Extreme Heat Wave Camping in Our Pop-Up Truck Camper | 12V AC Test

I'm currently seeking shelter in the shade because we're in the Midwest in the middle of summer. Today, the real feel is over 100 degrees and we're gonna take our pop-top camper out to see what it's like camping in extreme heat like this and humidity. Now, we have a 12-volt AC system and people have told us the AC will not keep up in heat like this, so we're gonna give it a try and then we're gonna head up into the mountains to see how it does there. For the past three years, Kate and I have been part of the annual Hokie Patokie Summer Camping Adventure hosted by our friends. What better way to test our new truck camper build than to take it out for the weekend and put it through its paces? Patoka Lake Modern Campground has over 400 campsites and draws campers of all kinds, including many tent campers. We've experienced it in our transit camper van, a travel trailer, and now we're getting to try it out in our new pop-up truck camper and see how it holds up during a summer heat wave. It is currently 98 degrees inside the camper. All right, let's put that AC on. I'll go hook us up to shore power. Okay, good plan. We have not hooked up the camper to shore power to run the AC, so we'll see how that works. Now, here's the thing. We have 810 amp hours of battery, which should let us run the AC for about 20 or so hours or at least that's what it said in the past. But we're gonna be here all weekend and it's gonna be in the 90s. So we're plugging in and we're just gonna run off shore power so that AC can run nonstop. Well, I heard the inverter go on. Something went on. 74 degrees work for you? Works for me. Oh, that feels nice. All right, it is, like Kate said, 98 degrees in here. It is currently 6 p.m. Don't mind the time on here. We're gonna see how long it takes to cool this camper down to a reasonable level. And I'll put this over here so it's not directly under the cold air. Since we don't have a 30 amp cord for this camper yet, we plugged into the 20 amp receptacle and we're currently drawing more out of the battery than we're actually putting in. While we waited for the camper to cool down, Kate made some Chinese pork ribs for dinner on the induction cooktop. Every time she uses it, she mentions how much better it is than the old propane stove we had in our first four-wheel camper. And tonight, I totally get it. It heats up instantly and there's no need to crack a window or run the vent fan because of the fumes from the propane. Well, it's been just over an hour and the AC is definitely cooling down in here. The thermostat says that it's 88 degrees, so 10 degree difference in an hour, which is pretty good considering this camper was sitting in the sun all day while we were packing it and getting ready to leave. So everything in here is very hot just to begin with, so that AC has been doing its job well. I'll be curious to see though how it goes through the weekend, especially tomorrow when it's gonna be sunny and hot all day long. I am so grateful for the AC right now because in our first four-wheel camper, we didn't have AC. And I'll never forget the time we camped at Dinosaur National Monument. It was so hot and it was in the mid-90s. The only way we could cool off was going into the river. My only complaint with this system so far is that the high fan, the whining noise you hear, isn't the AC. The AC is actually fairly quiet, but it is the converter that's converting the 120 from the outlet to 12 volt to charge the batteries, run the AC and everything else in here. Now the sun is on this side of the camper and it's hitting the fabric on the outside. So I was curious how good this thermal pack is actually working. So I got a little heat gun here. Thermal pack is at 96 degrees, 95, 114, 120. You can feel the heat as soon as you open this. So thermal pack is doing its job. It's helping keep a lot of that heat out. And again, AC is keeping up. So, so far so good. After cleaning up from dinner, we headed next door to meet up with our friends, Drew and Jamie, who were camping in their DIY converted cargo trailer. They invited us on a joy ride around the lake and we were all in. By the time we got back to camp, the place had really come alive. The fire was already crackling and the marshmallows were roasting. Well, it is still 89 degrees outside and it's 10 p.m. I am absolutely wiped out from that heat. I think Kate is as well. AC has been doing a great job. We set it at 78 when we left for a drive earlier, got to see the sunset, a bunch of deers, just drive through the park itself, but it stayed 78 degrees in here. So it's doing well. I think we're going to set it to 70 tonight. A nice feature though, is there is a remote. So if I'm in bed and I want it to be colder, I can turn it down to the bed. Oh, and the battery has been charging. So once it hits 78, the compressor went off and then all the energy was going into the battery. So we're good. I'm going to sleep. This probably doesn't make any sense. Hey, look who's up. This is what I looked like before coffee. The morning started out in the best way possible with the smell of bacon sizzling on the griddle. While that cooked, the sausage gravy was getting some love on the stovetop and the biscuits were warming, ready to soak it all in. It wasn't long before the table was covered