Beating the heat

[Tony's Dream]

This forum talks about what to do when its really hot and really cold, but what about in between?  I recently began thinking about how to avoid letting my aliner overheat when the temps are in the 80's.  I have seen where van owners have mounted ladder racks on top and place plywood sheet on the rack to use as shade, but racks are not compatible with aliners since they collapse.  I thought about mounting a PVC frame on the top and then stretch a tarp over the entire camper.  The PVC frame would keep the tarp about 8-10 inches from the actual camper top.  That way the tarp would absorb the heat instead of the sun heating up the top of the camper.  Has anyone tried this or seen it done?  Your thoughts?

 

[highdesertranger]

park in the shade.
80's is not hot. don't stay inside during the day.
go up in elevation.
head north

I am heading north in a few weeks.

highdesertranger

 

[LoupGarou]

You can certainly kludge up some sort of frame if you want too. When temperatures start to rise I’m seeking out shade.

I use a portable DC Shroud Fan which adds some air movement when sitting outside.

Similar to this model;
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...d-floor-fan/hv-20ss-dc-mf/p-1533564536107.htm

 

[user 423]

^
Thanks for the link LG. They also have 9" and 14" models.

 

[Dingfelder]

I've seen many frames and tarps and awnings on Amazon. My trailer has an awning and the heat would be unbearable without it. I bought an additional awning made for cars and jerry-rigged it to my existing awning to fit side by side, and even then, and in the middle of many trees and with a house on the side, and reflective cloths all over, my trailer got crushingly hot last summer and retained heat for almost the entire night.

You can't beat an awning, but it's not enough in really hot conditions. Check out portable awnings and sunscreens of any and every kind. You will see on this forum a majority of people who are old or post-retirement age, and they have trouble maintaining normal body temperatures. For them, hot or even very hot is welcome and even normal. If you are not at that stage of life yet, you may want to cool down. So you may find yourself taking a lot of advice about beating the heat on these forums with a grain of salt. People who say you don't need, say, an awning, or that one is foolish to buy ... well, that fits their stage of life. And they can't picture anyone else's situation. I say be aggressive about controlling heat, because it can literally make you sick or be a killer. Or at least make you enjoy life a whole lot less.

 

[jacqueg]

Keeping cool(ish) -

what works for me -

stay in the shade

if you're hanging out in your van, keep a fan pointed at you, and leave some doors open

wear long loose pants and loose long sleeved tops made of LOOSELY WOVEN natural fibers - keeping the sun off your skin helps you feel cooler

if you're out in the sun, wear a floppy hat made of natural grass fibers, and soak it in water (I don't think artificial fibers will soak up as much water)

absolutely pour water over yourself, including your head and the clothes you are wearing

I might have an awning someday, so I can make my own shade, but until I do, I seek out places to park with shade. Doesn't have to be a place with trees either. Hills and buildings also work.

 

[user 423]

...absolutely pour water over yourself, including your head and the clothes you are wearing

A spray bottle works well for this.

 

[jonyjoe303]

one word "swampcooler", I been using them for 8 years, I always park in the sun with all my windows/doors closed. On weekends I spend all day in my van no matter the weather/heat. I don't park in the shade because I have to feed my 240 watt panel on the roof. But I think your idea would work as long as its not too hot.

Today it feels like the first day of summer, its been very hot. Right now I only have a small 120mm 12 volt fans keeping me cool, they are bringing the air from outside, it works but not too good. I been too lazy too build a swampcooler just yet, I have all the parts, but haven't got around to it. Even a small swampcooler will work. But if your aliner isn't well insulated (including the windows) nothing is going to keep the edge off the heat.

The swampcooler works real good at night time, in case you spend the daytime in the shade, you still have to go back at night. And at 1 or 2 amps of power, any battery will power it, even all night long.

small swampcooler I built and used all summer long to stay cool. But usually I build them larger.


Temperatures in summer parked in the sun. The high temp is from the front uninsulated section of the van, the lower temp is from the back insulated section of the van with only the swampcooler running. Its still hot but where the swampcooler is blowing is much cooler. This is in a somewhat cool/low humid day, I seen the front temp get as high as 150 degrees. This is proof that alot of insulation does work in a hot day.

 

[crofter]

Here are some ideas for shade kits. The lighter colors usually used in the desert are opaque in daylight but are see through at night. We use these for bug screens, no see ums can get through it. Also called 'button downs" you can get the custom sewing shop to fabricate for you. Or this link shows DIY for a snap version.  
-crofter

https://ezsnapdirect.com/store/rv-s...laM83EtPUiqq3-sn72-FBe5XT7N0UDkBoCRbkQAvD_BwE

 

[SheepDog]

If you’re in a dry climate putting water on yourself really helps.  In hot wet places not so much!

As mentioned shade is a big deal. 

