RVing in the heat? These 8 tips can help

June has kicked off with some pretty oppressive heat. Much of the U.S. is melting under heat indices into the upper 90s and triple digits. If you're traveling in, to, or through the Northwest, East Coast, or Plains states this weekend or into next week you're probably going to be pretty uncomfortable given the sultry combo of heat and humidity.

Many times I've crossed Kansas or Oklahoma or Missouri and been nearly steamed to death in what the meteorologists call "oppressive humidity." And of course here in Tucson, we're no strangers to extreme temperatures.

Here are a few of the things I've learned over the years:

1. Don't have overly-high expectations for the air conditioner

The air conditioner can be overwhelmed when camping in extreme heat. Many people, especially newbies, are surprised to discover the limitations of a single air conditioner on a 30-amp plug. If you've got a newer Airstream with dual air conditioners (and a 50-amp outlet to plug into) you can deal with just about any level of heat. But a single A/C (which is what we have) definitely has limits. 

A properly operating RV air conditioner will generally cool the incoming air by up to 20 degrees, but that doesn't mean your trailer will be 20 degrees cooler, especially if it's sitting in the sun. On a sunny 105-degree day, the trailer interior might be well into the upper 80s until after dark.

That's why for us Tucsonans there very few places we can comfortably camp in Arizona, in the summer – and they are all at high elevation. Summer in the southwest is our "off season" (which is why we are heading to Michigan and Wisconsin in a few weeks).

What to do if you're stuck in the heat? Try to park in shaded campsites and avoid asphalt parking lots. Generally speaking, green surroundings = cooler air. You also need to have realistic expectations. If the trailer is over 100 degrees inside when you arrive, it will take hours before the air conditioner can remove all the latent heat that is stored in every object in the interior.

To cope, try to spend the first couple of hours somewhere else (like a restaurant or visitor center) while the air conditioner does its job. Don't even dream of using the stove or oven—the burners will put out much more heat than the air conditioner can remove. If you have a microwave, use it instead, or go out for dinner, or cook outside, or eat a cold dinner.

2. Pay extra attention to tire condition and temperature

As you travel on hot days you need to be extra aware of the condition of your tires. They are much more susceptible to problems and wear in the heat.

When the air is 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the highway surface can easily be 120+, and the air inside the tires will often exceed 140 degrees at highway speeds. That's brutal on tires and it shortens their life.

This is just one of several reasons we strongly recommend a good tire pressure and temperature monitoring system (TPMS). Blowouts and other failures are far more likely on hot days, and you want to know right away if something goes wrong before it does additional damage.

If you don't have a tire pressure monitoring system you should make a habit of visually inspecting all the tires at every stop, checking the temperature with an infrared sensor, and checking air pressure frequently. 

3. Inspect your power plug and adapters frequently

Be aware that heavy use of air conditioning can result in a melted power cord, which can be disastrous. This is caused by corrosion building up on the prongs of the plug. Corrosion makes the brass prongs of the power cord look dark brown or black.

If you see this, clean it off before you use your power cord again. (We sell a kit which includes the tools and products needed to prevent this.) Failure to do so will cause the prongs to heat up and melt the plug. Not only will that end your air conditioning, it can damage your Airstream or even start a fire. 

4. Use the awnings and get a Sun Shade

The awning that came with your Airstream can make a big difference if it's on the south or west side when you park. Definitely deploy the awning as much as you can to shade that side of the rig. If you've got window awnings, deploy those too as needed to cut the direct sun.

If you have an aluminum trailer with a Zip Dee awning, an AIR GEAR Sun Shade is a huge help, when the sun is beating down on that side of the trailer. This is especially true when the entry door is facing south or west.

We designed this shade with fabric that cuts up to 85% of the sun's heat, giving you a shady, private patch to enjoy in the afternoon. We use ours extensively and it really makes a difference.

5. Make sure your drinking water hose is safe for hot water

When camping in the heat you'll probably discover that you don't need to turn on the water heater. Often the fresh water hose lying in the sun, combined with warm water in the tank, will be plenty warm for showers.

But beware: most drinking water hoses are not rated for "hot water" use. Cheap-o hoses made of vinyl or other plastics may leach chemicals when laying in the sun all day filled with hot water. That's why our RV Water hose is rated for hot water use.

6. Monitor the fridge and freezer

Ever notice that the refrigerator doesn't cool down when it's really hot outside?

RV refrigerators don't always have great ventilation, so heat can build up in the refrigerator compartment (the space behind the refrigerator). When the air temperature around the refrigerator's cooling fins approaches 100 degrees—which is very common in the enclosed compartment, even when the outside temp is much lower— the result is warm food in the refrigerator.

Here a few ways you can mitigate this:

• Keep the fridge door closed as much as possible. When you need to retrieve something, get it out and shut the door as fast as possible. Unlike a home refrigerator that has a big compressor and can recover its coolness in a few minutes, an RV refrigerator can take hours to fully recover its chill on a hot day.
• If your refrigerator has a manually activated cooling fan, switch it on whenever the temperatures exceed 90. Some refrigerators have automatic cooling fans, others don't have fans at all.
• If yours lacks a fan, consider having a set of electric fans installed in the chimney of the refrigerator compartment. These things are amazingly effective at moving hot air out away and helping the refrigerator cool down.
• Get a wireless temperature monitor to check the interior temp without opening the door. These monitors are cheap and available from many sources. You could buy one for the freezer as well, but I'll tell you right now that if the fridge starts to climb above 50 degrees, whatever is on the door of the freezer will probably start to defrost.
• Pack your ice cream and seafood in the back. This keeps them away from the door, where the temperature fluctuates a lot more.

7. Prepare for the unexpected

Not many people will choose to spend a night in extreme heat or humidity without air conditioning, but someday you may find yourself in an unexpected situation where you must. A few summers ago, this happened to us at the no-hookup campground at Devil's Tower National Monument. It can also happen if there's a power outage in the campground or failure of the air conditioner.

In this case, the keys to surviving a night in the heat are water and electricity:

Water, because you need to stay hydrated and a quick cool shower will go a long way toward keeping your body comfortable. In desert boondocking situations you can even soak towels and place them strategically around the trailer for evaporative cooling. I suggest traveling with several gallons of extra drinking water when heading into a boondocking site in the summer.

Electricity, because you'll use a lot more battery power than usual with the vent fans running constantly. A single Fantastic Vent (the kind installed as original equipment in most Airstreams) might draw about an amp of power, which isn't much for short durations.

But with two of those fans running around the clock for a weekend, you're going to kill the typical 2-battery setup in an Airstream trailer (and that's before counting the needs of an electric refrigerator). You'll need to plug in, or have an auxiliary source of power: solar panels, portable power station, and/or a much larger set of batteries.

8. Don't leave pets in your RV during extreme heat

If you're expecting high heat during the day, be cautious about trusting the air conditioning and the campground's power. It's possible for brownouts or power spikes to knock your air conditioning off, and in full sun your Airstream can quickly reach dangerous temperatures.

We use the Micro-Air EasyTouch RV Thermostat to monitor the temperatures inside our Airstream when we are away. This thermostat connects to a WiFi hotspot – which for us is a Starlink Mini – and it's a great solution for monitoring and adjusting the inside temperatures during most months during the year. However, when temperatures are extreme, and we aren't parked in the shade, we always take our little dog Mickey with us when we leave the rig.