A few things I can think of;

* If you’re going by plane you really should allow extra time between landing and getting to the playa. In the unlikely event that any of your luggage is delayed I can assure you that the airline is not going to deliver your tent to 7:15 and Dreamland.
* If you’re sending gear by container or by a friend/campmate, be sure you have contact information and contingency plans to find each other on and off playa. You do not want to find yourself on the playa without your tent, food, etc. Ideally make sure that the necessities are with you at all times, you can deal with lost costumes of gifts, not food or shelter.
* Thoroughly check everything before it goes back into the container, truck, van, luggage, etc. Several years ago some people driving a communal truck back to Alberta got busted at the border for a roach stuffed between the cushions in a couch. They were lucky they only lost hours at the border and in court plus a fine. Check all your pockets, bins, etc.
* There is storage available in Gerlach, Fernley, Reno, etc. One popular option for large projects/camps is here; http://storage.burningman.com. If you plan on going back year after year and have LOTS of stuff you only use on the playa this is worth considering.
* DON’T FORGET TRASH!!! You will need to haul out any garbage you produce. There is no garbage disposal on site. Keep this in mind when creating your transportation plan. Fortunately most of your food will end up in the porta-johns, freeing up some cargo space but you really need to keep this in mind. Sending trash 4000km back to Canada is not only a waste of space and fuel but also invokes the whole border drug bust risk thing. Get it off playa, then get rid of it – http://www.burningman.com/preparation/travel_info/reno/reno_Dumps.html

Blah blah blah. At the end of the day just be sure that you carefully think through what you’re bringing and how transportation is going to work in advance.

With shared shipping from Canada (Toronto or Montreal), and important but unfortunate factor to consider is the prospect of illegal substances… While getting a large loaded vehicle thoroughly searched at the border is unlikely, it is always a possibility. Whoever is driving the van/truck must be confident in knowing what exactly is amongst their cargo when crossing the US/Canada border each way, and be able to explain it well at immigration and customs. If you’re agreeing to carry loads for another camp, I recommend asking them to not seal any of their containers before load-in, so that you can take a look at everything and really know what you’ll be transporting.

The option of flying in with well-chosen luggage remains the most accessible (a cooler as one checked bag, with repacking capability upon arrival to liberate the cooler, is very useful). You’ll just need to make very detailed lists of what to procure on arrival, and where, because that one mad dash around Reno is all you’ll get. Alternatively, if you’ve got an extra day or two, fly in to San Francisco and collaborate with burners there for procurement and transport.

Finally, if you’re ordering supplies over the internet, you may just have them sent to someone who is driving in from the region. You’ll still have to deal with those items when leaving the playa, but at least you won’t need to fit them in your luggage when flying out. Collaborating with burners (generally campmates) who live within a day’s drive of the playa to store a few things (propane tanks, car batteries, etc) may be an option if you really won’t need those things except on the playa.

Joining a camp which already has decent infrastructure will help enormously, since you won’t need to deal with many of the basics yourself. If they already plan on providing shade, a kitchen, and an evaporation pond, for example, you can focus more on your personal shelter and costumes. Plus, if you join an active theme camp, you’ll likely take part in contributing something fun and interactive to making Black Rock City great.