Tent camping

[dreamn_Disney]

I am thinking of taking my tent down and camping this June. I was wondering if it is possible to pitch a tent in shade or are most of the camp sites unshaded? I would also love to hear what others, with tents, do to help stay a little cool during the mid day heat. When I am in a hotel I go to the room and nap and then swim. I think by mid day my tent will be way to hot for a nap.

 

[becky1960]

I have read on this forum that a lot of people bring small portable A/C units and this seem to work out pretty good..

 

[Shasta]

I don't think that even in the shade, your going to want to lay down for a mid day nap in your tent in June. We've all been too accustom to AC.

I agree that if you have the room, try and bring a small AC. there are many ways to attach them to your tent. I used a floor vent (for hardwood floors) and placed a piece of blue insulation board in the window. Really all you need is a way to pipe the cold air in your tent, whatever it may be.

 

[lathamary]

That's so cool! I didn't know you could do such a thing.

Being from the frozen North, I have a really hard time with the Florida heat and humidity, and couldn't imagine tent camping in June. Even in the shade, and in the evening, it's sweltering (to me). I have a hard enough time meandering between air conditioned buildings in May That's just me, though. If you can take the heat and humidity, tent camping could be fun!

 

[chartle]

I don't think that even in the shade, your going to want to lay down for a mid day nap in your tent in June. We've all been too accustom to AC.

I agree that if you have the room, try and bring a small AC. there are many ways to attach them to your tent. I used a floor vent (for hardwood floors) and placed a piece of blue insulation board in the window. Really all you need is a way to pipe the cold air in your tent, whatever it may be.

Shouldn't there also be a way to pull the warm humid air from inside the tent.

This is the first tent AC "hack" that I have seen that doesn't place the entire "face" of the unit in the tent. How do you keep rain off of the controls? The inside part of the unit is not meant for outside use.

This how I have always seen them connected. http://acboot.com/

I guess it works because the tent is so leaky it just pushes the humidity out. It just has to work a little harder because its cooling warm humid air from the outside.

 

[ElementCamper]

When you setup like the picture, keep a window vented slightly on the other side of the tent, it 'pushes' the warm/humid air out. There was another post recently on this same issue that shows the acboot you mentioned where the entire front of the A/C is inside the tent, this product does require cutting the tent fabric though and it was a bit pricey. The pictured installation would probably need to be covered in the rain to protect the controls.

 

[Shasta]

Shouldn't there also be a way to pull the warm humid air from inside the tent.

This is the first tent AC "hack" that I have seen that doesn't place the entire "face" of the unit in the tent. How do you keep rain off of the controls? The inside part of the unit is not meant for outside use.

This how I have always seen them connected. http://acboot.com/

I guess it works because the tent is so leaky it just pushes the humidity out. It just has to work a little harder because its cooling warm humid air from the outside.

The tent has a mesh ceiling with a rain cover. The warmest air is there and the positive pressure from the AV pusshes is out and down to vent from the rainfly at the base of the tent. It is like a convection oven but take out the oven reference.

Since I have a bay type window, the controls have coverage under the window but since I have taken a small rainfly I have from a single man tent and attach it to the 1/2 circle of the bay window. If you saw it, you'd get the picture but there is a small 1 inch overhand around the window and I attach it there with metal office binder clips. The bottom just covers the controls. It takes about 2 minutes to setup, it sounds hard but it isn't.

Every tent is different but I can't see how it couldn't be perscriptively fit for any tent. As long as the controls and front filter are covered, your fine.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

I don't think that even in the shade, your going to want to lay down for a mid day nap in your tent in June. We've all been too accustom to AC.

I agree that if you have the room, try and bring a small AC. there are many ways to attach them to your tent. I used a floor vent (for hardwood floors) and placed a piece of blue insulation board in the window. Really all you need is a way to pipe the cold air in your tent, whatever it may be.

I am going to have to get out the tent and old AC to see if I can do something like this. If it works it will be a life saver. I just can't imagine being there in June with out AC.

 

[mamaloya]

This is what I just bought. One reviewer said that they use it in a tent and it works well. The whole unit stays in your tent and vents out the door. It weighs about the same as a window unit and is about the same size.

Here is where I bought it from http://www.walmart.com/ip/7-000-BTU-Commercial-Cool-by-Haier-Portable-Air-Conditioner-Black/8798098

 

[soccermomof3]

We were camping at the fort a couple of years ago in the middle of June. We put an EZ UP canopy over each of our tents and lowered them down as far as they could go. This was for the shade and also for the rain that comes usually every day. It worked out great. We also had a fan in each tent that helped cool everyone off. We will at the fort this the last week in June and are thinking about trying a portable AC from Walmart. We are not sure if we need it since we are planning on being in the parks during the day.

 

[ftwildernessrick]

The small air conditioner works great, we have done that before. Also, bring one of those cheap poly-tarp that is as at least as big as your tent and some rope. You can rig the tarp over your tent if you don't have shade and hopefully there will some trees nearby to tie off to. Be sure to set the tarp at a high slant so rain won't accumulate.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

Thanks again for all the help. I just booked 11 nights and plan on giving this a go. We love to camp but do not love the heat. I will try it in my back yard first to work out all the kinks. I was also wondering about this A/C and if it really works and where to get ice for it.

 

[chartle]

Thanks again for all the help. I just booked 11 nights and plan on giving this a go. We love to camp but do not love the heat. I will try it in my back yard first to work out all the kinks. I was also wondering about this A/C and if it really works and where to get ice for it.

You would have to buy ice for it.

Other have reported that they don't work well particularly in humid FL. You will be chilling humid air with more humid air and using tons of ice.

Now if you could find Dry Ice it work great but you would mostly be dead the next morning.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

The ICE FANS are a joke...maybe they would work up north...but here in the south, our heat will turn those ice cube to tears in an hour!!! Dont waste your money on that brilliant idea!!!

 

[dreamn_Disney]

The ICE FANS are a joke...maybe they would work up north...but here in the south, our heat will turn those ice cube to tears in an hour!!! Dont waste your money on that brilliant idea!!!

Thanks, that was what I was wondering. It seemed to good to be true.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

Now if you could find Dry Ice it work great but you would mostly be dead the next morning.

That would take most of the fun out of the vacation.

 

[2goofycampers]

I agree, adding more humidity doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

If the whole unit is out of the camper how do you keep it from running non stop when you are needing to use it?

 

[chartle]

If the whole unit is out of the camper how do you keep it from running non stop when you are needing to use it?

Even if you hooked up the return air vent to the tent so in theory once the tent reached temp it would stop, I think its going run non stop anyway. There are just too many leaks in the system (the tent) for it to be efficient in any way.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

Now if you could find Dry Ice it work great but you would mostly be dead the next morning.