Summer in Texas

[OldGringo]

So some riding buddies and I started making a quarterly camping trip here in Texas which we have all really enjoyed. Now we are into the warmer months and will be scheduling a camping trip in August in the Central Texas (Llano, Austin, Johnson City) area.
My question to you, whether in Texas or elsewhere is how do you cope with the heat and sleeping in a tent when the night time temps only fall into the upper 70's? As I'm the old man of the group (60's) I find it difficult to sleep in those temps.

Safe travels,

[msscull]

Welcome to the forum. It is a wealth of info.

I do not like the heat either, so I look for cooler temps.

[lytle1gw]

small fan works for me most of the time, still sweat but can at least sleep.

[Trailace]

Welcome to the site.

I do not like the heat but sometimes you just need to deal with it if you live in Texas. I try to ride or stay up until I pass out. LOL The little fan does help!

[Indianscout]

Welcome!
Use a tent that has screens and will allow air to pass through. A small fan works great but if it is really hot, place a small bag of ice in front of the fan for a poor man's AC. Make sure you place the bag of ice in a pan or wrap it up good in another plastic bag or you will have an indoor pool by morning!

[zig]

I left Kerrville at 6:30 yesterday morning and it was COOL! I was riding with a dry wicking T-shirt under a mesh jacket. I couldn't wait until the sun was up and warming things up. I had to pull over in Johnson City and dig through the saddle bags for warmer gloves. I don't know how cool it actually was, but after riding during the days in the upper 90's, the morning was cool. I would probably take a shower late to cool off, then sleep on top of my fleece liner until it got too cool to do so, if it does.(under one of those small fans)

[OldGringo]

Thanks all for the responses. Setting up the tent without the rain fly will certainly be an option after verifying the weather forecast. I haven't tried sleeping on top of my self inflating mattress using only a sheet (may have to look into a fleece liner?) but I could experiment with that in the back yard. As for the fans, as you are all aware luggage space is at a premium on a bike so are you buying battery fans (manufacturer?) or carrying a small a.c. fan and extension cords?

Trail, I suspect that riding until I pass out might be hard on the old scooter paint job.. :)

[Indianscout]

I understand the premium space on a bike and don't have the luxury of packing a fan but you can still put a bag of ice in the tent with you to help cool off the area around you. It's not much but it is something even if you rest your feet against it on and off throughout the night.

[jeepinbanditrider]

You can get some pretty small fans. During hotter (buggier) weather I don't sleep in my bivy sack with no tent like I do during the cooler months. When in the tent in hot/warm weather I generally just sleep on top of my bag and only crawl into it when I wake up cold.

I usually carry one of these fans when on the road. It's kinda large but I don't fill every nook an cranny when I leave the house so it's welcome weight. I also pack a 15 or 20 ft. extension cord in my camp gear so I can reach a power plug. Summer is probalby the only time I will go out of my way to look for a powered site, during the winter I usualy don't need a fan to get a good nights sleep.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Optimus-18-Industrial-Grade-High-Velocity-Fan/11250078

I'm not sure if that's the same fan I use as I think mine is less than 18 inches but it looks very simliar and is easy to bungie on top of the rest of my camp gear.

[OldGringo]

Thanks for the suggestions all.

[kdf9511]

Does anyone know of a decent battery powered fan? I was at Colorado Bend State Park in Texas this weekend and I know I must have picked the worst weekend to go to a "primitive" campground. When the kids and I went to bed Sat night it was still 99 deg at 10pm.

[Dusty Boots]

Does anyone know of a decent battery powered fan? I was at Colorado Bend State Park in Texas this weekend and I know I must have picked the worst weekend to go to a "primitive" campground. When the kids and I went to bed Sat night it was still 99 deg at 10pm.

You might want to sift through this thread for your answer - http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3750&highlight=fans

[lytle1gw]

I.ve got an O'2 fan and it works great and last a long time on battery, Had it with me in hosp and ran for 48 hrs on 2 d cell.

[Dusty Boots]

I just picked up on sale ($10.49) a knock off of the Coleman tent fan (http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Camping/CampingAccessories/PRD~0762761P/Broadstone%252BTent%252BFan.jsp?locale=en), that runs on two D cell batteries. It's quiet, the foam blades move a fair amount of air for it's size and is advertised to run for up to 18 hrs on high and 36 hrs on low.
I bought it mainly for my swing through the SW, when I go through there in Aug.

Dusty