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.

[toedtoes]

BizmarksMom wrote:
Holy mackarel! They are spending one night without air conditioning. When I was a kid, we spent weeks in a tent - where it got into the 90s. Yes, there was some complaining, but we all survived. Nobody got dehydrated. Nobody got heat stroke. We have all gone on to camp in our adult lives.

Some of you are talking like this will be the worst experience ever for the kids.

I think part of that was to the wording of the OP. The problem with forums is that you can only respond to what you read. The title "keeping cool while boondocking" and the desire to "run a couple fans" because it "will be warm" is subject to how each reader interprets "cool" and "warm". One person interprets warm as 100 degrees, another 70 degrees. One person interprets "keeping cool" as cooling the air another as moving the air around.

Also, as the majority of posters on this forum are middle age and above, they are subjecting their own ability to handle various temperatures to the situation.

[mike-s]

I think you can get those fans I mentioned at Home Depot, and maybe Meijer's.

[crosscheck]

(quote),Back on topic, it was good to be reminded of the power consumption advantages of DC fans vs AC with inverter. I bought a small DC fan with a clip mount and cigarette lighter plug at Flying J. It moves a reasonable amount of air and is quieter than the Fantastic fan. Hope the kids have a great trip! (quote)

Our small 2 x 6v fans sip power even if on for the whole night. Clip them on the window valances. Keeps things bearable in fairly hot conditions(80F low). Dry camp 98.9% of the time. Almost no A/C, no genny time. Of course, you avoid unbearably hot and humid places in the summer.

Dave

[Jesshopes]

Jay Coe wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

I was actually pretty specific. I said I was looking for a way to run a couple of fans for one night without using a generator while boondocking. That is what I was looking for. I think the fact that I was only looking to run a couple of fans should have illustrated that it wasn't going to be smoldering hot. Clearly a couple of fans wouldn't fix that.
It's not my fault most people chose to focus on where I should be staying, how many kids I should have in my camper, how many sites I would need if I was at an actual campground, etc.

Not even close. Your question is way too general hence all the different responses. Try something like this:

Hubby and I (now we know you're a women as MOST members are guys) and our 11 kids will be leaving on a trip Friday evening when he gets off work with our 37' TT. We'll be spending a short first night in a parking lot (arriving after dark) in southern WI and the forecast is for 70's with rain/humidity expected. Looking for ideas for small, cheap fans we can run on batteries just for that one night. We'll have electric hook-up the rest of trip. Thanks! 🙂

That's ridiculous. You don't have to know ANY of those things to answer my original question. As a matter of fact I probably would've gotten better answers if I had left off the part about 11 kids...which people fixated on. If I had simply said, "I'm looking for a way to run a few fans without the use of a generator while boondocking for a night" people would have focused on my actual problem...and not tried to give me solutions for my lifestyle.

No it's not ridiculous. I've been on vastly more forums for many more years than you and I can PROMISE YOU, the MORE information you provide, the better, more accurate answers you will receive. The LESS you provide, the MORE assumptions need to be made.

The answer to ANY question is "it depends". It's the specifics that the BEST answers will depend on. Instead of trying to justify your vagueness, how bout just learning a little tip that will help immensely the next time you're asking for help from perfect strangers who are offering said help free of charge and with no strings attached.

In third grade math class we learned that the most effective way to get the answer to a story problem is to eliminate the unnecessary information.

It doesn't matter how you spin it or how many years you've been on forums. Several people in this forum proved my point by providing useful information without knowing any of the details that you deem necessary. None of them had to mention their level of expertise by telling me they've been involved in more forums than me for more years than me.

Apparently the charge and strings attached to this advice is that I have to endure condescending, rude comments from people who don't actually have to comment at all if they don't think there is enough information for them to be helpful.

[Jay_Coe]

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

I was actually pretty specific. I said I was looking for a way to run a couple of fans for one night without using a generator while boondocking. That is what I was looking for. I think the fact that I was only looking to run a couple of fans should have illustrated that it wasn't going to be smoldering hot. Clearly a couple of fans wouldn't fix that.
It's not my fault most people chose to focus on where I should be staying, how many kids I should have in my camper, how many sites I would need if I was at an actual campground, etc.

