Air conditioning needed?

It depends on where you camp, time of year, amount of shade and your personal tolerance to heat. Nevertheless, yes...a popup can get HOT inside! We have an AC on ours and it can still get unpleasantly warm during the day. AC + popup gizmos + fans,etc. and we can keep it around 75 during the day. Of course, we also camp in Florida during the summer.

The last summer we had the pop-up (no a/c) we did a week at over 100 during the day, dropping to high 80's at night. Even with a fan...sleeping was miserably humid. :M

The next spring we bought a Trailer with A/C :B

That depends entirely upon the type of camping you are doing, and where you are camping.

If you are camping in the Northern States, you can probably get away without an air conditioner in a pop-up. If you are planning on visiting the Southern State, you'll wish you had one if you don't.

We had a pop-up for 6 years and it did not have an air-conditioner. We came from tent camping, so didn't think too much about not having air. Coming from Indiana and doing mostly Indiana camping, and doing early Spring and late Fall camping, we found having a furnace was more important.

If you are a tent camper, you will probably never miss having an air conditioner in a pop-up. But once you have one, you'll be spoiled and won't be able to live without it.

If you camp under trees, in shaded areas, Northern States, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New England, across to Iowa, etc, you can probably get by without one. Of course, like in a tent, it can get stuffy if there is no air moving. If you camp in direct sunlight, with no shade, even in the Northern States, it can get pretty hot inside a pop-up.

Yes, you can open the flaps and set up fans, but then ... if you can see out, everyone else can see IN also! It's not very private. To get the privacy, you have to close up the windows, so then the heat builds. You can open the windows part way, but may not get a breeze on you.

Really, is just a matter how acclimated you become to the outside temperatures.

If I were to do it over again, I'm pretty sure I'd want my pop-up with an air conditioner (second time around). But, absolutely no foreseeable plans anywhere in my future to ever going back to a pop-up.

Definitely, if you go to Gulf Shores Alabama in early August ... YOU WANT AIR! Don't ask how I know!

Do you have it and need it in your home? Yes, even if you do not use it much, it helps on re-sell and makes sleeping at night sooooo much better.

Yes you do and on a hot day in direct sunlight it will not be enough...buy PUGS to help (pop up gizmos)

Thanks!

Jeremiah

DW and I put a unit on our Jayco after getting the okay from the dealer (who said they had the okay of the manufacturer). That was the start of a very horrible nightmare. That trailer holds the record for the least amount of time we've owned a trailer (2 months - our first trailer lasted us 21 years). Trailer had an electric roof which wouldn't lift after installing the air conditioner. Will never trust a dealer after that one, so make sure you have written warranties to what is covered and what is not.

When we had a Coachmen pop up I added an AC and it made a world of difference and made the trips a lot more enjoyable.

Back in 95, when I bought a new Coleman Popup, they stopped offering the smaller Mini-Mach A/C unit in Florida as it couldn't keep up with the heat load. The only model offered was the 13,500 BTU model. That's what we had on ours.

If camping in the South, with no shade, it's still not enough A/C to keep up with the heat coming in through the tenting above the beds. I bought some reflective blankets at Sportsman's Guide, and attached them to the bunks with clothes pins. That made a huge improvement.





Have fun!

It can also be used to block outside noises, too.

We used ours on several occasions when we were near other campers that decided to stay up most of the night drinking and playing cards outside. Turned on the fan on the A/C unit since it was only 60 or so and it drowned them out pretty well.

Thanks for the wonderful advice. Looks like we will be looking for a pop up with AC.