Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

[bulldogdiver]

I have a Kodiak 10 x 14 VX tent, but I live in Southwest Georgia and it most nights during the summe are too hot for my old, fat self to sleep in a tent unless I go to the mountains. On other forums, campers have discussed using window air conditioners to cool their tents. There is something made to use a window air conditioner through the wall of the tent at www.acboot.com , but I don't want to cut a hole in my tent. Since my Kodiak has two doors, I could use one of the doors for a window air conditioner in summer months and was hoping someone had already done this and could tell me how they sealed around the air conditioner.

[planogtuck]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I have a Kodiak 10 x 14 VX tent, but I live in Southwest Georgia and it most nights during the summe are too hot for my old, fat self to sleep in a tent unless I go to the mountains. On other forums, campers have discussed using window air conditioners to cool their tents. There is something made to use a window air conditioner through the wall of the tent at www.acboot.com , but I don't want to cut a hole in my tent. Since my Kodiak has two doors, I could use one of the doors for a window air conditioner in summer months and was hoping someone had already done this and could tell me how they sealed around the air conditioner.

Did you ever figure this out? I was hoping to do the same thing.

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I have the Kodiak 10x10 and used a window air conditioner in the back door. My duct tape/clear vinyl fill in didn't last well after two different rainstorms dumping more than five inches of rain in two days. I too have to come up with some other way of sealing in the opening around the air conditioner. Also with heat in the upper 80's low 90's it stayed pretty warm up around head height (5'4") with the air conditioner down at the bottom of the door. (I had it sitting on a plastic cube at the right height). I was thinking of adding a circular fan that would tilt to push the cooler air up. I had used the reflective bubble wrap type material to cover my roof to further reflect heat.

[MaryA]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I was thinking about trying one of these 12 volt coolers this summer. Has anyone tried it?

[MacGyver]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

Instead of a window air conditioner, you might have better luck with a portable unit, the kind that are basically nothing more than a dehumidifier with a fan. They only need a relatively small hole for venting and maybe for draining if you don't want to worry about emptying the pan that eventually fills up. You could probably just vent it out a door that's zipped up around the duct with maybe a towel or something wrapped around it to get a decent seal.

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

MacGyver I already have the window air conditioner having got it at a yard sale years ago for $25. I can't afford the stand alone unit.
I've been all over the internet this week trying to come up with a solution with nothing short of cutting up the side of the second door and maybe coming up with a velcro/fabric fix to repair when not using the air conditioner. I bought this tent for the express purpose of using it for that week of July 4 for the bluegrass festival in north central Missouri. It will be hot and muggy for sure. Still looking for more input from anyone out there?

[MacGyver]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

MacGyver I already have the window air conditioner...

If I've learned anything about rigging stuff up, it's that sometimes the best plans can turn sour with some really bad end results. I'd be seriously reluctant to cut a hole in a tent to accommodate an air conditioner. If it doesn't work out as planned, you're left with a tent with a huge hole in it. I don't know how handy you are, but would making a large flat funnel out of cardboard and duct tape make sense to you? You could duct tape that to your A/C unit then duct that into your tent with plastic dryer duct.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I have the Kodiak 10x10 and used a window air conditioner in the back door. My duct tape/clear vinyl fill in didn't last well after two different rainstorms dumping more than five inches of rain in two days. I too have to come up with some other way of sealing in the opening around the air conditioner. Also with heat in the upper 80's low 90's it stayed pretty warm up around head height (5'4") with the air conditioner down at the bottom of the door. (I had it sitting on a plastic cube at the right height). I was thinking of adding a circular fan that would tilt to push the cooler air up. I had used the reflective bubble wrap type material to cover my roof to further reflect heat.

OK......What I'm getting is you already did a modification to the tent but I'm not sure if it's a permanent or temporary one- got a pic?

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

No, this was last year and I simply filled the void left in the door with a piece of clear vinyl and some duct tape. It just didn't hold against the fabric on the outside after so much rain. No modifications on the tent door yet.

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I am really going to tread carefully here when thinking of making any modifications to the tent. The cardboard funnel wouldn't work very well when it rains like it did last year. But again, thanks for the good thoughts.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I am really going to tread carefully here when thinking of making any modifications to the tent. The cardboard funnel wouldn't work very well when it rains like it did last year. But again, thanks for the good thoughts.

What about buying a piece of AC ventilation duct from your local HD/Lowe's? Guessing it wouldn't cost more than 20 bucks. As for the temp mod you did last year..........hows about doing the same as far as the tent is concerned and add a small tarp over the area prone to wetness when it rains?

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I like the tarp over the unit idea. I had already thought about the AC duct as I had seen this on images others had done. Thanks for the input NYCgrrl!

[Mike]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

Using a standard window type air conditioner for a tent is very impractical. They do have portable air conditioners that you can use for tents. They have been around for years. You might be able to find one on Craigslists or Ebay. If new, they are about $300.

If you need a cheaper and easier solution,

1) Bring a fan and a water spray bottle. Spray yourself with water and sit by the fan
2) Wrap yourself with wet towels.
3) Camp close to water so you can spend the day in the water
4) Move to some cooler location. Unless you live by water, the southeast USA is unfit for human civilization.

[Captken]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

I have 2 of these. They move a lot of air and work great!. I use with a battery box and 110ah deep cycle battery. On low, I can get about 3 nights before my battery gets down to 40% discharge.

What I meant to say is I have 2 of the 12 volt box fans pictured on previous page. From Endless Breeze.

[walt3k]

Re: Using an air conditioner in a Kodiak VX tent

This is something I have been wanting to figure out as well and wanted to pass an idea by you guys. Suppose the acboot were attached to a large panel (with a cutout inside matching the diameter of the boot) of something as large as one of the screened windows (possible on some tents such as the kodiac wall tent which have 2 in the back not wall-sized) and say there was a way to use rare earth magnets from the inside of the tent to sandwich this panel tightly against the screen window of the tent. Not sure what the panel would be made of but for now let's say galvanized steel which is magnetic. If this panel obscured all the screen other than the portion inside the acboot where the ac would be placed, could this work? What do you think?