Tips against heat in the motorhome or caravan
From air conditioners to roof hood vents and shade awnings
Travelling in warm regions can make you sweat quickly in your mobile home. I'll show you how to lower the temperature in your vehicle and stay comfortable even when it's over 30°C in the shade. These tips will keep your motorhome cool.
Table of contents
Light or dark lacquer?
It is often claimed that black vehicles would be significantly hotter than white ones when exposed to the sun. While it has been physically proven that black surfaces have higher temperatures than white ones, research has shown that dark campers get just as hot as light ones. Moreover, you will find almost no black motorhomes or caravans. The window areas are really decisive. These are the real heat locks. Whether you travel in a caravan or motorhome makes no difference to the temperature rise, but a panel van, on the other hand, heats up considerably more.
To reduce the temperature inside, there is the option of a roof coating with reflective paint. Cooldry climate paint is applied to the GRP or sheet-metal roof of the motorhome in a similar way to emulsion paint. According to the manufacturer, a temperature of 31.4 °C has been measured in tests with the coating paint and a temperature of 45.5 °C without the coating. This paint is said to reflect up to 90 percent of the sun's energy and thus provide a pleasant room temperature. The largest container of 10 litres is sufficient for 15 m² of roof surface and a second coat is recommended.
A shady spot
To avoid a lot of sunlight on your touring vehicle, the choice of pitch is crucial. For a pleasant climate in your caravan or motorhome, you should ask for shady pitches when you arrive at the campsite. Because under trees you are better protected from the heat.
In addition, there is a cooling wind by the water. So pitches by the sea, lake or river are also preferable. Later you can refresh yourself by jumping into the cool water.
Damp towels on open hatches or windows also bring cooling through evaporation.
Accessories that provide shade
If the shade is far away, you can help yourself with products that provide shade.
For the motorhome, a cockpit protector against the sun's rays is practical. For this purpose, there are customised components or materials to cut to size yourself. The silver insulating mats reduce heating through the windows of the driver's cab.
Also providing protection for the windows are sun protection mats for external mounting or covers for windows and skylights. These covers or protective mats are attached to the windows from the outside and thus reduce the penetration of the sun's rays.
Roof window covers are simply pulled over the window and thus offer protection against UV rays. Here you can find the protective cover from Hindermann in the Berger online shop.
The thermal mat for the side windows of the caravan reflects the sun's rays and can also protect against the cold. Here you can find the thermal mat in the Berger online shop.
Affordable alternatives
Due to their coating, rescue blankets also have a reflective effect and are a cost-effective alternative to window insulation from the outside.
Here you can find many accessories that provide shade
Awnings and awning tents provide shade
The best solution against the sun is of course awnings or awning tents. Starting with the simple sun sail, also called a tarp, the bag or cassette awning and finally the caravan awning with full insertion. The side of the vehicle that is not exposed to direct sunlight thus heats up less and does not give off as much heat to the inside. Awnings and sun canopies are mostly made of UV-resistant, dirt-repellent and weatherproof materials. You can find the little awning guide in this blog post.
Bag, pouch or roller awnings are attached to the vehicle by sliding them into the awning rail and rolled out of the bag by hand. The bag awning is supported with enclosed poles and feet.
Cassette, articulated or crank awnings are extended by a crank from the cassette, which is either attached to the side wall or on the roof of your camper. The awning is supported by two articulated arms and folding feet.
You should always secure your awning against storms with suitable fastening material. We show you how to do this in this blog post.
Window awnings are particularly suitable for caravans that are parked in a sunny spot for a long time. Here you can find all window awnings in the Berger online shop.
A shady sun canopy or tarp is an easy, affordable way to get some shade. There are sun sails that are attached via the awning rail or set up free-standing with support poles. Here you can find many different sun sails and canopies in the Berger online shop.
Awnings are attached to the caravan via the awning rail and thus provide additional living space when camping. It not only protects you from the sun, but also from the rain. There are full awnings, partial awnings and bus tents. Here you can find all awnings in the Berger online shop.
