keeping yourself cool while in your van?
- Thread starter Bbasso
- Start date
Cole, good suggestions on dogs. I've been traveling with 1 or more Husky/Mal mix dogs since 2001, they come on almost every trip. I'm always looking for ideas to make them more comfortable and ME less concerned. The idea of adding some form of swamp cooling seems appealing, and might be handy for summer nights. The van (white Astro for me) definitely stays the coolest. Especially when empty with room for them on the floor. It has nice, large, top hinged tilting windows which make great airflow.
Also I find light/white cars, shade (absolute must for parking in UT) and airflow are the easiest to deal with for short departures. Thankfully my dogs tend to be unconcerned about passers by and I could leave the windows almost fully open. However, for security that doesn't always work out.
Anyhow. One thing I really like to add to your great list is the "buddy bowl" Seriously, buy one and you will not regret it. Just don't try to open it if/when it freezes.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/great-american-44-oz-spillproof-buddy-bowl.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=2266&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=47524541542d414d45524943414e2d34342d4f5a2d5350494c4c50524f4f462d42554444592d424f574c&gclid=CPacs5v0rr4CFaZlOgod_A8A9A
One or two of these lives in my car when the dogs come traveling. They really are spill proof. Even when the get a bit beat up they only tend to leak a little bit. I find it really helps for the dogs to have access to water throughout the trip, as opposed to just when you stop and give them some water. Keeps them much better hydrated overall. You'd be surprised how often they opt for a drink during just a couple hour drive. I've really noticed a difference in their overall energy level and enjoyment since I got one of these.
For what it's worth. Traveling with dogs is great. I can't tell you how many unexpected, unique, cool and off-the-beaten path places I've stopped for a short hike, meal or simple fetch/rolling in the grass/lounge sessions while en-route to my destination. To me it seems crazy to drive straight to a destination without making some stops along the way.
Anyway. like all the keeping cool ideas. Keep them flowing!
Also I find light/white cars, shade (absolute must for parking in UT) and airflow are the easiest to deal with for short departures. Thankfully my dogs tend to be unconcerned about passers by and I could leave the windows almost fully open. However, for security that doesn't always work out.
Anyhow. One thing I really like to add to your great list is the "buddy bowl" Seriously, buy one and you will not regret it. Just don't try to open it if/when it freezes.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/great-american-44-oz-spillproof-buddy-bowl.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=2266&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=47524541542d414d45524943414e2d34342d4f5a2d5350494c4c50524f4f462d42554444592d424f574c&gclid=CPacs5v0rr4CFaZlOgod_A8A9A
One or two of these lives in my car when the dogs come traveling. They really are spill proof. Even when the get a bit beat up they only tend to leak a little bit. I find it really helps for the dogs to have access to water throughout the trip, as opposed to just when you stop and give them some water. Keeps them much better hydrated overall. You'd be surprised how often they opt for a drink during just a couple hour drive. I've really noticed a difference in their overall energy level and enjoyment since I got one of these.
For what it's worth. Traveling with dogs is great. I can't tell you how many unexpected, unique, cool and off-the-beaten path places I've stopped for a short hike, meal or simple fetch/rolling in the grass/lounge sessions while en-route to my destination. To me it seems crazy to drive straight to a destination without making some stops along the way.
Anyway. like all the keeping cool ideas. Keep them flowing!
Cole
Expedition Leader
I'm curious. (Thinking out loud here) How well does a swamp cooler or other evaporative cooler work for dogs?
Human beings feel the evaporation effect on their skin, giving a cooling sensation. We also sweat to stay cool for this exact reason. The reason stepping out of a shower feels cool as the water evaporates even though the inside and outside of the shower were the same room temp.
Dogs don't! They pant and sweat at the pads of their feet only. So no evaporative effect on the skin.
Imagine wearing a thick winter coat and how the outside moisture doesn't effect you.
Things that keep the real temperature down seem like they would be more effective.
While opening a window in the van for a nice breeze feels cool on our skin on a hot day, it doesn't have quite the same effect on the dog. The air moving hot air away from the dog helps, not as much the effect of the air on the skin(especially with thick fur)
I'd imagine the evaporitive cooling would have to be enough to actually lower the temps and not just give a "cooling sensation"
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I leave my van running with the front and rear AC on. My pups also prefer their personal fans on! Lol. Being located in Florida, there really is no situation where a van can stay cool enough for dogs. Even winter sun will heat up a vehicle pretty quick! Alarms are available that alert a pager if interior temps exceed your specs. ( popular with the dog show crowd )
Baby! It's hot out here today!
