Too HOT for tent camping?

[Thekidsmom]

We are leaving on Monday for our week long tent camping trip to the fort. Do you think it will be too hot? I am really worried that we are going to not have the best time with this heat. The cast will be myself (42 yr old mom) and two boys (13 & 7). The boys are not that much help setting up and tearing down so I am getting a little tense about this trip. We went for a few days in April (12 - 14) and had a great time but June is much different. And from what I see there are going to be some thunderstorms this week. Any suggestions for surviving the heat and rain while camping in a tent? Thanks everyone!

 

[kaguilbeau]

I've never tent camped at the fort, but just recently came back from a few days of tenting at the beach and once tented over 4th of July in Louisiana (does that count?)

Bring two fans. We only had one and had to move it from inside to outside. If we had two, I would've had one set up blowing on the picnic table while the other was blowing on whomever was still in the tent. Make sure you have enough extension cords or a three-headed prong so you can do this.

We didn't have much shade (hopefully you will) - so we didn't hang out at the tent until the sun started to go down. You'll be spending time in the parks and the pool. I just had to find cool places to be.

We also made a habit of showering just before going to bed. With the fan blowing on us, I might start the night with just a sheet - but later on I was looking for a sleeping bag to cover up with!

It was just me and my son (13 yrs). I found it much better if we tried to set up or take down the tent when it wasn't so hot (NOT at 11:00 a.m.!). He didn't help as much as I felt he should, and with it so hot, tempers got short Maybe talk ahead of time of what you'd like each child to do in helping set up or break down camp. I hated having to say what I would like help with - just look and see what needs to be done!!

Have fun!

 

[tim5055]

We are leaving on Monday for our week long tent camping trip to the fort. Do you think it will be too hot? I am really worried that we are going to not have the best time with this heat. The cast will be myself (42 yr old mom) and two boys (13 & 7). The boys are not that much help setting up and tearing down so I am getting a little tense about this trip. We went for a few days in April (12 - 14) and had a great time but June is much different. And from what I see there are going to be some thunderstorms this week. Any suggestions for surviving the heat and rain while camping in a tent? Thanks everyone!

OK, here are a couple of ideas.

1. Set up your tent before you go and use seam seal on all seams. Once the seam seal dries, test it with a hose or sprinkler. Nothing worse than a leaky tent!

2. Pick up a portable air conditioner. This one is $299 and should keep a tent very cool

3. See if a friend has a 10 X 10 Awning. This will give you extra "dry" space if you set it up over the tent entrance.

4. RV Patio Mats are a great way to keep from tracking sand or Disney "shell" into the tent.

5. AeroBeds are a great thing to sleep on. Even after we got the pop up we used one for many years.

Other than the portable AC, everything I have suggested can be used with any future RV/camper you may buy.

I'm not advocating any link site, they were just the easiest ones I found.

HAVE FUN!!!

 

[mlynn]

http://www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Portable-Air-Conditioner/dp/B001448O9K

 

[Live4FW]

http://www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Portable-Air-Conditioner/dp/B001448O9K

Sorry, but this will be useless in the florida humidity and heat.

I have seen window unit a/c for less than $100 at either HD or Lowes this last week. May want to check Aldi if you have one near.

 

[Thekidsmom]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of a AC in the tent but don't know how you would hook one up.

 

[rm0530]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of a AC in the tent but don't know how you would hook one up.

We went at the Fort for Memorial Day in a tent.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1706043&page=13

Post #185 is pictures of our set-up, including pictures of our A/C unit. Post #188 has directions for our A/C unit.

We kept the A/C unit on low the entire trip. We had a small fan on the table that we kept running as well.

For the rain, make sure you bring a tarp big enough to cover the span of your tent. I would suggest hanging it when you set up. There's nothing worse than trying to hang rain protection in the rain.

 

[4kids4karen]

It is going to be HOT! I live in Tampa and we have my sister-in-law and her 12 year old son coming to visit. Nephew wanted to go camping as we tent camp in at the beach/state park a lot, but not in the summer months. So instead we will be at Fort Wilderness in a Cabin. We figure we will bring a small pop-up tent for the kids to mess around in but sleep in the cabin. Pop-up tent is small enough to fit on the cabin wood deck.

Also, the thunderstorms do get very loud and windy! I would suggest if you are very concerned, that maybe you upgrade to a cabin?

 

[Memph1s]

I simply can't sleep in the heat anymore. Did when I was younger and had no choice but I was miserable. I would have to have AC this time of year.

