Desert Rigs: Ideas to help keep cool. Share

[88Xj]

So guys I've looked around and haven't seen such a thread! So what have you done to help keep you cool in your rig.

Think..
paint ideas (best color, & finish..gloss vs matte or flat)
roof coatings,
Window tint (normal, or the mirror finish stuff)
Interior colors?
Maybe adding a vent or something to help circulate air?



Curently I have a black headliner with a light grey interior. I was thinking of ditching my headliner & coating the roof with a ceramic heat reflective material. Thinking of doing this on the inside & outside of the roof.. Should I keep the headliner? Ditch it & coat both inside & out? Maybe coat the whole jeep with this ceramic coating?
Also paint will be happening soon and I can't decide which will be best. Flat desert tan? Maybe white...but which finish? Gloss or is flat better? And same goes for window tint, I was thinking of going with something semi-light, as to keep night visability good. But I also thought of maybe doing the mirror reflective stuff? Whats your guys ideas?
Maybe currtains some how? Or maybe a decent mesh material as to block light but keep visibility?

Toss out any other ideas guys? Basically I've got a DD expo rig that see's 100% of its time in the desert!

 

[Desert Dan]

What kind of rig do you have?

Paint the roof white! Tint the window and you could also use bubble foam foil cut to the size of the side windows you want to block out the heat transfer

I used Henry's Solar Flex roof coating on the center portion of my Jeep's black hard top. What a difference!

Reflects over 85% of sun's heat and U.V.

http://henry.com/roofing/coolroofcoatings/whiteroofcoatings/287solarflex

 

[Keith_Indy]

I plan on using lizard skin products for both heat and sound insulation. I'm going to double it on the firewall.

Depends on your rig if your exhaust is effecting your cabin temp. Mine is, so it's going to get ceramic coat headers and exhaust. The hood also has louvers to let heat escape from the engine compartment.

We also have a 12 volt fan mounted in the back cargo area, pointed towards the driver/passengers. We also brought portable misters last time out and that helped some.

I've seen Dodge Ramchargers with a vent in the middle of the roof, no reason it couldn't be done on other vehicles. Could use an RV vent fan. They can pull air in or out.

 

[88Xj]

Ive got an Xj actually. A jeep cherokee.

I'm sure the exhaust, trans & tcase are all contributing to adding some heat. I've wrapped my header & downpipe & thats helped some. I have hood vents & raised the back of the hood 3/4"...you can literally see the heat pouring out of the back of the hood when stopped!
I will be coating my roof for sure..I'm also thinking of coating the inside & ditching my head liner all together, or maybe coating it and keeping the headliner? Carpet is on its way out, as I'm tired of keeping it clean. My floors are already bedlined, but I'll probably redo it with Monstaliner & pick up some husky liners.

I'm going to keep searcing on tint that will be best. I want something light..maybe 50%. I love night wheeling & I don't want to loose my visability. But I'm thinking maybe that mirror tint will help out? And yes the Rvvents are exactaly what I'm talking about! I'd love to install one on my roof honestly!

 

[Waldo64]

While I was sound deadening my Excursion, I had the headliner down to install strips of Damplifier Pro on the roof. I put a layer of Reflectix 48-in Reflective Insulation on top of the headliner. It is like a mix of bubblewrap (tiny bubbles) and mylar. In this HOT summer we're having down south, you don't feel much radiant heat coming in through the (dark green) roof sitting in the sun. The truck stays cooler, and it is astonishing that even with the truck sitting in full sun all afternoon, the headliner doesn't feel hotter than the surrounding air in the car. As the A/C kicks in, you can feel that the headliner is actually fairly cool to the touch. That clearly demonstrates the insulation value of this stuff. It is cheap and light. Good bang for the buck.

 

[HenryJ]

... layer of Reflectix 48-in Reflective Insulation on top of the headliner...

Yes, yes. Add it to the firewall, interior door panels, under the carpet pad and where ever else you can too. Great stuff.

Adding ventilation for the underhood heat is a good idea for a desert rig too:

 

[88Xj]

Waldo, I've also got that above my headliner. Its like sunshade material correct? I cut it to size & glued it to my roof..also beneath my headliner!

Hmm I didn't think it ade muc of a difference. Guess I'll coat my roof, reglue up the sunshade stuff. Someone also pm'ed me with an amazing DIY a/c setup out of a 5 gallon bucket! Its simply amazing & I never even thought of it lol.
Still searching the tint ideas..as well as paint. I wouldn't mind white, desert tan or a silver...just looking at the best to reflect the heat..yet cheap enough to not care if its scratched to hell witin a few years.
We are on a good track here guys..toss out any more out of the box ideas! Its great for discussion!

 

[88Xj]

Now this I didn't do..door's?

How much of a difference do you guys think it would make adding it to the doors? Plus side, it would also add some form of sound deadening!

