How is tent camping in the middle of June?

[Susiec]

Is it work saving 500 to tent camp or should we pay the extra for a mod resort?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Is it work saving 500 to tent camp or should we pay the extra for a mod resort?

1) It will definitely be on the warm side in a tent.
2) If undesirable, why not rent a cabin instead of a Mod Resort?

 

[CiCiBee]

We tent camped in late June in 2013. It was hot, however, we had a window unit ac propped in one of the doors of our very large tent and it was super comfortable! If you are used to tent camping and can just make a few modifications to help out your comfort level, you will be completely fine. The Fort is home to us and it's not a Disney trip without staying there.

 

[Madonna3]

We're going camping in August and are also using a window AC unit. They cost about $125 new at Walmart, so if you spend the cash on the AC unit, it still saves money.

 

[tiggerdad]

I just had to replace AC unit in my shed. While shopping I found Sams had a 12000 btu roll around unit with flexable exhaust. I bought it so I wouldn't have the unsightly window unit. I paid $300 for it and afterwards realized it would be great for tents as the small exhaust hose could be easily stuck out the zipper canvas door with no modification.

Just an idea to throw out to those of you who tent camp or looking for a multipurpose unit.

 

[JanL]

I am keeping my eye on the roll-around unit to replace the 5,000 window unit as it does not keep the pop up cool in the heat of the day. Does yours produce a lot of waste water or could I get by with just letting it fall to the ground?

 

[Teamubr]

I just had to replace AC unit in my shed. While shopping I found Sams had a 12000 btu roll around unit with flexable exhaust.

Let us (me) know how you like it. I have an upper landing in my 112 year old house with no HVAC duct. It faces south and gets pretty hot in the afternoon despite the rest of the house doing fine with the central air. I was just looking at these stand alone units because I really don't want to put in a window unit. The reviews on the ones from Home Depot/Lowes were not good. Most recommended just getting the cheaper window units.

I just hate sticking a window unit in an old Victorian house though.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

Here is a manufacturer link to the unit I bought.

http://www.delonghi.com/en-us/produ...ir-conditioners/pinguino-air-to-air-pac-c120e

As far as water drainage goes, the manual says that it recycles the condensation within the unit. It does have a drain plug on the back which I have noticed could easily have a tube attached. Keep in mind, this unit doubles as a dehumidifier with a specific setting for this function, so it is intended to be used with a tube if necessary.

So far I like it in my shed. It has an attachment to allow you to vent through a partially open window (open about 3 inches), or in my case, it has a permanent mount exhaust intended to be placed through a wall like a dryer vent. I have used this for my shed and have kept the other attachment for if I decide to use it in a tent or my soon to be glassed in back porch.

I'll let ya know if I find any issues. It's price is the same as an equal size window unit, but the fact that it is portable was my buying point.

 

[PEC]

I went in a tent last June. We were fine with two standup fans but we were in the parks all day so we where not in the tents during the heat of the day. Without an AC unit of some kind, plan on doing something else at the Fort, Parks off-Disney etc. Also try to get a site where you have good shade during the day and even on the pad itself get a good read on where the least amount of sun hits your tent.

 

[Madonna3]

I bought a 6k BTU unit for our tent for our trip in 4 days, are you telling me that won't be enough to cool a tent?!

 

[tiggerdad]

I would think a 6000 btu should be enough for a tent. Especially in the evening and night when you are sleeping.

 

[Mfisc]

I went this past June (20th -29th) And was fine with just one of those high speed fans... During the day it would be too hot in the tent but at night with the windows "open" for circulation I was fine..

Yes it did help that every night I would be very tired from the parks or campground and the breeze was good enough for me to fall asleep... I will also say that I hate the heat and this was my biggest fear. (I keep ac set to 68 at home)

One downside was that during the day I had no where to go to relax/lay down. That is when a AC unit in tent would have been nice.

 

[JanL]

The 5K window unit does not keep the pop up comfy in the heat of the day. We use a fan with it and upgraded to an oscillating floor stand fan which helped, but still can't stay there during the day in the summer.

I'll keep my eye on the portable 12K unit at Costco.

 

[Disney st8 of mind]

Let us (me) know how you like it. I have an upper landing in my 112 year old house with no HVAC duct. It faces south and gets pretty hot in the afternoon despite the rest of the house doing fine with the central air. I was just looking at these stand alone units because I really don't want to put in a window unit. The reviews on the ones from Home Depot/Lowes were not good. Most recommended just getting the cheaper window units.

