Scorching climate RVing is typically inconceivable to keep away from. However my favourite RV hacks to outlive summer time warmth waves might help you get by way of it. From a sweltering blast of warmth within the Colorado Rockies to a scorching July RVing within the Midwest, that is what I’ve found about the perfect methods to maintain cool and benefit from the lengthy, lazy days of summer time.

My Favourite RV Hacks to Survive Summer season

It appears simple sufficient to level your RV north to flee summer time warmth waves. You may additionally go high-altitude mountain tenting, if that’s handy. However over the past 14 years of full-time RVing, I’ve discovered that breaking camp to seek for cooler temperatures isn’t at all times attainable. Certain, heatwaves occur, however they have an inclination to disrupt life on the most inconvenient instances, like when my RVing pet needs vet care or a member of the family requires assist. Regardless of occasional sizzling climate challenges, we’ve discovered to maintain our tempers cool with these simple RV hacks to outlive summer time warmth waves.

Heatwave RV Hack 1: Take Benefit of Shade

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When you’ve got the choice to orient your RV in any course, at all times park in a approach that provides you probably the most shade. For instance, a trailer proprietor ought to level the rig west to northwest. Campers with motorhomes and vans ought to level the windshield north. In case your RV is like most, together with your door and awning on the passenger aspect, profiting from the solar’s motion gives you shade all through the day (presuming you’re tenting within the northern hemisphere). When parking selections are restricted, search for a campsite that means that you can face both of these instructions. Don’t neglect to seek the advice of RV park maps earlier than you e book a selected web site.

Heatwave Hack 2: Don’t Prepare dinner (or do it exterior)

Picture: John Gibbons

When mercury rises, our our bodies naturally decelerate our appetites in an effort to save vitality. As an alternative of working laborious to digest meals, the automated processes in our our bodies exert effort into staying cool. Assist yours alongside by getting ready easy, cool, easy-summer salads and snacks that don’t require cooking. Gotta cook dinner? Take it exterior with a portable RV barbecue grill or outdoor stove. The within of your RV will keep cooler and also you’ll get extra time to loosen up as an alternative of cleansing up.

Heatwave Hack 3: Shade Your Freshwater Hose

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Asphalt and concrete temperatures can rise to 180 levels in the course of the hottest a part of the day. Sadly, RVers hooked as much as utilities don’t have the luxurious of underground plumbing, which might make consuming from the kitchen faucet a depressing expertise. If you happen to’re in a park when a heatwave strikes, get your freshwater consumption hose off the bottom and into shade. Set it below your rig, cowl it with a towel, or slide some cardboard between your hose and the bottom after which cowl it. Shading your RV water hose is such a easy concept, I don’t know why I didn’t consider it myself! That is a kind of simple RV hacks to outlive summer time that I picked up from different RVers.

Heatwave RV Hack 4: Ditch Electrical Followers (or do that hack for those who should use one)

Final summer time throughout a triple-digit heatwave, I purchased two electrical followers to chill our RV, us and our canine. Later I spotted that I used to be doing extra hurt than good. Research exhibits that except the surface temperature is below 95 levels Fahrenheit, followers simply push sizzling air round and don’t cool individuals or pets throughout excessive warmth. Our brains would possibly assume followers are serving to, however our our bodies’ inner thermostat nonetheless works additional time and pushes us nearer to warmth exhaustion. Staying hydrated is likely one of the finest cooling hacks you are able to do. Drink further water and encourage your pet to do the identical with ice cubes and popsicles comprised of no-salt hen or beef broth. Put on cooling scarves and get a cooling vest in your canine, too. In case your RV has two ceiling vent followers with reversible instructions, you possibly can create a cross breeze by setting one fan to drag air in and the opposite to push air out.

Heatwave RV Hack 5: Cowl Home windows and Skylights with Reflective Insulation

There’s nothing I like greater than morning solar. However in a heatwave, beginning the day without work in heat sunshine creates a cascading impact of inescapable, day-long warmth. When you understand a heatwave is coming, cowl any home windows and skylights with reflective insulation. Begin together with your reflective dashboard sunshade and work your approach again. Set up adhesive-backed hook-and-loop fastener tape in every nook of your skylights and RV door to cowl them with reflective insulation. Whenever you’re not utilizing the RV air conditioner, preserve some home windows open however partially coated to encourage airflow.

Heatwave Hack 6: Preserve Your RV Air Conditioner Unit

Picture: John Gibbons

It feels like frequent sense, however like many RVers, I’m additionally responsible of neglecting RV air conditioning maintenance. With heatwaves now an everyday a part of summer time residing, I’m transferring this RV upkeep job to the highest of our precedence record. Doing it is so simple as beginning with removing and hand-rinsing of the interior air filters positioned on the unit’s consumption space. Subsequent, a rooftop inspection and filth and particles removing across the A/C evaporator field may enhance effectivity and preserve the RV cool throughout excessive temperatures. Right here’s a useful AC Maintenance Tips article to get began with extra RV air con upkeep ideas.

The extra you journey, the extra you’ll discover that residing on the highway doesn’t have to depart RVers susceptible to excessive climate occasions. Making ready for the worst heatwave so you possibly can take pleasure in the perfect of RV life retains everybody on-board secure, comfy and prepared for adventures wherever you roam.