Keeping the kiddos cool....

[Alpy Days!]

Hi all
Two questions about keeping cool in the California....

We are planning to get a Cali Topper to keep things warm and dry in wet winter months, but my question is whether Cali Toppers also help keep the Cali cool when it is hot? We found it got very stuffy up top, especially with the evening sun blasting the sides as the kids tried to get off to sleep....

And secondly, we DONT have the Climatronic air con system, and found that the air vents in the back section where the kids sit only blows out warm air, even when on the coldest setting.... Anything we are missing with the control of this function? Or do we just have to blast the front air cons vents into the back?!

Thanks!

 

[WelshGas]

Hi all
Two questions about keeping cool in the California....

We are planning to get a Cali Topper to keep things warm and dry in wet winter months, but my question is whether Cali Toppers also help keep the Cali cool when it is hot? We found it got very stuffy up top, especially with the evening sun blasting the sides as the kids tried to get off to sleep....

And secondly, we DONT have the Climatronic air con system, and found that the air vents in the back section where the kids sit only blows out warm air, even when on the coldest setting.... Anything we are missing with the control of this function? Or do we just have to blast the front air cons vents into the back?!

Thanks!

Regards the AirCon, without Climatronic , the rear vents only put out Ambient or Heated air.

If you are on Mains Hookup, have you considered a Mains Fan , especially a desktop clip on fan directed into the roof space?

 

[bigmac77]

Unzip the roof window panels to reveal the mesh and let air flow through. Keeps it bearable when the nights are warm and muggy.

 

[Esandar#1]

Hi all
Two questions about keeping cool in the California....

We are planning to get a Cali Topper to keep things warm and dry in wet winter months, but my question is whether Cali Toppers also help keep the Cali cool when it is hot? We found it got very stuffy up top, especially with the evening sun blasting the sides as the kids tried to get off to sleep....

And secondly, we DONT have the Climatronic air con system, and found that the air vents in the back section where the kids sit only blows out warm air, even when on the coldest setting.... Anything we are missing with the control of this function? Or do we just have to blast the front air cons vents into the back?!

Thanks!

Hi,
I've been doing lots of research into Toppers etc and www.darenpucerscreens.co.uk screens claim to keep things warm and cool when in cold or hot climates. Downside is it is a bulkier solution to some of the alternatives...
Cheers
Ian

 

[bigmac77]

Hi,
I've been doing lots of research into Toppers etc and www.darenpucerscreens.co.uk screens claim to keep things warm and cool when in cold or hot climates. Downside is it is a bulkier solution to some of the alternatives...
Cheers
Ian

We have a Pucer roof screen, great in cold weather but in hot weather they stop any ventilation through the roof vents of windows so any cooling caused by reflecting heat away is more than offset by it trapping warm air that rises into the roof.

 

[Esandar#1]

We have a Pucer roof screen, great in cold weather but in hot weather they stop any ventilation through the roof vents of windows so any cooling caused by reflecting heat away is more than offset by it trapping warm air that rises into the roof.

Thanks bigmac77. Good feedback. How bulky is it to take around? I can imagine it is great if you were spending a week in your van in a ski resort (or similar) but otherwise I'm begginning to question if we actually need a Topper of any type...?

 

[bigmac77]

It's quite bulky but rolled up it fits in the back of our Cali SE partly in the gap under the seat.

We have both the Pucer roof screen and a Comfortz Cali topper used the topper once in 18 months and the Pucer about 10 times. I admit that we have been lucky with the weather and have not camped in bad weather but one day our luck will change and I'll be glad the topper is onboard. If you only camp during the warmer months I would not buy either and just see how you get on.

 

[MattBW]

One day

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253665084/zero-breeze-the-worlds-coolest-portable-air-condit

 

[hirsty]

One day

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253665084/zero-breeze-the-worlds-coolest-portable-air-condit

Only an American would invent air-con for outdoors ... We're doomed!

 

[Velma's Dad]

Re toppers generally... I resolved this morning to leave ours at home in future, unless we're going north of the Arctic Circle. We camped last night near Aviemore, still snow on ground so I thought I'd pop the topper on. But this morning while fighting to drag down and pack up about 20 square metres of wet fabric covered in pine needles I decided next time I'm just going to put the aux heater up one notch instead. Can't be doing with all the faff.

Might look at an internal topper in due course, but meanwhile Velma will go naked as VW intended in all weathers.

 

[WelshGas]

Re toppers generally... I resolved this morning to leave ours at home in future, unless we're going north of the Arctic Circle. We camped last night near Aviemore, still snow on ground so I thought I'd pop the topper on. But this morning while fighting to drag down and pack up about 20 square metres of wet fabric covered in pine needles I decided next time I'm just going to put the aux heater up one notch instead. Can't be doing with all the faff.

Might look at an internal topper in due course, but meanwhile Velma will go naked as VW intended in all weathers.

Agree. Only use the Topper if there is heavy rain and I cannot dry the canvas for a few days.

 

[RoB5urf]

But doesn't that depend on whether anybody is sleeping upstairs? OK my experience is limited, but the difference between up and down is marked in chilly weather.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Velma's Dad]

But doesn't that depend on whether anybody is sleeping upstairs? OK my experience is limited, but the difference between up and down is marked in chilly weather.

Yes good point. However in our case, even though there are just two of us, we prefer to sleep upstairs pretty much always, unless the wind is very strong.

We don't find the upstairs cold because we just leave the aux heater on (low setting) all night. Mrs VD also relies for warmth on our goose-down duvet, bed socks, a cocker spaniel... and me.

[EDIT] Sorry, just realised you have a Beach so maybe no aux heater. That changes the calculus of course.

 

[RoB5urf]

Yes good point. However in our case, even though there are just two of us, we prefer to sleep upstairs pretty much always, unless the wind is very strong.

We don't find the upstairs cold because we just leave the aux heater on (low setting) all night. Mrs VD also relies for warmth on our goose-down duvet, bed socks, a cocker spaniel... and me.

[EDIT] Sorry, just realised you have a Beach so maybe no aux heater. That changes the calculus of course.

No we have a heater but i think it possibly increases the temp difference between up and down.

I haven't bought a topper yet. We need to get a few more sleeps under our belts before deciding

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Velma's Dad]

We need to get a few more sleeps under our belts before deciding

Excellent plan. As much as others like me can say what we prefer, it's a very personal thing and I know people do vary a lot in how warm they need their 'room' to be to get a good night's sleep.

I regularly sleep in the Cali on my own on work trips and I'm quite happy to sleep upstairs even in mid winter. Mrs VD has different requirements.

 

[cleve]

We have a comfortz cosy internal topper and it is amazing. Keeps us so much warmer in winter and cooler in summer. The children slept really comfortably last summer on our european roadtrip even when it was 30+ daytime temperatures.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Re toppers generally... I resolved this morning to leave ours at home in future, unless we're going north of the Arctic Circle. We camped last night near Aviemore, still snow on ground so I thought I'd pop the topper on. But this morning while fighting to drag down and pack up about 20 square metres of wet fabric covered in pine needles I decided next time I'm just going to put the aux heater up one notch instead. Can't be doing with all the faff.

Might look at an internal topper in due course, but meanwhile Velma will go naked as VW intended in all weathers.

I did Chamonix (Alps) end of February.
No topper needed.
Just invest in a decent sleeping bag and whack the diesel heater on for 20 mins before bedtime.

 

[kave]

We have the Brandrup internal Isotop liner and that makes the temperature in lower and upper bed almost identical when using the heater.