Hi, I’m Mark Polk with RV Education 101. It’s fun to get outside and enjoy all the summer activities, but when your fun in the sun is over, you want your RV to be an oasis to keep you cool. Here is my list of five inexpensive products to help keep you cool when you are camping this summer.

Number one, small portable fans. We take several small fans with us on hot weather RV trips. They can be used anywhere in the RV, and they do a great job circulating the air and keeping you cool.

Number two, patio awning shade. If you don’t have a patio awning shade, you don’t know what you are missing. A patio awning shade provides extra shade and privacy at your campsite. To get the right length awning shade for your RV, just measure the roller tube on your patio awning. 

The awning shade slides into the utility groove of the awning roller tube, and it can be set up or taken down within a few minutes. This is one of my favorite RV accessories.

Number three, LED lightbulbs. Incandescent light bulbs get extremely hot. If you use several lights in the RV on a hot summer night, it adds that much more heat inside the RV. LED lightbulbs don’t create the heat other bulbs do, and they use less energy too. It’s easy to upgrade your RV lighting to LED bulbs. 

Just match the base of the existing incandescent bulb with the new replacement LED bulbs, or search for replacement bulbs by number. Installation is the same as the incandescent bulbs. Less heat, less energy, and brighter lights, a win-win for RV owners.

Number four, reflective insulation. If you don’t have window awnings to help block the hot sun from entering the RV windows, products like Reflectix can help beat the heat. This type of reflective insulation can be purchased at home improvement stores in various sizes for a reasonable price. 

The concept is to use the product to reflect the sun and heat away from the RV, hence keeping the interior cooler.

If you have windows in the RV that let the hot outside temperatures inside the RV, just cut a piece of reflective insulation to fit the window. You can use window visors, mini blinds, or day/night shades to help secure it in place against a windshield or windows. Depending on the product you use, this inexpensive DIY fix can reflect up to 97% of radiant energy away from the RV windows.

Number five, ventilation. Proper ventilation helps prevent excess heat in your RV. You can install vent covers over the existing roof vents to help increase ventilation in the RV. They are inexpensive, easy to install, and they let the fresh air in even when it’s raining.

A few more tips for staying cool that won’t cost anything are to reserve or request a shady campsite, try to avoid opening the entry door as much as possible, cook outside rather than inside, and if all else fails, head to the campground
swimming pool.

Happy camping from Mark Polk of RV Education 101