If you're merely replying as requested, please use this to provide your reply: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rN8dEm3FMGWnG3aL2d47830Pc0AQyiSOLMN4sFAzkVE/viewform?usp=send_form
Use replies to this email for further discussion (only). Thanks -jb On Saturday, January 3, 2015 12:15:13 PM UTC-5, Jay Batson wrote: > > Hi, fellow yurt-fans - > > I’m inquiring how many people would be interested in an organized, > large-scale yurt storage solution, with on-playa pickup/drop-off, for > year-to-year storage at Burning Man. After reading this email, *RSVP with > answers to these three questions if interested.* If enough people want > this, I'll go do it. > > Questions: > > 1. How many yurts would you want to store as described here? > 2. Would you be ok that the trailer contents are NOT insured? > 3. Do you need transport to/from your camp on-Playa? And would you be > ok with one of the transport choices below? > > Background: > I suspect a large number of yurts sit unused between burns. They take > up valuable space in sheds / garages, or sit on (& kill) lawns. Some > owners pay for storage near home. Yurts transported to/from the Playa get > beat up (by other camp gear or ropes), and reduce gas mileage for people > hauling them on cars. Plus, they're just a pain in the neck to plan for & > transport. > > This seems silly. Lots of big BM camps put stuff in semi-trailers, haul > them on/off playa & store them in Gerlach between burns. Why not do that > with trailers full of Yurts? > > Plan: > Here's my goals. (Read "GOALS"; this is an in-process plan, and is not yet > a firm offer. ;-) > > - 1+ dry, enclosed semi-trailers 100% devoted to and optimized for > yurt storage. No camp gear. Period. (# trailers depends on demand. I'm > currently targeting 50-55 yurts / trailer.) > - Random access. A key planning goal is that nobody should have to > wait for the trailer to be unloaded to get their yurt. Show up, pull your > yurt, go to your camp. > - I’ve been using a 3D CAD package and have identified a loading > scheme that enables this. > - Available readily on-Playa for yurt pick-up & drop-off. Hopefully: > - Placed somewhere between 5:30-6:30 and F-H. > - Arrives at least Thursday before gate open (if not earlier), and > leaves Tuesday or Wednesday after the burn. > - Unattended, locked trailers. Those with yurts in storage would be > given the combination to a lock on the trailer doors. Burners GOTTA LOCK > THE DOOR behind them as they leave. :-) > - Dependability & quality. Your shelter matters. > > Other details: > > - Wrapping. Yurts must be package-wrapped in a tarp (use your floor > tarp), with straps to keep it tight enough to be dragged along the trailer > floor ON EDGE. Maximum 1/4” ply sandwich; prefer 1/8” ply. > - It'd be best if every yurt wrap also had the owners name stenciled > on the tarp. No matter what, there will be string tags that attach to > every > yurt along the edge visible when stored. > - If practical, there'll be a chart showing where every owner's > yurt is packed once the trailer is fully packed. > - All fees paid pre-burn. > - Contents insured? TBD. I have no cost quotes yet; but I'm betting > trailer contents insurance will cost $thousands/year, which drives up > costs > a LOT - maybe by $50/yurt. > > Target cost: $200 / yurt / year for H12 with 1” foam (14" thick > allowance). Other yurt sizes TBD, but proportionate. E.g. 1-1/2” foam is > a 50% price premium. This price is still WILDLY subject to change. > > On-Playa transport: Early discussions with people have revealed a need for > a way to haul yurts between the trailer & camps. I’m VERY early in thinking > about this. Single yurts can be transported from the trailer to your > camp on the roof of whatever car you came in - even without a rack. But > camps with many yurts may need bulk transport. I've started looking > for flatbed trailers that can hold 10 (or so) yurts, towed behind a pickup. > Like the semi-trailer, this needs purchased, and it's costly enough that > transport needs to be an incremental charge. Here's my early thoughts on > that: > > - Bulk transport at pre-arranged times. ($20/yurt 1-way, $40/yurt > round trip). Camps with lots of yurts would pre-arrange for pickup > (pre-burn!). > - Transport on fixed, scheduled route. ($25/yurt 1-way, $50/yurt > RT). Designed for people with one, or a couple of yurts, but no car, who > have friends. Use friends to carry your yurt a couple streets, and wait > for > the flatbed, which runs all the way around the Playa on one ring street - > e.g. H street. Runs Saturday-Monday (both weekends), from 2:00(street) > &H and running clockwise to 10:00/H. Runs 2x/day (starts at 11am & > 4pm). > - Single yurt transport on demand. ($30/yurt, $60 RT). This is the > biggest waste of resources, so comes at a premium cost. It should be > discouraged. > - Requires volunteers to drive the truck / trailer! Like > pickup/dropoff, nobody wants to spend their entire burn handling yurts. > - (Note: I'm looking at various cart ideas that can be pushed / > pulled. I don't want to complicate this thread with a discussion on that. > Start another thread. ;-) > > RSVP by replying to this email. Please delete all the text other than the > questions / answers, to keep the thread readable. > Thanks > -jb > > PS - Here's some other after-notes: > > - I’m coordinating with Hal Muskat on this, since he’s been doing some > storage to-date. My aim is to dramatically grow the size / capabilities in > order to drive down costs & increase availability. > - I'm working on balancing this being a for-fee service in the > presence of a gifting economy. I'm comfortable with this proposal as-is > for > two reasons: > > > 1. Widespread precedent. There are already many vendors who charge for > transport on/off playa, and provide storage off-site. Lots of camps > already > use such services. The concept is already a fact of life in Burning > Man. > BRYST becomes merely one more of those vendors, happily focused on yurt > owners. > 2. I intend to set this up as a "public benefit corporation". > (Google that if needed, or see here > <http://benefitcorp.net/quick-faqs>.) I want an operating form that > gives me the ability to operate quickly and independently; lots of > last-minute stuff needs to get done at Burning Man, and I frankly don't > want to have to track down a bunch of burners on-playa to because some > expenditure needs a majority decision. > > BUT, my goal is NOT profit; I don't need money. My goal is to > benefit burners. The public benefit corporation structure works perfect > for > this. I'll make the corp's stated purpose be to benefit burners who > own yurts, and will issue an annual report on how well it is doing. > (Using, > e.g. NPS score, transparency in financial costs, etc. It needs to be > lightweight, but accurate & transparent.) > > I'll aim to operate at roughly break-even. (Actually, I'll aim to > be slightly cash-positive to create reserves for unexpected future > costs > like trailer repair, etc.) > > I believe this to be consistent with Burning Man ethos; I welcome > discussion on this topic. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
