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Cali & Hot Weather

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steve and lisa

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We have just come back from Spain where it was mid thirties during the day and 25+ at night. We have now come to the conclusion the Cali is not a happy place in hot weather at night when more than two people in the van. Upstairs was fine ( although still very hot and sweaty at night) but downstairs was unbearable even with all the windows open. I guess two people should be fine but anymore than that and you will be looking at some sleepless nights.

Maybe it is just us but I would highly reccomend anyone going somewhere hot to take either a tent or a drive away awning as four hot bodies in a van is a big no-no

We ended up losing two nights on one campsite and booked into a hotel with air-con ( such a relief and only 20 euro more than camping)
 
Agree, that's why I've taken to using a small clip on mains fan to use which combined with the Brandrup Airsafe and open windows with flyscreens seems to work reasonably well. Unfortunately not usable if wildcamping with no mains. :thumb
 
One of the reasons we are not going south in july / august....specialy as we always travel with our dog.
It does depends on things , how is your spot during the day (shade) are you able to ventilate without feeling unsafe ( ok on campsites but less in freecamps) and midges getting in!
 
mucksmuff said:
A mate of mine has just had a month in Spain +35'c and he bought one of these http://transcool.info/ excellent piece of kit keeps his van an dog cool.
Click to expand...
My dog breeder has one of those in her camper and she swears by it - with up to 6 dogs in the van in the daytime at dog shows it never gets too hot for them - she uses a thermometer to record the internal temperature as well just in case any questions her leaving the dogs in the van in the heat.

I have a 5% window tint and use Brandrup's Isolite Extreme on all my internal windows overnight and during the day on the ones facing the sun. I then find sleeping downstairs is cooler than upstairs. I also use the topper (reflective grey) all year round to help keep the roof area cooler. So far no problems, but I haven't been over 30degC yet... It's around 18 degC here at the moment and I just popped out to the van and it feels positively cold inside...
 
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snowy55 said:
Hot weather in Spain in the summer. What a surprise!!
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These sort of people are ruining this forum as it used to be so friendly, why people make these pointless comments to start trouble is beyond me!!! I was just offering some advice to people with families as the inside of the Cali is very hot and uncomfortable at night. I won't bother in future!
 
steve and lisa said:
These sort of people are ruining this forum as it used to be so friendly, why people make these pointless comments to start trouble is beyond me!!! I was just offering some advice to people with families as the inside of the Cali is very hot and uncomfortable at night. I won't bother in future!
Click to expand...

Apologies if it didn't come over as intended.
 
We are off to Croatia and Italy early august.. family of 5.. and we were planning to go without a tent.
Guess I'll take your advice and take a tent. That mini airco also looks nice. I will check if I can get one delivered in time. A bit afraid it would drain the leisure battery though.

Did you ever consider sleeping with the engine + AC on? I had this in mind "in case of emergency"..
 
Sadly the coolest part of the Cali in hot weather is the drawer under the back seat. We're just back from a sweltering week in Kent, ok not Spanish heat but 25+ every day. We use a drive away awning but didn't actually drive away as we were walking along the coast each day.

First couple of days we came back to a sweltering awning and van, even though we left front windows open and the vents on the side of the roof open. So fruit cooked, bread sweaty in its packaging etc.

On the third evening I went to find the bottle of red secreted in the drawer under the seat expecting it to have boiled away, only to find it a very respectable temperature for a nice Argentinian red.

So the answer might be to consider the drawer if you are small enough.
 
steve and lisa said:
We have just come back from Spain where it was mid thirties during the day and 25+ at night. We have now come to the conclusion the Cali is not a happy place in hot weather at night when more than two people in the van. Upstairs was fine ( although still very hot and sweaty at night) but downstairs was unbearable even with all the windows open. I guess two people should be fine but anymore than that and you will be looking at some sleepless nights.

Maybe it is just us but I would highly reccomend anyone going somewhere hot to take either a tent or a drive away awning as four hot bodies in a van is a big no-no

We ended up losing two nights on one campsite and booked into a hotel with air-con ( such a relief and only 20 euro more than camping)
Click to expand...

I was in the South of France last year where it was fluctuating between 36-42C every day.Part of that time was in a house sharing with six other family members, my bedroom being below the flat roof. I did the same, the local Ibis had the pleasure of my company for a couple of days.
 
Anyone else find their blinds stick and won't go back up in hot weather?

I am getting two exchanged under warranty because they have gradually got worse over my first year. When its hot they simply will not return. Terrible design sadly.
 
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My mistake of course the price in the UK is crazy lol.

$299 Aus is about £170 but of course its £349 here for one. You have to laugh even with import and tax that is double the price.. :)
 
MattBW said:
Anyone else find their blind stick and won't go back up in hot weather?

I am getting two exchanged under warranty because they have gradually got worse over my first year. When its hot they simply will not return. Terrible design sadly.
Click to expand...

Same problem a few weeks ago in hot weather with our o/s rear blind. Managed to get it to retract when we got home but I'm still thinking about warranty repair.
 
MattBW said:
My mistake of course the price in the UK is crazy lol.

$299 Aus is about £170 but of course its £349 here for one. You have to laugh even with import and tax that is double the price.. :)
Click to expand...
They ship from Oz to Europe!
 
This one may be a slightly different model but seems noisy. So you may be cooler but I certainly wouldn't be sleeping.



Mike
 
Had a little look at those 12v coolers and they both seem noisey. Apparently they are mostly effective when humidity is low so unless it's a dry heat performance is reduced. Seems an awful lot of money for what is a fan blowing air over a pad wicking moisture! Would be interested to hear from anyone who gets one. I read that you are better off with a normal fan and spraying yourself with water mist! Sleeping in shifts and spraying seems the only answer !! I am going to try a desk fan with a clamp. Maybe two if they work. £7.99 in tescos at the mo! Will post a photo if it works out ok
 
Buy any sort of cooler and you are bound to put the blocks on any further warm weather this summer! :D
 
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