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Acarter92's avatar
Acarter92
Explorer
Mar 04, 2017

National Parks June/ July... A/C needed?

Hi,

We are taking a 1 month trip out west (from PA) starting June 17th. All of our National Park campsites are no hookups and I'm trying to decide if I should buy a generator to run the A/C at times or if it's not worth the trouble. It's a 21' travel trailer and our battery bank is fine going for days without being plugged in and will get charged by the truck while driving, but of course we can't run our A/C without a Generator.

In order, we will be staying staying at the following parks:

Rocky Mountain
Grand Canyon
Canyonlands (private campground, but no hookups)
Yosemite (private campground, no hookups)
Olympus
Glacier
Yellowstone

The days in between the parks we will spend at private campgrounds that we find along the way, so may or may not have hookups at these.

So, just looking for some advice from those who have "been there, done that".

Thanks,
Austin
  • profdant139's avatar
    profdant139
    Explorer II
    Mar 04, 2017
    The answer depends on what you like to do. If you hike every day during the heat of the day (as we usually do, unfortunately), it is often cooler when we get back to the trailer in the evening.

    But if you will be in the trailer during the day, you may need A/C at the lower elevations of Yosemite.

    By the way, that is a pretty ambitious itinerary for a month, coming from PA. Lots of driving. Maybe split this up into two years? First year do the northern tier, second year the southern? Again, it all depends on how you like to spend your time -- different folks feel differently about this.
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Mar 04, 2017
    Acarter92 wrote:
    Hi,

    We are taking a 1 month trip out west (from PA) starting June 17th. All of our National Park campsites are no hookups and I'm trying to decide if I should buy a generator to run the A/C at times or if it's not worth the trouble. It's a 21' travel trailer and our battery bank is fine going for days without being plugged in and will get charged by the truck while driving, but of course we can't run our A/C without a Generator.

    In order, we will be staying staying at the following parks:

    Rocky Mountain---NO
    Grand Canyon---No if North Rim Yes if south
    Canyonlands (private campground, but no hookups)-Probably
    Yosemite (private campground, no hookups): No
    Olympus: No
    Glacier: No
    Yellowstone: No

    All that depends on the weather of course, which is changeable

    Thanks,
    Austin
  • tegu69's avatar
    tegu69
    Explorer
    Mar 04, 2017
    Let's see. Rocky mtn-probably cool (had snow mid May couple years ago),Grand Canyon north rim was cool, Canyonlands probably hot, Yosemite not in the park- hard to tell, Olympus probably cool, Glacier cool, Yellowstone iffy.
  • Acarter92's avatar
    Acarter92
    Explorer
    Mar 04, 2017
    profdant139 wrote:
    The answer depends on what you like to do. If you hike every day during the heat of the day (as we usually do, unfortunately), it is often cooler when we get back to the trailer in the evening.

    But if you will be in the trailer during the day, you may need A/C at the lower elevations of Yosemite.

    By the way, that is a pretty ambitious itinerary for a month, coming from PA. Lots of driving. Maybe split this up into two years? First year do the northern tier, second year the southern? Again, it all depends on how you like to spend your time -- different folks feel differently about this.


    We definitely won't be hanging out in the camper all day :-). And plan to do a ton of hiking and sightseeing, however I know there will be days that we may want to come back to the camper for an hour or two during the day, or to eat some lunch on go back out again, so that is my main concern. If it will be miseribly hot then it would be nice to fire up the generator for an hour or two to cool it down....

    As far as the month goes, well.... I know it's way too short, but that's the time we have available so we're trying to get the most out of it. Then, if we want to come back we can narrow it down to the certain areas we really liked and focus on them.

    Austin
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Mar 04, 2017
    That's a VERY ambitious set of parks for one month which would include 5 days each way from PA to Yosemite. You really may want to trim it. I'd do either Grand Canyon/Yosemite/Olympus which would include taking it easy along 101 on the west coast. You'll be going right by Redwoods for example.

    Or: Rocky Mountains/Canyonlands/Arches/Yellowstone/Glacier and there are many other major parks in that area.

    Otherwise you are going to spend many days driving.
  • 2gypsies1's avatar
    2gypsies1
    Explorer III
    Mar 04, 2017
    The only park I would question would be Canyonlands. That will be your hottest spot. Where are you staying there? Dead Horse Point State Park? Some of the sites do have tall junipers which will provide shade depending on the direction of the sun. Also, some have covered picnic tables. Bring folding lounge chairs and find a shady spot in 'your yard' for your nap or lunch. There are also many nice campgrounds along the Colorado River on Hwy 128. They all have shade - big cottonwoods. However, for it and all the other parks if you have a site with a tree you'll be just fine. Even at Grand Canyon, if you're staying at Mather or Desert View, there will be shade, especially Mather. Personally, I wouldn't buy a generator for the short time you'll be at those areas. They will all definitely cool way down at night!

    Here's a site that shows campsite photos. Perhaps your chosen parks are on this site so you can see what's ahead:

    http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Dead-Horse-Point-State-Park
  • linnemj's avatar
    linnemj
    Explorer
    Mar 04, 2017
    Our experience with national park campgrounds is they have limited generator hours - usually 7 to 9 AM and 5 to 7 PM. If that is the case, you won't be running your generator mid day for AC.

    I bought 2 Honda 2000 generators with the idea of pairing them to run our AC about 4 years ago. I haven't used them for the AC yet. I have used them one a time to recharge our batteries. We have been in Glacier, Yellowstone, Rainier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Mar 04, 2017
    linnemj wrote:
    Our experience with national park campgrounds is they have limited generator hours - usually 7 to 9 AM and 5 to 7 PM. If that is the case, you won't be running your generator mid day for AC.


    x2 on this. Check to see what the generator hours are at the campgrounds you'll be staying in and whether or not they coincide with when you expect you might want air conditioning. I rather suspect you will find it won't be much use for this trip.
  • crosscheck's avatar
    crosscheck
    Explorer II
    Mar 04, 2017
    If you are camping at Horsethief CG in the Canyonlands, Island in the Sky, with the elevation of 5800', average June temps are 90F for high, and 57F for low, quite the difference. Needles will be warmer. Last year in May, we nearly froze to death at Horsethief CG. OK, a bit of an exaggeration.

    Dave
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Mar 04, 2017
    I agree with Profdant, toooooo much driving to be enjoyable in a month coming from Penn. No, AC probably unnecessary. Get Fantasic fans.

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