Not even close. Your question is way too general hence all the different responses. Try something like this:

Hubby and I (now we know you're a women as MOST members are guys) and our 11 kids will be leaving on a trip Friday evening when he gets off work with our 37' TT. We'll be spending a short first night in a parking lot (arriving after dark) in southern WI and the forecast is for 70's with rain/humidity expected. Looking for ideas for small, cheap fans we can run on batteries just for that one night. We'll have electric hook-up the rest of trip. Thanks! 🙂

That's ridiculous. You don't have to know ANY of those things to answer my original question. As a matter of fact I probably would've gotten better answers if I had left off the part about 11 kids...which people fixated on. If I had simply said, "I'm looking for a way to run a few fans without the use of a generator while boondocking for a night" people would have focused on my actual problem...and not tried to give me solutions for my lifestyle.

No it's not ridiculous. I've been on vastly more forums for many more years than you and I can PROMISE YOU, the MORE information you provide, the better, more accurate answers you will receive. The LESS you provide, the MORE assumptions need to be made.

The answer to ANY question is "it depends". It's the specifics that the BEST answers will depend on. Instead of trying to justify your vagueness, how bout just learning a little tip that will help immensely the next time you're asking for help from perfect strangers who are offering said help free of charge and with no strings attached.

[shelbyfv]

Jesshopes wrote:
As a matter of fact I probably would've gotten better answers if I had left off the part about 11 kids...

Yes, that's probably true. Most folks recognize that these days large families can be a result of two very different mindsets. One is viewed as admirable, based on altruism. The other, egotistical and careless of impact. Probably best to avoid the RV irrelevant, along with religion and politics.:) Back on topic, it was good to be reminded of the power consumption advantages of DC fans vs AC with inverter. I bought a small DC fan with a clip mount and cigarette lighter plug at Flying J. It moves a reasonable amount of air and is quieter than the Fantastic fan. Hope the kids have a great trip!

[Jesshopes]

profdant139 wrote:
Maybe this will help a little with ventilation -- on most trailers, at least one window swings out (as an emergency escape). But the prop rod inside the trailer does not push the window out very far, so that it does not really catch the breeze at all.

So in order to get maximum airflow, we keep a thin dowel handy -- we go outside, lift the window, and use the dowel to prop open the window horizontally. One end of the dowel sits on the rubber molding around the window glass, and the other end sits in the window frame.

That is a great idea. Thanks.

[Jesshopes]

Jay Coe wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

I was actually pretty specific. I said I was looking for a way to run a couple of fans for one night without using a generator while boondocking. That is what I was looking for. I think the fact that I was only looking to run a couple of fans should have illustrated that it wasn't going to be smoldering hot. Clearly a couple of fans wouldn't fix that.
It's not my fault most people chose to focus on where I should be staying, how many kids I should have in my camper, how many sites I would need if I was at an actual campground, etc.

Not even close. Your question is way too general hence all the different responses. Try something like this:

Hubby and I (now we know you're a women as MOST members are guys) and our 11 kids will be leaving on a trip Friday evening when he gets off work with our 37' TT. We'll be spending a short first night in a parking lot (arriving after dark) in southern WI and the forecast is for 70's with rain/humidity expected. Looking for ideas for small, cheap fans we can run on batteries just for that one night. We'll have electric hook-up the rest of trip. Thanks! 🙂

That's ridiculous. You don't have to know ANY of those things to answer my original question. As a matter of fact I probably would've gotten better answers if I had left off the part about 11 kids...which people fixated on. If I had simply said, "I'm looking for a way to run a few fans without the use of a generator while boondocking for a night" people would have focused on my actual problem...and not tried to give me solutions for my lifestyle.

[Jay_Coe]

Jesshopes wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

I was actually pretty specific. I said I was looking for a way to run a couple of fans for one night without using a generator while boondocking. That is what I was looking for. I think the fact that I was only looking to run a couple of fans should have illustrated that it wasn't going to be smoldering hot. Clearly a couple of fans wouldn't fix that.
It's not my fault most people chose to focus on where I should be staying, how many kids I should have in my camper, how many sites I would need if I was at an actual campground, etc.

Not even close. Your question is way too general hence all the different responses. Try something like this:

Hubby and I (now we know you're a women as MOST members are guys) and our 11 kids will be leaving on a trip Friday evening when he gets off work with our 37' TT. We'll be spending a short first night in a parking lot (arriving after dark) in southern WI and the forecast is for 70's with rain/humidity expected. Looking for ideas for small, cheap fans we can run on batteries just for that one night. We'll have electric hook-up the rest of trip. Thanks! 🙂

[profdant139]

Maybe this will help a little with ventilation -- on most trailers, at least one window swings out (as an emergency escape). But the prop rod inside the trailer does not push the window out very far, so that it does not really catch the breeze at all.

So in order to get maximum airflow, we keep a thin dowel handy -- we go outside, lift the window, and use the dowel to prop open the window horizontally. One end of the dowel sits on the rubber molding around the window glass, and the other end sits in the window frame.

