Best of all would be a campsite at high altitude! Of course we never learn and are not at altitude or by water currently! We were free camping up in the mountains around m when the heatwave started. Swiss campsites seem quite expensive to us although we met a Swiss chap who told how expensive he thinks Italy is! When parking up, we try to work out the route the sun will take sometimes we even get the compass out!
Rolling out the awning will shade one side of the van and helps keep it cooler inside, and also give us somewhere to sit outside. We peg sheets or towels onto the awning to hang down the sides or front to maximise the shade area. Being on a campsite means we can open all the windows and skylights to get air flowing through the van we installed a new skylight a while back which opens nice and wide. On the side without an awning we cover the open window to stop the heat getting in. We put on our silver screens too.
They do a great job of keeping the van warm in winter, but also reflect the heat and keep it cooler in the summer. If we have things we need to do, we get up early and get them done before the heat of the day kicks in.
It may sound obvious, but now is not the time to be sightseeing. Dips in the pool and cool showers help us cope in a heatwave, as does a steady supply of cool drinks with ice. Luckily in our motorhome we have a fridge with a small freezer compartment. We also try to shade the outside of the van where the fridge is, being careful not to cover up the air vents. We ensure the fridge and freezer are both full — even if it is just ice blocks or bottles of water, and open it as little as possible.
Our previous van, Dave, came with an evaporative cooling system on his roof. This would run off the leisure battery and reduce the temperature in the van by a couple of degrees. We probably used it twice in the two years we had him, as it would use a lot of battery power for very little benefit.
