Traveling without Air conditioners

[Mary Ann in MN]

I've been thinking about everyone traveling and camping without air conditioners in this heat. First it was to cold to go, and now it's so hot. No happy in between. How do you all keep comfortable in the campers during the day and night. Up north it has been cooling off enough at night, but how about those of you way down south with the 90-100+ temps? I've been invited to go to SC, but I don't think I'm interested in going in this heat with no air in the camper. My pooch has a hard time in this heat.

[Donna D.]

Well, there's always this... if you have a 3-way with a freezer so you can refreeze bottles or never ending supply of ice :

Redneck Air Conditioner - Cheap Cool Air - YouTube

[accrete]

After much pondering of transferring out of the Pacific Northwest with the company my wife and i work for, partly due to us both complaining over the years of all the rain we must put up with here in Oregon...we've come to the conclusion that we will just deal with the wet stuff rather than move. At least here we can deal with the camp-outs by donning on galoshes and ponchos in June rather than running around in our birthday suits trying to stay comfortable. I do honestly wonder, as you are, how peeps enjoy trips in the wild having to (well most likely) be hooked up to an umbilical cord so the rig can remain livable.

During our first two main trips this season, first the Memorial Day-Week, and then last week, it poured. We donned the rain gear and made the best of it in the upper 60's low 70 temps in very green forest/river settings completely off grid & secluded. I realize this is a personal preference. I also realize it's a big country and we live where we live mainly because a job or family calls.

Just rambling on this sunny day (one of maybe ~80) on the Oregon Coast with a cool ocean breeze coming through the window next to me as i post from inside our home-on-wheels. . . < notice i did say "Indoors"...my wife and i are so used to doing things outdoors in the wet stuff we actually don't bother heading out when the sun-disk is beating down on us! A funny twist. Guess we've become more Nor'Wester than we ever thought we would!

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Mary Ann in MN

Up north it has been cooling off enough at night, but how about those of you way down south with the 90-100+ temps? .

When you say up north I'm assuming you mean the Antarctic this week,,,,, been in the mid 80's on the west coast of BC and into the 100's in the interior of BC. Wish it would cool off at night.

[Bobbie Mayer]

My feeling is that if you need AC at night it is probably too darn hot during the day to be camping. I've camped when I'd have enjoyed AC for a few hours in the heat of the afternoon but now I avoid that kind of weather as much as I can.

[honda03842]

We have a small closet air conditioner that in two years has only been turned on a couple of times, only when Ginnys cooking up a storm on a hot day. During that time we've been on the road 15 months.

The reality has been we really don't need it. We resolve the heat issue by camping northward in the summer and southward in the winter, a definite advantage of a mobile home.

[felix2]

Originally Posted by accrete

After much pondering of transferring out of the Pacific Northwest with the company my wife and i work for, partly due to us both complaining over the years of all the rain we must put up with here in Oregon...we've come to the conclusion that we will just deal with the wet stuff rather than move. At least here we can deal with the camp-outs by donning on galoshes and ponchos in June rather than running around in our birthday suits trying to stay comfortable. I do honestly wonder, as you are, how peeps enjoy trips in the wild having to (well most likely) be hooked up to an umbilical cord so the rig can remain livable.

During our first two main trips this season, first the Memorial Day-Week, and then last week, it poured. We donned the rain gear and made the best of it in the upper 60's low 70 temps in very green forest/river settings completely off grid & secluded. I realize this is a personal preference. I also realize it's a big country and we live where we live mainly because a job or family calls.

Just rambling on this sunny day (one of maybe ~80) on the Oregon Coast with a cool ocean breeze coming through the window next to me as i post from inside our home-on-wheels. . . < notice i did say "Indoors"...my wife and i are so used to doing things outdoors in the wet stuff we actually don't bother heading out when the sun-disk is beating down on us! A funny twist. Guess we've become more Nor'Wester than we ever thought we would!

Well, that's the whole point, living in the NW, isn't it? If you wait for clear weather, you'll never do anything! Better to just go forward. That's what they make raingear for...

[steve dunham]

Just returned from a trip to Texas and Arkansas Upper 90's during the day , mid 80's at night . When we returned home the day time temps were in the 70's and the nights in the lower 60's I've lived my whole life in the upper Midwest and do not understand how people can live with month on month of temperatures in the 90's and high humidity but I am sure they don't understand winter either. I was really glad we have A/C in the trailer it made the trip down South bearable

[Mary Ann in MN]

Well, it's not always about just going camping, but if one is traveling from coast to coast one has to sleep in the camper. That's what I'm wondering.... How is it working for you in this heat at night without air. If I'm pulling a camper, I sure don't want to have to spend the nights in a motel. I very seldom stay in motels as there are to many stories about motel rooms.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I guess in the words of a fulltimer in a 13', "I've got a rotary air conditioner". If it's too hot where he was at he moved to a cooler place and the other way around.

We just go back from a short 10 day trip at 6300'. The first 2 days were nice and in the lower 60s, then rain for 4 days, then back up to 80s during the day and 50s at night.

We're about to head out again this time into California Red Woods. Forecast temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.
Who needs an air conditioner?

FYI Going to south in the summer is generally not the best of ideas. Example Death Valley's season is mid Oct. to April 1st. Too hot the rest of the year.

[Gilda]

Park in the shade or head for the mountains or BOTH!
Love that Redneck air-conditioner, Donna!

