Forum Discussion

tmorgan5150's avatar
tmorgan5150
Explorer
Sep 19, 2017

Heating and cooling

Hi all,

New to the forums so sorry if this has been covered before.

My family is graduating from tenting to an RV an is looking into Hybrids (like the Rockwood Roo 183).

My question is what temperature can I expect to maintain inside? If outdoor temperatures are 40-50 how warm can we get it. Would it maintain 67 degrees? And the reverse, if outside temperatures are 80-90 how cool can it get. Down to 72?

Anyone have experience with this?

TIA,
Tom
  • I suppose the answer depends on what model camper you buy, how many people will be in the camper at the same time, and whether you'll cook indoors. Also, whether you cover the bed-ends.

    I've never used a thermometer to measure the temperature in my hybrid, but I have always been able to keep it comfortable. I use a fan when necessary, as well as a small electric heater. I do have a propane furnace, but I depend on the electric heater whenever I can. I use the a/c mostly to remove moisture from the inside of the camper. Otherwise, I keep the windows open for good circulation.
  • Generally easier to heat than cool. 72 at the peak heat of the day might be tough but will cool quickly as the sun gets lower. Depends on shade etc too. Heating to 67 s/b fine down to 40 outside. The canvas areas might seem a bit drafty as there is not much insulation.

    Air conditioning you pretty much need to be plugged in. Furnace will run on battery and propane but the battery will only last one night before you need a recharge. Easy to heat if plugged in but do monitor your propane daily if running the furnace a lot.

    My experience is with a POP-UP tent trailer.
  • It may be similar to trying to heat a tent. Shore power would be needed or a large inverter generator.
  • Totally depends on where you camp and what you do to manage the temps. If you are connected to shore power, you have many options. We have a three bunk model so lots of tenting. We are almost always connected to shore power.

    Heating - we've been below freezing and are easily able to keep the main part of the trailer in the 70s. We use an electric space heater for primary, and the propane furnace as backup or secondary. Reason for this is that the propane will go fast and, most importantly, will generate moisture in the trailer. The bunks still get a bit drafty and quite a bit cooler. We use PUG covers over the tented ends and that helps both condensation and temp retention a bunch. Finally we leave the tented windows open a crack to keep fresh air flowing and that minimizes condensation as well.

    Cooling - If you want to keep the main part of the trailer in the 70's you will have to be connected to shore power. We've been in 100+ temps and at best we keep the main trailer peaking at about 78-80F. We have to close the curtains at the bunks so the heat pouring in tends to stay there. But the rest of the trailer (roof, walls, single pane windows etc) all contribute to the trailer heating up over time. If the nights cool down well, then it should be manageable.

    Overall, it's still quite an improvement over a tent :)
  • When talking temp control in a hybrid, you have to discuss Popup Gizmos and Reflectix.

    These make temp control way more manageable.

    Also, 3 out of the 4 previous responses are from non-hybrid owners.
    Rely on responses from those that own or have owned a hybrid, as they are a unique type of RV.

    If you are truly interested in the Roo 183, you'll find many 183 owners at Forest River Forums, in the Roo/Shamrock section there.
  • Thanks all. I appreciate the responses. I was not aware of the PUGs - I will look into them for sure.

    And bikendan thanks for the suggestion on the Roo Forums. I will check them out.

    -TM
  • I would say both heating and cooling will also depend on where you measure the temperature in the trailer. The tent-ends will always by cooler/warmer than the middle of the trailer, simply because they're not insulated. You can mitigate that with reflectix and/or pugs and that will make a difference of few +- degrees. That said, we have camped with temps down to 30F and managed quite well. I never crank the furnace to more than 65F as it will introduce too much condensation. Besides, as long as we take the chill out of the air you can sleep comfortably with a good sleeping bag. If it really gets cold we put a heated blanket under the sleeping bag and that makes it even too hot for my liking sometimes!

    And yes, I do own a hybrid :)
  • I've spent 25 degree nights in my hybrid, only one tent bed opened, and total of three people inside.

    Set the factory propane furnace on 68 degrees, and it ran about 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off all night.

    Totally comfortable, but about 10 degrees cooler in tent ends.

    No PUGs or Reflex, but I did drape an old blanket over most of the open tent bed.
  • We have camped in nighttime temps down to the 20's.

    I Don't have pugs or anything else for the tent ends.

    I run the furnace and set it on 58-62. Use enough blankets to keep warm.

    It's important to control humidity in the trailer during the day, always use the range hood fan and open the roof vents and crack a window or 2 while cooking. Install a good exhaust fan in the bathroom vent to pull moisture out when using the shower.

    To prevent condensation at night I Slightly crack open the roof vents, and run bunk fans to circulate air into the tent ends. Have never had condensation in the bunks.

    Gary
  • We live in Arizona where we RV year round.
    In the Summer the weather is daytime 70-85, 40-55 nights. A/C easily kept it nice inside. At night we used the heater just enough to take the chill out. I prefer it somewhat cold with lots of blankets. The propane furnace works well but does need shore power or the battery runs out quick running the fan.

    On colder nights that dropped into the 30's and low 40's we used a ceramic heater sitting on the counter in the middle of trailer. It easily warmed the entire trailer up.

    We also used solar blankets from popupgizmos over the bed ends. This helped keep the trailer nice cold or hot considerably. When we traded our Starcraft 21SSO for our current trailer I forgot to include the solar blankets. Still have them in our garage if anyone can use them!