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