I just hate sticking a window unit in an old Victorian house though.

j

We don't have the one from Sam's but we've been using one in our upstairs bedroom for 3 or 4 years and it works great! We also didn't want the look of a unit hanging out the front window of our house but we like it cold to sleep.

 

[PixieCamper]

The 5K window unit does not keep the pop up comfy in the heat of the day. We use a fan with it and upgraded to an oscillating floor stand fan which helped, but still can't stay there during the day in the summer.

I'll keep my eye on the portable 12K unit at Costco.

Our 9,000 BTU portable cooled about the same as a 5,000 BTU window unit in our popup. It doesn't seem like the portables are as efficient in cooling as the window unit in our experience- same thing when the power went out and we used the window unit and portable with a generator in our room.

Don't get me wrong, it's much, MUCH better than nothing and when the heat index was 110- with the portable on high, awning up, shady lot, reflectix on the bunks ends and in the zips, it was a nice dry 76-78 in the popup. The reflectix makes a huge difference, much more so than the popup gizmos we tried when we got the hybrid.

After we got the bunk house rv, we decided to keep renovating/restoring the popup and cut through the box and installed a 8k btu window unit with oscillating fan in front of it. HUGE difference! Even with the triple digit heat indices, we set the unit on 72 and it stayed a consistent 72 throughout the camper.But without the reflectix and binder clips on the bunk ends though...the unit really struggled to keep up and the bunk ends were still really warm. Extra bonus- Reflectix keeps the bright sun from waking us up at the crack of dawn!

We also replaced our old ceiling lights by the bunk ends with the ones that have the power ports on them so we could use the clip on bunk end fan/lights.

You may have already tried all of those ideas though, just thought maybe something we did might help

 

[JETS70]

I just had to replace AC unit in my shed. While shopping I found Sams had a 12000 btu roll around unit with flexable exhaust. I bought it so I wouldn't have the unsightly window unit. I paid $300 for it and afterwards realized it would be great for tents as the small exhaust hose could be easily stuck out the zipper canvas door with no modification.

Just an idea to throw out to those of you who tent camp or looking for a multipurpose unit.

We camped in early July and used one of the Sam's portable AC units and my kids were turning it up because they were getting a little cold. What we found to be the most difficult thing to deal with was the humidity. You just can't get away from it in a tent.

 

[tiggerdad]

Finally got out to our local campground this weekend. It was a group site with multiple electric and water hookups. Took the opportunity to also bring my tent and a/c unit to try out.

Daily temps were 92. Noticed that at first I was losing a lot of the cool air trough the roof vent even with the canvas cover on it. Took a heavy beach towel and placed it over the roof vent and put canvas back in place. Kept tent at 72 no problem. Also had a 12x12 easy up and put it over tent to see how it would help. This kept tent in the shade and made it even better. I slept in it the first night and kids took it for night number 2. Was very comfortable. There was a little condensation on the tent canvas where the a/c was sitting, but this was very minor.

 

[JanL]

Bless you, PixieCamper, that was exactly what I needed to know. I'll try the reflectix and keep the window unit a/c for now.

 

[JETS70]

Finally got out to our local campground this weekend. It was a group site with multiple electric and water hookups. Took the opportunity to also bring my tent and a/c unit to try out.

Daily temps were 92. Noticed that at first I was losing a lot of the cool air trough the roof vent even with the canvas cover on it. Took a heavy beach towel and placed it over the roof vent and put canvas back in place. Kept tent at 72 no problem. Also had a 12x12 easy up and put it over tent to see how it would help. This kept tent in the shade and made it even better. I slept in it the first night and kids took it for night number 2. Was very comfortable. There was a little condensation on the tent canvas where the a/c was sitting, but this was very minor.

I like the way you think Tiggerdad!! A couple of pics from our July trip to the Fort.

You can see the tent tucked away in the easy up.

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A view from outside. Another side benefit is that the easy up kept all the weather off of the tent. No leaks.

 

[tiggerdad]

Jets70, you got the same easy up as I, but mine doesn't have the side enclosures like yours.

Typically I set mine up at the end of my camper where my outdoor kitchen is at. The kitchen has a big lift up door that provides some shelter and shade, but the easy up allows me more more shade and a covered place to set up my outdoor table as well.