Sizzling climate RVing is usually unimaginable to keep away from. However my favourite RV hacks to outlive summer time warmth waves may also help you get by 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 perfect methods to maintain cool and benefit from the lengthy, lazy days of summer time.
My Favourite RV Hacks to Survive Summer time
It appears straightforward sufficient to level your RV north to flee summer time warmth waves. You may additionally go high-altitude mountain tenting, if that’s handy. However over the last 14 years of full-time RVing, I’ve discovered that breaking camp to seek for cooler temperatures isn’t all the time potential. 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 time warmth waves.
Heatwave RV Hack 1: Take Benefit of Shade
Getty Photographs
You probably have the choice to orient your RV in any course, all the time park in a manner that offers you probably 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, together with your door and awning on the passenger aspect, profiting from the solar’s motion will provide you with shade all through the day (presuming you’re tenting within the northern hemisphere). When parking selections are restricted, search for a campsite that permits you to face both of these instructions. Don’t overlook to seek the advice of RV park maps earlier than you ebook a particular web site.
Heatwave Hack 2: Don’t Cook dinner (or do it exterior)
Photograph: John Gibbons
When mercury rises, our our bodies naturally decelerate our appetites with the intention to save vitality. As a substitute of working laborious 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 loosen up as a substitute of cleansing up.
Heatwave Hack 3: Shade Your Freshwater Hose
Photograph courtesy of Trailer Life/MotorHome.
Asphalt and concrete temperatures can rise to 180 levels throughout the hottest a part of the day. Sadly, RVers hooked as much as utilities don’t have the posh of underground plumbing, which may make consuming from the kitchen faucet a depressing expertise. For those who’re in a park when a heatwave strikes, get your freshwater consumption hose off the bottom and into shade. Set it beneath 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 thought, I don’t know why I didn’t consider it myself! That is a type of straightforward RV hacks to outlive summer time that I picked up from different RVers.
Heatwave RV Hack 4: Ditch Electrical Followers (or do this hack for those who should use one)
Final summer time 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 beneath 95 levels Fahrenheit, followers simply push sizzling air round and don’t cool folks or pets throughout excessive warmth. Our brains would possibly suppose followers are serving to, however our our bodies’ inside thermostat nonetheless works additional time and pushes us nearer to warmth exhaustion. Staying hydrated is likely one of the greatest cooling hacks you are able to do. Drink additional water and encourage your pet to do the identical with ice cubes and popsicles constructed from no-salt hen 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 may create a cross breeze by setting one fan to tug 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 really like greater than morning solar. However in a heatwave, beginning the time off in heat sunshine creates a cascading impact of inescapable, day-long warmth. When you realize a heatwave is coming, cowl any home windows and skylights with reflective insulation. Begin together with your reflective dashboard sunshade and work your manner 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. Whenever you’re not utilizing the RV air conditioner, preserve some home windows open however partially lined to encourage airflow.
Heatwave Hack 6: Keep Your RV Air Conditioner Unit
Photograph: John Gibbons
It feels like frequent sense, however like many RVers, I’m additionally responsible of neglecting RV air con upkeep. With heatwaves now an everyday a part of summer time dwelling, I’m transferring this RV upkeep job to the highest of our precedence listing. Doing it is so simple as beginning with elimination and hand-rinsing of the inner air filters situated on the unit’s consumption space. Subsequent, a rooftop inspection and filth and particles elimination across the A/C evaporator field may also enhance effectivity and preserve the RV cool throughout excessive temperatures. Right here’s a useful AC Upkeep Ideas 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 go away RVers weak to excessive climate occasions. Getting ready for the worst heatwave so you may get pleasure from the perfect of RV life retains everybody on-board secure, comfy and prepared for adventures wherever you roam.