Sent by wing, prayer & ATT
Baby! It's hot out here today!
Sent by wing, prayer & ATT
It would work for dogs as it does indeed "keep real temperature down". You aren't fully understanding how a swamp cooler works.
The evaporation of water off the filter media from a swamp cooler cools the air. It's basic thermodynamics, for water to change state, from liquid to vapor, energy is required. So the filter media provides more surface area for the heat to perform work on the water, allowing it to evaporate and take on heat energy from the air. As the water evaporates that heat goes into making the liquid water a vapor. The fan then blows cool air just like an air conditioner. It has nothing to do with adding humidity that evaporates off the body itself.
The dogs will feel the relatively cool breeze. Dogs also get transfer heat through radiation, so long as ambient temp is below their body temperature of about 100-102. That is passive cooling. Obviously the cooler the better. There active system is the tongue and pads, for evaporative cooling. Well that and the fur, after they get it all wet in a stream or lake
This is why a swamp cooler requires dry air to be effective. And also why it will only cool from about 15-25 degrees F below ambient. For us, in UT summer we can easily cool from 20-25 degrees F below ambient. Lots of houses here have swamp coolers rather than air conditioners. It is very effective if used appropriately. Unfortunately many don't understand how to use/maintain them properly and some HVAC salesman sells them central air. It's a higher profit margin for them. Happened at my house, now I have no swamp cooler and central air instead. In theory this is nicer but it also costs a crap load more to operate. I'm thinking about going back to a swampy. You can get it nice and cool at night, when it matters. And 20-25 below ambient feels cool enough to me when it is 100 out.
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I leave my van running with the front and rear AC on. My pups also prefer their personal fans on! Lol. Being located in Florida, there really is no situation where a van can stay cool enough for dogs. Even winter sun will heat up a vehicle pretty quick! Alarms are available that alert a pager if interior temps exceed your specs. ( popular with the dog show crowd )
Baby! It's hot out here today!
Sent by wing, prayer & ATT
Yes, the problem I have with this is trusting my vehicle to sit at idle, unattended, for extended periods. If the car stalls or A/C fails due to overheating or ice-up (vehicle A/C is designed primarily for a moving vehicle). Also you are creating a lot of extra heat at the engine and under the vehicle. I'd definitely want to have open windows/shade/totally passive cooling as a "back-up" but with the vehicle running it is also sitting in a big envelope of locally hot/combustion by-producty air. I can see this working at dog shows for sure, where there are people keeping tabs on things but other places I'd be more concerned.
I'm talking about going for a mt. bike ride without the dogs. Usually in place where there is no cellular reception. I do it plenty as is, with open windows, shade, water available etc. I leave windows open a couple inches for anything about about 40 F if it is sunny. Greenhousing works like crazy.
Anyway, I don't want to hijack this thread and make it all about dogs.
I'm also interested in ways to make those warm summer nights more comfortable, as I believe, the original poster was.
Cole
Expedition Leader
I guess what I was getting at by "cumbersome" is how much water do you need to bring and how much 12v is it going to draw to leave a dog for X amount of time ?
Setting it up in a way to leave the dog alone so that it doesn't get knocked over, unplugged, etc.
Do you need an extra house battery, etc?
I'm more a fan of simple and/or "built in" systems. Especially ones that don't need set up everytime and are more "dog proof".
Thinks like the roof vents at least are "part of the van" and can be simply switched on/off etc.
Setting it up in a way to leave the dog alone so that it doesn't get knocked over, unplugged, etc.
Do you need an extra house battery, etc?
I'm more a fan of simple and/or "built in" systems. Especially ones that don't need set up everytime and are more "dog proof".
Thinks like the roof vents at least are "part of the van" and can be simply switched on/off etc.
I agree about the question on how effective it actually is
I actually prefer things not built into the vehicle as I like to take different vehicles depending on the trip. Or use around the house somehow if needed. I'd run this thing off a jumper pack, which I already carry anyway. I carry it because my power needs are quite low and I didn't want to build house batteries into my vehicles either. A jumper pack is dead simple, multi-purpose and can be used in whatever vehicle you happen to be driving. I personally prefer adaptable, multi-use systems. Which is why I also like the idea of shade cloth. Take it camping with whatever vehicle you happen to bring and use it to better keep everything out of the sun (coolers, interior, water, people etc.) not just the dogs. Meanwhile use it at home for a summer BBQ.
I was thinking of the swamp cooler as an ancillary system and the questions you pose are why I was interested in more feedback from someone who used it.