[mike-s]

Jesshopes wrote:
..it's going to be low to mid 70s. It will be well past dark when we arrive...not baking sun.

Back to your original request to power fans.

First, good roof vent fan as previously suggested (Fantastic Fan or Maxxfan). Get a vent cover (or Maxxfan Deluxe) so you can run it when it's raining.

To move the inside air, get a couple of O2COOL fans. They're very popular, we use one. They'll run on 6x D cells or with an AC adapter out of the box. Then, get a couple of car adapters. Although shown for a different model fan, these should work. They'll run about 24 hours on high using D cells, so maybe that's all you need for occasional use.

If you don't have DC outlets convenient to plug those adapters into, instead get a small inverter (this one is inexpensive and gets good reviews), which the fan's AC adapters can plug into. They'll draw ~10 watts each (plus whatever the inverter uses to "idle").

AC box fans draw 40-100 watts each. A small inverter can easily run a couple, but that will drain the battery much quicker. The DC fans are much more efficient.

[Jesshopes]

profdant139 wrote:
Jesshopes, just ignore the cranky folks. These forums are tremendously valuable resources; we can get answers that were far harder to get in the days before the internet. Most of those who participate are doing so in good faith.

Yes, there are a few who are habitually rude. Thank heavens, it is a free country! People can post snarky comments, and other people can disregard them at will. And sometimes the snarky comments can be funny, either intentionally or by accident. And often the snarky folks are also pretty knowledgeable -- they sometimes lose patience with those of us who are not experts (and that certainly includes me).

Our hard-working and long-suffering moderators do a great job of either weeding out the really bad comments or closing threads that become too heated. But they err (properly) on the side of candor and tolerance, probably on the theory that sunshine is the best disinfectant.

Hang in there! Don't give up on this forum. It is well worth the occasional annoyance.

And back on topic, note that getting annoyed can cause you to feel warmer, which is not the goal here. 😉

Thanks . I appreciate a thoughtful and kind response. It baffles me that people even waste their time with a rude or cranky response. There were several thoughtful and kind and helpful responses. For those I am very grateful. I was thinking I probably wouldn't be back to the forum. I just wanted help with a specific question...didn't think that was such an odd idea. Or that people here would make snyde comments or negative assumptions about my family.

[profdant139]

Jesshopes, just ignore the cranky folks. These forums are tremendously valuable resources; we can get answers that were far harder to get in the days before the internet. Most of those who participate are doing so in good faith.

Yes, there are a few who are habitually rude. Thank heavens, it is a free country! People can post snarky comments, and other people can disregard them at will. And sometimes the snarky comments can be funny, either intentionally or by accident. And often the snarky folks are also pretty knowledgeable -- they sometimes lose patience with those of us who are not experts (and that certainly includes me).

Our hard-working and long-suffering moderators do a great job of either weeding out the really bad comments or closing threads that become too heated. But they err (properly) on the side of candor and tolerance, probably on the theory that sunshine is the best disinfectant.

Hang in there! Don't give up on this forum. It is well worth the occasional annoyance.

And back on topic, note that getting annoyed can cause you to feel warmer, which is not the goal here. 😉

[Jesshopes]

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

I was actually pretty specific. I said I was looking for a way to run a couple of fans for one night without using a generator while boondocking. That is what I was looking for. I think the fact that I was only looking to run a couple of fans should have illustrated that it wasn't going to be smoldering hot. Clearly a couple of fans wouldn't fix that.
It's not my fault most people chose to focus on where I should be staying, how many kids I should have in my camper, how many sites I would need if I was at an actual campground, etc.

[Jesshopes]

2oldman wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:

2oldman wrote:

Jesshopes wrote:
FWIW it's not going to be 100 degrees...it's going to be low to mid 70s.

That's quite a bit different from what you've led everyone to believe in the previous 9 pages of this.

Actually, it's not. I said "it's going to be warm". Those were my exact words.

And several people said "hot" and you made no attempt to clarify that. I think this thread is a phony.

Jay Coe wrote:
The best lesson of forum etiquette the OP can glean from this novel is to ALWAYS include AS MUCH DETAIL as possible in your original question. That would have prevented about 7 pages of garbage.

x2.

It's true..I didn't correct people when they said hot. I thought about it...but since so many other aspects of my family/camping/priorities I focused on those instead.

Are you serious? You think this thread is phony? Who the heck would come to a forum like this and make up something like that? That's ridiculous.

All the **** that was said in here...I didn't correct the word "hot" and I'm the problem?