i have to live in Florida, how to be cool?

[ladysawfan]

Hey guys, i have racked my brain for years to figure out how to stay cool and be relatively stealth. is this an impossibility? i live in a rural area of Florida and would like to be able to be overnight in cities such as Jacksonville and Orlando to seek good jobs in computer software. I have previously owned a Roadtrek camper van but couldnt make the payments when i got sick.&nbsp;<div>I want a cheaper alternative that wont give me stress, but I can't see how to stay cool down South. Am I just whistling Dixie? forgive the silly joke.&nbsp;</div><div>i have seen one guys portable AC but he has to park in his Dad's driveway to use it, or be in a campground, cause it needs a generator or plug in, i assume.&nbsp;</div><div>My scenario is this:&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp; I get a job in Orlando, 1 and 1/2 hrs away, &nbsp;i work all day and there's congestion on I-4. I cant get home unless i stay on the road for 3 hours. I don't have the energy due to anemia. So i want to park in a rest area near Orlando and sleep. Maybe i wake at 2am and go home, then wake at 6 and drive back to Orlando. Or maybe i sleep all nite, clean up and go back to work in the morning. with a change of clothes i previously stashed in the van of course.&nbsp;</div><div>But...</div><div>i fall asleep sweating, uncomfortable, miserable, wishing i were in Maine.&nbsp;</div><div>How much would i need to invest to buy enough marine batteries to run an AC? i think i could park at truck stops, or possibly rent a driveway on Airbnb. i thought about leasing a Prius, but that seems very expensive.&nbsp;</div><div>what about driving into cheap campgrounds for about $10 for the night, for electric hookup or to find a solitary place to use a generator? can a generator even run a small AC?</div><div>Why are campgrounds so expensive anyway?&nbsp;</div><div>thanks for all your encouragement so far. I have read some of your blogs and been so inspired it brought tears to my eyes! i aint kidding, either. i long for the freedom you have, but i have to stay close to my daughter as our budget is commingled and i have a few health problems.</div>

 

[Seraphim]

<p><a href="https://vanlivingforum.com/post/por...air-conditioning-and-heating-5541226?trail=15" target=_blank>https://vanlivingforum.com/post/por...air-conditioning-and-heating-5541226?trail=15</a></p>

 

[ladysawfan]

thanks Seraphim! the 1000 btu seems to no longer be on the Wayfair site. But &nbsp;i am searching google for "1000 but AC" and there seem to many other stores that have them. if i &nbsp;can run it on an inverter plugged in to &nbsp;van battery that would be great! how can you make sure you dont kill your car battery? i guess installing a separate battery would be optimal. thanks again

 

[Seraphim]

They also make a battery minder: it disconnects electrical devices ibefore the battery gets too low to start the car.

 

[THECHEMICALS]

<div id="container"> <h1>hi, im in south florida and have been looking on these forums for the same solution to the heat problem. I couldtn find anything practical for me so i am currently using styrofoam to at least insulate the walls of my van. Im told it helps keep the heat out. Its kinda a messy job and tedious so i have been thinking about buying some spray insulation and add it to my halfarsed foam job. <br></h1><h1>I have one deep cycle marine battery i bought for 100 dollars- its a 165 amp and i also have a 30 watt solar panel to charge it but it is only going to be good for a fan.....yeh thats all i have right now to solve this problem- a fan i bought at target.</h1><p>If you get any ideas please post them.&nbsp;</p></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://blekko.com/s/toolbar/newtab/jquery.newtab.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $("#search-box").autocomplete({ minLength:2, position:{offset:"0 -10"}, source: function( request, response ) { $.ajax({ url:"http://blekko.com/autocomplete", dataType: 'jsonp', data: { term: request.term }, success: function( data ){ response( $.map( data, function(item){ return { label:__highlight(item, request.term), value:item }; })); } }); }, select: function(event, ui) { $("#search").submit(); } }).data( "autocomplete" )._renderItem = function( ul, item ) { // only change here was to replace .text() with .html() return $( "<li></li>" ) .data( "item.autocomplete", item ) .append( $( "<a></a>" ).html(item.label) ) .appendTo( ul ); }; function __highlight(s, t) { var matcher = new RegExp("("+$.ui.autocomplete.escapeRegex(t)+")", "ig" ); return s.replace(matcher, "<span>$1</span>"); console } function disableNewTab() { if (browser == 'IE'){ document.location = 'res://ieframe.dll/tabswelcome.htm'; } else{ window._content.document.location = 'about:blank'; } } </script>

