Exterior Color and Inside Temperature...

[HighLonesome]

OK.... I need some help here.... about exterior color vs temperature inside.

I will be 3/4 timing to start with so I will be living in my B most of the time.
My intention is to follow the seasons so I will not be in any long term weather extremes.

When it gets too hot..... or too cold..... then I am leaving. If I can't have the windows open for good cross ventilation then... it's time to move on and change locations.

SO... that said..... my question is about exterior color. I have had vehicles in mostly all the colors over the years.... but none that I was planning to actually live in.

Since I am not planning on having air conditioning put in or some kind of heating other than a small ceramic heater or small oil filled plug in heater..... I am not sure which colors would be best to consider for the exterior.

I have been leaning towards white because its generally so cool to the touch but.... I really don't like it. I wish I could have a real color like yellow or that nice caribou brown that comes on the ford transit vans.

but.... they are hot to the touch on a warm day which unlike the
white that is much cooler.

Does anyone here have a dark colored van and if so..... how is it in the various temperatures you travel in.

I have this vision in my head that I will utterly ROAST in a van any other color than white if I hit a hot snap of weather.... wherever I am.
Is this an unfounded fear ? OR.... will exterior color make that much difference with windows open and air moving thru ?

I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks so much.

[Davydd]

When we stayed in Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona last February we noticed many of the RVs had their hoods up. It wasn't for cooling. It was for discouraging rodents seeking shelter under your hood.

[HighLonesome]

goreds2 wrote:

thriftydutch wrote:
When we stop for the night we open the hood of the van and leave it open for a few hours. We have discovered that this really helps to cool the interior of the van fast. If left closed all the heat from under the hood creeps into the interior. We don't have engine AC but we are pretty tough. Drive with all the windows open on hot days.

Awesome idea about opening the hood during stops. I will put that idea in my back pocket. One of those "Why didn't I think of that moments" - Thanks,

YEAH ! thats a GREAT idea about the hood ! I'll remember that.
And I too drive with the windows open ALL the time... even in the colder weather.
I love fresh air.... or maybe its because of the way I was raised as a kid.... we didn't have air conditioning in any of the family cars. lol
I just got used to having the windows open. all the way down on the driver side and part way down on the passenger side so things don't blow all over the place.

thanks so much for the good tip.

[Naio]

I found this thread, too, on the SMB forum. It mentions something I had forgotten -- the nice blues Ford used peel badly.

[goreds2]

thriftydutch wrote:
When we stop for the night we open the hood of the van and leave it open for a few hours. We have discovered that this really helps to cool the interior of the van fast. If left closed all the heat from under the hood creeps into the interior. We don't have engine AC but we are pretty tough. Drive with all the windows open on hot days.

Awesome idea about opening the hood during stops. I will put that idea in my back pocket. One of those "Why didn't I think of that moments" - Thanks,

[thriftydutch]

When we stop for the night we open the hood of the van and leave it open for a few hours. We have discovered that this really helps to cool the interior of the van fast. If left closed all the heat from under the hood creeps into the interior. We don't have engine AC but we are pretty tough. Drive with all the windows open on hot days.

[Naio]

HighLonesome wrote:


I WILL have air in the cab of the van..... I just didn't want a roof air conditioner.

Yeah, that's what I meant 🙂

[HighLonesome]

rockymtnb wrote:
James and Stef who blog on thefitrv.com website currently have a bright yellow Winnebago Travato and previously owned a white Sprinter Class B. You might want to ask them about their practical experience and temperature difference between the two colors.

And there's a recent thread over on the Sportsmobile Forum titled Van Colors and Practicality that discusses this same topic. Most Sportsmobiles don't have rooftop AC so their goals sound very similar to yours.

HEY ! thanks for telling me about these folks.... I just sent them an email and am looking forward to what they say. Their yellow van is pretty much what I have been thinking about... except that I am getting a ford and not a dodge promaster.

Thanks alot for telling me about them.... I really appreciate it.
this could really help me decide.

[HighLonesome]

Naio wrote:
That's a good point that you might want ac when driving but not when parked. That engine does put out a LOT of heat.

I WILL have air in the cab of the van..... I just didn't want a roof air conditioner.
Thats what I was talking about. I have always had an air conditioner in my cars and trucks....I don't hardly use them but i have had it when when I felt I needed it.

when I said I was not getting air... I meant a roof unit. NOT the air conditioner in the cab.
lol sorry If I was not clear on that.

[HighLonesome]

rockymtnb wrote:
James and Stef who blog on thefitrv.com website currently have a bright yellow Winnebago Travato and previously owned a white Sprinter Class B. You might want to ask them about their practical experience and temperature difference between the two colors.

And there's a recent thread over on the Sportsmobile Forum titled Van Colors and Practicality that discusses this same topic. Most Sportsmobiles don't have rooftop AC so their goals sound very similar to yours.

Hey thats great ! Thanks.... I'll check it out.

[Naio]

That's a good point that you might want ac when driving but not when parked. That engine does put out a LOT of heat.

[rockymtnb]

James and Stef who blog on thefitrv.com website currently have a bright yellow Winnebago Travato and previously owned a white Sprinter Class B. You might want to ask them about their practical experience and temperature difference between the two colors.

And there's a recent thread over on the Sportsmobile Forum titled Van Colors and Practicality that discusses this same topic. Most Sportsmobiles don't have rooftop AC so their goals sound very similar to yours.

[HighLonesome]

very interesting about the heat and vans. Thanks for telling me that.
I will keep it in mind.

I plan to rent a sprinter van for a few weeks and travel with it so I can really get more insight about how I want to do my interior.... and it will also be very informative on the heat issue as I won't be using the air conditioning. I will get a good feel for what you talk about.

thanks for your help.

[My_Roadtrek]

Vans are like tin cans, and can get very hot after being driven on a highway for hours. The wheel wells get so hot you can't touch them. This heat has to go somewhere, and a lot of it well disapate into the van through the floor, sides, etc
Experience people here have suggested getting AC, and that is my recommendation also, but you seem to know what's best for yourself, so good luck, and enjoy your travels.

[mkguitar]

a lighter exterior and a/c are a no brainer.

Even visits to Canadia can see temps in the 90's so cooling the van for bedtime makes sense.

we also use reflectix on our windows and on teh floor up front, under the dog bed between the seats

mike