We will have a huge, beautiful campsite, treed all around and waterfront but with privacy (there's a short, treed path from our trailer site to the sandy beach). We have water hookup but no electrical and no sewer. There is a sani-station on site so the lack of a sewer hookup is not a large problem.The lack of electricity will be a bit of a challenge... it's certainly do-able which I'm sure you all know, but we have young children and I would like to keep them (and us adults too!) reasonable cool. Here are the options I've thought of so far:1. We have a simple Jayco 28' bunkhouse model. It comes with only one roof vent in the bathroom (besides the a/c unit). We can open the windows, but I was thinking it would be nice if we can have another one or two roof vents put in just to release the hot air. Has anyone here had this done, or done it themselves?2. Running our a/c - off a generator which we have, it's noisy, but certainly would be appreciated on those hot days. I don't think we can run a generator at night nor would I want to - so we need a solution at night as keeping the windows open doesn't cool things off in the heat of the summer.3. Running a small a/c unit off solar power. Unlikely, but I have seen a you tube video of a guy running a smaller a/c unit off solar power (see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml58Zw4wRqg). It's not pretty, but he clearly was able to make it work.4. Running one of those dehumidifiers (which I believe are called no-vent or stand alone a/c units?) off solar power. I assume these use less energy and may be an option for us.???Any other possible solutions for us? During the day we will be outside mostly, at the beach on really hot days, so my concern is mostly what to do at night as I find it almost impossible to sleep when it's very hot inside the trailer.

Fans and shade trees is what we do. Don't touch the Air Conditoner much when camping off the power grid...Our trailer has the FANTASTIC FAN in the bed room ceiling. You can crack a copy of windows on the other end of the trailer and crank the fan up to high pulling air through the trailer... Works good for us...Used to live in Phoenix years back using the swamp cooler mounted on the roof. Survived just fine haha...Roy ken

If your hot weather is like mine here in Michigan, when it's hot it is also muggy... an uncomfortable combination.Spend as much time in the water as possible... setup a sprinkler in your campsite to "play" in for a quick cool down, if permitted.Wear the minimal amount of clothing that is socially acceptable. Drink lots of water so you can sweat a lot, that'll cool you down.The stand alone / portable AC use more power than a dedicated unit, for the amount of heat they remove. A dehumidifer will only make things worse, as it discharges its hot dried air into the living space.You'd need a few KW of solar to run even a tiny a/c unit, and it wouldn't help at night. You'd need a truck bed full of expensive batteries to power an A/C unit all night. I have 880 amp-hours of battery capacity and can run my 13.5k AC for about 2 hours before reaching the magic 50% used-capacity number everyone seems to work off of.Honestly, if the campsite is that good, put up with the heat - otherwise, look for a site that offers electric.

If the ground is soft and there aren't to many mosquitoes, you and the kids can sleep under the trailer, we used to do that when camping with my parents, we would sleep under the car, ground was cool.Or buy a new quiet generator and Just run the A/C at the max cool setting during the day to keep the rig as cold as possible and turn it off at night.navegator

I'd check generator hours, buy a quiet generator, and use that for A/C. In more arid climates, a swamp cooler or misters may work. However, in hot, humid areas, you either run the A/C or have enough air moving to rival a wind tunnel.

I was going to say, 'Camp in or west of the Rockies', but I see there is no choice of location.Sleeping outside sounds wise.

How to keep cool while (partially) dry camping all summer?

phillyg
Explorer II
Mar 13, 2015
Quiet generator is a must for us. I installed two 12v fans in our BR for warm nights when we couldn't run the AC.
dave17352
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
I agree with others that suggest a good quiet generator. I dehumidifier will use tons of electricity just like a air conditioner. You say you have a isolated spot. How close is your nearest neighbor. You may indeed be able to run your generator all night. I have when camping in a secluded spot. But more than likely if you run it during the hot part of the day and into the evening like say 10 pm your rig may be plenty cool enough to sleep through the night. Have you ever heard a very low noise generator run they are very quiet. If you have a secluded spot you could get a heavy gauge extension cord and you would hardly know the generator was running when outside. If inside with AC on you will not even know it is running.

