# How can I cool the inside of a small camper shell?



## beeeph

Hello, I have a Chevy S10 with a small camper shell on it










and I'd like to do some traveling and sleep in the back of my truck. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can cool the inside of the camper at night? I'd like to spend less than $100 if possible, but I'm open to all suggestions.

I found the KoolerAire portable AC product, but the reviews on it are horrible and everyone says it's basically worthless. Anything else like this that actually works?

Thanks in advance for all your wisdom!


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## SteveC

It appears you have a plastic or fiberglass shell. As we know, insulation value = zilch. Many years ago, when I was skinny and young, on camping trips I'd leave all the windows open and go to bed. Don't know how I did it.

Later in life I got the idea of traveling and sleeping in the shell. Miserable.

I tried a trick showed to me by a cowboy friend. Sit a bucket of ice/water near a window. Place a towel in the bucket with half the towel hanging over the edge. Sleep downwind of the bucket. It helped some but not when it was 80 + degrees at night and no breeze. A 12v fan blowing across the towel helped but would run a battery down in a couple hours.

I never found a way while boondocking to stay comfortable when the temperature was above about 70 degrees until I installed a cheap window AC and built a generator. The generator was a 1000w inverter hooked to a 3 wire Chevy alternator driven by a 3hp small gas engine. 

Certainly hope you find a way to sleep and stay comfortable with the temps running in the 80's + at night.


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