Keeping Cool in the van
We are off to southwest France in our motorhome (2 adults & a dog) this summer and wondering if anyone has any tips on how to keep cool in particular at night. Our van has plenty of windows with fly screens but think it will still be roasting if there is no breeze. This is our first overseas tour in the van we are not sure what to expect.
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We keep all windows, rooflights and the door open, and all the flyscreens across, (even at night) and inside the van we use either the blown air, without the heating, or a cheap fan/fan heater, again without the heating element. If its really hot then a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan helps too.
I can't say we've ever been 'too hot to sleep' and we've been doing France for thirty-odd years.
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One very hot year in Wales I spotted a continental van with material over all the windows. I had a chat with the owner and a look close up and off I went to the charity shop for some old curtains and then to a haberdasher for elastic etc. Covering the Windows worked a treat as the window gap is then shaded but I have to say I think some fellow campers looks were either disapproving or envious! I finished them off at home but the did a grand job. I am considering something a little less bright if I replace these ones
Fly screens are great for stopping bugs but they do cut down on the air coming through. 0 -
Maybe that's why our van performs better, because although it's a Swift, it was built for the export market, and we were told that insulation levels were 'different'. I rather have a feeling Deleted User User's caravan is the same.
We replaced our original 'dress' curtains which didn't close, with proper closing curtains, which I made myself, and they do cut down light entering the van............... but we tend to wake up early when it gets light, and then have an early bird-watching walk, or a swim before most of the site wakes up.
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We are currently in Italy by Lake Trasimeno and experiencing temperatures of 35 plus. As has been said, air circulation and keeping the sun out of the caravan is the trick and we are coping fine. The fridge is struggling a bit but by placing a fan by the bottom grill it keeps the ice solid and the beer cool so no crisis. When we lived in France we used to keep the heat out by closing all the doors and windows during the heat of the day and rarely needed to use air conditioning.
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That is the best if you can get it, no shade where we are didn't need it when we arrived, now can't be bothered to move, we've got plenty of shade around the van for us to sit in but the van is in full sun, had to put chocolate bikkies in the fridge
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Just got back from 4 weeks in France. If I had known that it would be 35 deg in the afternoon and 25 deg at night I would have specified air con but generally we find a good fan and windows/door open is good enough. Continental vans were just as bad. Not bothered by light.
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You're right David ........ ££££££ stupid money
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i have no idea how a £400 odd Dyson performs against (say) a Dometic installed air con unit, but the Dyson certainly uses minimal power (52 watts flat out. 0.2 amps) which is way less than other types which require mains.
thr Dyson takes little more power than a 12v tv so could easily be used via a cheap inverter when off grid.
might be the (dearish) answer for some
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A host of good suggestions. The same question was asked on Radio 2 last week as to the best way to keep cool and the answer was a fan at floor level.
We do this as well as sleeping with just a sheet, no duvet, and keeping all windows open and screens over when required to shade the van.
As others have said the issue with light, and the dawn chorus, can be a pain and also the seemingly oblivious people who think that walking around at 6 AM chatting, emptying their toilet etc is OK.
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These USB fans are surprisingly effective and they will work with power banks as well
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/4-inch-usb-desk-fan-a56kx
I won't buy Dyson products
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I am not sure you can compare any electric fan which just moves the air about to an air conditioning unit which actually condenses the moisture in the air. An ordinary 12 inch mains 230V oscillating desk fan is usually rated at 40 watts so a little less than the Dyson. The Dyson is very smart and no doubt clever but at the same price as a washing machine!!!!
In the motorhome we use a small (15 inch high) tower fan which has the advantage of not taking up as much room as the oscillating fan although perhaps not quite as effective. However if you have an odd corner you could think about one of the taller tower fans.
In our last caravan we had one of those powered vents above the kitchen. About half an hour before we went to bed I used to put in on extract and it was fairly efficient at taking a lot of the hot air out of the van, but very noisy on its highest setting. Also putting the heating fan only on, if that is an option, might also help.
David
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