[deryk]

Last weekend, it was pretty hot here in Nj, but fortunatly the humidity dropped enough at night I managed without AC. Two motor homes 3, and 4 spots over from me were running quiet generators to keep cool(didnt ruin my camping experience at all ,) I was all ready to fire mine up but it cooled down enough that I didnt need it. It was nice that if needed the rangers are ok with the quiet generators running at night... always an option.

Im not going to stay home if the weather is good just hot... during the day Im either doing things with friends, swiming, staying in the shade etc... but when I need to sleep Im going to do what I need to to get comfortable. If the park offers electric I will pay the extra money for the hookup during the hottt months...I just liek being out in the woods.

[Perry J]

I have never had an AC in any of my TTs.
The Scamps I've had I installed a Fantastic Fan over the bed area and have had reasonably comfortable nights with the fan on low.

[David B.]

Originally Posted by Perry J

I have never had an AC in any of my TTs.
The Scamps I've had I installed a Fantastic Fan over the bed area and have had reasonably comfortable nights with the fan on low.

Same here. It's 110 dry heat degrees in the Phoenix area now, but the mountains are low 80's with 50's at night... or go stay wet at the lakes.
Dave & Paula

[TaniaD]

It has been miserably hot here the last few days in the NW and even at night it is hard to sleep in our house. I can't imagine in a fiberglass shell it would be better. I made a decision to get some small battery operated fans for the trailer and even finally decided to get a small air conditoner for when we are hooked up. Granted it isn't going to be ready for this summer, but now we have it and can build and plan for it, as we are redoing the whole interior. I don't want to be stopped by where I can go because it is too hot. We have to go when we have the time available. I just won't bring my dogs as they would be miserable (Bernese Mt dogs with LOTS of fur). We also have a fantastic fan (still to be installed). When we traveled with our kids in the car and had no air conditioning, we gave them all spray bottles and they misted themselves. It is amazing how much that helped.

[deryk]

Tania, I have a Fantastic fan over my bed, I might upgrade to the maxair one becuase it can be open while its raining and closes up to a real low profile... it poured on last friday and if I wasn't able to get enough air moving I was gonna fire up the generator. I need to pick up a clip on fan in the meantime just to keep the air moving.

I also agree with you, I go camping when I have time. Going to be raining most of the next 5 days...oh well, not letting that stop me!

[John McMillin]

You're talking about South Carolina, Maryann? Then I think you better wait three months or so. The deep South can remain quite muggy through September. Western S.C.would be more temperate, up by the Smokies, but there isn't much of it.

I've taken one Scamp trip into Kentucky and Tennessee in high summertime. I did manage to install a small window AC in my cabinets, vented through an unused refrigerator grille. Electrical hookups were easy to find at the state parks we visited. My AC cost about $50. For a good deal more, you might pick a small portable air conditioner, ducted through a window. Our summer trip was enjoyable- because we had air conditioning.

Back home in Colorado, I haven't used the AC in five years. I rarely find hookups, either.

[frank_a]

We live in upstate NY, and while we don't have an egg yet, I did install a small Coleman roof mounted A/C unit in our old 14' Sunline camper last year. It fit where the roof vent had gone. WHile it fit in the vent hole fine, it was not an easy project, as I had to put a new load center in to have A/C along with all the normal stuff. I like A/C in part because it also acts as a simple fan, and white noise helps our puppy sleep. Otherwise any little noise and he's barking!

Best of luck to you.

Frank

[EddyEd]

I am also from "Up North" and I can't stand it to be hot at night when I am trying to sleep. My solution was to put a portable A/C in my camper that way I didn't have to cut any special holes, I can remove it when I don't need it for space, and when I do need it I just need to put it in and turn it on.
Just got back from a 16 day trip across Route 66 and the A/C stayed in the back of the TV until I got to Missouri and let me tell you..I am sooooooo glad I spent the money and the time figuring out a way to have some A/C because Missouri was miserably miserable. It isn't so much the heat it is the heat mixed with the 98% humidity that makes me uncomfortable. Oklahoma was pretty bad too until you got west of Oklahoma City then the humidity started to go down a bit. By the time I made it to New Mexico and Arizona I wasn't even really using the A/C anymore as it would be fry an egg on the sidewalk hot during the day but at night it would cool down to around 80 and like 4% humidity so I slept just fine. Utah again I didn't use A/C, hot hot hot there but comfortable at night. Colorado was cool and comfortable until I got east of Denver and towards Nebraska and then the humidity started to rise rapidly. A/C was in order all the way through Nebraska, Iowa, Southern Minnesota, until I got home again. Yesterday morning it was 48 here, I was freezing.

My advice is if you are going to invest in an A/C make sure you get a real A/C that takes the humidity out of the air, Swamp Coolers will cool the air but won't do a thing for the humidity and that in my opinion does not help. The other consideration and something I ran into problems with on my trip, I like to boondock and dry camp as much as possible just because I enjoy being away from the crowds and if you want or need A/C you will need POWER for it so you have to camp in campgrounds or will need a generator.

Hope this helps.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Mary Ann in MN

My pooch has a hard time in this heat.

FanTastic Vent - Product - Endless Breeze will do double duty both in and out of the trailer. I don't know how it will hang off of your windows but it fits nicely on the older square style. Blows both in and out.