The First-Timer's Burning Man RV & Trailer Checklist

Renting a trailer for your first burn removes a huge amount of suffering, but it introduces a different set of problems: towing, power, water, waste and dust. This checklist covers the things that actually go wrong, in the order you need to deal with them.

Before you book anything

1. 1Secure your event ticket first. A trailer without a ticket is an expensive lawn ornament.
2. 2Secure a vehicle pass. Every vehicle entering the city needs one, and a trailer being towed counts as part of your vehicle.
3. 3Confirm your camp placement or plan to camp in open playa. Placement changes how and when your trailer can be delivered.
4. 4Check your tow vehicle rating against the trailer you want. This is the single most common reason a rental falls through late.

Work out your water before you work out anything else

Plan on 1.5 gallons per person per day for drinking alone, and closer to 3 gallons per person per day once you include cooking, dishes and a short daily rinse. A four-person crew for eight days is somewhere between 48 and 96 gallons. Trailer fresh tanks do not cover that on their own, which is why extra potable water is the add-on almost everyone ends up needing.

Understand your gray water obligation

Leave No Trace is not a suggestion here. Gray water cannot be dumped on the playa surface — not dish water, not shower water, not the bucket from rinsing your feet. A self-contained trailer handles this by holding it in a tank, which means the tank fills and eventually needs pumping. For a full camp of four or more over a full week, budget for at least one mid-week pump-out.

Power and fuel

• •Air conditioning is the biggest draw by far, and the afternoon is when you want it most.
• •Generator run hours are limited by camp etiquette and sometimes by placement rules. Solar plus a battery bank covers overnight loads quietly.
• •Fuel burn is higher than the spec sheet suggests once you factor in heat and dust in the intake.
• •Bring a way to charge phones and lights that does not require starting the generator.

Dust-proofing

Playa dust is alkaline and extremely fine. It finds door seals, window tracks, slide-out gaskets and every vent. Every trailer we rent is dust-sealed before it goes out, but you should still tape vulnerable seams, keep a door discipline rule in your camp, and have goggles and masks within reach of the door rather than buried in a bag.

The week before you leave

• •Confirm your handoff time and location in writing.
• •Ship anything bulky ahead rather than hauling it.
• •Photograph the trailer at handoff. Good rental companies want this as much as you do.
• •Know where your camp address is and how your trailer is getting to it.
• •Pack the first 24 hours separately so you are not unpacking the whole trailer at 2am in the dark.