Air Conditioning, ventilation

Hi all

We are currently looking closely at getting a "van" and will be up at the NEC on Saturday.

So far the Warick XL seems to tick most of the boxes.

I particularly like the "proper" windows, rather than the plastic caravan style windows fitted to a lot of other vans, as we live down a small Devon lane and fear that plastic windows would soon get scratched, which would the annoy me!

My only concern is that there then seems to be a lack of opening windows for ventilation. I believe there is one in the loo, and one in the sliding door. (+ cab windows)

During the day this is probably OK, but I can see that at night things could get a bit stuffy (and the blinds would block out any ventilation too)

So what do people do  - how do you vent the van at night?

Does anyone have a roof air on unit? How well does it work? How often do you use it?

Cheers
Jools

The Marquis versions (Sussex) of the Warwick's have air con units on roofs as standard.

The skylights in our Warwick XL provide adequate ventilation in the night. The blinds do not obstruct any air flow ( well maybe slightly) as the casing on the skylights have vents themselves below the level of the blinds. 
Even when it is raining you can open the skylights slightly. 
Be careful not to open the skylights too much with the blinds drawn as a gust of wind could blow them out of shape, necessitating a fiddly repair.

Thanks Angel

I had forgotten about the roof vents! Any other good/bad points about your Warwick XL?

We have hired vans in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., both with and without air on. (Sometimes with, but never needed to use) So I'm still interested in hearing from anyone who has a/c fitted - how often do you use it?

There have been quite a few threads on here about aircon in the habitation area. The general consensus seems to be that the smaller ones don't have a high enough output power to be worth having, because the heat input from sunlight on a van is very large.

Roof-mounting a large aircon isn't ideal either, as it puts a large amount of weight very high up on the vehicle. The ones that are designed to fit under a bench seat seem to be the best solution, provided you don't mind it taking up what would otherwise be storage space.

we have a Lancashire with a small CA1000 air con unit fitted. It is absolutely useless if you turn it on midday to try to cool down an already hot van - but if you switch it on in the morning before the van gets hot, draw all the curtains (ideally fit the silver screen as well) it does work in keeping the inside cooler ready for when you return to your van. Not suggesting you sit in a dark van all day!!

We have a Sussex Duo with air con. Only used it one or twice when in south France. Drawback is that you have to Ac power for it to operate, so waste of time if wild camping. Although it does cool, takes some time to get the temp down, and noisy. If on site, being aware not to upset fellow campers is an issue. It came as standard with the van, but if I had the option, would have replaced it with a solar panel. ( no room on the roof for one of these)

We had a Dometic roof mounted air con unit on our previous A-class van (not A/S). We used it every day when in the south of France for two months in April / May......switching it on early in the day to keep the van interior cool...(blinds closed, and parked in the shade)...We mainly spent our time outdoors, but it meant that the van was always a cool retreat when needed, and the dog absolutely loved it!

We also had an air con unit in our sailing yacht which was extremely well used when we were moored on our pontoon in southern Spain...and the person to whom we eventually sold the yacht still appreciates it!....

But then, we are folk who like air con, having several units at home too!