# will we bake in the heat



## alli (Feb 22, 2008)

hi
as i am new to all of this another stupid question. We have a rapido 7099 which has aircon in the cab only. We are going around europe in may for all of the summer. Do motorhomes get baking hot if left in the sun with no shade. We are debating weather to get aircon installed in the home part aswell. Nothing worse than not being able to sleep at night or not being able to cool down if need be. sorry if this is a crap question but i havent been on a motorhome holiday before, especially in the heat of the summer.
thanks


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

alli said:


> hi
> as i am new to all of this another stupid question. We have a rapido 7099 which has aircon in the cab only. We are going around europe in may for all of the summer. Do motorhomes get baking hot if left in the sun with no shade. We are debating weather to get aircon installed in the home part aswell. Nothing worse than not being able to sleep at night or not being able to cool down if need be. sorry if this is a crap question but i havent been on a motorhome holiday before, especially in the heat of the summer.
> thanks


Hi I think it is a very sensible question, whilst on holiday in ours in Portugal back in Feb/Mar I did actually say to my Husband if ever we can travel in summer (which we can't do right now due to business) getting AC is def something I would consider.

I know a couple of summers ago when we had a red hot couple of weeks in our previous caravan I wished we had had AC.

Just out of interest does anyone know what cost it would be to have this fitted to the habitation area of a MH............be well worth it if you have pets too.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

£1200-£1500 off the top of my head.

Hab aircon is great IF you have hookup and IF the noise on a still, oppressive day at the campsite is acceptable.

Dave


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

DABurleigh said:


> £1200-£1500 off the top of my head.
> 
> Hab aircon is great IF you have hookup and IF the noise on a still, oppressive day at the campsite is acceptable.
> 
> Dave


Maybe two fans would be the easy option then ?


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## Jagman (Feb 16, 2008)

Great question alli

For me the main problem (age?) is I forget what its like to be hot until its hot then I forget what its like to be cold until its cold! Recently did a tour of the Wye Valley from source to mouth (brilliant) in freezing weather especially at night - didn't think of aircon once! If I really dig deep in the memory banks however I can remember not sleeping because of heat and even not enjoying travelling during the daytime because of heat in vans. If I could have afforded aircon I would have got it and if I intended lots of continental Europe stuff I would have it if I could. If you spend all those weeks sweating across Europe you won't enjoy it as much as you could. Truma blown air heating made the Wye Valley even prettier for us!

Happy hols.


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## Texas (May 9, 2005)

Do what I did, fit a Omnistar 3 speed extractor suck/blow 10" fan into your roof light space...if you can afford it go for the automatic thermostat version, which will work whilst your out so cooling the interior.

I also fitted 5" computer fans on home made swivels, that enable you todirect cool night breezes - especially down at the Med - to parts of your anatomy other fans cannot reach


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## 101405 (Oct 15, 2006)

*Air con*

yes you will
The last place you will be is Inside your van on a july/Aug day here in Southern europ. Shade is a must . temps can reach 52c (highest recorded in sevilla) but thats an exception .av 36 -45 but only fools and englishmen go out in the mid day sun, so they say . always make shade and Drink plenty of water .summers are spent outside . keep the van blinds up and windows shut on the sun side,cover the windscreen . a fan will help. if you have to cook do it outside, buy a camping gaz stove , we carry a gazebo and set up under it. most sites will have some shade ,Air con unit is great but best in winter? enjoy.


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## cronkle (May 1, 2005)

Or do what a lot of people do and drive to somewhere a bit cooler. That is the beauty of our vans; if you don't like where you are for whatever the reason you move on/explore and, if you have the time, you can go back when it suites you. It depends where you like to be I suppose.


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## marionandrob (May 14, 2005)

Yes your van will get very hot if you park up in the sun!
However- most of the sites we stayed on in southern Spain and Portugal are either well shaded by trees or are equipped with covers over the pitches, often both.
On one site in Portugal ( camping Serrao at Aljezur) the owner allowed us all to park on an open grass recreation area to get the sun as the pitches were all heavily shaded( this was in late February)


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## Medallionman (Nov 26, 2005)

[quote

Just out of interest does anyone know what cost it would be to have this fitted to the habitation area of a MH............be well worth it if you have pets too.[/quote]
Bought mine secondhand (£400)from an ad. in MMM. Fitted by Autosleepers (£400) a couple of years ago. Used it a lot in Italy last summer, but had to get sites that had more than 6amp hookup. Without it we would have found it difficult to sleep at night. Why does it seem to get hotter at night in campers? Perhaps it is just easier keeping cool during the day.


