21 tips to maintain your camper cool

Are you melting in your motorhome, campervan or caravan in sizzling climate? Undecided in the event you want air-con or not? Should you battle with the new climate in your van and need some tricks to preserve your camper cool in summer season warmth wherever you’re, these are the perfect methods to cope with sizzling days!

Don’t neglect to seize your FREE motorhome journey guidelines under that can assist you keep organised earlier than you head out.

*We work arduous to make this the perfect motorhome weblog and highway journey web site potential, stuffed with useful content material for you. The web site is supported by our readers, so in the event you purchase by way of hyperlinks on this web site we might earn a commission- at no additional price to you. All opinions stay our personal.

Should you discover this publish helpful, you may additionally deal with us to a espresso – we promise to get pleasure from it whereas creating extra helpful content material like this- we would even take pleasure in a biscuit (or two!)

Summer time Van Life

It’s sizzling. Loopy sizzling. Garments-sticking-to-your-back sizzling. And sure, we’re at the moment in a motorhome within the UK. Thank goodness we’re not motorhoming in Spain!

I hate to complain about good climate, however generally it may be a bit TOO good. In ‘regular’ instances, we want to go to the mountains with our motorhome, relatively than courageous the warmth and crowds of France or Spain through the summer season months.

Nonetheless, it’s effectively over 30 within the UK proper now and journey isn’t an possibility, so we’re having to deal. Listed below are a few of our greatest ideas for staying cool in a motorhome or campervan throughout a warmth wave, to attempt to make vanlife a bit extra bearable.

Keep cool in your motorhome by parking within the shade

This may increasingly not all the time be potential, however if in case you have a selection of parking spots or pitches on the campsite, attempt to decide one within the shade if the climate is forecast to be sizzling. Even when it’s solely shaded for a part of the day, it’s going to make it rather more bearable to be inside in excessive temperatures. 

Open at the very least two hatches or home windows to permit airflow in your camper

The extra airflow you may get into your van, the higher. Opening roof vents, hatches or home windows on each side helps to create airflow, which in flip helps your motorhome really feel cooler. 

Attempt to open them on reverse sides or ends to encourage much more air motion. One other additional benefit to an open window and permitting contemporary air in is that it helps cease condensation and mildew in your van from the nice and cozy air. 

We hope you discovered the video helpful. Should you did, we’d like it if you adopted us on Youtube. New movies with ideas for motorhoming and campervanning within the UK and Europe are launched weekly.

Preserve blinds closed or use a display screen

Take a tip from the Europeans and preserve your motorhome blinds or hatch screens closed. In case you have a reflective display screen or reflective insulation, use it. Simply stopping a bit direct daylight utilizing window shades is a good way to cut back the inside temperature dramatically, particularly within the hottest a part of the day. 

That is much more vital if in case you have giant home windows as they’ll actually create a lot warmth inside your van- like dwelling in a greenhouse!

Keep cool in your van by protecting indoor cooking to a minimal

Utilizing a hob, grill or oven in your motorhome is simply going to make issues even hotter inside. As a lot as potential, attempt to cook dinner exterior so the warmth doesn’t construct up. Some campsites have an out of doors kitchen you should use as a substitute of yours, which is all the time an awesome possibility as a substitute of a sizzling van.  Alternatively, use an air fryer! 

Should you like a heat drink even on a sizzling day (weirdo 😉) then attempt to use a fuel burner exterior as a substitute of the hob or kettle inside. 

Don’t neglect that many campsites both don’t permit BBQs or they insist they’re saved off the ground. You’ll be able to discover our favorite BBQs for motorhomes and caravans right here. 

Attempt to put your awning on the sunniest facet, so it protects the most well liked spot

A easy trick, however it requires a bit planning if you first park up at a web site. Attempt to determine which method is south, after which put your motorhome or rv awning on that facet if potential. The extra solar you may preserve off the facet of your motorhome, the cooler it’s going to really feel inside, even in partial shade. 

That is particularly helpful in the event you’re motorhoming in Europe and want to flee the new air and excessive summer season temperatures. Once more, some campsites insist on you parking a sure method, so it isn’t all the time potential BUT it’s price a strive the place you may.

For cooler summer season van life, head to the mountains

We like to go to the mountains throughout summer season, particularly now now we have a canine. The cool air at larger elevations is a welcome break from the acute warmth of southern Europe. 

Don’t be fooled- you may nonetheless get sunburn up a mountain, however dwelling in a van and summer season highway journeys will likely be rather more bearable within the cooler air. 

A few of our favorite summer season mountain locations embrace:

Park close to water in the event you can- though you might get midges

We like to park close to water as a lot as potential. Partly for the views and partly as a result of our canine likes to swim. Being close to the water makes the whole lot really feel just a bit bit cooler than it does inland.

Nonetheless, some locations have midges or mosquitos close to water. And in some locations, they’re so unhealthy they’ll completely wreck your vacation. Should you’re going motorhoming in Scotland, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Don’t neglect to seize your free motorhome wild tenting guidelines right here that can assist you arrange your van to remain in a single day with out electrical energy or amenities.

Use 12v Moveable Followers to maintain a motorhome cool in summer season

We’ve a number of 12v moveable followers within the van to assist transfer air round and preserve issues feeling cooler. These are those now we have– they’re straightforward to make use of and cost, and aren’t too loud to make use of at night time.

We additionally use small followers which we will persist with the edges of the van, or put within the roof vents to create a selfmade ceiling fan. Battery-powered ones are good for this. 

Keep in mind lights give off warmth 

Should you’re planning to spend any time staying off grid together with your motorhome (also referred to as motorhome wild tenting), then we extremely suggest switching out your van lights for low energy LED ones. This can assist scale back the quantity of battery energy you utilize AND they’ll give off much less heat- win win.

Set up a hard and fast motorhome air-con unit

Should you’re planning to spend so much of time in nations the place it will get REALLY heat throughout summer season, you may need to sacrifice a bit of your motorhome payload with a purpose to match a correct motorhome air-con unit.

These are very efficient, however they do weigh rather a lot, so make sure you do your analysis earlier than you select and set up one.

Purchase a 12v Moveable air-con Unit

An alternate choice to a fitted air-con unit within the van is to hold a transportable, 12v air-con unit. There are many these in the marketplace. Some are ‘correct’ moveable air conditioner models, and a few are known as ‘swamp cooler’ or evaporative coolers.

We purchased a Transcool unit a number of years in the past and it does the job pretty effectively, utilizing chilly water to chill the air down. You’ll be able to see our evaluation of it right here:

We hope you discovered the video helpful. Should you did, we’d like it if you adopted us on Youtube. New movies with ideas for motorhoming and campervanning within the UK and Europe are launched weekly.

Extra ideas to assist preserve your cool in sizzling climate

In addition to the above tricks to preserve your van or motorhome as cool and welcoming as potential in heat climate, there are some issues you are able to do to guard your self.

Should you’re travelling with canines, make sure you stroll them early/ late within the day when the climate is cooler.

For your self, make sure you drink much more than ordinary and keep in mind to put on solar safety! You may also get a transportable ice maker to assist preserve your drinks cool within the warmth of the summer season. 

Do you might have another ideas for having fun with vanlife when the climate is heat? Drop them within the feedback under so we will all profit?

Sharing is caring!