Do We Need AC in the Tent?

[naominpaul]

We are tent camping for just 2 days May 30th and 31st 2007. We live in Mobile, AL so we're familiar with the heat and humidity but are fairly novice campers. We have 3 kids, DS 10 DS 7 and DD 3. I talked my DH into the camping idea for budget reasons and I'm rather excited about it. The DH is convinced we will be miserable in the heat. HELP! In the army we used an ice cooler open with a fan blowing the mist. I think this would be enough, however I'm being met with much resistance. Do we need some kind of portable AC unit to survive or would we be ok without it? HELP!!! I'd love some input from those who've done it.

Thanks, Naomi

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Would you be comfortable at home w/o AC in late June? The temp may or may not be cool/dry enough in the evenings, but by late May I think it would be too warm for my family to sleep comfortably after spending the day in the heat and sun.

 

[naominpaul]

thanks...now any recommendations on some type of semi portable ac unit...what do people use in a tent?

 

[tim5055]

thanks...now any recommendations on some type of semi portable ac unit...what do people use in a tent?

Here are a couple of sites to check out. I will admit I stole them from a previous "tent" post.

Heres a couple of links for a/c unit in tents.http://www.outdooradvantageconnection.com/
http://www.deltablues.net/camping2.html

I must admit, I really like the A/C "boot" thing, that may have kept me in a tent a little longer.

 

[aynt79]

We tent camped at the end of May/beginning of June at FW in 2005. I didn't think think it was bad for sleeping, and I can get easily too warm and can't sleep when I do. We brought 2 fans and had a big one going pretty much all the time moving air around the tent and a smaller one directly on me when I slept. Once the sun goes down the air temp is much more comfortable.

Setting up was miserable though. We arrived early afternoon and set up then, which resulted with us being hot, sweaty, and cranky. I suggest not trying to set up camp during the hottest part of the day.

 

[naominpaul]

What a helpful site! Thanks for the links and tips. I am bookmarking the links to show my DH. I really hesitate to make an investment like that for just 2 nights (we could splurge on a room when it's all done). On the other hand, we live in prime hurricane territory and have been on the edge of 2 biggies, Ivan and Katrina. We were without power for some time and finally invested in a generator, but our window AC unit (older model given to us by my in-laws) met a sad ending. Those were hot, nearly miserable days! I recall starting up the car just to get relief.

I'll try to post on what we end up doing and even more interesting, what the results are. Thank you, Naomi

 

[Sinclare]

I don't think you'll need any AC in the tents, especially since you won't see them except for night time and sleeping. We usually camp the first two weeks in June and generally use a portable propane heater at night because it does get cool and damp at night, even in June; the days of course are a different story but there are lots of trees around and many camp sites have plently of shade.

On the subject of AC in tents though, this is a dangerous trend. I just saw a show on the travel channel about this since I'd never heard/dreamed someone would do something like this. Apparently in Califorina this trend is big in some of the state parks. Tents are not ment to hold in cold air, they are made to ventilate air and it chews through a lot of electric. I'm worried that if this trend starts at the Fort, normal campers are going to end up paying higher charges for the camp sites (which are very high anyway for tent camping) just to cover the electric used by people running ac in tents.


Unless you are planning being inside the tent all day then you will most likely need a heater rather than AC to knock off the dampness.

 

[bama_ed]

Check weather channel dot com for historical averages during that time in orlando. We camped in our pop-up last year during late may-early june and the days were warm but after dark it was comfortable and I didn't have to run the a/c. I just unzipped the flaps a little to circulate some air. If you're from Mobile (and I'm up in Birmingham) I think you'll be fine unless you get a heat wave!

Bama ED

 

[naominpaul]

Thank you for the positive advice...we were almost ready to give up on the camping idea. Naomi