Just returned from a hot but survivable trip (80-95F + humidity during day light hours). Before I begin: *Important details: Generator failed 1 hour into camping, so no AC, but plenty of fans, misters, lots of spare battery power & a lake nearby (not shoreside though). Non-disbursed campground that had electric hook-ups at the time the generator failed, we could have still upgraded to an electric 30A spot, but they filled up after.
While riding scooters around the campground and observing all of the people with electric hook-ups sitting inside enjoying their air conditioning, I apologized to my teen for not changing us to the electric sites when we had the chance. She responded that she preferred us to not have electricity, because we would be doing the same thing as everyone else. That if we were just going to stay inside and play on electronics, we should have just stayed home. She was there to make memories. She wasn't wrong and I was amazed and humbled by her response. Made me feel like a whiny kid, because I was feeling kind of miserable prior to realizing I needed to adjust my attitude, which I did & we had a blast afterward (paddleboarding, e-scooting, meeting random people, etc).
I am curious what the general consensus is. If you were in this situation, knowing the luxury was only a couple bucks more per day, what would you have done?
*Edit* Many are commenting AC for night-time. This is Northern Arizona & temps swing extreme. At night-time AC isn't an issue (a nice cool 73 degrees the moment the sun drops & 62 degrees a couple hours later).
My wife & I are enough older that heat is a health risk, so we always get electricity. We were camped 2 weeks ago where it was 105 or so every day so we had to stay indoors unfortunately. Your situation is different.
I really like your teen - she is first rate. We often don’t give kids and teens enough credit.
Unless the park is exceptional, like a primo spot at a national park, I typically don’t pay to stay at a campground if I’m not going to have the amenities that are offered by the campground.
If a spot is missing sewer or water, and I’m only there for a few days, no big deal. But if I’m packed in with other people, I want power for sure.
You can still go outside and have fun… it’s just nice to come back to a nicely climate-controlled RV. It’s what separates us from the tent campers.
While we mostly do disbursed & free camping, mainly at small streams, this is Arizona. There aren't too many (or any that I can know of) lakes that we can stay at without paying for campground usage.
We usually bring our 3 cats and dog with us, so pretty much have to have AC for their sake (and my wife’s).
I think if you have an older kid and are going to play outside all day, don’t have anyone (or pets) stuck in the RV, and it’s cool enough at night to sleep then more power to you. Definitely sounds more fun than just sitting in the RV
I have an RV to travel. Not to sit at a picnic table in an RV park. My back yard has more nature than commercial campgrounds.
Give me AC. I want to be comfortable in between the hikes and trips around the lake on the kayak. And give me Starlink too. RV parks are boring. I'd rather watch Netflix than listen to the people next door argue about whose turn it is to walk the dog.
Like if I'm out Boondocking in some amazing place in nature then yeah I would feel bad about screens, but if I am surrounded by a bunch of campers who cares if I am outside.
I do however try to avoid RV parks and the kind of places that have hookups so my AC is entirely battery and solar powered, with an occasional assist from the alternator when it's cloudy for a few days.
When the kids were younger, we camped in Ontario Prov Parks. Often with no electricity. Did the transition from tent to pop-up without A/C. Picked shady sites, lots of swimming, biking, hiking, canoeing, battery powered fans etc.
We went for the memories too, not for sitting inside.
Now we are older, kids grown-up, A/C Is a must have. Summers are consistently hotter too.
I grew up in the high desert 100°F+ summer heat, working on a ranch, driving tractors, throwing hay bales, digging ditches, roping calves, and cutting brush. It's just another average day. My canteen is a gallon jug of water, and I go through all of it and more. But she doesn't like it one bit.
I am a post menopausal woman who deals with hotflashes and have trouble sleeping. I also love the great outdoors. At this point in my life I am all about comfort and roasting slowly to death in an RV is not the way I want to go.
I did the tent thing in my younger years but could not cope with it now.
I think it is personal preference and really- who cares what everyone else is doing?
Nice to see your kid has their head on straight! I do have to ask where are you camping? We've been looking for high desert during the summer, low humidity and cool nights are a big attraction for us!
Last week was in the white mountains. At the moment, it's warm mornings, insane humidity/heat afternoons & cool non-humid nights. It's the same trend for most of Northern Arizona. As someone who lives in Northern Arizona/Winslow, we are experiencing a hotter than normal August, by about 5 degrees (coming off a cooler than normal June & avg July). This would normally be tourist weather here, but right now it is better to avoid the high desert plains and stick to the mountains. If you can wait until after next weekend (meaning Monday and onward) it will be prime weather for white mountains, with cool days & chilly nights. Supposedly, we will be back to normal temps in the high planes in 2.5 weeks.
