If you go without A/C, why do you?

[breeze]

I've been  working on A/C's for 49-years, and there's no way I will be without one.

Those who do may live in the West or North. 
AC is a lot less of an issue than dry skin cancer (West) or freezing to death  (North) and salting your vehicle to death too.
 
Roof AC's on a 20 year life Li-ion system (w/Nation's 2nd alternator) is free traveling or overnite ac running costs for a fixed investment. It seems like a good tradeoff to me.  

 

[Trebor English]

I think the better question is if you live some where that air conditioning is mandatory, why do you choose to stay there and swelter when you don't have too.

I don't like air conditioning.  If someone decides that it is mandatory and I must have it I will leave it off.  The only time I run it is when I am transporting a passenger who must have it and specifically requests that it be turned on.

 

[SoulRaven]

Prefer becoming acclimated to the area I chose to live & mainly for AZ travel. What happens if you go from a 70 degree home out into 110 or 115 for 3-4 hours of errands here in AZ? It nearly killed me over 10 years ago. Talked to elders I saw out walking during hot days in summer, they clued me in "Turn it OFF!" they said. Turned off my A/C & haven't looked back. Cussed up a furious storm numerous times though, at first. Got over it. They showed me ways to keep my kool, like they do.  

Summer & its result of sweating is healthy, elders often lose ability to sweat & stay cool on their own because they stayed indoors during summers with A/C on (up to a point in their later years with possible developing non-communicative disease (dis-ease)). 

I do it because I want to. Saved me $1,000 a year in power bills, that is over 10K. It is motivating.
I'll sweat now, not a problem, yet. Sigh, maybe A/C on someday?

 

[DesertRose]

I admit that in the summer of 2016 I was living in PHX and wondered why the hell I was living in a casita with no AC and we almost hit a record of 4 days of 118 degrees. It did last 3 days though. That said, I prefer to be without AC. When I did use it, it was set at 80 but that was in condo in PHX. People who need AC in Southern California are wusses - except for the inland areas where it is necessary. I did grow up in SoCal in the days when there was no AC. Way back in the day, we used to hear about people in PHX wetting sheets and lying down on a bed with a fan pointed at them.

 

[Riverman]

I froze in the winter and sweated all summer for the first 18-years of my life in a run down house with zero insulation. . I won't sweat or freeze anymore.....

 

[breeze]

And with high humidity in the Southeast, you will rot your van out if you don't keep humidity under control. Looking on Youtube, FLIR has a couple of different infrared cameras that detect dampness for $700 each. I've already got temp/humidity gages for the front and back: $10 each, lol.

Yes, it is a hassle, but so is skin cancer metastasizing in your lungs and spreading though-out your whole brain and body: it's the number one cancer in US, because many of us are fair skinned. I think the Sun will burn holes in all of us though with global warming. Don't forget your Sun-screen! Ymmv.

 

[John61CT]

I've lived in huge tropical concrete-jungle cities where it's always humid and 95° is a cool day.

Never had aircon at home, hated it at work.

All depends on what your body's used to and most importantly your state of mind.

 

[debit.servus]

I love my A/C. Love not even breaking a sweat in the day. White Collar is where the fastlane wealth potential is. I realized I was the chump when I sat in a hot sleeper berth in a facility that prohibited idling while my DM and the Person who originated the load order sat in air conditioned offices.

The White Collar / Blue Collar divide is a casm of cleanliness and hygene making up the canyon floor, with great body language, communications skills, social adeptness & professionalism making up the canyon walls.

You can get away with not having A/C in blue collar settings. Show up to your white collar setting covered in sweat, while you wont be demoted that day, is generally accepted that you do something to reduce or eliminate the look and smell of being covered in sweat for the rest of the day.

 

[bullfrog]

If your work requires you to live in 100 degree plus temperatures then in today's world AC or some type of cooling is almost required. We work seasonally in such a place while living in our RV but as full hookups are furnished we use the AC especially at night to sleep. We wouldn't be able to keep jobs without a good night's rest for long!

