Cooling your trailer

[salabencher]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are thinking of getting an Airstream to travel the country. Our kids would ride in our tow vehicle with us but we have cats we would like to bring with us. Is there a way to air condition or cool the trailer while we are driving so the cats could ride in the trailer? (Don't worry we would never let them ride in there if its not cooled.)

Thanks for any info,

The Evans Family

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by salabencher

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are thinking of getting an Airstream to travel the country. Our kids would ride in our tow vehicle with us but we have cats we would like to bring with us. Is there a way to air condition or cool the trailer while we are driving so the cats could ride in the trailer? (Don't worry we would never let them ride in there if its not cooled.)

Thanks for any info,

The Evans Family

You can, as an example, open the front and rear "vent covers" so that only the rear portion of each one is open.

That creates a "vacuum" in the trailer, that keeps it cool, when in motion.

However, when you stop, the trailer can heat up in a short time.

I pulled a 31 foot Airstream all over the country that way, and it works great, even in the rain.

Andy

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by salabencher

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are thinking of getting an Airstream to travel the country. Our kids would ride in our tow vehicle with us but we have cats we would like to bring with us. Is there a way to air condition or cool the trailer while we are driving so the cats could ride in the trailer? (Don't worry we would never let them ride in there if its not cooled.)

Thanks for any info,

The Evans Family

Believe me, you don't want your cats traveling in the trailer if you care about them. If you don't believe me try it yourself first. I have tried it and is very rough and uncomfortable, it is nothing like riding in a vehicle.
Regards,
Ken

[Cantrell]

The rooftop AC pulls a lot of power and runs on 120 volts. The only way to run that unit while traveling would be to hook it to a generator. I wouldn't do it, but it could be done. It would require some serious modifications--probably not worth it.
I agree with Ken, if you like the cats, let them ride in the tow vehicle, not in the trailer.

[TWaugh]

Per Barbara Foley - A to Z with your Pet

Whether traveling in a RV or in a car, your pet should always travel in a crate, sometimes called a carrier. If an accident should occur, a pet in a crate has a better chance of survival because he will not be thrown about in the vehicle or perhaps be thrown from the vehicle and hit by a car on the road. If a crate is impossible, when you pack your vehicle, make sure you can quickly get your pet out of the crate in an emergency and refrain from piling luggage so tightly around the crate that you block the flow of air to the pet. Also place the crate in your vehicle so that it is not in the sun, the heat of which is amplified through the vehicle windows. Check periodically to make sure the pet is still in the shade.

For the dog I prefer the dog seat belt harness. I'm not sure there aren't some states which prohibit transporting animals in a moving travel trailer.

Go figure there are still ten states which permit people riding in a moving travel trailer. Remember Lucy in The Long, Long Trailer.

[Bob Thompson]

I've had the same experience as Andy. We've pulled our Airstream nearly 70,000 miles in the past 5 years, all except a very small amount, with two cats in the trailer. They actually prefer the additional room it affords than in the truck. The truck forces them too close together and they fuss too much.

As for trailer noises, my experince differs from Kens. On a remote stretch of road, I had my wife ride in the trailer for about 25 miles just to see what it was like. She was surprised to find it about the same as riding in a motorhome. Duh! As for getting hot, it doesn't while going down the road. It might get as warm as the ambient air temperature but with all the wind passing over it, there is no heat build-up until you stop. If you haven't tried riding in your trailer, you might give it a shot on some remote lightly traveled road. It's a good way to see if tires are balanced, or things are shaking or rattling as you go down the highway. You may be as surprised as us to find it so serene. By the way, it is completely legal in a number of states.

[Lumatic]

If you have a roof vent fan I would think you could run the fan. A thermostatically controlled vent would even be better. I would be interested in hearing if there is any reason not to do this.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by TWaugh

... I'm not sure there aren't some states which prohibit transporting animals in a moving travel trailer. ...

I did some surfing on this a while back...

Nothing could be found could be found that would require me to transport my pet dog, cat or horse in the truck.

Thus the BOOMING sale of high end Horse trailers...

Back to the original Question...

I ALSO couldn't locate a suitable engine driven generator that could be used while the vehicle was being driven...I think that would be a neat product, probably exactly what you are looking for!

I did find several that could be used while the vehicle was parked and the engine was set at a given RPM.

[mouth012006]

We travel with a couple of pretty large dogs, we are getting a camper top with the 50/50 split side windows so that our dogs are in the shade in the back of our truck while we are going down the road and have all of the side air coming through to keep them cool. This way they will have alot more space to ride around than being cramped up in the front with us.

[AIR-Quarius]

Andy has the right option, and be sure to park in a shaded area when stopping. I have five cats.....MEOW!