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Author :Erin Maxson in Education

Staying Cool while Boondocking in the summer heat can be difficult. But, summer vacations don’t have to be lived indoors or parked at your usual campground. Boondocking is not impossible during the upcoming summer season, but you have to know a few tips and tricks to make sure you can live comfortably while off-grid, too. We’ve collected a handful of hacks for you to include in your daily routine to ensure you keep cool this Summer!

1. Patch it up.

Before setting off on a boondocking adventure, it’s important that you patch up as many scuffs, dents, and holes in your rig as possible. If you have a generator or solar panels installed, you can easily run your A/C and fans with little effort on batteries, but it won’t make much of a difference if the cool air you’re pumping is going outside the rig. Make sure to do an inspection of your rig before each trip to ensure that you’re all patched up.



2. Reflect the heat.
If you’re traveling without a way to generate power on your own, you have to get creative in order to keep the heat off of your RV. Thankfully, there are tons of ways to do this, with a few being relatively cheap!

Related Read: 6 RV Hacks for Keeping Cool in Extreme Heat

One of the best ways to reflect heat is to cover your windows with a material called Reflectix. This can be bought at almost any hardware store in the country and it won’t break your bank either. You can either tape, snap, or hang up Reflectix in your windows to reflect any incoming heat away from where your rig absorbs it the most.



3. Invest in a self-supporting power system.
Although this step may not be in everyone’s budget, it should be something you save up for in the long run. Investing in a self-powering system will make your life much easier and more comfortable on the road. Boondocking is a great option for cheap vacations, but in some areas, you may not be able to find shade. A power system that allows you to live off-grid without being plugged in is a great way to be able to run all of your everyday fans, chargers, etc., without having to find a campground.



Here are a few things you should consider getting for a self-supporting powered system:

1. Generator

2. Solar panels

3. Inverter & converter

4. Batteries (usually 2-4 batteries per rig based on size)

You may not need all of these things, but it’s a good idea to have a backup plan in case something fails. In my rig, I currently have an inverter and two large marine-style batteries. I am investing in a converter and generator soon before we hit the road for our summer travels.



If you’re interested in learning more about how you can set up your own solar panels or self-supporting power system, you can check out one of our articles on solar power here.



4. Create your own shade.
If you can’t find a ton of shade where you’ve decided to boondock, it’s time for you to create your own shade. Whether you do this with a handful of blankets or a fancy awning, you can easily string up some kind of protective layer between you and the sun. Awnings are a great way to keep the sun off of your rig and tires, but they are an investment that you may not be ready to take on.



If you’re not ready for an awning, try packing a few stakes and some rope to hang a tarp up. Towels and blankets can also work if you have a few spares. You can even get creative and sew on a few snaps to your towels to snap them together for one big sheet. You can easily clip these up to your rope and then stake the ends into the ground like you would a tent.



5. Make a few battery-powered purchases.
Every rig on the market requires some kind of battery to function. Whether you have a couple of car batteries or marine batteries, you can easily find ways to keep yourself cool while away from shore power if you look hard enough. Many rigs have plug-ins and electrical wires that will allow you to connect battery-powered fans and lights to your batteries. If you’re not familiar with electrical, please don’t do this yourself, but do look and see if adding a few battery-powered fans can help maintain a comfortable temperature inside your RV.
If your rig isn’t a good candidate for additional battery-powered fans, find a few handheld fans that require batteries and set them up as soon as you find your boondocking spot. The faster you can get air circulating, the cooler the rig will be when you’re ready to settle down inside after setting up camp.



6. Open it up.
Sometimes the only way to let a draft in is to open up the windows. Obviously, not all climates are great for this tactic, but in almost every place in the country, the night time temperatures drop significantly. Opening up the windows at night can be an excellent way to let cool air in. The best news is, if you wake up early enough and close the windows, you may be able to keep the inside of your rig cooler during the day, too.



If you’re not willing to open all the windows, consider opening one window near where you will be sleeping and turning on an overhead fan (Fantastic Fan) at the other end of your RV. This will help the air flow towards you and not away!



Sit Back and Relax
At the end of the day, wearing less clothes, packing plenty of water, and creating shade for yourself is the key to keeping cool in the summer. If you’re capable of investing in a self-supporting power system, you’ll find yourself living like normal while away from civilization. But even if you can’t manage to power all of your normal amenities, you have plenty of opportunities to create your own shaded paradise if you plan ahead.