Air Conditioning a MUST?

[Rob Outlaw]

Originally Posted by rbryan

How's this for shocking, Van?

We visited some friends of my wife who live in Puerto Vallarta. Anyone who's been there knows it's like an oven, and the temps rarely fall below 90F. The humidity is practically unbearable unless you're in a swimsuit under a cabana on the beach. Guess what? Most of the homes have no A/C.

Alot depends on what you're used to.

Reminds me of when I was in the Navy stationed in Morocco where winter was rare, and we had months on end of heat often upwards of 120º ±. We worked in top secret buildings that were AC'd for the communication equipment only. Barracks and other buildings were not AC'd. Don't ever recall being in any AC buildings throughout the country either. And I'm alive to tell it. Whew! Dodged another bullet. And then there were the times on my second duty station a WWII tin can when we often trained recruits in the Carribean at various times of the year. Ships didn't have AC, nor windows or fans and we bunked below deck where it was really closed off. We did have heat though.

In all seriousness one has to wonder how this country ever lived to become what it is, after all AC is still a relatively new technology though it might seem hard to believe. The first vehicle I ever owned with AC was a 93 For Ranger. Man was I living large then. I grew up in AL at a time when AC for homes was extremely rare unless you were very wealthy and the only vehicles that came equipped with AC were Cadillacs and Lincoln's and that was most likely custom order. For road trips back in those days we employed 470 AC. Roll all 4 windows down, go 70 MPH and that was as good as it got for us middle class folk.

Had an uncle that was a well respected contractor in south AL in those formative years and don't ever recall during his day him talking about building homes with AC. Maybe toward the end but that was new fangled stuff back then. No idea how we lived through it.

Presumably the Boy Scouts don't camp these days either as they don't have the AC they are used to in their more cushioned life back home in the burbs. What are we coming to? I could on but you get the idea.

Some might take this post as offensive and snarky its not meant to be, more like tongue and cheek humor while at the same time truthful. But for the record I'm glad we choose to camp in more primitive spots so we don't have to listen to generators and AC's running all night. I'll take my solar package with Max Air fan any day, er uh night sleeping in my skivvies with the windows open.

My 2¢ worth.

[floyd]

I stayed in a motel without A/C in the UP in July once. It felt like CAMPING!
MY travel trailer has A/C. It feels like a luxury suite!

[ORshepherd]

I was camping in Redmond, OR in late June and it was 105. We had the AC on.

[varmint]

"A question or two on Air Conditioning."

We own a 1997 16' Scamp with the ceiling fan and no AC. We live in southwest Michigan. We only camp about 1 week during the Michigan summer and we travel to the UP. No AC hasn't been a problem. We have spent one winter in southern Florida with no problem. We have traveled through the Rockies from Sept -Nov and then the southern Rockies from Feb-march and found heat was the major concern on cold nights.
We've owned the Scamp for 3 years now and thus far have no intentions of adding AC. I'm sure others have different travel schedules and one size doesn't fit all.

[D Davis]

Roger Dat #55, I totaly agree, also Bob Miller's posts on costs. Not everyone has to agree with this line of thinking though, we all camp differently. I Boonedock and have no elec power, most importantly I prefer this type of camping, really in the woods. Lets accept the fact that we have a right to our own opinions and none of them are the one and only right one for everybody.

[Mr. W.]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

I make the 13's out to be 480 sq. ft. of box, that does not take into account cabinets and such that take up space but at worst would be 20% more space than the 400 sq. ft. space the smaller one is rated for. I used 10 x 6 x 8 which is probably generous measurements.

Actually, the 13' would be approximately 65 sq. ft., which is a fraction of the 400 sq. ft. the unit is rated for. Your 10x6x8 estimate would equal 480 CU. Ft, which is totally different. Actually, the measurement would be closer to 10 x 6.5 x 6.5 gross area, which is 422.5 CU ft. For calculation purposes, I would not subtract for cabinets and fixtures, as they will also absorb cooling capacity - just more slowly.

[Mike Magee]

Certainly, one can dwell in a hot environment and survive. But I don't go camping to survive. I go camping to have a fun vacation. Sweating and sweltering when I could as easily have been cool & comfortable is not my idea of fun. I have (and greatly enjoy) A/C in my home, so I want A/C in my trailer as well.

[Darral T.]

[Darral T.]

I'll take the 'UNBALANCED' look ANY day over a sweaty sleepness night as this ole boy will definitely be "unbalanced" the next day.

