staying cool???

[Grapes]

How do you stay cool in your Airstream?!!!
Its like 102 degrees already and my electric bill is slowly climbing... can anyone make any suggestions for staying cool, without running the AC all day??

I've tried opening the windows at 5am to let the cold in...and right around 8 when it starts to get hot, I buckle everything down. But my problem is by noon, I'm roasting and I have to turn the AC on... and it runs until 6:30-7pm at night....

Help anyone would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[mojo]

Head North or find covered parking.
Airstreams are not well insulated. Perhaps you can get a Whispercool portable swamp cooler.

[bwoodtx]

We have a 31' Excella and we set the thermostat at 74 degrees and put a small fan in the bedroom on medium and one on the galley counter, also on medium.

I would not shut my A/C off. I takes too much energy to try to cool everything down again.

Someone [posted on here that an Airstream looses almost 1200 Btu's through the aluminum.

[Phoenix]

Note: For those unfamiliar with Arizona, Bouse is near the portion of the Colorado River commonly referred to as "the Parker Strip" (i.e., the strip of the Colorado River, near Parker, AZ, that divides Arizona and California). The summer daytime temperatures in this region often reach 115-120 degrees F.

Grapes, if you are a snowbird and/or haven't been through your first Arizona summer, now is the time many head for the mountains. Otherwise, be prepared for temperatures close to those in Death Valley, accompanied by humongous electric bills.

If you want to stay in Arizona, your best bet is to head for Prescott, Flagstaff or the Arizona White Mountains (Payson, Show Low, etc.), preferably where the altitude is above 5,000 feet. It is still near freezing at night in some of these areas, but the overnight lows will warm up quickly in the next few weeks.

Otherwise, you might want to get your map out and start looking at the Rockies or Sierra Nevadas. Many campgrounds in higher elevations that were closed all winter will be open soon, if they aren't already.

[2vets]

I have heard painting your roof with a special white coating will help reflect heat. Consider cutting out pieces of Reflectix for each window. Best idea is to move near me in northern Vermont. Our houses don't even have airconditioners!

[wahoonc]

Airstreams aren't going to stay cool at 102* without running the AC, even parked in the shade. If you are parked in direct sunlight Fahgettaboudit!

Here in the Deep South, humidity is the killer. We run the AC 24/7 on some trips. Others we luck up and the temps cool enough or a cold front comes through and drops the relative humidity to below 50% making it pretty nice.

Aaron

[jcanavera]

Full sun exposure in an Airstream in those temps requires AC...no other way. Next best way to reduce electrical use is to get it under some shade. Makes a big difference. That shiny aluminum skin just soaks up the heat. I remember my first trip out with my then new 2001 28' Safari. Next to me was a friend who had bought my 30' SOB. Both trailers had 13.5 K air conditioners. We were in full son 104 degrees. My Safari was 88 inside, my old SOB was 78. The SOB was white in color.

Once the sun was out of the sky, the temperatures inside got back to normal. Hence my comment regarding shade....also the reason that I took the option back in 2004 to build our Classic with a 15K AC unit.

Jack

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by Grapes

How do you stay cool in your Airstream?!!!
Its like 102 degrees already and my electric bill is slowly climbing... can anyone make any suggestions for staying cool, without running the AC all day??

I've tried opening the windows at 5am to let the cold in...and right around 8 when it starts to get hot, I buckle everything down. But my problem is by noon, I'm roasting and I have to turn the AC on... and it runs until 6:30-7pm at night....

Help anyone would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Where you are, Bouse , Arizona, you are not going to stay cool in the summer, even with the air conditioner running all the time.

[Silver Goose]

Originally Posted by bwoodtx

...
Someone [posted on here that an Airstream looses almost 1200 Btu's through the aluminum.

It wouldn't take much to convince me that it was a 12,000 Btu loss on some of those hot summer days we see in Texas also. The best defense is a couple of strategically place shade trees and they are mighty scarce.

[Grapes]

Originally Posted by 2vets

I have heard painting your roof with a special white coating will help reflect heat. Consider cutting out pieces of Reflectix for each window. Best idea is to move near me in northern Vermont. Our houses don't even have airconditioners!

The PO painted the top of the trailer already. And I've tried the reflectix material. Ugh... Vermont is far lol