 

[AA1PR]

I must truly be missing something here, or I failed to read something important

that reflective material also reflects heat back into the vehicle regardless of what is covering it. & that would help to raise the internal cab temps

cheap simple 12 volt fans could be another option, we use them in the quarry & are found in most CAT equipment

I would opt for vents like the hood vent idea on the vehicle that allow heat to escape maybe from a motor home or camper, just an idea

 

[Bigunit]

I agree. Try using the A/C. It works well in cooling things down in hot climates. I know, I live in AZ... just sayin.

...

 

[Waldo64]

Heat is transferred from a hotter object to a colder object 3 ways:
- Conduction: two objects touching each other, think of food in a heated pan on the stove
- Convection: air immediately adjacent to an object is heated or cooled to the temperature of the object, transferring a miniscule amount of heat energy; air currents occur (natural convection occurs as hotter air rises, cooler air sinks) which keep bringing fresh air at the prevailing room temperature. The quicker the air moves (the faster the 'turnover' time of the air layer next to the object), the quicker the heat transfer. This is how WIND CHILL can kill you when the absolute temp isn't that cold, but your body is constantly trying to warm the air next to your body, but it keeps being stripped away by the wind (and replaced by cold air again). Your body loses the battle of trying to heat up the world!
- Radiation: heat transfers (even through a vacuum...no air or physical contact) from the hot object to a cold object in its line of sight. Think about how sun feels on your body. That is radiation heating you up. Just like sitting in front of a fire.

Okay, with that out of the way: the roof gets REALLY HOT sitting in the sun. The air next to the roof on the inside heats up by convection, which in turn heats up the headliner, which in turn heats up the passenger compartment. The roof also directly heats the headliner via radiation. The bubble wrap reflective stuff really does work. The shiny stuff reflects MOST of the radiant heat gain from the roof, so the headliner can't "see" the roof and the reflective surface keeps the insulator itself cool. Also, there are little air bubbles that provide a bit of insulation, so the convective heat gain (from the heated air above the headliner) doesn't get to the headliner very well.

Trust me, it makes a BIG difference. Doors? Nah, it wouldn't make much difference. Heat gain through the vertical door is fairly low. You already have two layers of steel, door panel, etc. Now heat gain (radiation) through the GLASS is obviously an issue. That's why tinting helps so much. This isn't a good material for sound deadening, as it isn't going to absorb much sonic energy (basically converting vibrations in the air to vibrations in solid material which are converted to heat), nor is it dense enough to BLOCK sound. To do that, I put Damplifier Pro as a CLD (constrained layer damper = converts panel sound vibration to heat energy) on the door sheet metal, and then a layer of MLV over top (mass loaded vinyl which acts as a direct mechanical barrier to sound; think of listening to a noisy generator or lawnmower and then ducking down below a brick wall...the sound doesn't pass through the brick very well).

As to the heat GAIN in the cab: the question was about desert conditions, and I am assuming that is NOT referring to winter time. So the HOT place is OUTSIDE, and the cool place is INSIDE. Heat flows from HOT to COLD, so I am not sure what is meant by "reflective material also reflects heat back into the vehicle". Sorry, but that is not how heat transport works. Forgive the engineering geek stuff, but this is how this stuff works. Now if you put the reflective stuff OUTSIDE so it shined IN to the truck, yes, it would heat it up. But that isn't the plan.

Hopefully this makes sense and is useful.

 

[bob91yj]

Can't find a pic on line at the moment, best vent idea I've seen on an XJ was a Jeepspeed car that had those metal/reversible vents mounted in the roof. I'll do my best to describe them. Maybe 2"x8" door, it can be closed completely, or popped open with the cover at a 45*+/- angle either way.

Found a pic of one closed...

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...b=13si4fbgt&sigi=11f7htktc&.crumb=cWGiUAMsXXk

 

[88Xj]

Some don't have a/c, some delete it for OnBoardAir. Honetly I have it & it works. But when out eploring it waste more gas..which you can only carry so much of. & I'll also be converting it to OBA.
But also just general modifications as well...you won't be running your a/c thorugh the night, so having mods that reflect heat, or vent air, or tint windows/shade to block light/heat & pearing eyes. The mods will not only help while you run your a/c but most importantly help whle your not running it!


Waldo, you make perferct since bud. Question for ya..do you think normal, black shaded tint would work better than the reflective mirror stuff? Basically I will put maybe 50% on the front 2 doors & hatch & windshield, and 35% on the rear doors & 1/4 panel glass. Not very dark..but will help slightly.
My thinking is the mirror stuff will refect more heat, because its mirrored, even at the same percentages? Wouldn't that be correct?

 

[88Xj]

Bob, I know exactly what your talking about...

Talking about rally car roof vents? Similar to these right?
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/hmm-do-i-cut-************-in-the-roof/13512/page1/

 

[Mc Taco]

I've gone with the low tech approach. 1) I have dark tinted windows on the rear window and the glass of both rear doors. Used to have the front windows tinted as well but the second fix-it ticket put an end to that. 2) I installed window valences or what ever they're called. These allow me to have the windows cracked to allow ventilation without rain coming in. 3) I put a salvage cover (heavy duty flame retardant tarp) on the truck rack that acts as a double roof over a portion of the cab's roof and creates a shade area in the bed.