Cool the inside of a caravan without an AC?

[Tiaan Pot]

You may, or may not have one of the most popular offroad caravans on the market.
The problem with that caravan is it's single skin construction with no insolation.
That is where i will start. Consider improving the insulation of all, or most of, the six sides of the caravan.

Are you referring to Sprite Tourer caravans?

[faniedup]

Caravan construction also make a big difference, especially if in the sun. A metal shell will heat up to a temperature where you can hardly touch it, even inside, while a Composite shell will only be luke warm to the touch inside.

[Nightjar]

Are you referring to Sprite Tourer caravans?

No, Sprite Tourers does not have single skins.

[1965Landy]

Nope that is a personal space cooler so must not be more than 400mm to 500mm from you.
I got the t shirt bought one for my van ran it whole day adding ice and checking by afternoon it was cooler outside than inside.
It will also humidify the inside a bit.
So now I only use it when lying down and put it close to my face.

The guy did say it's for small carsvans though. Will return tomorrow.

[Searcher]

There are really only four solutions to this problem:

In order of preferance.

1) Fit a 9-12,000 Btu/hr inverter AC unit.

2) Park in the shade under a shady tree or tarpaulin to keep the direct sun light off all sides.

3) Fit an external fresh air cross flow supply air ventilation fan.

4) Fit a small internal fan that cools you by evaporating your sweat.

Stay away from evaporative coolers or any other devices that add heat and moisture internally, thereby increasng the heatload and RH.

[seekingserenity]

Seriously low-tech option, damp sheets in front of an open window / fan. Evaporative cooling.

[Skyscout]

Pitching camp in the shade, is mostly just a pie in the sky, especially for the duration of daylight.
So in my view, your first line of defence should be to limit the external influence of the sun on your camper (or canopy, as recently discussed in another fred) The aim should be to at least, get and stay as close to the ambient temperature as possible.
Artificial shade comes to mind (a second "roof") which can be supplemented by using a reflective canvas instead of a standard one.
And I have often thought of using some of the means mentioned by Bertus. Using that ceratech paint on the camper's roof, and the reflective film on windows may just go a long way towards getting closer to the ambient temps. Every little bit will help!
Just the stuff my mind wonders to before I fall asleep at night

Best is a silver blanket with a few beach balls in between to give it an air gap. Used it many times and it works like a charm..

[garryc]

You may, or may not have one of the most popular offroad caravans on the market.
The problem with that caravan is it's single skin construction with no insolation.
That is where i will start. Consider improving the insulation of all, or most of, the six sides of the caravan.

This is 100% correct I can't understand why people in SA opt for these single skin hot boxes when there are far better insulated products on the market.

You improve thermal efficiency with good sidewall and roof insulation. Then have a good fan to extract the hot air from the top of the van. Compliment this with small evaporative coolers as previously posted they work well to cool your face and upper body in hot dry climates. They don't work very well in humid coastal conditions.

[LandyLove]

Everyone seems to forget that you have constant active heaters in the caravan. Yes, the people inside. You are constantly generating 36+ degrees. The more people the more heat. So you need active cooling (AC) if the ambient is high enough not to provide cooling.

[JohanVisser]

Going to give this a try on our next trip. A few people using them at work and are quite happy. Not sure it will cool a whole caravan but going to give it a try.

https://www.takealot.com/multifuncti...u/PLID94008417

Better of buying R400 worth of Beer and dinking something cold.

unless that thing is in your face it doesnt mean much. have somewhere an old one laying around.
i much rather put ice into some of swambos stokings and stuff that down my back

[freezaburn]

Going to give this a try on our next trip. A few people using them at work and are quite happy. Not sure it will cool a whole caravan but going to give it a try.

https://www.takealot.com/multifuncti...u/PLID94008417

^This thing is going to do jack as it is too small to be effective (was given one as a gift - works well as a doorstop...)

You want a decent size convection cooler (unless you want to fork out for an portable aircon which has it's own price and power considerations).
Something like this: https://www.takealot.com/salton-air-cooler/PLID46915695

*Hint: The trick to convection coolers is that you must create a draft through the space you are cooling by placing the unit in front of an opening such as a window and opening a window/door on the opposite end.
These units can typically make a 4-7 degree difference to a small room, which on a hot day, is significant. (As opposed to AC which requires the room to be closed off to cool optimally).

The above unit only consumes 65W if energy consumption is a concern.

[Tim Driman]

Are there any innovative ways to cool the inside of a caravan without fitting a conventional air conditioning unit?
It is, after all, just a small box - about a quarter to a third of the size of a room that can be easily cooled by a small 9 000 BTU AC unit.

Hi There... We travel a lot in Africa, where we have to be innovative.... When it is very hot, we lay a dry towel on the bed, and then cover ourselves with a damp towel. It really does cool you down. In a bit of a little breeze, that is like air conditioning... (aka: African air conditioner )

Enjoy
Gonondo
www.timdrimanphotography.co.za

[BruceHun]

This is 100% correct I can't understand why people in SA opt for these single skin hot boxes when there are far better insulated products on the market.

You improve thermal efficiency with good sidewall and roof insulation. Then have a good fan to extract the hot air from the top of the van. Compliment this with small evaporative coolers as previously posted they work well to cool your face and upper body in hot dry climates. They don't work very well in humid coastal conditions.

All vans in summer get hot, irrespective of construction. Even the insulated ones still get hot inside if you in full sun during hot days. Once your awning is up, panels on the roof, beds out then you have less surfaces to heat up. So it only really gets hot when all closed up. With mine I have heat reflecting sheet on front bed, side door, and over awning which then leaves not much to heat up as in only partial 2 or 3 areas. Leave doors and windows open for airflow and scirocco fan is a winner.

[Eli Stone]

Just bought one earlier today. Started it at 1:30, closed all windows accept the top ones (warm lig styg). Now at 5:00 the outside temperature is cooler than the inside. The guy at the shop also said you must not add more than 2 blocks of ice which, in heat, melts to quick to be affective. Will run it for the whole of tomorrow in our Xcape whilst the weather forcast indicates 42° to see if it make a difference.

All this coolers does is add humidity to the mix... So it makes a hot caravan hot and humid

[2.8i rocks]

String hammock under a nice shady tree, pair of undies and look at the caravan

[BruceHun]

String hammock under a nice shady tree, pair of undies and look at the caravan

Why the undies?

[Surfer01]

A popular unit used lot by Brits in Spain in the summer is the Kool My Camper. https://www.coolmycamper.com/

[BruceHun]

That's because you brits melt at 25C...

[Surfer01]

That's because you brits melt at 25C...

Not the temperature, but the humidity that is the killer. Having worked in the bush in the former Rhodesia where temperatures exceeded 40C most days, 25C is quite cool. When we left Durban in 1993 the temperature was 25C and that was mid winter! When we arrive at Heathrow in mid summer the temperature was 11C and we never had any jerseys!

[Danie Odendaal]

There is a cooler unit range that is specifically designed for caravans and camping trailers. Provides a large air flow from a 12V evaporative cooling unit. It is ideal for off grid camping vehicles. You can request more detail from [email protected].