When talking "480 sq ft" I'm reasonably certain you mean "Cubic Feet". My Scamp is roughly 6' x 10' inside of floor space. 60 Sq Ft. Of course that doesnt include what the cabinets, closets etc. take up.

Ok... here's my final view on A/C just for Roger :

For some it's a fan, the heat they can stand.
But a/c for me or I cant sleep;
Then there's the wife saying, "I want to pick a bone..."
as she continues, "Give me A/c or I wanna go home!"
So with all this said, I have decided.
GIVE ME A/C and let'er look "whop-sided"

[QUOTE=RogerDat;538070]I think the 16 ft. campers have a bit more room and options when it comes to where to put an AC unit. The 13 ft. are the ones with really limited install space for window shakers and look the most unbalanced with a roof top.

I make the 13's out to be 480 sq. ft. of box, that does not take into account cabinets and such that take up space but at worst would be 20% more space than the 400 sq. ft. space the smaller one is rated for. I used 10 x 6 x 8 which is probably generous measurements.

[RogerDat]

Cubic feet is what I meant, yes well under the 400 SQ. FT. the unit claims to be able to cool. Still somewhat bigger than most dog houses but I have seen inside kennel spaces bigger than my Scamps floor space, and none had problems with doggie door alignment that seems to be an issue for some FGRV's ;-)

I really think it is a matter of how much you will use the feature (or when used how important is it) Coffee pot used every day, want it as standard camping equipment, going to store or back home to get if forgotten. Will pay a premium price to get the one I want. Life jacket used less often but very good to have when needed.

I do like the inside cabinet install better than the roof top from an aesthetic standpoint. But given a choice between ugly coffee pot or no coffee pot....

In the lands where it snows many will go without thought of having AC
In the states hot and sweaty at midnight or noon a breeze provides no relief.
So how you equip to sleep in pajamas or slip is all in what works for thee.

Have fun! Stay safe! Don't forget to hydrate and beer or wine do NOT count.

[TappyGee]

AC = must have

[Keaner]

It's a must have where I am from. Southern Ont gets very humid and hot...90deg and over 80% humidity this weekend. I installed a combo air conditioner/heater/dehumidifier I picked up kijiji for 60$ in the closet.

You can see the supply and exhaust plenums in the attached pic.

[Darral T.]

I dont want to take the time to do it, but it would be interesting in THIS topic to take a tally and see just where the balance is on who does and who does NOT want A/C in the camper. Anybody up for it? Just curious...but I'm thinking a near 50/50.

[Mr. W.]

I had promised to check with ClimateRight, and post back when I got a reply. The 8000 BTU unit that mostly disappeared from their site has been discontinued -- their in-house build facility for that model was not cost-effective for them. They are prototyping a new 10,000 BTU unit now that should be available sometime this fall.

Melissa at ClimateRight did point out that the 5000 BTU unit is rated for up to 1200 Cubic Feet, which is roughly 3x the volume of a Scamp 16.

[Mike Magee]

Yeah, but I suspect their ratings are based upon typical home insulation R values. A 5000 BTU in my former KZ trailer (14' x 7' box) was woefully inadequate when outside temps were in upper 90s or above. (Being boxy, it lacked the roundedness of an egg and sat a bit higher, thus more volume.)

[floyd]

I don't think it looks unbalanced...

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

I dont want to take the time to do it, but it would be interesting in THIS topic to take a tally and see just where the balance is on who does and who does NOT want A/C in the camper. Anybody up for it? Just curious...but I'm thinking a near 50/50.

Perhaps one or more of the major manufactures... Scamp, Casita, etc, would be willing to share what percentage of new units are sold with AC. They likely have this data already. Anyone have any close contacts with the companies?

[redbarron55]

Here in LA (lower Alabama) the A/C is the one thing that is a no go item if it is broken.
I just installed a new mini split A/C 9000 BTU in my 16' Scamp and it works wonderfully well.
The A/C fills up my wife's garden sprinkling can (about a gallon) twice a day easily.
The humidity is simply overwhelming for anyone who is not used to it.
Perhaps even if you are used to it.

[steve dunham]

I am sitting on my front deck overlooking the lake and watching the humming birds.
It is 70 deg F with low humidity . I tried visiting the South in the summer 3 times ,never again.
I don't know how anyone can survive in that Ungodly heat and humidity but they have my admiration.

[Steve in NY]

They invented air conditioning in Syracuse. Then everyone moved south to get away from winter. I lay on top of the covers when it's 90 and do just fine.

We go south in the winter when we are sure it will be nice. I don't know how people live down there. You can put clothes on when you are cold, but once you are naked you can't do anything more about the heat.