Keeping cool while boondocking

[Jesshopes]

We leave for a 2 week trip on Friday. Our first night we are boondocking in a Cabela's parking lot. The problem is that it's going to be warm...and there are 13 of us in a TT. I keep thinking that there has to be a reasonable way to run a couple of fans for one night...anybody have an great ideas? We do not have a generator and I don't want to buy/take one for this one night.

[Jesshopes]

2012Coleman wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

ppine wrote:
13 people camping in a hot parking lot? Is this for real?

Apparently we are tougher than the average campers...just looking for friendly advice on how to make it even more comfortable.

LOL - Apparently you are!

Of course you already know that you can find a CG to stop at - doesn't KOA have overflow with electric? Not sure.

I've tried to sleep in a TT without AC in the heat of summer and it's no fun. I'm sure you have experienced that as well. I did a Google search for overnight RV parking with electricity. I found a lot of hits.

Also as an alternative, consider Cracker Barrel. They allow overnight RV parking and the policy is corporate wide so no difference between locations. The one near me even has a 30 amp plug. The bonus is that you can go in for dinner and breakfast as they can accommodate your large family quite easily.

They have maps on their website so find one along your route, give them a call to discuss.

Please post back on your outcome - maybe some old dogs can learn some new tricks :w

Good luck!

Thanks for the CB tip. I didn't know that!

[Jesshopes]

ppine wrote:
Jesshopes,
Sorry. It was hard to tell that you are serious.
Good luck with your plans.
I would try to find hook ups to run the AC or boondock and get your group away from other peolple.
when you have a lot of room. set up some tents outside the rig. People can get some separation and kids can learn some independence. Every kid needs to learn how to sleep in a tent.

Why would I come on here and post a fake situation?

[Jesshopes]

valhalla360 wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:
Gosh, thanks for judging my priorities but I actually never said why we were boondocking. It's an assumption that we are doing it to save $.

So what is the purpose of punishing the wife and kids?

PS: I'm the youngest of 10 and we covered a lot of ground in an even smaller camper as a kid, so no objections to your lifestyle.

I'm the wife. I'm not being punished...neither are the kids. Avoiding a campground is just quicker. It's a short overnight stay on the first night of a 16 day trip. We leave after my husband gets off of work so we only get about 6 hours in the first evening. Boondocking is quicker because most campgrounds are further off of the main route. We've done it plenty of times before. It works well for us.

[toedtoes]

proxim2020 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
Even if you find a parking lot with an outlet and you can plug into it, you can't run the AC off it and electric fans aren't going to cool it down enough either.

Outdoor outlets are commonly on 20 amp circuits. Running a single AC off of a 20 amp circuit shouldn't be a problem. I've run my own 15k off of a 20 amp.

He's got a 37ft trailer so it's likely he has 2 ACs. And we don't know what other draws he needs at night, or what the business may draw from that outlet/circuit at night. So, it's not a given that he will be able to run his AC even if he can get an outlet in a parking lot.

Again, if it's a matter of just moving air, he can make it work in a parking lot. If it's a matter of cooling the trailer down, then there's no guarantee outside of a campground with electric. Having 13 family members cranky from the heat and lack of sleep is not something I would enjoy dealing with, so I'd play it safe with a campground.

[Community Alumni]

toedtoes wrote:
Even if you find a parking lot with an outlet and you can plug into it, you can't run the AC off it and electric fans aren't going to cool it down enough either.

Outdoor outlets are commonly on 20 amp circuits. Running a single AC off of a 20 amp circuit shouldn't be a problem. I've run my own 15k off of a 20 amp.

[ppine]

Jesshopes,
Sorry. It was hard to tell that you are serious.
Good luck with your plans.
I would try to find hook ups to run the AC or boondock and get your group away from other peolple.
when you have a lot of room. set up some tents outside the rig. People can get some separation and kids can learn some independence. Every kid needs to learn how to sleep in a tent.

[valhalla360]

Jesshopes wrote:
Gosh, thanks for judging my priorities but I actually never said why we were boondocking. It's an assumption that we are doing it to save $.

So what is the purpose of punishing the wife and kids?

PS: I'm the youngest of 10 and we covered a lot of ground in an even smaller camper as a kid, so no objections to your lifestyle.

[2012Coleman]

Jesshopes wrote:

ppine wrote:
13 people camping in a hot parking lot? Is this for real?

Apparently we are tougher than the average campers...just looking for friendly advice on how to make it even more comfortable.

LOL - Apparently you are!

Of course you already know that you can find a CG to stop at - doesn't KOA have overflow with electric? Not sure.

I've tried to sleep in a TT without AC in the heat of summer and it's no fun. I'm sure you have experienced that as well. I did a Google search for overnight RV parking with electricity. I found a lot of hits.

Also as an alternative, consider Cracker Barrel. They allow overnight RV parking and the policy is corporate wide so no difference between locations. The one near me even has a 30 amp plug. The bonus is that you can go in for dinner and breakfast as they can accommodate your large family quite easily.

They have maps on their website so find one along your route, give them a call to discuss.

Please post back on your outcome - maybe some old dogs can learn some new tricks :w

Good luck!

[patperry2766]

The Cabelas and BPS near me have signs for no overnight camping. Don't know if this is a local thing or nationwide. I have seen a lot of people camping at Wal-Marts and I've read that some Cracker Barrel restaurants can handle overnight parking.

This summer we were in MT, and there were what appeared to be several campers who had settled in for more than a quick overnight at the Wal-Mart in Missoula

[Jebby14]

up here common limit is 6 people but they almost always have a written exception that a single family consisting of more is acceptable as long as they are immediate family, parents and kids.

Regardless..... good luck have safe travels

[Jeeperinmoab]

I am glad to see other large families out camping too. While my family is not as large as yours (I have 5 kids) we get a few weird looks when booking sites. I have not had any problems finding places. Everyone has always been helpful (surprised but helpful)
Too help cool the camper I would recommend using two fans (one facing out and one facing in) to create a cross breeze. I do this regularly at home at night. It works wonders with dry air.

[K-9_HANDLER]

In my younger years I would stay with Family in Florida (Bradenton) during the summer and they didnt have a/c. We would hose down with cold water before bed, helped quite a bit.

[Artum_Snowbird]

Have a look at some of the ideas for homemade air conditioners perhaps. It's not hard to make ice in the freezer of a rig and running air over ice can really help cool things down when it's stifling hot.

[Jesshopes]

BarabooBob wrote:
I commend you for taking the entire family camping. We only had 4 daughters and we loved the time together. Here in Wisconsin, the state parks have the policy of 6 unrelated people or one directly related family without limit to the number of people.
"A site may be occupied by a parent or parents with their dependent children and not more than two guests or a group of not more than six persons, regardless of age."
I am surprised that the national parks discriminate against large families. I looked at several park web pages and there is a 6 person limit. I suggest talking to the park management about getting around that rule.

We've never had a state or national park give us any trouble. We had a private campground charge us for 2 sites once...usually they charge a bit extra for more than their "standard" number of people. Heck at some campgrounds it's 2...so even "small" families get penalized.

[2oldman]

Jesshopes wrote:
It's funny that this is of such interest or concern to people.

Right. It's not unusual or anything. I think we're trying to be curious, not insulting.