Nighttime cooling for a Texas SUV?

[ganchan]

It looks my base of operations will need to be TX for the foreseeable future, including my eventual switch to a "car-camping" lifestyle in my old SUV. I have no problem with this notion -- except from June through September. 

I would only be using the vehicle to sleep in -- but Central TX summers being the brutal things they are, even the nights are pretty intolerable, even with fan going, wet towels, and windows down. 

So I need to come up with SOME kind of AC-like solution. Is it doable, for example, to rig a small portable air conditioner to a deep-cycle marine battery? Or am I stuck with a portable swamp cooler (which isn't likely to work well in humid conditions)? Exchanging the current vehicle for a hybrid or electric model isn't an option.

Maybe someday I can relocate to CO or northern AZ. But not just yet....

 

[lenny flank]

Alas, keeping cool in a vehicle is THE most difficult task, much harder than keeping warm. And there really is no good cheap effective solution.

I put on a wet t-shirt and aim a small fan right on me. It's the best I can do. But it's gotten me everywhere from Miami to Tucson.

 

[ganchan]

I'm also willing to zonk myself out with sleeping pills if all else fails... 

 

[Sandhog]

When I lived in Belton, Texas (Central Texas), I recalled it was dry heat and many home was using swamp coolers back in 60's and 70's. You can build one of these small swamp coolers to cool inside of your SUV.

 

[lenny flank]

Alas, most of the dinky little DIY swamp coolers on the Net don't work--they are just not powerful enough. To be effective, a swamp cooler would need to evaporate a few gallons of water a day. Easy enough in a house. Not practical for most people in a van or RV.

 

[dawnann7]

When I lived in Belton, Texas (Central Texas), I recalled it was dry heat and many home was using swamp coolers back in 60's and 70's. You can build one of these small swamp coolers to cool inside of your SUV.

That's a great video! I think I may try one of the smaller versions. Later, when it gets hot again, that is...

 

[ganchan]

Lastly, I might use a phase change vest for active cooling.  Phase change uses high freeze point (59F) ice packs that last ~2hrs and will re-freeze in ~20mins in ice water (my cooler).  A vest normal uses 4 ice packs (2 front/2 back), but they'd be uncomfortable to lie on top of while frozen.  I think 2 packs might be sufficient used as a 'blanket' just on top of my torso, with the other 2 recharging/recharged in the cooler to swap back and forth if necessary.

Hope that helps.

Some sort of cooling vest would help. I've tried spritzing myself down with cold water, but I end up having to do it every few minutes. Not great when trying to get to sleep.....

 

[frater secessus]

You can build one of these small swamp coolers to cool inside of your SUV.

(it was a rack/towel setup)

At the most recent RTR after I would do laundry and hang it up across the back doors folks asked me if I had A/C.  It was noticeable.

In high desert now, and I am using an off-the-shelf evaporative spot cooler with success.  Uses a couple gallons a day.  Combined with constant ventilation the humidity in the van stays below 35% and is quite comfortable.

 

[velojym]

Over the last couple days, in my Suburban, I was just using a fan at night. Worked great in NM, but last night in MS wasn't as pleasant. It was all in the humidity. In NM, evaporation was a factor, as well as a slightly lower temperature.
In MS, all I had going for me was the fact that a fan will, even in humid climes, blow off the layer of stagnant air warmed by your body, with something of a cooling effect, which was enough to allow me to sleep anyway.
The cheap air mattress I'm using worked well enough, but I can easily see a better one being more comfortable. If I had the headroom for a cot, I'd have been able to direct air over and under, but I'm a big guy.
Space wasn't an issue, but I do need to be a lot better organized than I currently am.

 

[RogerD]

I sold my house and have spent the last 3 months sleeping in an SUV and then a van in Florida.

I use two 02 Cool smart power fans running on DC power.

Up till about a week ago, I would run them on high all night and never had a problem / no house battery. However, I can remember 3-4 nights that I wasn't comfortable. Would have been better off with something like the fan-tastic endless breeze fans that put out much more air, but use much more power. That's my plan for next year.

Since the endless breeze fans use more power, you may need a house battery to be safe. Can't say either way as I haven't purchased them yet.

For the past week, I have only been running the 02 cool fans on low and I usually end up turning them off at some point during the night because the temp drops enough that I don't need them.

I go to sleep every night at about 12:15 am. So it's cooled down some by then. I have found that if it's much above 80, is when the 02 cool fans didn't keep me cool enough to be comfortable.

Here is a video that I found that compares them if you're interested.

 

[frater secessus]

I do like those O2 fans. THey move a lot of air for not much power.

 

[badgett]

Over the last couple days, in my Suburban, I was just using a fan at night. Worked great in NM, but last night in MS wasn't as pleasant. It was all in the humidity. In NM, evaporation was a factor, as well as a slightly lower temperature.
In MS, all I had going for me was the fact that a fan will, even in humid climes, blow off the layer of stagnant air warmed by your body, with something of a cooling effect, which was enough to allow me to sleep anyway.
The cheap air mattress I'm using worked well enough, but I can easily see a better one being more comfortable. If I had the headroom for a cot, I'd have been able to direct air over and under, but I'm a big guy.
Space wasn't an issue, but I do need to be a lot better organized than I currently am.

This cot has very short legs: KingCamp Ultralight Compact Folding Camping Cot Bed

 

[maki2]

I grew up in southwest Texas in the 1950s. My parents had a fan in their room. None of us kids had a fan. No air conditioning. Slept in those baby doll pajamas. Sometimes I would wake up and turn over the pillow to the cool side which felt very nice against my face.

You can do just fine with a solar charged battery to run a fan at night. You won't die from the heat at night, it does drop off after dark. It is the day time you need to be worried about.

 

[Malamute]

I installed a small window AC unit and small Honda generator in my 4runner, copying similar installs I had seen online. I posted about it in this thread,  https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=29564&pid=478874#pid478874  and it has a link to more info about my install. Its a fairly common thing with RVers and boat dwellers, running a small window unit with small generator.

In researching the small Hondas, there were a number of ways they concealed or boxed the generators. Some reduced the noise signature. Mine is pretty quiet in ECO mode, but if its in a silent area, it would be noticeable, though I could probably make it even quieter. In average towns, nobody seems to notice it unless they are close, or they notice the AC unit and that its kicking on. I painted it the same color as my vehicle to make it less noticeable, though I still often get questions, and notice a few people taking pictures of it.

 Ive had roof vents in camper shells, they work OK. The wonderfans, or whatever the high flow/high efficiency roof vent fans are would likely be worthwhile. Id do one if spending much time out and about, and when I do my cargo trailer camper/motorcycle hauler build.

 

[ckelly78z]

Another good idea to implement over the top of your van in hot weather is a white tarp, that shades the roof, and West/South side of your SUV. If you have a roof rack, you could devise a frame out of conduit, and leave a 1'-2' air gap above your roof so air can circulate, and still get in the windows. The idea is to keep the vehicle from getting direct sunshine in the afternoon/evening to lower inside temperatures.