Beating the Heat in Your RV

Nothing beats getting out with the family for a weekend in the old RV, but when a hot summer day turns your RV into a veritable greenhouse, it can make you wish you'd just booked an air conditioned hotel room. Especially here in North Carolina, dealing with the summer heat can be the deciding factor between a fun trip and a miserable slog. Luckily, it doesn't have to be this way. With a few easy tricks, you can keep your RV tens of degrees cooler throughout the day than it might otherwise be, and that's without even turning on the AC! Read on to learn how, and if you need a new RV with better air conditioning, stop by Carolina Coach & Marine here near Charlotte and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

Finding the Perfect Spot

Where you park can make a surprising amount of difference in how hot your RV gets throughout the day. Obviously, a shaded location is going to provide the best outcome. The temperature will decline the more you can shield the RV from the sun's rays. If you can find a place that's both shaded from the sun and also still receives a decent breeze, that's ideal. Low-lying areas can sometimes have more stagnant air, which means your trailer will stay hotter. Just make sure you don't pursue shade at the expense of other considerations like availability of utilities, proximity to bathrooms, and other important factors that you should consider.

Using Ventilation to Your Advantage

Ventilation is a key element to keeping your RV cool and cooling it down when the opportunity presents itself. Throughout the day, you'll want to keep your windows cracked slightly, but this is primarily so that you can use a fan to push hot air out of your RV. You don't want to open them so much that hot air is pushing its way in faster than you can ventilate it. You'll also want to use your hood vent fan and bathroom vents as much as possible for this same reason. If electrical access is a problem, keep your windows closed until a cool breeze comes, at which point you can open windows on opposite sides of your trailer to let the breeze through without obstruction.

Keeping Sunlight Out

Sunlight basically acts like the heating lamp at a fast food joint, and the more you can keep out of your RV during the day, the cooler it will be. Blackout curtains are the ideal option for this, but even roman shades or traditional blinds are better than nothing. On the hottest days, even the morning sun will heat your trailer to an uncomfortable degree, so try to stay on top of it.

LED Lighting Saves Heat & Energy

If you're not using sunlight to light your RV, you'll need a cooler alternative, and LED lighting is just that. It's far more energy efficient than traditional incandescent lighting, and it also produces far less heat. Switching over to LED lighting will not only help keep your trailer, it will also prevent you from drawing an unsustainable amount of energy if your RV has to run on batteries during off-the-grid trips.

How to Avoid Creating Extra Heat Indoors

One of the most important aspects of keeping your trailer cool is to avoid adding heat in the first place. In addition to sunlight, you'll also want to avoid adding unnecessary heat and humidity. The two biggest sources from this in most RVs are usually cooking and showering. When possible, it's best to shower outdoors and if you must shower indoors, take as cold of a shower as possible to avoid putting out more humidity. Try to cook the majority of your meals outdoors, too. A grill adds great flavor to food and it means you don't have to heat an oven or stovetop in your RV. The worst cooking culprits for introducing heat into your RV are boiling pots of water and oven usage, so avoid these as much as possible.

Hopefully these tips will help you keep your RV cooler this summer so you can spend more time enjoying your trip with your family and less time sweating and uncomfortable. If you prefer camping with full utilities, you can also switch to an AC system for your travel trailer, fifth wheel, or motorhome. Stop by Carolina Coach & Marine to see how. Located near Charlotte and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, we proudly serve the areas of Claremont and Asheville, North Carolina, as well as Spartanburg, South Carolina.