| Camper Projects |
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| Keeping the camper cool while driving |
While traveling to and from Florida over the 4th of
July the temperature of our camper rose to 93 degrees. A
little bit warm for our dog who resides there while we
travel. I have a vent fan installed but all that does during
the hot months down here in the “south” is pull hot air
into the camper. To be able to use an air conditioner while
under way it would have to be 12 volts – and I was unable
to find one. I have seen the “Kooleraire” idea using a
cooler and ice but it’s already humid enough in Georgia so
I rejected that idea. Besides, I wouldn’t want to have to
keep buying more ice (keeping the beer cold uses enough!).
I decided that I needed a way to get some air
conditioned air from the truck to the camper. I was unable
to use the “motorcycle inner tube” method because the
top of my truck rear sliding window is only an inch or two
from the top of the cab (there wouldn't be anything for the
tube to seal against). I read of all the problems others have
been having with the TC manufacturers “boots” not
staying in place while driving. Whatever I came up with
was going to have to be flexible because of the movement
between the camper and truck cab. While having a drink I
thought that a koozie would make a great “duct” (Flexible,
relatively durable).
Here is the “solution” that I came up with: I cut two
pieces of aluminum sheet metal to fit in the sliding
windows of both the truck and the camper. Cut a couple
of holes and attached 2 ½” dia. PVC electrical conduit
(fits the inside of a koozie perfectly) -1 ¾” long as a flange
for the koozie (sealed under the PVC with foam). The
truck “plate” is positioned in the flange for the sliding
window. It has a slight bow so it stays in place all by itself.
I had to use a couple of “locks” for the camper “plate”
(made out of long ear nut-plates). I used foam strips to
help seal out the rain and air noise. I had originally thought
of using the Turbomaxx to draw the air out of the truck
but then it would just be sucking all the cold air right back
out of the camper. I figured that I could wire up a 12 volt
computer fan like folks have been using in their
refrigerators. Come to find out I didn’t need to use
anything at all. With the trucks fan on the second setting
there is a LOT of airflow going into the camper.
Evidently, there are enough vents and gaps in the camper
for a good exit flow.
We just did a 2800 mile (Georgia – Maine – Georgia)
test run and it worked great. One glitch – the truck “plate”
kept popping out from behind the sliding window flange.
After we arrived in Maine I cut a notch in a dowel and slid
it in between the sliding window post and the truck
“plate”. Also there was a little more air noise than with the
sliding window – not much but a little. I was worried
about the koozie staying in place but that was a non-issue.
After the camp road – nothing short of a roll-over will
make that fall off.
July the temperature of our camper rose to 93 degrees. A
little bit warm for our dog who resides there while we
travel. I have a vent fan installed but all that does during
the hot months down here in the “south” is pull hot air
into the camper. To be able to use an air conditioner while
under way it would have to be 12 volts – and I was unable
to find one. I have seen the “Kooleraire” idea using a
cooler and ice but it’s already humid enough in Georgia so
I rejected that idea. Besides, I wouldn’t want to have to
keep buying more ice (keeping the beer cold uses enough!).
I decided that I needed a way to get some air
conditioned air from the truck to the camper. I was unable
to use the “motorcycle inner tube” method because the
top of my truck rear sliding window is only an inch or two
from the top of the cab (there wouldn't be anything for the
tube to seal against). I read of all the problems others have
been having with the TC manufacturers “boots” not
staying in place while driving. Whatever I came up with
was going to have to be flexible because of the movement
between the camper and truck cab. While having a drink I
thought that a koozie would make a great “duct” (Flexible,
relatively durable).
Here is the “solution” that I came up with: I cut two
pieces of aluminum sheet metal to fit in the sliding
windows of both the truck and the camper. Cut a couple
of holes and attached 2 ½” dia. PVC electrical conduit
(fits the inside of a koozie perfectly) -1 ¾” long as a flange
for the koozie (sealed under the PVC with foam). The
truck “plate” is positioned in the flange for the sliding
window. It has a slight bow so it stays in place all by itself.
I had to use a couple of “locks” for the camper “plate”
(made out of long ear nut-plates). I used foam strips to
help seal out the rain and air noise. I had originally thought
of using the Turbomaxx to draw the air out of the truck
but then it would just be sucking all the cold air right back
out of the camper. I figured that I could wire up a 12 volt
computer fan like folks have been using in their
refrigerators. Come to find out I didn’t need to use
anything at all. With the trucks fan on the second setting
there is a LOT of airflow going into the camper.
Evidently, there are enough vents and gaps in the camper
for a good exit flow.
We just did a 2800 mile (Georgia – Maine – Georgia)
test run and it worked great. One glitch – the truck “plate”
kept popping out from behind the sliding window flange.
After we arrived in Maine I cut a notch in a dowel and slid
it in between the sliding window post and the truck
“plate”. Also there was a little more air noise than with the
sliding window – not much but a little. I was worried
about the koozie staying in place but that was a non-issue.
After the camp road – nothing short of a roll-over will
make that fall off.
Here are some readings that I took while on the road:
Time…..OAT….Interior air temp……difference
8:50…….83………….74……………….-9
12:00…...94………….82……………….-12 (we must have had the air on MAX)
16:00…...90………….85……………….-5
15:30…...86………….78……………….-8
19:50…...87………….80……………….-7
Time…..OAT….Interior air temp……difference
8:50…….83………….74……………….-9
12:00…...94………….82……………….-12 (we must have had the air on MAX)
16:00…...90………….85……………….-5
15:30…...86………….78……………….-8
19:50…...87………….80……………….-7
July 2007
| Luv2skyski's Camper Page |
| Truck Plate Latch Revision |
I was finally able to replace the wooden dowel
"latch" with a real latch. Much simpler to use and
now I can't drop the dowel down between the truck
bed and camper!
"latch" with a real latch. Much simpler to use and
now I can't drop the dowel down between the truck
bed and camper!
June 2008
