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

[CanadianW_s]

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.

[phillyg]

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]

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]

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]

oops duplicate

[tpi]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[ependydad]

If it is not muggy, would a swamp cooler help?

[the_bear_II]

The key is to get as much shade and air movement as possible. We have outside awnings on all of our windows plus mini-blinds inside. The awnings are deployed along with the patio awning, the mini-blinds are down and turned so the sun doesn't come in. Windows are open, all vents are up and the Fantastic fan in the front is set to exhaust. The Fantastic fan in the rear is set to suck in the air. We use small battery powered (Ryobi) fans to blow directly on us. The generator is used to charge the trailer batteries and the fan batteries in the evening while we fix dinner and watch TV until quiet time. We have a Honda 20001 which is very quiet.

We tell kids and guests they either stay in or out so the door stays closed as much as possible. No running in and out...

It's usually cooler outside than in the trailer so we spend most of our time outside in the shade with the portable fans blowing on us.

[Ivylog]

How many summers are you planning on doing this?

[jauguston]

There is not much you can do about the night but for the day a quiet generator (#1 Honda or #2 Yamaha) is your best bet. If you have one of those already you are out of luck. They have the quietest portable generators.

Jim