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tent ventilation

roostershooter

motorcycle cowboy
As you know or should know, July in Tennesse can get pretty hot, as in above 90 degrees. Any body use a fan of some sort for tent ventilation?
 
I have a small fan from Coleman with foam blades that I used at the BMWRA rally at the Biltmore house (it was mighty hot the first night). It was designed to hang from the tent (using a magnet on the other side) but the tent design I was using didn't really support it. I ended up laying it on it's side on top of a saddlebag (hanging off the side), and it worked pretty well. If it's humid, it can still be a bit of an uncomfortable sleep, but at least some air movement helped. Small battery fans are cheap, and the are easy to pack.

Coleman makes larger fans which fit into ventilation pockets in the tent, but that's probably a bit big for motorcycle camping, and it's brand-specific.
 
All I can do is quote Watson: "For myself, my term of service in India had trained me to stand heat better than cold, and a thermometer of 90 was no hardship." However, in my case, it was my term growing up in LA...
 
All I can do is quote Watson: "For myself, my term of service in India had trained me to stand heat better than cold, and a thermometer of 90 was no hardship." However, in my case, it was my term growing up in LA...

My problem is being the opposite. I manage better camping at 40 degrees than 90... or even 85. Humidity kills me. Still, I can manage either way - and I know after the rally I'm heading straight for a few days of camping up in Canada, where it's likely to be more to my liking. :)
 
At the Lima Rally in 2005, the temps soared and the humidity was oppressive.

One enterprising tent camper walked over to the WalMart (which adjoined the fairgrounds) and bought a small window air conditioner (cost was ~ $75) and an extension cord. Then he put that in the doorway of his tent. He said it was cheaper than a hotel room, and worth the three nights of good sleep he was able to get.

At the end of the rally, he donated it to the fairgrounds maintenance man.

I thought it was an innovative idea. :)
 
Amen to the heat in Lima. We also went to Wallmart and bought some small tent fans that use a D cell batt, good for 8 hours. We passed them around to those in our group and they really made a big difference. I think they were Colman, not very expensive.
 
Yeah Lima was a SAUNA! People who knew that I lived in TexSux (I did at the time) said I must be in my element...but even down in TexSux I never spent 96 straight hours in it!

My suggestion is to leave your sleeping bag at home. Bring a nice inflatable pad, and also bring a Cocoon (R). This is essentially a sleeping bag-liner, made of a very thin and light weave of Coolmax fabric (so light that you can pretty much see through it. The Cocoon packs down to about the size of a beer can, and it is a very good moisture-wicking layer. I find it essential in both summer and winter for sleeping comfort, and it will keep your skin from sticking to the silky polyester lining of modern sleeping bags.
Also, you can tie up parts of your tent's fly to allow a bit more airflow- just make sure that you don't tie it up far enough to allow rain in.

Josh, I spent my whole life (except for two years in Germany) in the hot humid south, and I don't like hot sticky humidity any more than you do, but to certain extent I'm used to it. You are welcome to set up your tent next to mine if you think a bit of my resolve will rub off on you.
 
Some good stuff:)

I've heard it all and have camped a very long time in all weather. Hot/warm nights are a pain for sure. Fans? A/C....Some cool ideas, I've never heard before. Did not even know the things existed. That guy with the A/C in his tent, now thats amazing and a tale to tell:). My trouble is I travel so far to get to these rallies, I go in cold and warm areas, throughout the trip, so I have to carry the good warm gear. I'm definately looking into that fan thing at WalMart:). Randy:thumb :usa
 
Humidity kills me.

My body just doesn't recognize humidity or even the summer heat of my K. I will often find the house lovely and cool and my wife will come home, freak out and shut all the windows and turn the air on full blast. Of course I do take a sweat shirt with me when I go to a summer show, or to the dentist. Cold registers but not heat or humidity. Cold in the cooler months is not a problem as I dress accordingly (and wear Gerbings on the bike).
 
I was with my lovely wife in Lima, so we stayed at the hotel, but I was up every morning at 4:00 am makeing coffee for everyone !

It was nice and cool at 4:00 AM but it did get hot by noon.
 
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