Can't say I'd, personally, be too worried about dog proof as my dogs usually just sleep while I'm gone, I tire them out. The site gives guidelines on power usage AND water usage. There are different models for with different reservoirs and also the ability to add a reserve jug on top. I'm always carrying water as it is. These DO NOT require ice. That would defeat the purpose.
Also I'd use it as a redundant system. Keeping them in a place, well ventilated, shaded etc. that would be "safe" without the swampy. With the swampy providing extra cooling to keep them more comfortable (and my mind more comfortable), as opposed to simply safe. You can use something like this with windows open, in fact, it requires windows to be partially open.
I think a roof vent/fan is a great idea too.
I actually prefer things not built into the vehicle as I like to take different vehicles depending on the trip. Or use around the house somehow if needed. I'd run this thing off a jumper pack, which I already carry anyway. I carry it because my power needs are quite low and I didn't want to build house batteries into my vehicles either. A jumper pack is dead simple, multi-purpose and can be used in whatever vehicle you happen to be driving. I personally prefer adaptable, multi-use systems. Which is why I also like the idea of shade cloth. Take it camping with whatever vehicle you happen to bring and use it to better keep everything out of the sun (coolers, interior, water, people etc.) not just the dogs. Meanwhile use it at home for a summer BBQ.
I was thinking of the swamp cooler as an ancillary system and the questions you pose are why I was interested in more feedback from someone who used it.
Can't say I'd, personally, be too worried about dog proof as my dogs usually just sleep while I'm gone, I tire them out. The site gives guidelines on power usage AND water usage. There are different models for with different reservoirs and also the ability to add a reserve jug on top. I'm always carrying water as it is. These DO NOT require ice. That would defeat the purpose.
Also I'd use it as a redundant system. Keeping them in a place, well ventilated, shaded etc. that would be "safe" without the swampy. With the swampy providing extra cooling to keep them more comfortable (and my mind more comfortable), as opposed to simply safe. You can use something like this with windows open, in fact, it requires windows to be partially open.
I think a roof vent/fan is a great idea too.
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jonyjoe101
Adventurer
though this is an older thread, i like to add more about swamp coolers. I do use one in my astrovan to keep cool and they are quite effective but they wont cool down the entire van but will keep a small area cool. I'm in california where it is always sunny, so even in the winter as soon as the sun comes up it starts to get hot inside the van.
Without the swamp cooler I wouldnt be able to spend much time inside the van, with the swamp cooler I can be park in the hot sun and stay inside the van all day.
But the biggest improvement for staying cool is called "foam insulation" the entire back of my van is covered in foam insulation. I use the rtech foam from home depot. It comes in 4' x 8' sections and cost about 8 dollars. I put it in my rear windows, I removed the roof headliner and hot glued the foam to the roof. I used an IR thermometer and everywhere I felt heat I put foam there. And finally I built a divider between the driver section of the van and the rear of the van and put a sliding door to keep the heat out.
I measured the temperatures between the front of the van and the rear of the van with all the windows and doors closed, the front will get to 140 degrees, the back will be in the 90s and this is without the swamp cooler, the swamp cooler only keeps the section its blowing on cool. Foam insulation is drastic but it works.
I tried the roof vent fans and also own a fantastic fan but on a hot day they just blow hot air on you. A swamp cooler will actually keep you nice and cool. And on the hot and humid days which we occasionally get I have used them and they might not lower the air temp much but it is better than just using a fan. On humid days I have turned the pump off on the swamp cooler and I get air that is as hot as it is outside in the 100's as soon as I turned the pump back on it might be 80 degree air and it still hot but it feels alot better. I dont have a dog but I'm sure it would like a swamp cooler.
I build my own swamp cooler which isnt that complicated, because I wanted one that I can use in a moving vehicule in stop and go traffic without dripping water all over my van which i wasnt sure the commercial ones they sell can do. I have been using swamp coolers for about 2 years and wouldnt go anywhere in my van without one.
Without the swamp cooler I wouldnt be able to spend much time inside the van, with the swamp cooler I can be park in the hot sun and stay inside the van all day.
But the biggest improvement for staying cool is called "foam insulation" the entire back of my van is covered in foam insulation. I use the rtech foam from home depot. It comes in 4' x 8' sections and cost about 8 dollars. I put it in my rear windows, I removed the roof headliner and hot glued the foam to the roof. I used an IR thermometer and everywhere I felt heat I put foam there. And finally I built a divider between the driver section of the van and the rear of the van and put a sliding door to keep the heat out.
I measured the temperatures between the front of the van and the rear of the van with all the windows and doors closed, the front will get to 140 degrees, the back will be in the 90s and this is without the swamp cooler, the swamp cooler only keeps the section its blowing on cool. Foam insulation is drastic but it works.