Awnings mounted across the entire width of the vehicle offer you the flexibility of an awning and the space of an awning tent.
Awnings & awning tents are available in many lengths, sizes and colours
Correct ventilation
To get the heat out of your motorhome, you should ventilate regularly. The best result is achieved by opening all the windows of your camper wide early in the morning and/or late in the evening and ensuring a draught.
As soon as the sun hits the window, you should close it, unless there is a slight breeze that provides better ventilation. Windows that are in the shade can remain open. With panel vans, you will find that the heat inside is only bearable if the windows and doors are permanently open.
The blackout blinds on the roof windows of your motorhome should not be completely closed in strong sunlight, because the strong heat build-up between the blind and the window pane can damage it.
The Berger roof hood 40 x 40 transparent is a practical solution for motorhomes or caravans to allow fresh air supply and light entry. It has a cut-out of 40 x 40 cm and is transparent, which means that it lets daylight through and allows a view outside. Here I show you how to easily install the Berger roof hood 40 x 40 cm yourself.
Electronic accessories
To optimise ventilation from the outside, electronic devices help the fresh air flow. Roof hood fans provide a certain breeze in the recreational vehicle. The fan is installed in the roof window to save space. There are roof windows with integrated ventilators, but also fans that fit flexibly into common roof hatches. By changing the running direction, the device provides supply or exhaust ventilation. This also makes it practical for channelling cooking smells back outside. Here you can find the roof hood from Fiamma in the Berger online shop.
Air conditioning
Probably the most expensive way to cool down in a recreational vehicle is to install an air conditioning unit. This luxury solution offers you no more sweating, but a permanent hum when cooling. There are roof air conditioners with compressor technology and affordable mobile air conditioners for hanging in a side window.
Retrofitting a roof air conditioner is usually easier than installing an air conditioner inside the vehicle. These special air-conditioning units find space in storage compartment flaps or in the double floor of the motorhome. Here we show you how to easily retrofit a storage-box air conditioner yourself. An air conditioner provides a pleasant room temperature even on very hot days, but it consumes a lot of electricity and reduces your payload by almost 30 kilograms. Here you can find air conditioners in the Berger online shop.
The special thing about a split air conditioner is that it consists of two devices – an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. It can be easily hung into the frame of a side window. Here you can find the Berger Arktar split air conditioner in the Berger online shop.
Protect the pet from heat
Dogs also get too warm in the camper and need to be protected from overheating. That is why you should never leave your pet in a motorhome, caravan, tent or car. You should also keep your furry friend supplied with sufficient fluids. You can find more information about camping with dogs in this blog post.
Older dogs in particular do not drink enough. Add a dash of milk or broth to the drinking water to make it taste better for the dog.
A practical gadget against hot nights in the motorhome is the use of a cooling mat. Due to the pressure, the gel in the mat releases cold that lasts for several hours. Without pressure, the mat regenerates and can be used again two hours later. Here you can find the cooling mat for dogs in the Berger online shop.
Protect the refrigerator from overheating
Not only people and animals, but also your refrigerator struggles with rising temperatures. If the back of the refrigerator is in full sun, the appliance only manages to cool down to about 30 °C below the outside temperature. To help your refrigerator with its cooling task, you should equip it with 12 V refrigerator fans. Here you can find fans for the refrigerator in the Berger online shop. In this blog post you can find out how to install a refrigerator fan in a camping vehicle.
Tips for feeling good on hot days
- Avoid cooking indoors: It is better to eat cold and light meals and move food preparation outside.
- drink plenty of fluids: Sufficient fluid intake is especially important on hot days. Lukewarm or warm teas have a better effect on our body than ice-cold drinks. The hot drink makes the body cool down the liquid, unlike cold liquids where the body heats up even more.
- cool shower with mint oil: A few drops of mint oil in the shower gel have an invigorating and refreshing effect.
- fresh skin: Cool sunscreen in the refrigerator.
- refreshing foot bath
Conclusion: always keep cool
With these tips, I wish you moderate temperatures in your travel vehicle. There is surely a solution or two for you, so that you can hopefully keep cool during your camping holiday.
