Air Conditioning a MUST?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Air conditioner.... Well the biggest draw back is you have to have a generator (becoming banned in more places) or pay high prices for electricity. Over the last 5 years, somewhere close to 700 nights, we've averaged under $10.00 per night. If we had to have electricity those 700 nights would have to be reduced to less that 100 nights. (700 nights at $40 per night $28,000 -- 700 nights at <$10 per night = <$7,000)
I think I can manage without AC. But then all my ancestors died at very young age because they didn't have AC or was that because the bears ate them?

[MRClaus]

Air conditioner in my car yes air in my house yes air in my garage yes in my Amerigo a must . !!! just because you have it does not meen you have to use it

[D Davis]

I have air conditioning but Boondock. I never use air conditioner. If it's that hot and humid I do not go camping as most time is spent outdoors. I do not want to stay cooped up in a trailer on a hot day because it is air conditioned.

[Cathy P.]

Just a couple more thoughts: When you are younger it is easier to tolerate the heat and humidity. Twenty years ago we tent camped......... The other thought was whether anyone knew if Scamp is contacted if they can tell you if a specific unit has the reinforcement or not.

We have been having at least 60% humidity with high 90s and low 100s in central KS recently. Right now we have a real feel temp of 99.

[steelypip]

It entirely depends on you and how/where you camp. Right now I have a family member on meds that make them less heat tolerant. In that case, the a/c is a life saver for a midday cool off even if we don't run it at night.

Like a lot of small FGRV campers, we stepped up from tents, and our expectations of camping involve more trees and fewer bald concrete parking pads with full hookups. That certainly makes no AC a lot more viable, and, given the white shell and new fan installation, we may well elect not to run the a/c most nights.

But, as the old saying goes, climate is what you expect; weather is what you get. Having AC gives us flexibility to get a good night's sleep even on a not-good night.

That said, I really dig that our Casita has the old-school hidden AC installation. Not only is it lower, not only is it a generic non-RV (and therefore vastly cheaper) item, it also is less obtrusive and helps boost the low tongue weight that 16 foot Casitas are known to have.

[Larry and Gayle D.]

We're snowbirds. More than 300 nights in Florida in the last three years. We maybe used our AC half a dozen times then.

We call our 13' scamp the "Tic Tac" (looks like a tic tac). Southern Missouri has some hot, humid summers and wifey frequently tells me to go out to the tic tac shack (covered storage with 8" open on bottom to prevent pack rat nests) and turn on the AC just because she does not want mold and fungus collecting inside in the humidity.

Coupla years ago we spent almost a week at Alley Springs (National Scenic Riverway NP, (only the 600 loop has power and water) at the Current River)) over the fourth of July and where it seems to never have gotten below 90 degrees and the AC was most welcome.

YMMV.

[RogerDat]

I'll also toss out the old resale value. As one can plainly see from the posts there is a split with some not willing or interested in camper without AC. If your camper has no AC these people are not going to be interested in buying it if you decided to sell.

With most of these FGRV's the supply is tight enough that there will be a buyer either way, with or without AC but it is something to factor into the cost/benefit analysis.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

I'll also toss out the old resale value. As one can plainly see from the posts there is a split with some not willing or interested in camper without AC. If your camper has no AC these people are not going to be interested in buying it if you decided to sell.

With most of these FGRV's the supply is tight enough that there will be a buyer either way, with or without AC but it is something to factor into the cost/benefit analysis.

There's a number that don't want AC and they're more interested in buying without AC.

Refrigeration systems don't like to sit without being used. A 20 year old AC that's never been used probably won't work.

[Darral T.]

I think that's an excellent point Roger. I shied from ANY trailers that did not have A/C when we were looking. IF a trailer has A/C, you'll most likely still sell it. I feel like the majority of people that are shopping will say "Well, if we ever need it, we have it" versus those of us that see the trailer withOUT air would walk away. Just food for thought..

Originally Posted by RogerDat

I'll also toss out the old resale value. As one can plainly see from the posts there is a split with some not willing or interested in camper without AC. If your camper has no AC these people are not going to be interested in buying it if you decided to sell.

With most of these FGRV's the supply is tight enough that there will be a buyer either way, with or without AC but it is something to factor into the cost/benefit analysis.

[stillwater]

Our Bigfoot does not have built in an air conditioner. Where we live in BC we would probably never use it but we take the Bigfoot with us when we go to Arizona for the winter. We often will head out in the Bigfoot from our winter residence for a week or so and found we did require AC. Being Canadian we can take the cold but not the heat. Rather than install one on the roof I thought I'd give a 5000btu Fridgidaire portable a try. (about $125.00 at Sears) This brought up a couple of more questions. Do I install it permanently or just window mount it. I decided to just do a window install for now to make sure it did the job and that it was satisfactory. I could install it permanently later. It has turned out the window install is good because it takes about two minutes to put it in the window and we can leave it at home if we didn't think we would need it plus it didn't take a cupboard out of service. We very seldom park where there is electricity so another bonus is that my Honda 2000 generator runs it at idle with no problem. When traveling it sits under the dinette. One suggestion is that the exhaust fins on these units are extremely fragile so I put a grate over top so they are not getting banged up. My grate is actually a $7.00 cooling rack for baking from a grocery store. I just used the four corner cabinet screws and spaced the rack out about 1/2 inch.