Now of course if you have neighbors that are to close then running a generator all night is not a option. But a quiet one would be fine in my opinion till ten. I am sure some will disagree with me. JMHO
ewarnerusa
Nomad
Mar 13, 2015
Our Fantastic Fan in the bathroom roof vent can move a lot of air. With windows open, it draws a nice air flow through the TT. We also run one or two 120V AC fans off of our inverter to move air around, but they also make 12V fans that plug into the 12V cigarette lighter outlets. Fortunately we have dry heat here and it is pretty rare that we feel like we "need" air conditioning, especially now that our boys are out of the afternoon nap phase and we aren't compelled to keep the TT interior cool during the day. We all play outside.
tpi
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
oops duplicate
tpi
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
i'd start with two or three roof vent fans. Powered by solar-maybe 400 watts plus depending on what else you're using. Four deep cycle batteries would be good again depending on other loads.

These fans allow you to open windows where you are and create a stiff breeze and quickly evacuate the heat-enough that interior temps will essentially be like outside in the shade.

I'd still want to park under a tree to minimize fan usage and allow the power to be used to recharge batteries from night before.

Locate solar panels in the sun.

For backup or extremely hot days, a quiet generator from Honda or Yamaha.

Some of this can be adjusted depending on how long you'll be at the site.
JiminDenver
Explorer II
Mar 13, 2015
CanadianW's wrote:

3. Running a small a/c unit off solar power. Unlikely, but I have seen a you tube video of a guy running a smaller a/c unit off solar power (see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml58Zw4wRqg). It's not pretty, but he clearly was able to make it work.

Using 720 watts of tracking solar I am able to run the lowest wattage window air conditioner I could find. It would take a considerable battery bank to keep it going if the sun wasn't shining.
Gjac
Explorer III
Mar 13, 2015
I find that if I swim before I go to bed and use a 12v fan that cools you down. The water is much cooler than your body temp. When scuba diving in the tropics even with 80 degree water after 3 dives the last one being a night dive you are quite chilled especially if you don't wear a wet suit even with 80-90 degree air temps.
eb145
Explorer II
Mar 12, 2015
An additional roof vent with a fantastic fan or even the Hengs vent fan can really help a lot. With the vent fan on high, it pushes a lot of air out of the trailer and you can choose where to have the breeze in the trailer by changing which window (or windows) to open a bit.

I put a Hengs variable speed fan in the bathroom roof vent (at the rear of my trailer) and if I crack open a window in the front of the trailer, a nice breeze is set up from front to back. Change the fan speed to change the breeze.

I put a second roof vent with maxair adjustable speed fan in the middle of the trailer. Turn both fans on high exhaust and you get some serious air moving through. If the windows are all closed with both fans on high exhaust, it creates a bit of a vacuum and makes the outside door hard to open. Crack a window open a bit and you get the wind whistling through the screen.

Ed
ryanallie1
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
Hi All.

RoyB is correct. Get a Fantastic Ceiling Fan for the Bathroom. The Bathroom uses Exhaust only. So if your Bathroom Vent is not to close to you Waste Tank Vents, then get a Fantastic Fan, that has both Exhaust and Intake.

Also another really good choice is the Fantastic Fan, "The Endless Breeze Fan". Its very easy on your Battery Bank. And it moves a whole lot of air, and pretty quietly also. It might help if you add another Battery or two also.

I have used the Fantastic Fan, "The Endless Breeze Fan", since they first came out some years ago.

From Dan & Austin, ( My Yorkie ) We are Full-Timers, and True "Spirits of the Wind"
lampooner
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
If you are staying in same location all the time You might rig a tarp about 2 feet above trailer to keep sun from hitting it directly.