Keeping the inside of the bus cool in hot weather

[admwllms]

I've always been of the opinion that if you're hot in an old bus, you should open the quarter lights, suck it up and drive a little faster - maybe buy a fan too - but I'm in southern Spain at the moment and will be living here soon and it's a bit tough without air-conditioning. The drive down was fine and on holiday is okay too because we're taking it easy, but daily life could be a little grim in summer if using it to pop to the shop or whatever. I could just use it less during summer but wondered if anyone had any ideas.

As I understand it, air-conditioning is a no-go and totally useless - is that right? I'd love to be wrong on this and would definitely pay in the future to have a unit installed, but as far as I know the old aftermarket units are crap and next to useless, and no new ones would fit.

Evaporative coolers - anyone have one and how well do they work in a hot dry climate? I've seen the old ones at shows but figured they were just good for looks and the newer ones on Amazon have awful reviews.

Also would love to hear any other ideas. Like I say, I can just use it less if need be and I'm not really worried about sorting anything until next summer (not moving here until end of september) but would be good to cool the interior a bit more if at all possible. Maybe I'll just have to do what I did in Barcelona and put a wet flannel on my head

 

[vinvan]

Solution: Drive In Speedos :lol:

 

[admwllms]

Solution: Drive In Speedos :lol:

Lol I'm not sure I want to inflict my pasty out of shape body on the people of Spain any more than I have to

 

[Nugsy]

Is it a tin top?

Old Land Rovers used to have a second roof about an inch or two above the genuine roof held up on spacers. This was used in hot countries as the false roof absorbs all the heat and doesn't pass it on to the interior of the car.

 

[admwllms]

Yeah it is a tin top. That's pretty clever, cheers. I did wonder about splashing out on really good insulation too - would probably help as though I got some soundproofing sheets, I guess I didn't really go all out on insulation.

 

[markevo30]

Try and maximise the airflow by fitting a rear safari window. I've got a creative one and it works a treat. There aren't many days in the uk that you can use it but in Spain it would be perfect. I think they're about £400 for a nice shiny one.

 

[admwllms]

Try and maximise the airflow by fitting a rear safari window. I've got a creative one and it works a treat. There aren't many days in the uk that you can use it but in Spain it would be perfect. I think they're about £400 for a nice shiny one.

I never thought of a safari window, yeah that could help with air circulation, to expel the hot air at the back, like. Good idea. I did think of ambulance fans too but dismissed them as I thought they wouldn't be any better than a dashboard-mounted fan. Maybe they're worth a second look though.

 

[ozziedog]

Evaporative coolers work fantasticly well but I wouldn`t want to accelerate the rust on my bus by using one :? When people talk about these coolers they forget that they are just coolers and not fridges or air con and just aren`t comparable. They won`t get things cold like I like my stella, but they will stop the milk going off for a couple of days and stop the butter running out of the packet :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Lots of cold stellas next weekend gang!! Yeahhhh :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[lolight70]

There are US companies that specialise in aftermarket air cond,mostly for old US cars but they also make them for hot rods etc..
They call them universal fit,they could be plumbed into the factory "heater" system.
The big difference is that the interior of a kombi is huge in comparison to a hot rod
I guess a clear plastic sheet behind the cab would reduce the interior area by 2/3
"Vintage air"is one company to check out

 

[Trikky2]

Yes agreed. Its the volume of the interior that makes the air conditioner less effective, both the old type and new. The big American vans have very powerful units and often two, to cope with the size.

The curtain behind the seats works well for both cooling and heating in extremis.

Sun shields on the windows need to be on the outside, not inside.

Another cheap solution is ladder bars. One at the front and one at the back and then stretch tight a suitable sheet of canvas between the two.

Bear in mind though that these things only help, they don't cure the heat.

Many people do become acclimatised to the heat after a few weeks - although if one spends a lot of ones time in cool air conditioned places this doesent happen.

Evaporators can keep food a bit cooler but are not effective at keeping a whole vehicle cool IMO.