[Radar1]

Our Scamp is the first camper we've had with an air conditioner. Living in the South (GA), we love having it and most of the state parks have electric (especially the ones we choose to visit in the hot and humid summer).
Do we NEED the air conditioner? Probably not, as we can get a decent flow of air with our fan even when boondocking, but on those humid days when the sweat and heat are unbearable it sure helps.
We used many sites without electricity on our trip through TX, CO, UT, AZ, NV and CA this spring, and used our propane heater at several of those, but were sure happy to have the A/C on those nights we passed through Las Vegas and 100 plus temps going each way.
I was recently considering a used Scamp 19, but it doesn't have A/C, so it has less appeal to me which may limit the the campers sellability.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Air conditioner.... Well the biggest draw back is you have to have a generator (becoming banned in more places) or pay high prices for electricity. Over the last 5 years, somewhere close to 700 nights, we've averaged under $10.00 per night. If we had to have electricity those 700 nights would have to be reduced to less that 100 nights. (700 nights at $40 per night $28,000 -- 700 nights at <$10 per night = <$7,000)
I think I can manage without AC. But then all my ancestors died at very young age because they didn't have AC or was that because the bears ate them?

I am confused .Why do you have to have a generator if your trailer has A/C .
We do not own a generator and our A/C works just fine. We pay $5 extra for a campsite
with electricity ,not an exorbitant price in my book. I refuse to go through life judging everything by its monetary cost. I have no intentions of being overly frugal so my kid get a bigger inhertance. Our average camping fee is under $20/ night with electricity. We camp for the enjoyment not as a means to save money!

[sarahspins]

Originally Posted by D Davis

I do not want to stay cooped up in a trailer on a hot day because it is air conditioned.

I wouldn't either, during the day sun + heat go together, and if you are out and being active and staying hydrated you don't notice it as much, but when it's 11pm and still 95˚ and 80% humidity outside, AC is a godsend.. I challenge anyone to be able to sleep comfortably in those conditions without it

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by sarahspins

I wouldn't either, during the day sun + heat go together, and if you are out and being active and staying hydrated you don't notice it as much, but when it's 11pm and still 95˚ and 80% humidity outside, AC is a godsend.. I challenge anyone to be able to sleep comfortably in those conditions without it

Wait! We are supposed to be comfortable when camping? I thought the point was to survive until it was time to self medicate from the cooler (must be 5:00 someplace).

Really that would be the point - what equipment does it take to make you comfortable. Not someone else, not in another location but what does it take in where you camp to keep your pretty face smiling. In most respects I'm good with shade and something cool or cold to drink to cool and hydrate. Sleeping I can usually get by with a breeze but that would be me & where I camp.

Look at a map, never far from a really big generally cool to cold lake in this state. Most with a nice beach breeze. I'm not too lazy to move for a breeze and a cold dip. Honestly if I was really hot and miserable I would find a motel to sleep at.

[wwig]

Lyle,
I posted earlier but I'll end with this. A persons ability to tolerate temperature changes varies from individual to individual, my heat tolerance is greater than my wife's. I also know my camping experience is closely tied to my wife's comfort level, so hurry up cool air.

[Tom Trostel]

We have found that trailer use is not always for camping. For the last 3 weeks we have slept in the Bigfoot in our driveway. Our daughter, SIL, and 4 grand kids sold their house and bought another house; however, the new one isn't ready. So they have moved into our 2 bedroom home. All 3 weeks the weather here in north Texas has been in the upper 90s or lower 100s. That means at 10 PM its still 90-92 degrees. Without AC in the trailer we would be facing a very large motel bill. We plan to travel all over and would not be without AC or a furnace.

[Roger C H]

We used to have a window air conditioner when we lived in the Midwest. It died and we didn't replace it. We still have our dehumidifier that we used in the basement in the Midwest. We find that on days when we are uncomfortable in the Northwest, that the dehumidifier really works to raise the comfort level. You heard the saying, "It's a dry heat?" Well that also works for a dry cold. Humidity intensifies any temperature.
We have used our dehumidifier during our recent heat wave, and sometimes when it is just cold and damp. We never took it camping...yet.

[Daniel A.]

I consider air conditioning a necessity, when I bought my Bigfoot it didn't have air conditioning I added it after the first season.
I spend most of my time in the Okanagan camping where temps in day time run 90+, its nice to get out of the afternoon heat and sleep comfortably at night.

When I was young I did tent camping for many years now I'm much older and wiser no longer interested in tent camping and like all my conveniences and comfort.

[Mike Magee]

I can't sleep in temps above mid 70s. In OK during summer it takes more than a full day of trailer towing to reach cooler climes. One year, when coming home in July I spent my last night of the trip in the OK panhandle at Black Mesa SP; it was 114 degrees when I arrived around suppertime. A/C is a must-have for me.

[bullfrogeh]

Two school-teachers, now retired; and we've been RVing almost every summer since 1968 as well as many winter snow-bound week-ends. We've enjoyed three slide-in truck campers, five trailers, and and one 'fiver', to visit 9 of our provinces, 49 of the 50 US states. Only two of the nine rigs even had AC - and, we likely logged less than a dozen nights, using AC. Admittedly, most of our summer-time wandering was north of the 45th parallel. But, we have certainly used our furnace