Ventilation and summer comfort?

My wife and I have managed to do all our camping in a large pop-up the last 16 years...and the pop-up doesn't have air conditioning. Most of our camping has been March-October in the higher elevations of Colorado and New Mexico. We have never needed air conditioning and get really good air flow through that pop-up when we need it.

One reason we're looking at Trailmanors is that we want to be able to camp some during the winter months, and we have no doubt that will be possible for those areas we plan to visit. But one question we have is whether or not a Trailmanor can stay cool enough in the summer without air conditioning. It just seems that ventilation would be a lot less than in the pop-up, although insulation is certainly much greater too. Most summer locations we camp in experience afternoon temperatures 75-85, with nights in the 40s.

If we buy a Trailmanor...we will certainly get an air conditioner...for resale if nothing else. But...we'd like to know from you experienced folks how much you need the air conditioner in a climate such as I've described...especially if you migrated from a pop-up environment to a Trailmanor.

Thanks!

[wbmiller3]

Although we live in the AC-required state of Texas, we have camped often in the Rockies, and with all the windows open (especially the front and rear ones) and the vents up, the trailer can be comfortable. If you can get it in the shade, this helps, and it also helps if you don't let it heat up in the first place - in other words, when setting up, we make it a priority to establish the ventilation and/or AC. It seems that if you let the trailer get really hot inside, it's much harder to cool down than if you maintained a decent temperature throughout.

We also moved up from a popup and sometimes miss the breezy feel. But, the insulated walls are most welcome in extreme heat or cold.

Another Colorado camper here, I usually boondock in the mountains when camping in CO, ventalation is not an issue, camper is always comfortable. Now if you are camping in Rocky Ford or at Pueblo Resovoir with no hook ups....that's a different story. LOL I did purchase one of the 12V fans that we've used when out in the eastern US, but never needed it here. It works great when needed.

You have a great vent fan and lots of windows in the TM, you can air out the camper quickly using them. The fan pulls hard enough to create a breeze.

[TexasCamper]

Yup, there have been days when I look at a popup near us, with all of the canvas zipped away providing nearly 100% screen for air to breeze through it. But then my DW kicks me and highlights that it has no privacy!

And sure enough, when we open up all the windows in our TM, we do get air flow (especially when we use the roof vent, normally set at power level 1 which is very quiet).

In the winter, the hard sides provide great insulation. A small electric space heater keeps us warm. I wouldn't know, but trying to heat up a canvas popup seems futile to me.

- John

Thanks for the good responses. It sounds like it won't be a problem. We usually hang out somewhere between the 7000 and 9000 foot elevations when we camp.

Yeah...TexasCamper, we don't even try to heat the pop-up in the winter. Still, we have used the furnace nearly every summer trip we've been on. We close off the end bunks and blast the furnace during cool evenings...usually as we're playing cards or board games at the dinette table...then we turn the furnace off at bedtime and hibernate till morning. I know the Trailmanor will be great in the winter...camping at lower elevations (not at 7000-9000 feet!)...