too hot for a pop up in late Aug/ early Sept?

[loriandmatt]

We are debating if it will be too hot in very late August or early September to camp at FW in a pop up with no air conditioning.

We have been in late sept before and it was quite warm - even at night, but the fans didn't do too bad to cool things down. We also camped at FW in mid Oct and found the nights to be quite comfortable (even a bit cool some nights)

We are wondering if there is generally a huge drop in night temps between late Aug/early Sept and what we have experienced in Late sept/mid Oct?

Would we be kidding ourselves not to have an air conditioner?

- lori

 

[Memph1s]

A/C makes it so much nicer

Here is a link to historical weather patterns for Orlando

The Avg low for Aug. is 73 Sept is 72

The Avg High for Aug. is 92 Sept is 89

The Avg Temp for Aug. is 83 Sept is 81


The Avg Temp in my popup with A/C 67

 

[loriandmatt]

i may have to get crafty then and come up with a way to get an AC unit in my pop up. I just don't trust cutting a hole in the roof of my pop up. Even by a professional. (if i didn't come that way from the factory i dont' have anyone to go back and complain to if it leaks like a faucet!)

On our next outing (which hopefully will be soon - if the weather here ever breaks) i will have to spend some serious time figuring out a place to put it, a way to keep the AC unit up and a way to seal off around it so the critters don't get in.

thanks for the info and the honest recomendation on the AC.

- lori

 

[CamperStem]

late aug / early sep is way way way too early for a pop-up with no a/c - it's be mid to upper 90's during the day and cool off to 85 at night...with about 90% humidity..very uncomfortable...
of course that's my opinion..but i hate to be warm..especially at sleepy time...

 

[bobcat]

I believe all air conditioners on pop ups have to be installed after purchase. I have never seen one new with one installed from the factory.

I've tent camped the middle of August and wished we had an airconditioner. With the high humidity everything felt wet all the time and there was no relief from the heat. There are also reflective tarps that you can put over your bunk ends that are supposed to keep a lot of the heat (sun) out. I've seen people use reflective emergency blankets for this.

 

[We4mickey]

We are going the alternate route. Don't get me wrong we absolutely love FW. We are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott at the great rate of $20.03 a night and then moving to FW for the rest of our vacation in a cabin. We can't camp for that price and we have air conditioning. Just a thought.

 

[funhouse8]

I have a pop-up with no a/c and found out the they do sell free standing a/c's that need no vents. They are not cheap so we will be camping in Dec. (We have heat)

 

[loriandmatt]

OK, funhouse8, now your just teasing me....got any info on that free standing AC unit?

DH got his feathers rather ruffeled when i brought up the topic of trying to rig a regular AC unit in the camper. (How long does he have to be with me to figure out that i know what the heck i am doing!!! )

We would LOVE to take advantage of the Downtown Disney Marriot rates, but with HD's job we have to be somewhat flexable up to a few weeks before hand,so locking in this early is not an option for us. (i am not against calling closer to our travel dates - when DH is able to lock them down - and see if that great rate is still available. I love my camper and FW, but come on!!! a real bed, a shower that i don't have to share with other campers, a bit more room and AC all for less money....ya can't beat it.)

- lori

 

[Disbug]

Hi, I guess it's unanimous! I vote for the AC. I have done tents and pop-ups in Ft. Wilderness, but it would be sheer misery without the AC, especially for sleeping. When you've been at the parks all day, you need something to look forward to... not more heat. It will feel like a sauna. I would say late Sept. is the earliest I would try without AC. Request a shady site if you think about it. Might help drop the temp a few degrees at least. Have fun!

 

[donac]

I disagree. I tent camped last AUg and we used little portable fans for sleeping and we never had any trouble. I liked it so much that we are going again this Aug.

 

[loriandmatt]

yea - i was hoping for some glimmer of hope that i wouldn't be baking.

I will go with the general consensis though that i should plan for sticky, humid nights. I will fanagel with the AC in the camper so it will be there if we need it. If things are cool enough to get by with our fans that will be a nice surprise.

thanks for all the input.

(now does anyone have details on how to rig up a small window AC unit in a pop-up?!?!? )

- lori

 

[funhouse8]

I'm not sure how to do a link but here is the web page ---http://www.brandsonsale.com/genair12btup.html Don't say I didn't worn you about price. Maybe you can search and find a cheaper one. If you do let me know.

 

[loriandmatt]

YIPES - OK, DH is just gonna have to trust my judgement when it comes to finageling a standard window AV unit into the pop up somehow. That thing is sweet, but the price is more than we are paying for a campsite for two weeks!

thanks for the info anyway. (next camper we ge is gonna have AV already installed!)

-lori

 

[funhouse8]

I found the price too high myself. That's why we are camping in Dec. When we bought the camper we choose heat over a/c now I wish we went for the extra bucks and got both, but coming from ny we use the heat often in the spring and fall. Like you said. My next camper will have A/C.

 

[loriandmatt]

we made the same choice. well - sort of. the camper came with heat, but AC was extra. We couldn't fathom using it as ever other camping trip we had ever been on had been in the spring or fall.

what we didn't realize was that once camping became easier and more fun, via the camper, we would be doing it more often in a wider rage of places. We should have forked over the cash for the factory installed AC when we had the chance.

Live and learn. Camping wisdom to pass along to others i guess.

Enjoy you camping season.

- lori

 

[We4mickey]

Okay I think I found an option. We have seen these before in the paper, but never seen one in person until now. A portable air conditioner. It is on wheels and looks a lot like a taller dehumidifier. It has a vent like a dryer vent that collapses down lenghtwise that you vent out the hot air. We saw this in person at our Sams club. The cost is about $375.00. It is kind of big, but it is portable so you could take it anywhere as well as to your next camper. The one they had at our Sams was GE 7000 BTU model apk07aa. The sign did say it was a seasonal item. Might be worth checking out. You don't have to really do anything to your camper this way. Good Luck

 

[loriandmatt]

i have seen a few of these since funhouse 8 brought them up. (i had never known something like this existed)

The one you mentioned is the cheapest i have come across though. I will check out Sam's and BJ's in this area to see if i can get my mitts on one. ($375 is pretty reasonable, considering what i would pay for a regular AC unit and the BS i would be going thru to try and rig it into the camper without cutting my pop-up all to heck.)

thanks for the tip.

See you all in FW!

- lori

 

[funhouse8]

Lori, Let me know what u found. I will love to hear. Gina

 

[HLFDZN]

We camped in FW when Hurricane Floyd decided to join us. The 2 nights we did get to stay there before being evacuated were miserably humid. When we would crawl in bed the sheets felt wet. Nothing on the lines dried. We had to make a trip to walmart to buy the boys in the tent a fan cuz they were dying. We did not even have air at home at this time, but being from the north it really bothered us. I would not try this again EVER! Melissa

 

[KAP]

I'm going to buck the trend and say that A/C is not a needed. Whenever I go to WDW during warm weather the A/C gives me a cold. Last time I camped at FW it was late June/early July and I slept in a tent to avoid an A/C'd camper. Even had me a down sleeping bag that I truely needed for about 2 hours each night when the dew point hits around 3-5 am. We are going back this August and you can be I'm sleeping in the tent.