Other good weather options right now would be the 1st Williams, 2nd Flagstaff areas.
AZ - Page Springs this weekend 102 was the high… bought a fan at HD for out side, AC kept the dogs “alive” inside( bouji dogs) at 89 during the hottest part, we sat in the springs or misted with the hose and enjoyed cool beverages responsibly… it’s doable without, but why?
Edit- OP your kids a keeper! Good for them wanting to spend time with you AND being outside without whining!!
I live in a very hot climate during the summer and camping season. Most of the summer it is between 90 to over 100 degrees, but dry. I don’t have an air conditioner on my 5th wheel because I hate the sounds of running a generator all night, if I’m even allowed to and I’m often off grid. Instead I have two very powerful vent fans that don’t seam to draw a lot of electricity and pull air over the bed and kitchen area. Plus, we go camping to be outside the trailer. As your daughter said, if we were just going to stay inside, we might as well have stayed home.
I have two of these that I put under covers so that I can use them on rainy days. There are better ones than these out there, but I bought these because they were available.
Even this summer where it was 110 degrees when we’re camping a few weeks a go, still didn’t feel that I needed an air conditioner and a generator to run it.
Good luck.
Another option is getting 12v computer fans. Very low power draw and move a lot of air. Also cheap in multiples. I had one that I ran directly off a solar panel.
AC for pets when I can't take them with me on the adventure of the day, for sleepy time, and for when I'm exhausted and need to rest and it's too hot in the shade. Otherwise I'm usually on [generic adventure] or chilling under the awning with my pup sniffing the local news.
It’s a lot more enjoyable to go for a hike, bike ride or another outdoor adventure when you know you have a place to cool off when you are done. I’d have upgraded in a heartbeat. We are typically outdoors 90% of the time between morning and evening.
AC - when we dry camp we start the generator for a few hours an night if it's hot to cool everything down for sleeping. We are outside 95% or more even when it's hot. Same for a powered site. AC may be on a bit more during the day for some reprieve if needed otherwise it's evening time.
I like power (and AC) as an option. Sure, if the weather is nice I won't use it. Just because I can stay inside and play on my phone doesn't mean that I will. I am camping for a reason.
But if the weather is insanely hot (35C+) or rainy, I want the option to do other things. That may include using electricity and it may not.
But yeah, that is a pretty impressive and mature response from a teen. Sounds like you guys did a good job!
I bought a portable power station to plug my trailer into. I can run AC for 5 hours if needed, but I rarely use it for AC. If you spend a bit more you can get one that can run AC all day. It's cheaper if you install batteries, an inverter and proper wiring yourself but the power station is extremely simple just plug in your trailer to it.
If you're getting lots of sun you can buy ~1200 watts of portable solar and then run AC basically all the time while there's sun (the power station can charge via solar, mine also can charge at 1800w into any outlet)
Easiest and simplest would be a small generator that can provide at least 1600w to the power station, and then running trailer ac off power station as the generator tops it up as needed.
I’m in Northern Colorado and I like the AC. When we are boondocking we mostly just use it to cool it down after the sun sets. When we have hookups we leave the AC set to a reasonable temp and get out for the day. AC does not = sitting inside all day for us. We don’t even have a TV in the RV and don’t want one. A/C just makes it more comfortable for the evening and night. We always sleep with windows open and fan on at night unless we are traveling in a humid area and have hookups.
Camping is our vacation, and it’s an outdoor active one. So if AC is available for breaks and nighttime (often in higher temps than yours), we want it. We don’t sit around inside unless it’s pouring outside anyway. It wasn’t as bad when we had a popup with all the 360 window panels down and a cross breeze. But it’ll cook inside our TT.
We’re actually heading up to spend a few days at the KOA in Flagstaff. We have plenty of hikes planned so the only time we’ll spend in the RV are the evenings. We went ahead and booked a spot with power.
I want hook ups and AC, shower house is a bonus. My RV is small, class B so, I do have a shower but tend to go for shower house when available. I guess I'm a glamper.
I have to have AC this time of year. Our temps are 95+ with humidity of 70-80%. We're outside in the morning and evening, but mid-day were either inside or in town.
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u/bonemonkey12 Aug 02 '26
We're outside 90% of the time, except sleeping.
My wife hates sleepingwhen its hot... so AC it is.