Summer RVing and Camping

For the most part, summer camping is almost a no-brainer. Summer is when most of us do most of our camping so that is where most people already have some experience. Spring and fall offer mild weather, summers can be HOT!  But summer usually means more opportunities to get away, especially if you have kids still in school.  Moderate summer temperatures don't usually require a lot of special preparation.  Even so, there are things to be considered to get the most enjoyment out of summer camping.

Hot weather preparations. Summer usually means hot weather.  Sometimes we go camping at the beach or mountains to escape hot suburban summers, but there will still be plenty of hot air between you and your cool escape.  Hot weather demands a certain amount of preparation for you, your vehicles, and your equipment. The cooling system on all your vehicles needs to be in good condition and properly filled with appropriate coolant. Antifreeze does more than protect your radiator from freezing. It also helps prevent corrosion and improves the ability of the coolant to carry heat away from the engine to be dissipated through the radiator. Check radiator caps and hoses and make sure the radiators are clean and not clogged or contaminated with dirt, dust, oil, insects, or debris. Bring along some extra coolant in case you should spring a leak in a hose. Make sure it is the right kind of coolant for each vehicle. Some OHVs use special, "environmentally friendly" coolants that are not compatible with the ethylene glycol normally used in automobiles. Different types of coolant are different colors. Ethylene glycol is usually green. Recent multi-purpose automobile coolants are orange. Some specialized OHV coolants are blue. You can add ordinary water to most cooling systems in an emergency (distilled water is better), but maintaining the proper mixture provides the best protection and performance. Proper coolant not only protects against freezing, it conditions the cooling system and improves cooling efficiency so maintaining the correct antifreeze mix is important year round.  The normal mix for most antifreeze/coolant solutions is 50/50 -- 50% coolant, 50% water.  You will often find both concentrated and pre-diluted versions of antifreeze so make sure you know what you're buying.  Pre-diluted is ready to use, but usually costs about the same as an equal amount of concentrated antifreeze, which would give you twice as much to use for the same amount of money.  You just have to mix it with an equal amount of water.

Personal preparation. Prepare yourself for hot weather activities by pre-hydrating your body. Drink extra water or drinks with electrolytes the day before beginning hot weather activities. Dress appropriately in loose fitting clothing that will aid cooling. Wear a hat to keep the sun off your head and shade your face and eyes. Wear eye protection (sun glasses) that limit UV rays.   Wear sun-block on exposed skin. Avoid over-exposure to direct sunlight. Drink plenty of water during your activities. Carry a water bottle or canteen or wear a hydration pack and take frequent sips to compensate for loss of fluids through perspiration and breathing. Plan your activities to allow time to get out of the sun and cool off and replenish your bodily fluids. You can cool your body using a simple spray bottle. A spritz now and then is unbelievable refreshing.

Keeping your shelter (tent or RV) cool. One of the best ways to keep a tent cool and to reduce the load on RV generators, is to keep them out of the sun. Parking your RV or setting up your tent in the shade may be an option in some locations, but if thunderstorms are likely, you want to avoid tall trees or being near any tall object that could attract lightning. Also avoid camping in a depression or along a stream bed that might be subject to flash flooding. To keep your tent cooler, make sure you install the rain fly, if it has one. In addition to keeping rain off, it also provides built-in shade with a few inches of air above your tent fabric, which gets rid of a lot of heat that would transfer directly to the interior of your tent if it were in direct sunlight. For extra protection, set up a dining fly over your tent or cover it with a tarp. A white tarp will reflect more heat than a dark colored rain fly. For both tents and RVs without A/C keep the windows open and the screens closed. Try to open windows on opposite sides to create a cross breeze and open windows on the windward side to take advantage of breezes if there are any. Open the roof vents on RVs to allow hot air to escape and open windows on the shaded side to allow cooler air to come in. If you have an A/C on your RV, keep all windows closed. If you RV has an evaporative cooler you will need to keep one or more windows slightly open for proper operation.  Make use of window and patio awnings to shade windows from direct sunlight when possible and/or place reflective foam insulation panels in the windows to keep the sunlight and heat out.  Permanently mounted reflective tape will let you keep your view but block unwanted heat and light.  You can even get self-adhesive blackout film for temporary installation if you really need to block it.

Outdoor options. To keep cool outdoors, seek shade. If there aren't trees or canopies around, use your RV awning or set up an umbrella, awning, or dining fly -- or stretch a tarp out between trees and/or vehicles to provide shade. I found the days in the Mojave Desert too hot to enjoy even sitting the shade of my RV awning so I added a mist system to the awning that greatly improved the comfort level. An easier and less expensive solution is to just use a spray bottle to create your own personal mist.  I prefer to buy new spray bottles to use for mist.  Re-using one that previously contained cleaning solutions risks spraying residual cleaning chemicals on your skin that could result it irritations and discomfort, especially if you happen to have sensitive skin or allergies. You can buy new spray bottles at "dollar" stores.  You may be able to plumb a mist system into the existing cold water lines on an RV but I prefer to set up a separate water tank and pump so I don't risk using up my culinary water supply just to run the misters.  We ran misters under the awning on our motorhome during summer dirt bike outings in the Mojave Desert and the were very effective.

