Scorching climate RVing is usually unimaginable to keep away from. However my favourite RV hacks to outlive summer season warmth waves may help you get by way of it. From a sweltering blast of warmth within the Colorado Rockies to a scorching July RVing within the Midwest, that is what I’ve found about the very best methods to maintain cool and benefit from the lengthy, lazy days of summer season.
My Favourite RV Hacks to Survive Summer season
It appears straightforward sufficient to level your RV north to flee summer season warmth waves. You may additionally go high-altitude mountain tenting, if that’s handy. However over the past 14 years of full-time RVing, I’ve discovered that breaking camp to seek for cooler temperatures isn’t at all times attainable. Certain, heatwaves occur, however they have an inclination to disrupt life on the most inconvenient occasions, like when my RVing pet wants vet care or a member of the family requires assist. Regardless of occasional sizzling climate challenges, we’ve discovered to maintain our tempers cool with these straightforward RV hacks to outlive summer season warmth waves.
Heatwave RV Hack 1: Take Benefit of Shade
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When you have the choice to orient your RV in any path, at all times park in a method that offers you essentially the most shade. For instance, a trailer proprietor ought to level the rig west to northwest. Campers with motorhomes and vans ought to level the windshield north. In case your RV is like most, along with your door and awning on the passenger aspect, benefiting from the solar’s motion will provide you with shade all through the day (presuming you’re tenting within the northern hemisphere). When parking decisions are restricted, search for a campsite that lets you face both of these instructions. Don’t overlook to seek the advice of RV park maps earlier than you ebook a selected website.
Heatwave Hack 2: Don’t Prepare dinner (or do it exterior)
Picture: John Gibbons
When mercury rises, our our bodies naturally decelerate our appetites in an effort to save vitality. As an alternative of working exhausting to digest meals, the automated processes in our our bodies exert effort into staying cool. Assist yours alongside by making ready easy, cool, easy-summer salads and snacks that don’t require cooking. Gotta cook dinner? Take it exterior with a moveable RV barbecue grill or out of doors range. The within of your RV will keep cooler and also you’ll get extra time to chill out as a substitute of cleansing up.
Heatwave Hack 3: Shade Your Freshwater Hose
Picture courtesy of Trailer Life/MotorHome.
Asphalt and concrete temperatures can rise to 180 levels through the hottest a part of the day. Sadly, RVers hooked as much as utilities don’t have the luxurious of underground plumbing, which might make ingesting from the kitchen faucet a depressing expertise. When you’re in a park when a heatwave strikes, get your freshwater consumption hose off the bottom and into shade. Set it underneath your rig, cowl it with a towel, or slide some cardboard between your hose and the bottom after which cowl it. Shading your RV water hose is such a easy concept, I don’t know why I didn’t consider it myself! That is a kind of straightforward RV hacks to outlive summer season that I picked up from different RVers.
Heatwave RV Hack 4: Ditch Electrical Followers (or do this hack when you should use one)
Final summer season throughout a triple-digit heatwave, I purchased two electrical followers to chill our RV, us and our canine. Later I spotted that I used to be doing extra hurt than good. Analysis exhibits that until the skin temperature is underneath 95 levels Fahrenheit, followers simply push sizzling air round and don’t cool individuals or pets throughout excessive warmth. Our brains would possibly assume followers are serving to, however our our bodies’ inside thermostat nonetheless works time beyond regulation and pushes us nearer to warmth exhaustion. Staying hydrated is without doubt one of the greatest cooling hacks you are able to do. Drink further water and encourage your pet to do the identical with ice cubes and popsicles made out of no-salt rooster or beef broth. Put on cooling scarves and get a cooling vest in your canine, too. In case your RV has two ceiling vent followers with reversible instructions, you possibly can create a cross breeze by setting one fan to drag air in and the opposite to push air out.
Heatwave RV Hack 5: Cowl Home windows and Skylights with Reflective Insulation
There’s nothing I like greater than morning solar. However in a heatwave, beginning the time without work in heat sunshine creates a cascading impact of inescapable, day-long warmth. When you already know a heatwave is coming, cowl any home windows and skylights with reflective insulation. Begin along with your reflective dashboard sunshade and work your method again. Set up adhesive-backed hook-and-loop fastener tape in every nook of your skylights and RV door to cowl them with reflective insulation. If you’re not utilizing the RV air conditioner, maintain some home windows open however partially coated to encourage airflow.
Heatwave Hack 6: Keep Your RV Air Conditioner Unit
Picture: John Gibbons
It appears like frequent sense, however like many RVers, I’m additionally responsible of neglecting RV air con upkeep. With heatwaves now a daily a part of summer season dwelling, I’m shifting this RV upkeep job to the highest of our precedence record. Doing it is so simple as beginning with elimination and hand-rinsing of the inner air filters positioned on the unit’s consumption space. Subsequent, a rooftop inspection and grime and particles elimination across the A/C evaporator field may also enhance effectivity and maintain the RV cool throughout excessive temperatures. Right here’s a useful AC Upkeep Suggestions article to get began with extra RV air con upkeep suggestions.
The extra you journey, the extra you’ll discover that dwelling on the highway doesn’t have to depart RVers susceptible to excessive climate occasions. Making ready for the worst heatwave so you possibly can take pleasure in the very best of RV life retains everybody on-board secure, comfy and prepared for adventures wherever you roam.