Urgent: How to stay cool in Texas?

[HardcoreLurker12]

Hi everyone, I will be living in my car very soon. Unfortunately I'm living in Texas so it'll be extremely hot. How do you recommend I stay cool? I'm thinking of getting the Goal Zero Yeti 400 Solar Generator. Hopefully that'll open to more cooling options.

 

[ramblingvanman]

Hi, what type of car? I just switched from a dark blue conversion van to a white class B. I am currently in Florida. The heat difference with just that change is remarkable. I do have a vent cap, but no fan for it yet. Today I am trying to see what happens if I leave the cap cracked open.

A sunshade for the windshield and good tint both help a lot. Of course parking in the shade. Do you have any battery powered fans? WalMart sells some small, 6" and 12", battery fans that work well with rechargeable batteries. I did that for years. Get some mosquito netting or some screen material with some magnets and crack your windows if you feel safe enough to do so. Texas heat is beastly, so best of luck to you.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

In the condo I used to live in the underground parking garage was always nice and cool. Go on craigslist and see if you can rent a spot with 24 hour access. Might cost $50 a month but will be worth it. Even if not staying in it all day, you can crack the windows and hopefully come night fall it will be cooler.

If mobile living is in your longterm goals, you probably need to move to a cooler climate. Too much heat can make things miserable.

 

[RollinWOT]

If your car isn't white, you can always paint the roof of the car with white Elasko-tek(spelling?), a-la Mini Cooper style. That should reflect a lot of overhead direct heat. Get a set of Lund vent visors, and you can keep your windows cracked while parked. Park in the shade of malls with multi-level parking. Walk in the mall during the day where there's AC and you won't have to worry about being baked. Drink ice water throughout the day.

 

[c_hasbeen]

I looked on amazon and these suckers are SPENDY, I thought it would be economic but it appears I may be wrong

 

[WriterMs]

You do not mention if you have a way to be outside of the city with your car so that you are NOT concerned with stealth? Bob Wells has a couple of great blog posts on staying cool while camping --- just look at the very top of this website and click "Heat and Cold." Somehow his latest one on using shade is not yet in that menu. It is just a few posts back at:

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/passive-cooling-how-to-beat-the-heat-in-a-van/

Also, there was another person asking the same question -- a guy in Tuscon on the forum here. Go to the section on Cars and look at a June 6 post from Pikachu711. He got 5 or 6 pages of suggestions on staying cool as possible in a car.

 

[HardcoreLurker12]

If your car isn't white, you can always paint the roof of the car with white Elasko-tek(spelling?), a-la Mini Cooper style. That should reflect a lot of overhead direct heat. Get a set of Lund vent visors, and you can keep your windows cracked while parked. Park in the shade of malls with multi-level parking. Walk in the mall during the day where there's AC and you won't have to worry about being baked. Drink ice water throughout the day.

Thank you for the recommendations on the Lund vent visors. I was wondering if there's a way for my window to be cracked. Also, do you think it's a good idea to get car window curtains?

 

[highdesertranger]

hum, if it's 95+ with 70% humidity, it doesn't matter how much you crack your windows. if you can get out of Texas do it and get to higher elevation. if you can't get an AC and go to a RV park and plug in. simple. highdesertranger

 

[RollinWOT]

I'd get reflective window tint or reflectivix sheet to put in the windows.

 

[SoulRaven]

Here's the directions to the 12v A/C that helped me survive more than one summer it places like yours.

 

[highdesertranger]

same pic same flaws. if you are going to keep posting this fix the flaws in the design. this pic is just going to make a big mess. highdesertranger

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Find somewhere with AC to be in during the day. Sometimes I will go to one restaurant for an hour or two, then ill switch and go to mcdonalds for an hour or two, hit up a lake for a swim and hopefully the sun will be going down.

Get a roadpro tornado fan or even 2 (i have 2, ive bought 3 but one died), it is loud as screaming banshees but ive yet to find anything that moves as much air and it can clipped and swiveled just about anywhere and pointed in any direction. Youll need a 12v power source, your cig lighter will work but will kill your battery. Maybe one of those jump packs.

Can you possibly find a spot to tent camp in, that might be cooler and more comfy than the car option alone. Living out of the car rather than in it, so to speak. You can get tents pretty cheap at wally.

 

[SoulRaven]

same pic same flaws.  if you are going to keep posting this fix the flaws in the design.  this pic is just going to make a big mess.  highdesertranger

I didn't make the picture, and it was enough for me to have success.

My modification with a valve is optional, it does work just as pictured.

 

[akrvbob]

Off Grid, can you please post some pictures so we can get a better idea of how to build it.

If you can't figure out how to post them email them to me and I'll post them. [email protected]
Bob

 

[SternWake]

Get a roadpro tornado fan or even 2 

Interesting product.

I made something similar  a while back with a Vantec tornado 92 MM computer fan.  I used a gooseneck from an old 120vac spotlight and attached it to a 2 inch 99 cent Steel  spring clamp from home despot.

I use a voltage controller as a speed control. 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12 volts.  It uses 1 amp maximum at 12.8v or so, a bit less at 12.0v.  That roadpro says it uses 4 amps on high.  I wonder how much more air it moves than my vantec Tornado.  4 amps in a 4 inch diameter fan.... the thing must be extremely powerful.

The Vantec tornado fan emits a nice narrow column of air, and can move 118CFM at 12vdc.

I have anderson powerpoles on it too, so I can bypass the speed controller and allow it to get 14.4 volts from my solar or upto 14.9v when driving.  The difference in air moved at 14.9v compared to 12.0v is vast.