 

[admwllms]

A lot of good advice and pointers - thanks guys, and some things I definitely didn't think of, like

Sun shields on the windows need to be on the outside, not inside.

I've got a full set but always kept them inside :roll:

It definitely doesn't help that it's currently left out in the sun all day - which I know is a big no-no - but when we move here, I'll have some kind of car port or something to keep it cooler in the day.

 

[Trikky2]

A lot of good advice and pointers - thanks guys, and some things I definitely didn't think of, like

Sun shields on the windows need to be on the outside, not inside.

I've got a full set but always kept them inside :roll:

It definitely doesn't help that it's currently left out in the sun all day - which I know is a big no-no - but when we move here, I'll have some kind of car port or something to keep it cooler in the day.

Yes a car port would help a lot. Trees and vegetation are even better at cooling if you can find some

 

[Graham L]

Hi Adam

Quite a few US buses come with Aircon but theres an awful lot of piping with them and 9 times out of 10 they dont work as have had over 40 years of neglect, might be worth looking out for a system to see if you could get one up and running. Its a module that sits underneath the dash and looks part of the bus, I've taken them out in the past but I'm sure if you spoke to an Aircon specialist they could get one working.

The other thing when driving is a swamp cooler that sits on the outside of your window and is filled with water,

Picture of early bay Aircon unit

 

[gvee]

One of them for sale on the forum at the moment: http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=65776" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; 8)

 

[8adgerx]

I don't think you should drive with an open rear safari
Fumes and things

 

[admwllms]

Nice one, thanks Graham and gvee, think I might have a crack at getting an air-con unit running in the next few weeks or months. I suppose even if they're not that effective, some level of air-con has got to be better than none. Don't expect modern car levels but if it takes the edge off that would be worthwhile Funny, I've spent last few years worrying about keeping warm driving a bus, now my biggest concern is keeping cool

Perhaps they're more common here in Spain. Seen a lot of early and late bays, a few local garages dealing in air-cooled too, might be worth a poke around and a chat with the locals.

I don't think you should drive with an open rear safari
Fumes and things

Hmm, didn't think of that.

 

[creationblue]

Keep it simple. Paint your bus white 8)

 

[magui]

Moving to Portugal myself about the same time and grew up there. Its quiet simple, park under trees/buildings/shades (also think about how the sun turns if longer than 2 hours) and two windows semi open to create a draft. Coming back and its stinking hot, open all the doors, wait for 5 minutes and then drive off. It seems really basic but get it mastered and soon enough you get used to it and can tolerate. Of course other things mentioned above will help, but as your gonna live there might as well get used to it. My main concern is the bloody heat on the vinyl seats, that can really burn your wife's or childs bum.

Those cheap of free cardboard windscreen things do help a bit too.

Where about south of Spain my I ask ?

 

[Marriedblonde]

I don't think you should drive with an open rear safari
Fumes and things

So long as the front windows are open for air flow you should be ok. Not sure I would want to sit in traffic with the engine running and it open though. :shock: :? :shock:

 

[admwllms]

Moving to Portugal myself about the same time and grew up there. Its quiet simple, park under trees/buildings/shades (also think about how the sun turns if longer than 2 hours) and two windows semi open to create a draft. Coming back and its stinking hot, open all the doors, wait for 5 minutes and then drive off. It seems really basic but get it mastered and soon enough you get used to it and can tolerate. Of course other things mentioned above will help, but as your gonna live there might as well get used to it. My main concern is the bloody heat on the vinyl seats, that can really burn your wife's or childs bum.

Those cheap of free cardboard windscreen things do help a bit too.

Where about south of Spain my I ask ?

Good points, all about getting used to living in the heat I suppose.

It's an isolated tiny little hamlet in Murcia region. Very out of the way on an old finca we're renting - so diving in at the deep end! Never been to Portugal but fancy a drive there one time for some camping, looks beautiful, good luck with the move!