Tent Air Conditioner ??? - Frowned upon ?

[njschultz7]

I am working on making our first trip to the Fort at the beginning of 2011 ( Jan or Feb ) We will be there for 2 weeks, every other day in the parks. We do a fair amount of tent camping already as a family of 7… yes 7, Myself, wife, 4 boys, and my favorite… 3 year old daughter. ( let’s be realistic, she’s my only girl, she has to be my favorite)

We have a Cabela’s 10’ x 20’ tent that we use, I have recently found that I can stick a small window unit in one of the 2 side doors to it. This keeps the tent nice and cool in the heat.

I have 2 questions… ok maybe 3

1 – Will I even need the air in Jan or Feb ?

2 – My wife is very concerned about looking… well I’ll just say it… like trash

3 – Can I fit 2 of these monsters on 1 site, along with our screened in dining fly ?

I’m sure as the time approaches I will have a tone more questions, or maybe not because I have been finding a ton of info as I look around!

Thanks in advance for all of your wonderful knowledge !

 

[cbmstephanie]

Personally I think if it makes you comfortable then more power to you! Do what you can so you don't look like you are rigging something up that looks incredibly horrible, but if it does and you are cool inside, and I was outside hot and miserable, I would be jealous. I say go for it! You can always take it down should you feel too trashy!

 

[des1954]

A good 80-85% of people who tent camp at the Fort, have an air conditioner sticking out of their tent.

It's always possible to need A/C in Florida any time of the year. This past winter, you would have wanted a heater. However, I've seen some pretty warm days in January & February. If it doesn't take up precious space, I'd say go for it. If you haven't bought one yet, look for one that heats & cools.

If your wife is concerned with how it looks - get one of these:

http://acboot.com/

 

[bama_ed]

IMO you won't need an A/C unit in January and February.

Can there be warm days? Sure.

Unless you plan to spend the peak time of mid-day inside your tent on that warmest day then don't worry about it.

I can understand having an A/C for tent camping at the Fort in the summer months and even late-spring and early-fall. It's not only the temp but the humidity which gets to you and the A/C helps you feel better. You'll spend your most time in the tent while you sleep when it's coolest anyway.

Since you'll have a screen room i would suggest maybe an oscillating fan that is on a stand that you can extend up to 2-4 feet tall because you probably will spend some time during the day in the room when it could possibly be warm.

The record highs for Feb are only mid-80's F for most of Feb (the end of Feb is 90F). You can see averages for that time of year here on the Weather Channel site http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/daily/USFL0372?climoMonth=2. January is cooler than this naturally. Personally the early February and early December times are the best for tent camping at the Fort - cool nights and pleasant days. So unless you're coming from Saskatchewan where you think 85F might be a sweatbox, don't worry about the A/C.

When you make your ressie ask the CM to put a note on it with the size of your tent and screen room. That way when sites are assigned you'll get one that fits your stuff. If you sign up for a Partial Hookup, the 2000 loop generally has bigger sites than the other Partial loop (1500) but each has its advantages. Good luck with your trip and I'm glad you take the kids camping. We did it too for years then moved up to a pop-up but the kids still fondly remember the tent days.

Bama ED

PS-if you have some flexibility in your scheduling try to get your visit to WDW in before mid-Feb (say, President's Day weekend or so). After that, campsites get more expensive and it gets more crowded because you start hitting spring break times for school systems all over the eastern US. The spring crowds/rates last for about 2-3 months.

 

[chartle]

I am working on making our first trip to the Fort at the beginning of 2011 ( Jan or Feb ) We will be there for 2 weeks, every other day in the parks. We do a fair amount of tent camping already as a family of 7… yes 7, Myself, wife, 4 boys, and my favorite… 3 year old daughter. ( let’s be realistic, she’s my only girl, she has to be my favorite)

We have a Cabela’s 10’ x 20’ tent that we use, I have recently found that I can stick a small window unit in one of the 2 side doors to it. This keeps the tent nice and cool in the heat.

I have 2 questions… ok maybe 3

1 – Will I even need the air in Jan or Feb ?

2 – My wife is very concerned about looking… well I’ll just say it… like trash

3 – Can I fit 2 of these monsters on 1 site, along with our screened in dining fly ?

I’m sure as the time approaches I will have a tone more questions, or maybe not because I have been finding a ton of info as I look around!

Thanks in advance for all of your wonderful knowledge !

1 We were just there end of Feb and even in the hottest part of the day we were never hot. In fact mornings going out to the bus were 45.

2 Many people here have asked and gotten advise on how to put an air conditioner in a tent. A company makes a hood and a stand to retro fit one to your tent. I can't find the link right now though.

2a ETA found it http://acboot.com/

3 I don't know haven't camped there since the mid 70's and the spots were a lot different then.

Don't get one like this though http://www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Portable-Air-Conditioner/dp/B001448O9K

You will use a ton of ice and just add damp air to your tent.

 

[njschultz7]

Thanks for all of your help, and advice ! We will be at least bringing the air, and from the way it sounds maybe a heater... " Be prepared "

One more question, are the pools at the campground open all year ?

 

[AuburnJen92]

yes, the pools are heated