Summer activities. Popular summer activities include swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling and riding OHVs and horses. Swimming, boating, and fishing usually provide plenty of opportunities to cool off in the water, but the water also reflects sunlight and increases the risk of sunburn. Hiking, bicycling, and riding OHVs and horses will require participants to provide their own cooling methods and plenty of drinking water. Many people enjoy a variety of sports such as baseball, football, basketball, and volleyball, all of which make significant demands on our bodies and require that we pay attention to staying hydrated and avoiding becoming over-heated and getting sunburned. Usually sunburn is a minor inconvenience but it is possible to even get third degree burns from the sun that can be life threatening. It is all too common for people to get so involved in an activity that they don't notice the effect of the sun until it is too late. Pay attention to your own situation and keep an eye on your friends and family and everyone in  your group and let them know if they seem to be getting burned or too hot.

Cool treats are always going to be a hit when its hot out.   RV refrigerators or really good ice chests may let you bring along ice cream and popcicles.  We found snow cones to be especially refreshing when desert camping.  I found a couple of different devices to prepare the "snow".  One used its own specially frozen ice disks and created very fine shaved ice.  The other one grinds ordinary ice cubes.  The result is a little coarser than the shaved ice, but you can dump in bagged ice or cubes made in trays in your RV fridge.  Cold drinks are also always very popular.  Some people may tout some health issues with drinking ice cold beverages, but few people doubt the enjoyment and immediate refreshment they deliver when its hot out.  You will also want to plan your meals to avoid hot, heavy entree's and things that require a lot of cooking.

Dressing for summer.  For the most part, you already know how to dress for warm summer weather.  However, there are a couple of things to consider that might not be obvious.  Loose fitting long sleeved shirts and pants are usually cooler than T-shirts, tank tops, and shorts and they will protect  your arms and legs against sunburn.   Think about how the a Bedouins and other desert nomads dress -- loose, flowing robes that cover their entire bodies.  An appropriate hat or sun shade is necessary to keep you cool.  Sunglasses should be more than a fashion statement and should do more than darken your view.  Good sunglasses should also provide UV protection to avoid damaging your eyes.

Hot August Night was a cool song by Neil Diamond, but it isn't something very comfortable to try to sleep through. If you're tent camping or can't run your A/C at night, you may have to find ways to survive a Hot August Night or two. Begin by cooling your tent or RV as much as possible before you retire. You may have to sleep on top of your covers or sleeping bag or with only a sheet over you and shed some night clothes to stay cooler. I found it helped make my tent and my RV more comfortable if I sprayed a mist on the window screens to create a sort of limited evaporative cooler. Sometimes it will help to hang a damp cloth in front of a window where a breeze is coming in. Fans, either in your RV or portable, battery powered units, can add to your comfort. They don't actually cool the air, but they make you feel cooler by moving air that speeds the evaporation of perspiration and removal of heat from your skin. They can also help expel hot air and/or draw in cooler air from outside. In a pinch you can make a hand-fan by folding paper or cardboard or just using a paper plate for momentary personal cooling. Avoid hot drinks, hot heavy meals, and even spicy food, which can elevate your body temperature and add to your discomfort. Hot summer days are a good time for sandwiches, salads and cold cuts.  And keep a spray bottle filled with clean water handy as a personal cooling system.

Summer evening/nighttime activities. Summer evenings are perfect for campfire activities. Cook your dinner over the campfire. It is fun and avoids adding heat inside your RV.  S'mores and just roasting marshmallows are traditional favorites. These days there and super-sized marshmallows that make it even more fun. Another fun treat we've enjoyed are individual pies. They are easy to make, using clam-shell type pie cookers. You just put a piece of bread in each side, spoon in your favorite pie-filling, close the cooker, and put it in the coals. In a few minutes you have a hot, tasty pie. Sing-alongs and storytelling are long-time campfire hits, so bring along your instrument or favorite tall tale to entertain your companions. Later, when it gets dark, take a little time to explore and enjoy the night skies. Many of us live in urban environments where the night skies are obscured by ambient light from street lights, homes, traffic, and shopping centers. Getting out away from the city gives us a chance to observe the beauty of the universe. Many city-dwellers have never seen the Milky Way. A simple telescope or even ordinary binoculars can enhance our view of the moon and stars. Be careful looking at the moon. It is much brighter than you think when it is magnified! After all, it is reflected sunlight. Even a modest telescope should let you view the rings of Saturn and detect the red color of Mars and perhaps even see the famous red spot on Jupiter. Get a star map so you can recognize the major constellations and share some fun facts about them. Did you know that there are only 6 stars in the constellation known as the Seven Sisters or that the Great Pyramids of Egypt area arranged to match the stars in Orion's belt? When the Sphinx, which has the body of a lion, was originally built, the constellation Leo (the Lion) rose directly behind it. Another fun think to watch for in the night sky are shooting stars and even artificial satellites. There are specific times of the year, such as the Perseids Meteor Shower in early August, when shooting stars are especially plentiful.  It is fun to take a moonlight stroll when there is enough moonlight and not a lot of clouds to block it.  Other fun things to to at night might include identifying night creatures, such as owls and coyotes. The list is endless, limited only by your imagination. Kids have a natural fascination with fire and often have a tendency to play with burning sticks, creating a unsafe conditions for themselves and for anyone -- or any thing -- around them. I found giving them chemical light sticks to play with to be a less threatening alternative.

Keep cool!