If your campsite is powered, almost any air conditioner will do the job. Obviously you would like the most compact unit but it must still be powerful enough. For 150 square feet of tent you will need a unit that is about 5000BTU rated, any less and it will struggle to keep you cool. Remember a tent is not insulated like a home so the unit is going to work harder. If you have a window style unit you will have to put it on a stand (I use a milk crate that I pack gear in on my way to the site). An outdoor power cord that is at least 15amp rated is a minimum, you don’t want it to overheat next to the tent. I have made a sleeve that slips over the unit with an air duct that runs into the tent or you can buy the AC Boot  to simplify the installation.  If all this seems like to much of a problem just get a good quality tent fan.​The Lifesmart indoor/outdoor coolers are almost perfect for camping. It is an evaporative cooler so your tent does not need to be insulated to keep cool, but rather have open ports to keep cool air flowing.

A gallon of water delivers up to 10 hours of run time for the unit and it uses less energy than a 40w light bulb. The 350CFM airflow will keep an area of up to 250sq m cool. Its stands 21 inches tall and weighs 10 pounds and has an inbuilt carry handle. What makes this unit one of our favorites is that it runs on 12v, so if your campsite does not have power you can connect it to a battery to run it (separate extension required).ac unit beltThis unit is probably the best option if your site is not powered, however beware evaporative coolers works best in hot dry climates and less in humid ones.hvac blower motor installationFrigidaire Mini Window Air Conditionerhome ac units 3 ton This is an inexpensive, compact, light unit that has been a best seller for ages and is perfect for a tent.

It is a 5000BTU unit, so it is strong enough for most tents and it has a low voltage start-up to conserve power. It is a quiet air conditioner and has a high power efficiency rating and only weighs 35lbs. I really like this unit. It is a powerful portable air conditioner (12 000BTU) designed for spot cooling of data centers or electronic stacks. Its cold air outlet can be easily duct into the tent and it has a timer so that it can switch off automatically in the middle of the night. No stand is required or any modification of the tent or unit. Connect the 71”ducts to the unit, stick it in the tent and switch on. The down side it that the air conditioner is a little heavy, it weighs 68lbs but it is fairly compact. It is not designed for camping but it is doing a good job at it and you will have to try hard for a better alternative.Some campers will pull their face when they see a tent with an air conditioner, but they obviously never camped with one. If you have the space in your car and power is not a problem do you self a favor and try camping with one, you will never go back.

Show All ItemsStep 1: Gather MaterialsShow All Items - 1 Tent (Cost: free hopefully)- 5000 BTU Window Mounted Air Conditioner Arpox. (Cost Variable)- 2 Yards of Ripstop Nylon which will be more than enough (Cost: Aprox. $14.00)- 1 Bottle of Fabric Glue INSERT NAME OF GLUE HERE (Cost: $6-10)- Bungee Cords (Cost: $3-5)Note: Sundays a lot of the craft stores have 40% off coupons which can save you some money on the glue or fabric. //cgfab.html« PreviousNext »View All Steps DownloadShow All ItemsMy wife and I have an unexpected week off together next week where we are dropping off one of our kids at camp in one state and picking up the other one in another state a week later. We are going to be travelling through Florida so I decided to try to book a room or condo at the beach last minute but there wasn't anything available that wasn't prohibitively expensive. I pitched the idea of camping on the beach to my wife and bless her heart she agreed! We have a small 2-3 man tent we got for the kids last Christmas.

The campsite is at a Florida State Park and it has power, water and and an air-conditioned shower and bathroom facility but I became a little concerned we would be rolling around in our own sweat every night in that little tent in hot, humid Florida. I briefly investigated purchasing an indoor or portable AC unit but they are much more expensive than regular window units and frankly I don't think we have room in the tent for one. I read with great interest this instructable by zmatt (Thanks Matt!) so I did a little research and found this cheap, little GE window air conditoner that gets rave reviews at my local Wal-Mart for $98. The only problem is that since it is a window unit, it is not designed to be carried around so the aluminum fins of the condenser unit on the back are exposed and can be easily bent or damaged during transport. I came up with a cheap solution to protect the fins and ruggedize our new little camping air conditioner.UPDATE: We just got back from our trip and the air conditioner worked even better than I thought it would.

The first night my wife asked me to turn it down because it was a "tad chilly". lol We were nestled in our sleeping bags too! Not too many bugs showed up but the laundry bag saved the air conditioner one day when a monsoon passed through the campground and the water pooled at the condenser end. So much so that the fan blades were slapping the water and I was thinking "Oh no! It is splashing dirt and debris all over the inside of the air conditioner!" but after the rain I took the bag off and it had kept all the dirt and debris out of the air conditioner. The door of the tent didn't zip snug against the side of the air conditioner so there was a little wedge of daylight there so I stuck a little soft cooler in the crack to seal it. Best money I ever spent!Step 1: Show All ItemsThe air conditioner I bought is a General Electric 5,050-BTU Window Air Conditioner.« Our rugged, portable units remove excess heat and humidity from an enclosed 10’x10’ or 10’x20’ max size camping, RV, military or even back yard tent.

ClimateRight air conditioning and heating units enable a good nights’ sleep as well as cooling and heating during the daytime. The CR5000ACH will satisfy the needs of a small pop-up tent. The CR10000ACH will cool down a well enclosed tent structure up to 10’x20’. We also owns the distribution rights for the best portable generators on the market – Westinghouse. We tested all of them. Westinghouse has the best ast starts, extreme quiet, long run times, low harmonic distortion to ensure no damages to expensive electronics, and key plug-ins most RV and campers prefer. Check these out to power your tent electronics needs. For best performance, pitch the tent in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Shade trees should be to the south or west of the tent. In order to keep too much air from passing through the ceiling mesh, it may also be helpful to lay fabric or plastic over some of the mesh netting while your ClimateRight is in operation. Leave enough ventilation for breathing.

ClimateRight tent air conditioners should all run comfortably on the basic, 120 volt, 15 amp electrical service that is available to any electric campsite or at least Westinghouse 2000w generators. (Check amperage if you have lots of products to power). * Campers should be aware that outdoor rated extension cords are a must for safety. Be careful to ensure you have the proper equipment if not using a generator. Outdoor extension cords rated at 15 amps or higher. The extension cord should be in good condition, with no gaps in the insulation. * Tent campers should try not to run electrical devices when the ground has been wetted by rain. ClimateRight does not Warranty or recommend permanent mounting of our AC and Heating units. The reason for this is that we cannot control the quality of aftermarket mounting, and wear and tear related to applications unknown to us. We specifically do not recommend or Warranty permanent mounting on Truck Cabs, Trailers, RVs, and Campers.

Q: How Does ClimateRight Work? A: ClimateRight for tents is a small, portable air conditioner and heater that runs on regular 120v electric. The unit sits outside of your tent. The main two issues you need to consider are source of electric (110v or generator) and installation.  (We sell Westinghouse generators on our website). ClimateRight is easier than window units because it sits outside the enclosure and is ported in by two small 4” diameter hoses that are about 3 feet long. Simply slip them through the door opening or window opening (with some duct tape). Yes – we are working on a more polished method of installation – but when in a pinch this will work well. Aftermarket tent hoods exist and can be purchased separately. Q: What kinds of tents does ClimateRight work with? A: ClimateRight will only work effectively with small enclosed tents ideally 10’x10’. Maximum size of 10’x20’. The cooling and heating capability is lost when the tent is not enclosed, or semi-enclosed.