Portable A/C questions

Just curious if any of you have ever used a portable a/c in your camper? I was thinking of one for my 69 hi-lo for trips we might take where we will have power. I'd really rather not cut a big hole in the side of the camper if possible.

I've never used one in a trailer but I do know a little about them. You will need to run an exhaust hose to a venting kit in one of the windows to let the heat from the AC out of the trailer. Because of the heat being exhausted and the AC taking all its air from inside the trailer which causes a slight vacuum inside the trailer. If the trailer has air leaks it will pull in warm air and humidity from outside through the air leaks causing the AC to run harder to cool. They are not energy efficient at all but if renting a camp space you won't be paying the bill anyway so that won't really matter. In a space as small as the trailer it would probably serve it's purpose and keep you from having to cut a hole although it will take up a little of your floorspace.

I use a portable AC unit in my camper. It stands on a counter at the rear window. I had to put edging around the counter so the unit wouldn't roll off. Then I cut a piece of paneling that fits the window. Then I installed four moveable clips to put the panel in when AC is in use. Then I cut a hole in the paneling for the exhaust tube. Once that was working I cut a small hole in the wall next to the counter (shared wall with bathroom) and put the drain hose through the wall. The system works great. Now I need to find out how big of a generator I need to make it work for primitive campgrounds!

I did this one on my unit, it cools ok if the unit is sealed well and the vent thing on top is open. after I built the removable solid walls for the bathroom, I place it on top of the left sink counter and the vent tube goes thru the opening in the kitchen window.
http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f18/500-watt-air-unit-1074/index2.html#post14386

another question, do any of you run a fan at night when you go camping? I normally sleep with a fan on at home, and I'd like to find a 12v option that would work for two, maybe three nights off a car battery, or two batteries if that's what it takes. Any ideas? Been looking at ones on amazon.com, pretty slim pickin's. There's one called the fan-tastic breeze, but it's pretty expensive for an all plastic fan.

We usually have the A/c on at night, of course most of our travel is done during summer time. I know the Rv battery is a deep cycle type but I suppose it works good if you had a solar panel system to charge them during daytime, maybe if you have 2 of them wired, they can provide 2 or 3 days worth of small fan use.

guitarman023 said:

another question, do any of you run a fan at night when you go camping? I normally sleep with a fan on at home, and I'd like to find a 12v option that would work for two, maybe three nights off a car battery, or two batteries if that's what it takes. Any ideas? Been looking at ones on amazon.com, pretty slim pickin's. There's one called the fan-tastic breeze, but it's pretty expensive for an all plastic fan.

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We use 02 Cool brand fans on our boat, as well as the trailer. They work great. They are quiet and flow a lot of air. The battery powered models go for days on a set of batteries and some have a cigarette lighter plug adapter, as well as an AC adapter. Portable Cooling Devices | O2COOL