Since a lot of our outdoor activities happen in warmer weather, keeping our temporary abodes cool is usually more of an issue than keeping them warm. Some, but certainly not all RVs and camper are equipped with air conditioners but even they are not always enough to keep the units as cool as we might like the to be. Boats have different heating and cooling problems than RVs. Please see my post on Keeping Your Boat Cabin a Comfortable Temperature for more information on boats.
Many but certainly not all recreational vehicles have roof air conditioning to cool the interior in camp. If you are lucky enough to have it and either have campground power or a generator to supply the necessary electricity, by all means, take advantage of it. Nothing else is going to do nearly as good a job at keeping you cool when it gets hot outside. If you don't have A/C be sure to check out the suggestions below. Even if you have A/C you might find some of the following tips useful to reduce the load on your A/C and generator and keep your more comfortable.
First of all, try to take advantage of any natural shade and cooling where possible. Park your unit under safe trees and near grassy areas or water where surface temperatures will be less. Be sure any trees you park under don't contain loose or broken branches that might fall onto the roof of your rig. When parking near water, avoid parking in depressions that might collect water if it rains or a flash flood raises the water level of the stream or body of water you are near. Another trick is to park with the rear of the unit facing the sun most of the day. Motorhomes have a huge windsheild and even travel trailers often have a large window in the front, both of which can allow a lot of sunlight in to heat the interior. If you can't orient your unit that way in the available space, try to park with the side that has the smallest amount of glass facing the sun. The goal is to keep as much of the windows out of the sun as possible to reduce the amount of heat they will admit.
Take advantage of cooler night air to cool down the interior of your rig. Furnishings, appliances, even upholstery, flooring, and walls, will store heat and make it harder to cool your unit. Open some window and vents when things cool down outside and use any fans you may have to bring in cool air and/or expel hot air. Most RVs and campers have at least one 14" roof vent. You might be surprised how much opening that vent along with a window or two will allow hot air to escape. Be sure to remember to open a window or two to allow cool air to enter as hot air escapes out of the vent. Otherwise, without a place for fresh air to enter, the hot air exiting the vent will be restricted.
Fans don't cool the air but they do cool you. And they can help move hot air out and cooler air in. Powered roof vents will help cool your unit faster than unpowered vents. Air moving over your skin will draw away heat and evaporate perspiration, making you feel cooler, so fans, either powered or manual, are a good way to feel cooler. Unpowered vents help expel heat. Heat rises, so an open vent in the ceiling allows the hottest air to exit. You will need to open a window a little bit so there is somewhere for cooler air to enter.
When doing a lot of summer camping in the Mojave Desert I added some misters to my awning. They made the patio space under the awning quite comfortable on hot days and having a cooler space next to at least part of my RV even helped make it easier to keep it cooler inside. I chose to add a separate water tank and water pump so I didn't deplete my culinary water or burn out my regular water pump running the misters. Most mist systems you can buy are designed to connect to a garden hose. You will probably need a way to connect a garden hose to whatever water supply you use or else you will have to plumb the mist systems directly into your RV plumbing.
Awnings will help reduce the amount of sunlight coming through the windows and heating up the interior of your rig. Take advantage of patios awnings and any window awnings you might have. Use reflective foam panels on the inside of windows to keep heat and light outside. These panels can be used with or without awnings. Also keep all your curtains, drapes, and blinds closed to minimize heat coming in through the windows.
Most RVs and campers come with fairly good wall, ceiling, and floor insulation, but in some cases you might be able to increase the insulation to make it easier to maintain the desired temperature inside. I had a van camper that relied solely on the air gap between the metal exterior and the interior wall and ceiling paneling for insulation. Unfortunately the air was still able to move enough to allow convection to transfer heat in and out of the living area. Filling the gap with Stryofoam panels, fiberglass mats, and/or expanding foam significantly improved the insulation of the living space.
I have found it is usually better to begin cooling my RV early in the day rather than waiting for it to get too warm inside. It seems to put less load on the A/C and generator and does a better job of keeping the interior comfortable when it gets really hot outside.
Avoid using the stove and oven. Cook outside or use the microwave so you don't add a lot of unwanted heat to the interior or your rig. If possible, limit the number of people inside your rig. Each person adds about as much heat as a 100 watt bulb!
Keep cool!
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