What defines a TT as a "True Four Season"?
So, I have heard this phrase tossed around, "True Four Season", and I am wondering if there is literal exact definition that applies here. The fact that the word "True" is added to the term "Four Sea...
Forum Discussion
Okay, although I would like a TT that is good for cold, heat is my main concern. Now, one would assume that what is good for the cold will be good for the heat, but that is not completely true. Where as an RV designed for the cold is designed to keep the heat in, a summer RV should be designed to keep the heat out.
The two main types of heat that an RV has to deal with, is Radiant heat and Conductive heat. R values only slow down Conductive Heat, this is why they work well for helping keep the conductive heat from the furnace in an RV during the winter.
Heat is energy just like electricity. And just like electricity, in which certain materials (like aluminum and copper) have a lower resistance then rubber and are better at conducting electrical energy; some materials (like rubber that resist conduction of electrical current) also resist the conduction of heat energy. Although no material can completely stop the conduction of heat energy, some materials with an R value (like wood, foam and fiberglass) slow down the conduction of heat energy.
In the winter time, it gets colder because there is less sunlight. All heat from the sun is Radiant heat. Just like you can't feel the conductive heat from a camp fire on a cold night if you stand far away from it, we can't feel the conductive heat from the sun that is 93 million miles away. What we get from the sun is Radiant heat that heats up the materials it touches and then we feel the conductive heat from those materials. To better understand this concept, try to go into a greenhouse in the middle of the winter on a bright sunny day. I have a a greenhouse and even though the walls are made out of plastic (which has no insulating value), it can be 20 degrees outside, but will be 60 degrees in my greenhouse during a sunny day, with no other heat source. This is the power of radiant heat.
Okay, so what does this have to do with RVs. Well, in the summer time the biggest heat source that an RV has to deal with is Radiant heat from the sun, not conductive heat. Where as a trailer with a good R value will help slow down radiant heat, it will do a more poorer job of keeping radiant heat out during the summer, then conductive heat in during the winter. So while, a good winter RV will be better for summer too, it is not the best it can be when it comes to summer heat because the focus of the construction for a winter RV is Conductive heat and not Radiant heat.
While an RV built for hotter climates should certainly provide good resistance to conductive heat, it must additionally focus is on reflecting Radiant heat.
I said all this because there seems to be almost a singular focus on how well an handles the cold, and no discussion about how it handles the heat. I think this is because there is a general consensus that, if a RV designed to handle the cold well, it will also be good for the heat. While this is true to some extent, I think the complete ignorance of radiant heat, which is he main source of heat in the summer on RVs, has lead to a misunderstanding that a good cold weather RV is best for summer heat as well, and this is simply not the case.
Considering all the above information, my question then is. Are there Travel Trailers that are specifically design with a focus on use in a hot climate where there will a lot more radiant heat then conductive heat to deal with?
The two main types of heat that an RV has to deal with, is Radiant heat and Conductive heat. R values only slow down Conductive Heat, this is why they work well for helping keep the conductive heat from the furnace in an RV during the winter.
Heat is energy just like electricity. And just like electricity, in which certain materials (like aluminum and copper) have a lower resistance then rubber and are better at conducting electrical energy; some materials (like rubber that resist conduction of electrical current) also resist the conduction of heat energy. Although no material can completely stop the conduction of heat energy, some materials with an R value (like wood, foam and fiberglass) slow down the conduction of heat energy.
In the winter time, it gets colder because there is less sunlight. All heat from the sun is Radiant heat. Just like you can't feel the conductive heat from a camp fire on a cold night if you stand far away from it, we can't feel the conductive heat from the sun that is 93 million miles away. What we get from the sun is Radiant heat that heats up the materials it touches and then we feel the conductive heat from those materials. To better understand this concept, try to go into a greenhouse in the middle of the winter on a bright sunny day. I have a a greenhouse and even though the walls are made out of plastic (which has no insulating value), it can be 20 degrees outside, but will be 60 degrees in my greenhouse during a sunny day, with no other heat source. This is the power of radiant heat.
Okay, so what does this have to do with RVs. Well, in the summer time the biggest heat source that an RV has to deal with is Radiant heat from the sun, not conductive heat. Where as a trailer with a good R value will help slow down radiant heat, it will do a more poorer job of keeping radiant heat out during the summer, then conductive heat in during the winter. So while, a good winter RV will be better for summer too, it is not the best it can be when it comes to summer heat because the focus of the construction for a winter RV is Conductive heat and not Radiant heat.
While an RV built for hotter climates should certainly provide good resistance to conductive heat, it must additionally focus is on reflecting Radiant heat.
I said all this because there seems to be almost a singular focus on how well an handles the cold, and no discussion about how it handles the heat. I think this is because there is a general consensus that, if a RV designed to handle the cold well, it will also be good for the heat. While this is true to some extent, I think the complete ignorance of radiant heat, which is he main source of heat in the summer on RVs, has lead to a misunderstanding that a good cold weather RV is best for summer heat as well, and this is simply not the case.
Considering all the above information, my question then is. Are there Travel Trailers that are specifically design with a focus on use in a hot climate where there will a lot more radiant heat then conductive heat to deal with?