I tried the roof vent fans and also own a fantastic fan but on a hot day they just blow hot air on you. A swamp cooler will actually keep you nice and cool. And on the hot and humid days which we occasionally get I have used them and they might not lower the air temp much but it is better than just using a fan. On humid days I have turned the pump off on the swamp cooler and I get air that is as hot as it is outside in the 100's as soon as I turned the pump back on it might be 80 degree air and it still hot but it feels alot better. I dont have a dog but I'm sure it would like a swamp cooler.
I build my own swamp cooler which isnt that complicated, because I wanted one that I can use in a moving vehicule in stop and go traffic without dripping water all over my van which i wasnt sure the commercial ones they sell can do. I have been using swamp coolers for about 2 years and wouldnt go anywhere in my van without one.
86cj
Explorer
Until I cut the roof for a vent a 12V fan and screens are getting us through, the truck stop fans all died really quickly a Hella oscillator replaced them.
The marine fans are used in the "berth" so some are nice to sleep next to, like this one........http://www.hellamarine.com/en/products/accessories/fans/turbo-20.html.
The marine fans are used in the "berth" so some are nice to sleep next to, like this one........http://www.hellamarine.com/en/products/accessories/fans/turbo-20.html.
jonyjoe101
Adventurer
I got 3 vents on my roof, 1x 14 inch and 2 x 9" and i actually cut another 14 inch hole on the roof to install another vent because the other vents werent getting the job done. The 14 " has a 5 speed vortex fan that can run fwd or reverse.
The vortex fan while cheaper than the fantastic fan it did feel underpowered, in hot weather they were useless in either direction. In the fwd direction it just brought hot air into the van, I think the heat from the metal van roof gets blown inside. From my own experience i wouldn't cut any more holes in the roof, its too much work and it dont work as I thought it would. Before you cut anything its a good idea to remove the headliner in the area you plan to cut to make sure there isnt a crossbeam or wiring in the area. I learn the hard way.
When I started installing the foam on the roof of my van, i left the vents uncovered just in case I ever wanted to open them. Then when I pointed my IR thermometer on the roof, all my heat was coming in from the vents. I decided to cover them up with foam.
I did cut rectangular vents on the side of my van and to me it seems they work better than the roof vents. I also cut a round 6 inch hole and thats where my swamp cooler gets its outside air.
One thing I notice is any holes/vents/windows on the sides or roofs will bring heat into the van. I covered everything with foam insulation. the only thing I left uncovered is the intake for the swamp cooler.
The foam insulation trick I learned from watching someone in youtube who was freezing in his van in alaska. He got some foam and glued it to his van interior and it worked for him. I thought if it works in cold weather maybe it will also work in hot weather and it does.
The vortex fan while cheaper than the fantastic fan it did feel underpowered, in hot weather they were useless in either direction. In the fwd direction it just brought hot air into the van, I think the heat from the metal van roof gets blown inside. From my own experience i wouldn't cut any more holes in the roof, its too much work and it dont work as I thought it would. Before you cut anything its a good idea to remove the headliner in the area you plan to cut to make sure there isnt a crossbeam or wiring in the area. I learn the hard way.
When I started installing the foam on the roof of my van, i left the vents uncovered just in case I ever wanted to open them. Then when I pointed my IR thermometer on the roof, all my heat was coming in from the vents. I decided to cover them up with foam.
I did cut rectangular vents on the side of my van and to me it seems they work better than the roof vents. I also cut a round 6 inch hole and thats where my swamp cooler gets its outside air.
One thing I notice is any holes/vents/windows on the sides or roofs will bring heat into the van. I covered everything with foam insulation. the only thing I left uncovered is the intake for the swamp cooler.
The foam insulation trick I learned from watching someone in youtube who was freezing in his van in alaska. He got some foam and glued it to his van interior and it worked for him. I thought if it works in cold weather maybe it will also work in hot weather and it does.
Mwilliamshs
Explorer
"Air out" is only going to be as good as "air in" and fan blowing in will be less effective with no outlet, it'll just pressurize the van then stall. Best cooling will come from either a shaded crossbreeze or pulling cooler air from under the van and exhausting it out the roof or high mounted windows. This aids convection.
jjohnny350
Adventurer
What about a shade awning EZ-up type thing you pull out and put over your van if there is no shade available? Shade seems to be the best thing, but often there isnt any available. Kind of a lot of work but if you are going to be out of the van for a few hours then it might be worth it if you cant bring the dogs.