After three winters in the desert, I seem to have lost my tolerance for humid conditions. Arkansas is already getting up into the 80s, and the humidity is pretty strong, too. Even though it’s still only May, there have been a few hot days where I’ve become pretty much useless during the hottest hours of the day. So, before the summer heat wave comes, I’ve done something about it.
I had this idea last year during the 100º heat wave in Oregon, but all the stores were sold out of air conditioners at the time. Actually, I had the idea for my previous van where I could simply remove one of the back windows, bolt in a metal panel, and mount a small household window air conditioner in it. I can’t do that in the Transit, but a small standalone AC will work.
The smallest, least expensive one Walmart sells (I’d include a link, but Walmart’s website is broken and links to the wrong one) fits perfectly between my front seats. Since I’m plugged into the house for power for the foreseeable future, I unplugged the devices that normally run off my inverter and plugged them into a splitter to run directly from shore power instead. The AC runs off it, too, though I want to be careful not to run the microwave oven and AC at the same time to avoid overloading the circuit.
Rather than chopping up the plastic mounting panels for the exhaust vent, I used a leftover piece of chloroplast from my interior walls. First, I traced and cut a piece to fit inside the driver’s window frame, just like my vents used to. (I’m not using the driver’s seat while I’m parked, so running the vent hose across it won’t be in the way. I have to move the entire air conditioner to drive anyway.) Then, I traced the hole for the exhaust vent and cut that out as well. Everything fits together perfectly. I didn’t really need any tape to hold it together, but this helps keep it weatherproof and stops any tiny bugs from getting in through the cracks.
I closed both roof vents, stuffed my “pillow” in the opening for the front vent to fill the gap, and set my rear fan to “ceiling fan” mode, blowing downward despite the vent being closed to keep air circulating in the back of the van.
The results speak for themselves. I didn’t really need to run it today, but I wanted to see how effective it was, and it was downright comfortable inside while warm and muggy outside. I don’t want to use it too much, or else I’ll acclimate to AC, and it’ll feel that much worse when I go outside. But it’s good to know that as I continue to sit here in Arkansas, I’ll be able to stay cool and comfortable, even when the weather has other plans.
Smokey Da Van 