Hook this fan's wires up to 12.x voltsDC with  the fan on a flat surface, and it will claw its way across the table.

http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-TD9238...qid=1438671697&sr=8-1&keywords=vantec+tornado


http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP...671737&sr=8-3&keywords=powerline+voltage+plug

This is the specific voltage controller I use which use.

http://www.amazon.com/PowerLine-Uni..._sim_23_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YBK64YSA3YK6XM2QQTA

Its ciggy plug is a bit loose in the receptacle.  not  a great design, and depending on the receptacle's design, can short out and blow the fuse.  I solved that issue with some heat shrink tubing on the end.

Anyway. I have both the 80Mm and the 92MM Vantec Tornadoes.  Both are screaming banshees at 12+ volts.  Both move a narrow dense column of air.  I really expected the 92MM to move significantly more air than the 80mm, and was a bit disappointed when it arrived.  It is not quite as obnoxiously pitched at higher speeds though.  I wish they made a 120MM version.  It does move more air at lower voltages for less noise than the 80MM though.  

When throttled down to 3 or 4.5 volts, the amp draw is very slight.  I've had no durability issues.  My 92Mm fan has not been turned off for no more than a few hours, for a few months now, and sees use year round.

My 80mm Vantec tornado is mounted on my Van's engine cover, on another gooseneck, but without the 2 inch spring clamp.  I love both these fans.

If any reader here has the DIY gene, The voltage controller and one of these Vantec fans yields a fairly low current and very compact wind machine.

The goosenecks I recycled from an older light  I had in my storage unit similar to this product:

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Design...bs_229_22?ie=UTF8&refRID=1M4V04H4WGFZF61CWSRG

The part which attached to the light head, was the perfect size for attaching to the Vantec fans with 2 screws

Yea, I know the Roadpro is cheaper than buying all the parts of my fan separately, and is plug and play, but the longevity reports are not great, the 4 amp draw is 3 more amps than the tornado at 12.8v.  I wouldn't trade my  DIY fan for 5 roadpro's.  I'd love to compare air movement between the 2 fans and see what the actual amp draw of the roadpro at full speed is, but I am not buying one to assuage my curiosity.

4 amps is a Lot!

I have a 4 amp 120MM fan( 4.75inches).  It moves 252 CFM, and will chop off one's fingertip, and is hideously loud.  I can  immobilize this fan on my dashboard, and feel its air movement outside my back doors.  Unfortunately it did not respond properly to my PWM motor speed controller. It could not be throttled down slow enough to be useful. I've yet to employ it for anything but testing. There are other versions of this fan which might better respond to such a controller, but I am not sure.

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Delt...UTF8&qid=1438673571&sr=8-2&keywords=delta+fan

Here is my Vantec fan in its first version with an older voltage controller which gave up its magic smoke, but also had spent years powering an Mp3 player beforehand..

My latest version's spring clamp is painted black, the gooseneck mounted on the other side of the clamp's  hinge, and does not use butt connectors but is soldered and heat shrinked and strain reliefed..  It's aimed at my chest as i typed this, at 6 volts.  it is about 4 feet away and the diameter of the column of air is about 14 inches at 4 feet.  A lighter's flame outside this 14 inch column, barely flickers

I have considered radiator fans as well, but I do not need any more fans. Someone here might be able to employ one controlled by a PWM motor speed controller.  I think the brushless computer fans are more efficient, if not as powerful.

http://www.amazon.com/Performance-E...8&qid=1438674685&sr=1-6&keywords=radiator+fan

http://www.amazon.com/KEDSUM®-Conve...50&sr=1-2&keywords=pwm+motor+speed+controller

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

neat! I liken the roadpro to a hairdryer with out the heat, and adustable speed. i rarely run it on hi, too loud and unnecessary wind. mine says hi speed 2.5amps, low 0.1 amps

They do wear out after a while and a few dozen drops lol

 

[compassrose]

Get an air conditioner and park in an RV park before you make yourself sick from heat exhaustion. Pull in for a month or two and get the lower monthly rate. When it cools back off, you can leave. If you are in a van, you say you are in a "class B RV".

Check out rvparkreviews.com and look for the non-tourist places. Look for the key words "workers, semi-permanent, long-term, older Rvs" and similar phases that the typical RVer uses to describe those they don't want to be parked next to. You really shouldn't have a problem staying in a park with the working class. Most of the workers I have been RVing around are quiet and go to work early, get home late and have no interest in anything but sleeping so they can do it all again the next day.

 

[chrisbarclay]

This is one of the reasons I'm buying a gas/electric Prius. Even while in stealth mode I will be running the air conditioner if hot. Most of the time it's on the electric. When the batteries need a boost, it goes with the gas for a few minutes and then back to electric.

Problem with the Prius are those dam, huge sloping windows that let the sun's energy into the cabin.

I will get a roof rack and put plywood on the top to shade as much as possible. (painted white, glassed exterior ply)
It can't cover the entire window area but that would help..... you are then carrying your own shade with you.
For stealth at night or while driving they could be removed. perhaps hinged two or more times and used for under the bedding.

I plan on being in Vegas for 8 months of the year and then go North in the Summer.

 

[SoulRaven]

I find it pretty easy to simply park in the shade in towns. If trees are sparse, I'll just park on the street on the north side of a tall enough building to keep me in the shade all day.

Many apartment buildings are at least 2 stories tall, and if you park before all the residents are getting home from work, there are usually parking places available.

 

[highdesertranger]

excuse me but winter is on the way. I mean it's good to plan ahead but I don't think keeping cool is urgent for at least 6 months. lol. let the keeping warm threads begin. highdesertranger