I've discovered a unique way to keep my van considerably COOLER.

[CosmickGold]

Where in the van did you drill the hole? Thinking of doing the same with my van for a while now. Not exactly sure where would be a good place to put it.

Thanks,
Bryan

The first consideration is to place it as far as is practical away from your engine's exhaust pipe outlet. I placed mine on the opposite side and more than half the length of the van toward the front. Drill your hole and install this system only if you have a working carbon monoxide detector, and never never have the engine and this fan running at the same time. There was a van lifer in the news who rented a camping space right next to the space a Class-A had rented. The Class-A left its gas generator running all night, and the van lifer never ever woke up again. The carbon monoxide from the generator was sucked in by the van lifer's similar ventilation system, and it proved fatal.

Where I put mine is against the side wall and under my desk. To get that right, I crawled under my van to find a spot that had no wires, steel bars, or pipes close to it. Then drilled a small test hole first, checking to be sure the hole is in the correct place both under and inside the van. My perfect spot under the van was a clear square area between the gasoline filling pipe, the side wall, the gas tank, and a heavy steel beam. Wearing protective eye goggles and a mask over my nose, I drilled a small test hole up from underneath. Then went inside, saw two inches over would have been better, and drilled a second test hole down from inside. I crawled under the van again to see, and found my second test whole was in the perfect spot, both under and inside the van.

 

[Overland One]

The first consideration is to place it as far as is practical away from your engine's exhaust pipe outlet. I placed mine on the opposite side and more than half the length of the van toward the front. Drill your hole and install this system only if you have a working carbon monoxide detector, and never never have the engine and this fan running at the same time. There was a van lifer in the news who rented a camping space right next to the space a Class-A had rented. The Class-A left its gas generator running all night, and the van lifer never ever woke up again. The carbon monoxide from the generator was sucked in by the van lifer's similar ventilation system, and it proved fatal.

Where I put mine is against the side wall and under my desk. To get that right, I crawled under my van to find a spot that had no wires, steel bars, or pipes close to it. Then drilled a small test hole first, checking to be sure the hole is in the correct place both under and inside the van. My perfect spot under the van was a clear square area between the gasoline filling pipe, the side wall, the gas tank, and a heavy steel beam. Wearing protective eye goggles and a mask over my nose, I drilled a small test hole up from underneath. Then went inside, saw two inches over would have been better, and drilled a second test hole down from inside. I crawled under the van again to see, and found my second test whole was in the perfect spot, both under and inside the van.

Excellent that you warned about Carbon Monoxide, running the fan when the engine is on and having a CO detector etc. Some people ignore these dangers and some also pay the price for it.

 

[Texas Gypsy]

Wouldn't it be simpler and a lot cheaper to make a blank for a window, make a hole to accept an accordion tube, run the accordion tube under your van but propped up so it isn't sucking dirt and put a fan(pointing at you) in front of the tube? No drilling through the floor. Remove the blank and tube when you move and roll up the window.
Same effect but no alteration to your vehicle.
Brilliant in coming up with the idea that shaded area close to the ground produces cooler air!!!

 

[CosmickGold]

Wouldn't it be simpler and a lot cheaper to make a blank for a window, make a hole to accept an accordion tube, run the accordion tube under your van but propped up so it isn't sucking dirt and put a fan(pointing at you) in front of the tube? No drilling through the floor. Remove the blank and tube when you move and roll up the window.
Same effect but no alteration to your vehicle.
Brilliant in coming up with the idea that shaded area close to the ground produces cooler air!!!

Thanks for your creative thoughts.
Several expressions come to mind:

"Where there's a will, there's a way."
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
"If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself."

You're right about it being difficult to drill a large hole through the floor.
I started with a doorknob hole drill, and finished with a saber saw.

I still like the way I set things up the best. There is nothing outside, hanging out the window or elsewhere to be seen.
It's all in one place under my desk; the hole, the fan, the piping, the fuse box, and the switch.
And I like not having to take anything down first when I decide to move the van.

 

[user 36441]

Silver foil reflex on a roof rack and plenty of air flow under the solar panel can make a difference as well. My neighbor last year used a mister on her roof and lowered the inside temps by about 10 degrees but ruined her paint with calcium deposits! Using a mister if you have a water source under an awning a few feet from the door works pretty well also in dry desert climates.

Misters and swamp coolers might last longer using distilled water, and won't leave calcium deposits.

 

[afblangley]

I may steal/borrow your bungee cord idea as that seems like an excellent solution.

Another option is to use magnets. There is OEM plastic moulding surrounding my windows. I glued magnets around the edges of it to serve as attachment points for the magnets sewn in my window covers. In your case, one set of magnets is glued to the foam insulation, the other to your window frame.

Here's what I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N3R2ZF4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[frodo2222]

I bet that makes a major difference in keeping the heat out. You've "got a plan", as they say.

Someone on here said they tinted their windows to keep the heat out. <????> I don't understand that, because my windows came factory tinted quite dark; and that dark makes the glass turn very hot when the sun is shining directly on it, instead of keeping the heat out. Do you know what type of coating she was talking about that keeps heat out?

My way of stopping window heat has been to (1) cut 1/2-inch sheets of blue foam Wall insulation to exactly fit my window glass. (2) Stretch a bungee cord over the window from center-top to center-bottom. (3) Put a 2" square block of wood behind the bungee chord right in the center to hold the insulation tight against the hot glass.

That's a strange solution, but it's what I've got that works. Magnets would not work for me because NOTHING anywhere near the windows is magnetic. But I like having my solution on the inside so I don't have to be concerned about what's happening on the outside, whether city or country, day or night, storm or shine.

But I suspect that if the amount of heat blocking from your technique were compared with mine, you'd win the contest!

The factory tint is just for privacy, the silver reflective actually stops 95% of the heat coming in I put it on all my rigs an found a marked difference in temps...I also put in a 14 inch fan with thermostat controlled on/off switch on my back window and it works pretty well

 

[thegoodtom1]

Good thought. I certainly don't want to be breathing rat feces, etc. But I think I'm good with that air intake more than two feet above the ground, and the air sucked in through the fine mesh of window screen. If you can post the URL to the kind of filter you speak of, I'll certainly have a look at it. But right now, I have no idea what that would be.

And anyone else using this idea:

Mount some all-thread rod out from the center of the opening with 2 straps in a plus pattern. Then mount and old carburetor type v8 air filter. It is changeable, blocks everything but air (and water), and redirects the airflow from horizontal instead of straight up.

 

[Inti]

Could not resist buying this external sunshade from AliExpress, will see how it works:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DD13vP5



Also, don't buy this crap: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005571407725.html - it looks attractive but it is not durable at all:

 

[BlueMarkOhio]

A strategy I'm considering since I didn't have the $1400 to replace my AC system before summer is to paint the roof with gloss white tractor paint - for an FJ Cruiser style roof. A quart and rollers costs under $30 - a bit more in the unlikely case I need 2 quarts. I don't feel the need to spray it since it is not highly visible, and it is supposed to self-level fairly well after rolling. Tractor paint is very hard enamel - no need to clear coat.

 

[Inti]

Check it out: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DEDWVfD