The way we rigged an AC to our tent was to simply sit the AC on a milk crate in the doorway of the tent with only the front of the AC sticking in the tent the same as if it were in a window in your home. We would then zip the door closed around the front of the AC unit and use towels to help plug any gaps. It is very important to have the AC set so it slightly slops away from the tent so condensation or rain runs out the back of the AC and not in your tent. It is also important to not block any of the vents on the unit both inside the tent and out. Don't worry about trying to protect the back of the unit. They are made to be in the weather. We did bring the end of the AC cord and the HEAVY DUTY extension cord connection inside the tent to keep them out of the weather.

This is not the best set up. But it is fast, easy, and doesn't require any alterations to your tent or AC. It was a pain to get in and out of the tent. Our tent only had the one door. Some tents have multiple doors or ideally small storage access doors on the ends of the tent that would make this kind of set up much better. We only ran the AC at night and moved it out of the way in the day when we needed to come and go from the tent more often.

We needed blankets to sleep in July in a tent. It was awesome!!

 

[doombuqqy]

I live in Florida and just FYI as HOT as it is in the daytime it is still cooling off at night. The evenings are actualy comfortable (not cold by any means)
I hope you have a great trip.

 

[DisneyRose&Boys]

We needed blankets to sleep in July in a tent. It was awesome!!

So did we, and it was wonderful! We weren't at all prepared for how ever-loving cold it would actually be in the tent, so the 2nd night, my sister and I finally went to Wal-Mart after midnight to buy whatever sleeping bags/blankets/comforters we could find. You had to see the poor kid's face when we said we needed 14 sleeping bags! He said, "Uh, ma'am, you're in Florida in July... you need sleeping bags for camping?"

Our poor kids were freezing. And so were we! But, boy, it was wonderful after a long, HOT day to step into that icebox-tent and crawl into a sleeping bag...

We're doing it again this year (the last two weeks of July), but we're more prepared.

Rose

 

[novdisneydreams]

DisneyRose - What was your a/c setup like? And did you leave it on all day?

So far I have seen/heard about the McGyver version (very cool!), the boot (way too complicated/expensive) and the just zip it in the door method(which I may try, since we are new).

Wondering how yours was to get it that chilly Any pics?

 

[katiekomo]

We didn't use AC, just two (fairly dinky) fans. We spent the days in the parks and for our afternoon nap we found places around the world (our favorite was the beach chairs pulled up into the shade on the FW beach). At night I started with no cover and woke up to put the sleeping bag on me. Setting up the tent at 2pm was brutal-- but I just took a shower afterwards and was fine. After some initial complaining, I just decided I was going to be hot and sticky for a week-- but it really wasn't awful.

 

[ctpooh]

we tent camp at the fort in aug with just a fan and are totally fine!

 

[princessmeesh]

i am actually typing this right now in front of cindy's castle, been here all weekend and during the day the sun is truly BRUTAL BUT at night it is waaaay cooler and sleeping in a tent would be quite lovely IMHO

 

[arielmomma]

i am actually typing this right now in front of cindy's castle, been here all weekend and during the day the sun is truly BRUTAL BUT at night it is waaaay cooler and sleeping in a tent would be quite lovely IMHO

This is good to hear. We will be tent camping in a couple of weeks down there and are not brining an AC, just fans. We are experienced campers, but not in Florida's heat. I am feeling more confident now. Thanks!

 

[DisneyRose&Boys]

DisneyRose - What was your a/c setup like? And did you leave it on all day?

So far I have seen/heard about the McGyver version (very cool!), the boot (way too complicated/expensive) and the just zip it in the door method(which I may try, since we are new).

Wondering how yours was to get it that chilly Any pics?

Our tents all have 2 doors, so we used the "back" door for the a/c. We stuck it on a wire outdoor end table, plugged it inside the tent, and zipped the door as far as we could. The rest of the opening we simply stuffed a couple rain ponchos around and duct taped those babies to the a/c and the table.

We did NOT leave it on all day. When we were getting ready to leave for the day, we simply turned it off, unzipped the windows a bit (not too far because of the rain factor), and went our merry way. When we turned it back on later in the afternoon, it cooled down fairly quickly. By nightfall, it was downright frigid. My glasses steamed up every blessed morning when I ran from my cot, through the maze of kids, and out the door into the heat.

We had an extra tarp over each tent, so that probably helped keep the cold air in, but who knows? I'm not all that into the physics of the thing: all I know is that, boy oh boy, did it work well.

And I do have a couple pics, but I have to figure out how to get 'em on here. Once I figure that out (I'm hoping I can just copy and paste into a message), I'll put up a couple shots of our set-up (minus the huge lime green Mickey-head-table-cloth-sign-thing... that's THIS summer).

Anyway, I hope that helps!
Rose