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

Aircon is great IF as DaveB says you are on EHU AND the EHU can take the amperage. We have had aircon fitted to several vans over the years and if I were to add up the total time they have run collectively it wouldn't amount to more than a few hours. Many of the campsite EHU's in Europe, France especially, won't take the start up current required by most of the roof aircons so you can't use them. Most sites in this country are ok but then we don't get the high temperatures either so not much use.

If you have a genny then ok but you have twice the noise - genny and aircon.
You may want to consider the Truma Saphir Vario - the difference here, if you have room in a locker or under bed, is that it can run off the vehicle alternator and or leisure battery via the Truma inverter. The cost though is around twice the cost of a roof mounted unit and close to £3K fitted if you opt for the TG1000 inverter.

The Omnivent or oscilating fans are much more practical


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

matter of interest, will not the Truma blown air keep the van cool when set on the lowest setting.or at least create a movement of cool air around the van.
most of the time one will be outside the van anyway.

cabby


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Not sure where you live but give Eddie at vanbitz a call we had ours fitted there last year and cant live without it .It will run on mains or 12volts (with engine running)
Most of the Spanish sites are very well shaded but you will still need aircon.
Having lived here for 6 years the idea of just a fan only turns the van into a fan assisted oven.
One tip is if you have a fan is to get a plastic bag filled with ice and tie this at the front of fan,works very well but be careful as the ice melts you will have a plastic bag full of water,240v and water do not mix


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Aircon*

Hi

I have roof air con - a Dometic system, model B2200. It is good. For the best effect though, it needs to go on early and stay on. The unit is about 800 watts I think, and it works on overseas sites.

A far cheaper option would be a portable aircon unit - from Arogs, B&Q or similar, if you have the spave to carry it.

With aircon though, you need the window closed etc.

You may find - like I do - it is more pleasant to have the windows and roof vents open and not to bother with the aircon. Motorhomes do get hot quick in the sun, but they cool down quick too from my experience.

Russell


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: Aircon*



Rapide561 said:


> You may find - like I do - it is more pleasant to have the windows and roof vents open and not to bother with the aircon.
> 
> Russell


That's exactly my point Russell - I too find it not worth the bother - if it's already fitted then ok if the EHU can take it but I'm not sure I'd bother with another unless you can run it quietly from a battery without flattening everything...

Alli - the noise is worse inside and not too intrusive outside - unlike a genny


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## alli (Feb 22, 2008)

thanks for all of your comments. Dont think we will bother now. will get a couple of fans and park in the shade (if we can). I suppose we can always sleep under the stars if it is too hot in the van....


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

If you are down here in Valencia region during june/july/august dont even think about sleeping outside,you will be eaten alive.The mosquitoes have stealth capabilities and the ants drive tanks. 8O


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Hi alli.

I think it depends on your attitude to heat. I can stand it, but OH gets very agitated and stressed when it's over about 28 and the humidity is high. We use ours regularly in France and have yet to find a site electric supply that can't cope with it. We mostly stay on Municipal sites and similar.

Could I suggest you try without or take a cheapish portable unit and see what you think before you lash out a lot of money on something you may not find too useful?

Sue


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## fatbast (Dec 5, 2007)

have an waeco easycool unit on the roof, which is probably very good but we have'nt used it..better to simply leave all the windows/skylights open with flyscreens up.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

The correct expression is "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the out in the midday sun".

Here in Wales this afternoon the ambient temperature was only 16C.

However the effect of the glorious sunshine and no wind made the interior of the van a stifling 38C!!

The dashboard was too hot to touch!

Of course all the blinds were open and the vents were only cracked open.

The temperature fell rapidly when I pulled all the cab blinds closed and opened all the roof vents.

*It was a stark reminder to me that we will need to fit a fan unit into the roof vent over our elevated rear bed area.*


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*ey see*

Hello there,

I doubt you will bake!

I would suggest you fit a Fiamma turbo fan and save yourself an awful lot of money.

*Try to pick shady pitches
*Keep blinds closed during the sunlight hours
*Open windows and vents, leaving flyscreens shut
*if you have an awning, use it, the shade will keep some sun out.

We have camped in 45 degree heatwaves and never had a problem.

Regards,
Trev.

Experienced Camper, motorhomer and qualified RAC Engineer (thats Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning not the AA's rivals).


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## hilldweller (Mar 8, 2008)

Texas said:


> I also fitted 5" computer fans on home made swivels, that enable you todirect cool night breezes - especially down at the Med - to parts of your anatomy other fans cannot reach


I hope you used quality ball bearing fans.


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