By Nanci Dixon
Whew! It seems that the last several campgrounds my husband and I have stayed at have been closer to solar ovens than cool, shady campsites. It has been so blistering hot under the sun that we haven’t even bothered taking the chairs out.
If you think there’s no way to get cool in hot weather, think again. I’ll show you a quick, easy way to make sure your RV stays cool at the next campsite.
Today, before moving campgrounds, I checked out the upcoming campsite map and looked at our spot via Google Earth. Peak temperatures usually hit around late afternoon, so I wanted to be in the shade.
More importantly, I wanted to make sure that our RV’s refrigerator was on the shady side too. At 90-plus degrees, the ice maker balks and starts melting the cubes and refreezes overnight into one lump. Not good.
I figured out ahead of time which direction the sun would set and which side would be shaded in the afternoon.
Just to double-check when arriving, I pulled out a compass to find true west. Without getting too scientific, I was assured that we were oriented west. That meant there would be no direct sun on the windshield or the passenger side (refrigerator side) so that the RV stays cool.
So, now I am writing this outside with a cool drink in my favorite camping rocker… even at 91 degrees and sunny.
It pays to use Google Earth and put a little effort into orienting yourself and your RV away from the sun, even when shade is hard to come by.
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RVDT2930
right. sitting in your camp chair and it’s 91. It would be 98 here with 79% humidity.
I certainly understand the concept of taking into account the path of the sun when orienting your RV in its campsite. But I’m afraid that I don’t understand the details of your article. What do you mean by being “oriented west”? If your RV is pointing west, wouldn’t you have the late afternoon sun shining directly into your windshield? If the campsite shown in the photo included with your article, then it looks like your RV would be pointed towards the northeast.
Chris, a lot of RV’s are pulled by trucks meaning the nose cap is facing west, not necessarily the windshield like a motorhome.
We point East/West in our Class A when we boondock to avoid having an entire side getting hit with the morning/evening sun. I know it seems counterintuitive but yes, the windshield pointed west and dash heating beats the bedroom being west and the bed melting.
We also look at prevailing winds to optimize air flow through the windows. We open all the roof vents as well for the heat to rise and escape. 12 VDC vent fans beat draining the batteries using 110 VAC fans. Regardless, when it’s 118 in Death Valley, it’s hot..LOL
Yes, this is a good idea. However, I have found that too many times I have not been able to see the camping site on Google Earth due to too many trees hiding the site itself. So there are limitations.
If the site is hidden in the trees, that means it’s protected from the sun, which is exactly what we look for. Staying out of the sun is even better than orienting the RV to minimize sun exposure.
Thank you for the boondocking advice, Nanci! Can do the same for campgrounds by looking for spots shaded, or shaded in the afternoon. Have a great day and safe travels!