Lots of questions asking how to cool off. My husband is going to stare at me, roll his eyes and think to himself …i married a weirdo!!!
So…one big block of ice is in the make as i type this, one large fan hooked up to a solar power pack. Its very humid here, its Texas…lets see if it works. Ill post updates and pics. hopefully i wont have too much to drink and dont forget.
FYI…i do have a window unit in my tiny travel trailer, but some places dont have electric hook up. My tiny travel trailer is the size of your van. Thats why i ask for van lifers expertise!
I was watching Bob Wells on the subject of cooling - and he makes a good point. Going “north” to cooler temperatures used to be the solution to roasting in a van. But, as we see from the last weeks, heat is going to be a bigger factor in everyone’s life. His counsel was to forget about going “north” - instead go “up”. Higher altitudes are where we need to think about heading when the heat hits.
(One interesting comments I heard from a scientist this week: “This is likely the coolest summer any of us will ever experience going forward.” Which is chilling - to say the least.)
Also, I live in The Netherlands and as the flattest country on the planet - I was rather concerned. “Altitude” is in short supply here. Then I remembered - the Swiss Alps are an 8-hour drive away. That makes me feel a little better.
Altitude is indeed the answer, as long as it’s available. Reno, Nevada is ten to twenty degrees hotter this summer than the average summers of the past 30 years. It’s maintaining right around 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day last week, this week, and projected next week. However, just one hour’s drive West and about four thousand feet higher up in the Sierra Nevada mountains above Lake Tahoe, it’s only 78 degrees in the shade at 1 PM. Perfect! Until the next forest fire forces us to move, that is
Sit in the blazing sun on purpose so your solar panels can get charge, then be butt naked inside with a roof vent fan and a big box fan blowing on you with a cooler filled with ice cold drinks. You will be comfortable even if its 100 degrees outside.