 

[crofter]

I prefer to be acclimated to my environment and not excessively consume energy products to reduce momentary discomfort. 

My naturopath told me that I needed to sweat more and actually recomended a weekly sweat at minimum, in northern areas this is done in a sauna. Also recomended against any type of anti perspirant use. When you sweat you are self cooling but also ridding your body of toxins. I use salt on my skin areas to reduce odor from bacteria.

My rig has AC but prefer fresh air while driving, and set up air flow for fresh air when parked and I am in the van. When necessary, I cool my body by swimming in cold water or with a cold water bath. Since I am doing a basin bath, after soaking my head, feet, and pouring water over the rest, I am cool enough to sleep well. For a quick cool down, you can use a mister, or soak your forearms or feet in cold water. 
 
When I have to be in air conditioned areas, I try to avoid being in the air conditioning for long periods of time as this makes me less acclimated to the heat. I never sleep in AC.  -crofter

 

[Giuseppe Hardblast]

Cool. Im not the only weirdo who thinks like this. I think being closer to the elements is healthy too. Since. I quit A/C I get headaches sometimes if I'm in it too long, especially if I'm next to a unit. I was reading a book by a Harvard professor and he said being cold can help slow aging. He also said it benefits structuralnfat. I do have a swampncooler and buddy heater but I don't mind roughing it a bit either. I'm looking into the whim hoc method now. Dude climbs mountains in the snow with a pair of shorts on lol

 

[ckelly78z]

I went all Summer long with no A/C in Ohio (many 90*+ days with high humidity from June into September). I always had a fan blowing, and opened windows at sunset, but no nights that I couldn't sleep.

 

[jacqueg]

So far, parking in the shade and fans have done it for me too. And if all else fails, I can pack up and drive somewhere cooler. That's kinda the point of van dwelling, isn't it?

If I ever feel the need for A/C, I'll get it, I'm not a purist. I definitely concluded some years ago that A/C is a safety feature when it comes to driving during heat waves, I can't be the only person who gets cranky on a hot and crowded freeway. But lazing away on a hot summer afternoon is a different story.

 

[brahmon]

cant live without ac. ive got two.

 

[bullfrog]

When it gets to a point I can't get a good restful night's sleep with fans with wet towels then definitely time to turn on the AC.

 

[ganchan]

At the moment, I can't afford to get mine fixed. Believe me, that's the only reason.

 

[Riverman]

I'm going to be cool in the summer (72) and warm in the winter (73), whatever the cost.

 

[Riverman]

I worked hard for 49-years every day right out in the baking heat and in the freezing cold in the winter. But now, I'm going to keep my motor home as comfortable as I can.

 

[MotorVation]

I have good dash air in the van but none in the "house." Today it was 86 F in Ehrenberg and it was doable. It's going to cool off for a while now but if not, I would get on up outta here.

I'm going to put a 5000 BTU AC in this thing at some point. Actually, I'm going to try to find someone who can do it right. My carpentry skills are non existent. If I'm somewhere far enough away from other campers I can run it on my generator. I won't enjoy the noise but it is what it is. I'll also have the option of plugging into shore power if need be.

If I head back to Florida this coming summer I'll have all the shore power I want. I'll keep it plugged in so I can sleep in here and also so I don't bake my batteries like a pizza. That's all up in the air but at some point in the next two years I have to take care of unfinished business there and I'll have to be there physically. NO WAY would I attempt to hang in this thing in the Florida heat and humidity between April and November without AC

 

[Riverman]

Come on back to FL and I'll install the A/C for you, and do it right. It won't cost you any labor either.

I do suggest you buy an energy star 5000 btu a/c so you can save all you can on the power.

I recommend a Frigidaire energy star unit. There's a cheaper model, but the energy star is so much better.