Another thing I’ve not seen is acclimating yourself by staying out of air conditioned spaces for the most part.  A week or two of 80-90F with a fan you will start to adjust. Hydrate like crazy until your body catches up!

Last year I went from cool mountains to tropical heat with no AC in a few hours and stayed in the heat for a couple weeks.  The first couple days where “hot” until my body started remembering and things got better!

I don’t find sleeping much above 100F comfortable even acclimated, but have done it many times!

SD

 

[crofter]

....small swampcooler I built and used all summer long to stay cool....

Swamp coolers are great. Can you give us more detail on how you are adapting it for the van? Is is an ice cube type or does it go in a window?
-crofter

 

[jonyjoe303]

its inside in the back of the van, I have a vent on the side of the van to feed the outside air into it. It's important that it has outside air going through the evaporator pad otherwise it won't work. I use 4 inch flexible ducting to get the air into the cooler

Its best if its not humid under 50 percent, but even at higher humidity you still get a cooling effect. Last year it was very humid (for southern california) but the swampcooler got me through the worst heat. The hotter it is the more water that you will use, maybe 3 to 4 liters in a hot day.

No need to use ice, air going though the evaporater pad will cool down. I use the celdek pad, it lasts up to 5 years without clogging up, the blue durakool pad gets clogged up after 3 months of use (from water impurities). When it clogs up it restricts airflow.

For vehicule use, you need to seperate (with a divider) the water section from evaporator/air section in the swampcooler, that way when your driving around the water doesnt come out of the swampcooler. On the internet you can find directions to build a swampcooler, the bucket (burningman) design is very popular but won't work in a moving vehicule.

side vents that feed swampcooler with outside air


this is the temperatures on a real hot humid day insulated/uninsulated sides of van. If I turn off the swampcooler, it will easily climb to over 100 degrees in the back. I always carry spare 12 volt water pumps and fans in case of breakdowns. Once I lost a pump without a spare and had to buy an AC power fishtank pump for temporary use, it got too hot (unbearable) in the van without the swampcooler.

 

[jacqueg]

If you’re in a dry climate putting water on yourself really helps.  In hot wet places not so much!

SD

Absolutely true, that's when I use my ignition key!

 

[crofter]

If you’re in a dry climate putting water on yourself really helps....

I was told to put a towel on my head when it got to be 105 in the shade here. I found one of these high tech towels, wet it and draped it over my neck and shoulders. What a difference! Felt pretty comfortable in the heat. In the past I have put water on my hat also.
-crofter

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m53...HGkdIXWA4qzNf3QXELH4Up0cXjdcD79BoC9j0QAvD_BwE

 

[1shemp]

It's normal to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter.People need to just toughen up and adapt to the warmer temps.Folks lived for hundreds of thousands of years without AC.They just accepted that they were going to suffer in temp extremes. Humans today should prepare themselves mentally for the misery of hot weather.I,myself,will be sitting in my recliner in front of a nice AC.Good luck.

 

[SheepDog]

I was told to put a towel on my head when it got to be 105 in the shade here. I found one of these high tech towels, wet it and draped it over my neck and shoulders. What a difference! Felt pretty comfortable in the heat. In the past I have put water on my hat also.
-crofter

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m53...HGkdIXWA4qzNf3QXELH4Up0cXjdcD79BoC9j0QAvD_BwE

‘The deal is that with high humidity there is very low evaporation which is where the best cooling comes from!  Yes putting your head under the hose will cool you, but you will not get the extra of evaporative cooling.  Working in high heat high humidity has you pretty much soaking wet anyway so adding extra water is that big a thing other than cooling your head for a minute or two.
SD

 

[crofter]

Heat advisory for 108 degrees this week in southern AZ.  It was about 104 today. I used my high tech towel and stayed pretty cool, also drank lots.  -crofter

 

[crofter]

What do you use for sunscreen? According to this article, my waterproof sunscreen is not approved by FDA. Only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide have FDA approval.
-crofter

Description: article on safety of ingredients in sunscreen.
https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/

 

[crofter]

its inside in the back of the van, I have a vent on the side of the van to feed the outside air into it....

I am getting ready to cut the hole for the side air vent. Where did you get the vent cover for the round vent hole? I have a choice between round or oval, if I can get a round vent cover somewhere I will go with that.
-crofter

 

[crofter]

I am getting ready to cut the hole for the side air vent. Where did you get the vent cover for the round vent hole? I have a choice between round or oval, if I can get a round vent cover somewhere I will go with that.
-crofter

I found these awesome marine vent covers but they are too small for my 6 inch duct line. 
-crofter
Description: link to marine supply site
https://www.overtons.com/sea-dog-ab...PU6RFdLG3V6gWOWfgcxoCYl0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This one is big enough, but is plastic.

Description: link to supply catalog entry
https://www.famcomfg.com/product/ro...fwYaaAuh7OHqn30JcGHHgPowCgVbyP0BoCjakQAvD_BwE