Bunkends, think I expected a bit much

[Conroejk]

Finishing up the first deep summer trip, this year, here in Texas, also first trip with the bunkend covers. Im not sure what I expected, but I am disappointed. I know the biggest problem was no shade from 11am -7pm but I was really hoping to see some benefit with the covers. Granted, the temps were in the mid 90s, feeling like 100. Thank god for the lake breeze. Seems like I would have learned my lesson last year after an extremely hot trip in early June; last summer was very brutal here.
The bunkends stilled radiated a massive amount of heat, to the touch there was no difference in temps of the fabrics, one was just darker. With the privacy curtains closed on the bunks, all curtains closed the temps in the trailer were 86-88 until 8pm! Not until 9:10 did the temp fall below 80. Over night was fine, the AC kicking on and off to stay at 72.
I'm thinking we are just going to have to face the fact that it is to hot to camp in a pup here in the deep summer, and shade is in no way, optional!

 

[fmbhappycamper]

Wow, I love them and feel a big difference with PUGS, I have them velcroed to the roof and don't leave home without them! They fold up with the canvas

 

[Wildwoodflower77]

^^^ I completely agree! They make a very noticeable difference for us.

 

[Spridle]

There's only so much they can do. They have no real R-value. No question they can shed some heat as any radiant barrier will do but that's about it. If the ambient temp is that high no real shade you are going to cook.

 

[Twisty]

Have you considered hanging a large tarp over the Pup?
Shade fabric would make a difference too, as long as there is a space between it and the Pup.

 

[01YZF6]

next time, take one side off, and feel the difference between them.

I think 10-15 degrees less is a BIG improvement...

 

[Rick Kelley]

The bunkends stilled radiated a massive amount of heat, to the touch there was no difference in temps of the fabrics, one was just darker.

I experienced the same. No real difference between the covered fabric and the uncovered fabric. I used the REI emergency blanket to create ours. The only benefit was that it kept tree sap off the canvas. Maybe I needed to have airflow between the cover and the canvas?

 

[jmcclung11]

I love our real genuine PUGS. They make a huge difference. You do have to remember that if it near 100, they are doing a great job if it is 80 in the bunkends. You should have removed them after the 1st day so that you could have felt the difference.

We are camping Labor Day in a spot with NO shade here in FL. PUGS will be on!

 

[Beerlifter]

I have owned 2 sets of PUGS when we had pop ups, and still keep one set around just in case.

I think you are expecting miracles from the PUGS. As stated before there is a difference in temperature, I just believe it isn't noticeable in that kind of heat. We set a record high here in Oklahoma yesterday with a high of 109. In this kind of heat I don't think anything is going to make much difference.

I had our yearly exterminator come out a few days ago to spray out house and lawn so I took the dog and myself out to the TT to stay while he sprayed. We we first got inside it was just over 100 in the camper. The A/C had been running for about 30 minutes allready. The exterminator took about 2 hours to spray. When we left the camper to go back in the house the camper had only cooled down to 92.

Don't give up on the gizmos! They are worth there weight in gold. Just in that kind of heat I don't think there is any relief.

 

[nannybo]

I know the PUGS make a difference but they are just too aggravating to put on!!

 

[cwolfman13]

All I can say is TG for the mountains around here....I don't know how all you folks do that kind of heat, PUGS or no PUGS. Looking forward to August when temps in the mountains will be hitting a high of 75* and we will begin seeing the inklings of fall.

 

[bondebond]

PUGS help block some radiant heat. They can't do anything about ambient air temperature. But they help keep the sunlight off and keep down the the internal temperatrues that the A/C has to deal with. Consider that a 20-degree difference inside, especially a PUP that has no insulation and has gaps all over the place, is a good target.

I spent 3 weeks camping last year on a freshly laid asphalt parking lot. Nice and black. We hit 103 for most of that time. After sitting all day in direct sunlight, building heat, I put my thermometer on the shady side at the top of the hard wall of the PUP. It was 107.