 

[ladysawfan]

if you're not working then i think a fan at nite is ok. During the day you can hang out at libraries, mall, etc. But after a hard days work all i want to do is sleep. at 5pm it is still pretty hot and the last thing i want to do is sit around the library or mall or restaurant to stay cool until around 9 pm. so if i get a decent job then these cooling solutions using power packs and small AC's seem to be good.&nbsp;<div>only one thing concerns me. there don't seem to be any other 1000 btu AC's except American Comfort. otherwise they seem to be around 9000 btu's which need a generator, which means camping in a non-stealth $25/nite park, right?&nbsp;</div><div>i mean there doesnt seem to be anything around for less than that. i do know of a park called Turkey Lake that was about $19 but i havent seen that online. i just happen to have found it back in 2007 when i had my RV. it may be higher now.</div>

 

[gp]

Excellent question. I've also wondered the same. I have a 5000 btu portable AC and would like an alternative to hookups. I'm brain-challenged electrically. Hightop is too high for a solar setup.&nbsp;Has anyone&nbsp;figured it out and actually done it? What size battery bank would be needed. How long would you have to run the engine to charge such a battery bank? How long could you run the AC before recharging batteries? <br><br>

 

[Rollin]

Hi &nbsp;ladysawfan, I live in central Florida and last year I did what you are suggesting. I worked&nbsp;during&nbsp;the day and stayed in my van at night. I must say that the work we were doing was on some huge roofs at Tropicana Bradington. So I was&nbsp;accustom to some&nbsp;extremely hot temps.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>I&nbsp;tried the&nbsp;stealth&nbsp;camping for one night&nbsp;before I checked into a campground. At the Campground&nbsp;I could open all the doors and had a fan which made it&nbsp;bearable.It&nbsp;usually&nbsp;got&nbsp;comfortable&nbsp;about&nbsp;1 or 2 am.&nbsp;I'm&nbsp;sorry but&nbsp;during&nbsp;the summer sometimes at night the temps stay in the mid to high 80s and very, very&nbsp;soupy. I just&nbsp;don't&nbsp;see you having the windows up and trying to sleep in that even if you have them cracked.</div><div><br></div><div>One bright spot is if you check around you can find some very reasonable campgrounds. I was staying at the state park which was around $20 a night. But it was worth it for me&nbsp;because&nbsp;of the&nbsp;privacy. If that&nbsp;isn't&nbsp;an issue, a co-worker found a&nbsp;campground&nbsp;for $70 a week with shower, wi-fi, cable, water and power.</div><div><br></div><div>There a book called WOODALL'S which is a directory for&nbsp;campgrounds. It covers all of N.America with over 12,000 parks and campgrounds.&nbsp;</div>

 

[PYSCHOWard]

I would advertise in a LOCAL paper for a parking spot, with Electric,&nbsp;that ( Must be Shaded for the afternoon &amp; early Evening. For Camping I use movers blankets on the roof of my van as soon as i'm parked to keep the vans roof from heating up. You could pay $15- $20 per night , with the money you'd be saving in Fuel, and be Well rested each day.<BR>&nbsp;Insulation Is ABSOLUTELY Essential, But donot use Spray Foam, as it will cause Premature rusting from the inside out.<BR>

 

[angeli]

Here's a link that look promising, except for prices which are not stated.&nbsp; What do the ol' timers think of these?&nbsp; They are made for mobil application, both civilian and military, and are designed to work with solar power/12V/24V. <br><br>Any thoughts?<br><br>EDIT:&nbsp; Apparently my brainbox isn't working as it should.&nbsp; Sorry folks, here is the link:<br><br>http://www.dcairco.com/<br>

 

[angeli]

Bump<br><br>http://www.dcairco.com/<br>

 

[Les H]

Wow, if that is for real,( and not hugely expensive), you may have discovered the holy Grail of vandwelling!

 

[Guest]

Two gallon jugs of water (cold or even better, frozen), in front of a fan will help lower the temp enough to fall asleep.<div><br></div><div>I, too, am in central Florida, and it's just a fact of life. The humidity is what makes it rough.</div>

 

[cargovanconversion]

<p>Howdy and welcome aboard.&nbsp;</p><p>You probably could stuff enough batteries on board to run an A/C for a little while, but you wouldn't have enough roof space for solar panels to recharge them. Of course, you could recharge the batteries from an outlet, but that defeats the purpose.</p><p>Van.</p>