At 8:32 AM -0700 7/19/04, Rob Campbell wrote:
>I'm curious about how you prepare and clean your van after
>burningman.  I wouldnt want to take mine there, yet I would love to
>take mine there.
>
>Are you worried about the caustic effects of the alkali?  How do you
>clean the interior?  I've seen a ton of vanagons out there, so I
>know people are doing it, but I just cant imagine what my engine and
>oil would be like afterwards.

Ahh, the infamous alkali dust of the Black Rock desert.   It's weird
stuff.  Last year I had this great idea.  After finding my camp-site,
I duct-taped a home furnace filter to the open driver's side window,
so I could get airflow w/o having dust enter.   At home depot earlier
that week, I had a choice between the $3 no-name brand home furnace
filter and the $25 3M HEPA filter.   I chose to spend $3.  The dust
didn't blink twice and came right through it.   I'm not sure if the
HEPA would have helped or not.  The dust is small.  It's more like
talcum powerder than sand, and it has this weird magnetic quality --
you can't rinse it off with just water.  It requires some wiping too.

As for cleaning the inside of the van, you basically just clean as
normal (vacuum, soapy rag, etc.) and it's not a big deal.  Of course,
your van will never be the same again (you fill find new pockets of
dust in strange places until the end of time).  But it's a van,
right?  Not a show car.

As for the alkali hurting oil or engine?  It depends what conditions
are like when you drive in.   It's usually about 2-3 miles from the
road to your campsite, so if wind is low and you drive slowly, you
can avoid kicking up much dust.

There is a rumor that the dust is especially corrosive:  I find this
not to be the case.  I've taken my mountain bike there 5 years in a
row, and so long as I clean it and oil it afterwards it's not a
problem.