How my PUGS helped was that I closed off at least one if not both bunk ends during the daytime. I put a thermometer in there to see what little to no AC air in there would do and it hit low 90s. The main part of the PUP was 75-81 during the daytime. At nighttime, it got to 72 easily with the bunkends opened back up.

The A/C ran non-stop and the condensate stream running off of the roof was between a fast drip and solid stream.

I put a silvery tarp hanging from the roof to the ground on the afternoon sunny side to give shade to the PUP and the asphalt area next to it - keeping radiant and stored heat down some.

I also put car shades in the windows like folks use Reflectix.

All of that to say that they help but when hot is HOT, and humidity is there to make it feel worse, you just have a hard time beating it. Everything helps and no one thing is the cure.

 

[fmbhappycamper]

I know the PUGS make a difference but they are just too aggravating to put on!!

Put mine on and left them on, I fold them right up with the canvas

 

[bud121156]

Add the reflectix in the windows too.

 

[Twisty]

"I spent 3 weeks camping last year on a freshly laid asphalt parking lot."
Camping?

 

[bondebond]

"I spent 3 weeks camping last year on a freshly laid asphalt parking lot."
Camping?

Ok, technically, it was workamping. I started a job in a new town before the house was ready to move into. My employer had some RV spots in a big parking lot. I say "RV" as it did have 30 amp service, but that was it.


And yes, why ever take the PUGS off when putting the PUP down? I put velcro across the top to anchor the top edge to the underside of the PUP's roof. The clips have not caused a problem in four years.

 

[Conroejk]

Maybe a 10 degree difference

I don't doubt that they make a difference, I wouldn't need to take them off to compare. It seems like if the bunkends could just be completely sealed off in extreme temps and the AC just blew into the main compartment it would be a better deal. One of the most frustrating parts of the day was well after 6pm when the sun started to lower, a large portion of the camper was hit hard and the temp would rise to 88+ in the main area. I'm sure the bunkends were closer to 100 at this time. This is also the time of the day your done with the heat and wanting relief.
They are easy to deal with, we attached them with Velcro to the camper top and just left them in place, I'm sure they will be fine.

What about upgrading to 15,000 btus from the 13,500. A quick search online shows the Colman unit running about $500, using the same 14" hole, drawing 16amps over the current 14 amps.

 

[2jazzy]

We camped last weekend at the Outer Banks, NC. Hot and not a tree in sight! This was a last minute trip and since we couldn't get PUGS shipped in time, we purchased solar blankets, large binder clips and also used 3 car shades in the windows of the bunkend we sleep in. DH was skeptical about what a difference this would make. He is a believer now! We will never camp in the summer again without this kind of setup.

 

[csi]

We camped last weekend at the Outer Banks, NC. Hot and not a tree in sight! This was a last minute trip and since we couldn't get PUGS shipped in time, we purchased solar blankets, large binder clips and also used 3 car shades in the windows of the bunkend we sleep in. DH was skeptical about what a difference this would make. He is a believer now! We will never camp in the summer again without this kind of setup.

where in the Outer Banks did you stay? Were you on the ocean, or near the beaches? We want to plan a trip there next year.

 

[Fire Captain Jim]

2 years ago, we camped on the beach at Myrtle Beach with no covers on the bunk ends. When the temps got up to 85-90 degrees. Bunks was way to hot to be in, even with fans on them to circulate a/c air.
This year I made some bunk end covers out of reflectex. I took them with us this year to same CG at the beach. We set up in late afternoon where out side temps was above 86 degrees. With in a hour after set up, the inside temp was down to 74 degrees. All week, temps stayed in low to mid 70's on the bunk ends due to what the cold temp set as on a/c. We had to turn warmer some due to it being to cold at night. I felt a big differnce! Probably 15-20 degrees. I have a picture of my cover on camper. Look under check out my rig!