in a proper country breakfast of flaky biscuits, rich gravy and crispy bacon. Everyone gathered around, beverage in hand, fixing their plates and easing into the day. No rush, no plans, just good food and better company. Well, so far to report, AC has been working great. We had it on all night last night and I enjoyed the fact that it was running because that white noise from the AC unit was kind of drowning out all of the people at the campfires and partying last night and everything else. But now we're headed into town with our friends. There is a German restaurant there that I'm really looking forward to going to. And I think while we're gone, what I'm going to do is I'm going to take the pillows off the bed and drop the roof because a lot of the heat in here is going to come in through this fabric. So with the roof down, the AC won't have to work nearly as hard. It'll keep the camper nice and cool. So when we get back this afternoon, we can pop the top and this will already be a nice little ice box for us. There's a chance of a storm today. So I'm going to put the awning in just to make sure it doesn't get blown around while we're gone. Since our friends were camping with a towable, they offered to drive, which meant we didn't have to break camp. It was a short scenic ride over to Jasper and a nice change of pace to just sit back and enjoy the drive. We couldn't have asked for better company. Jamie and Drew are some of the best people we've connected with during our time on the road. And they're a big part of why we ended up in Kentuckiana. Our first stop was the local farmer's market where we sampled all kinds of homemade jam. The clear winner, Door County Cherry. Perfect for tomorrow's breakfast biscuits. With the sun out and the day shaping up beautifully, we decided to take a stroll. That little walk turned into a scenic wander across the Jasper River and led us to the historic Jasper City Mill. Completed in 2009, the current Jasper City Mill is the third to stand on this site. The original dates back to 1815 and even a young Abraham Lincoln once stopped here with his father to grind to their family's grain. The staff were kind enough to fire up the mill while we were there, giving us the chance to see it in action. We even got to sample some of the fresh cornbread as part of the tour. We left with a loaf of jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread, which was the perfect snack for the walk over the town square. As we strolled around the square, Drew and Jamie treated us to a box of sweet treats, including some of the best chocolate malt balls I've ever had. And you know what pairs perfectly with chocolate? Yep, you guessed it, coffee. The Next Chapter Bookstore and Coffee Shop quickly became Kate's favorite spot on the square. It's more than just a cozy place for books and coffee. It's a space built around purpose and connection. Run by the Smith family, their mission is to inspire hope, spark meaningful conversations, and remind everyone that no matter what your story is, there's always more to be written. They serve everything from great pour over coffee and African teas to vinyl records and secondhand books. And it all comes together to create a place that just makes you want to slow down and stay a while. And now the moment we've all been waiting for, lunch. We kicked off our German feast with a round of beers and appetizers. The potato pancakes with apple butter absolutely hit the spot. And the worst sampler over a bed of sauerkraut didn't disappoint either. By the time the main dishes showed up, we were all pretty glad we hadn't ordered anything else. As delicious as it was, each of us ended up with a box of leftovers to take back to camp. Of course, we made sure to save just a little room for dessert. We've got a severe thunderstorm chasing us back to the campground. Lunch was amazing. I'm curious to see what's going to happen this evening with our big smorgasbord of food that we're supposed to have out with this storm coming in behind us. Well, we made it back just in the nick of time. The raindrops started falling the minute I opened the camper door. We'll see how well the campground holds up. The weather made a turn for the better and we're doing our potluck dinner. Katie and I are just going to observe because we are still stuffed from that lunch. That was awesome. We are bringing cookies. And brats. Chef Drew was back at it, manning the grill for the Saturday evening potluck that Hokie Potokie is known for. And before we knew it, two picnic tables were overflowing with sides and desserts for everyone to enjoy. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we all gathered around a campfire, catching up with folks we hadn't seen since last year's camp out and swapping stories over the crackle of the flames. It's the kind of night that reminds you just how good it feels to slow down, laugh together and truly connect on a deeper level. Good morning. If you're wondering what this gorgeous caffeine generating machine is, stick around in the video. This is actually Kate's new thing, not mine. But anyway, I wanted to talk about what it's been like here at the campground. Now, running the AC has been great. It's been working out and 12 volts been holding up. We just turned it off because it's a little cool outside. It's easier to film when it's not running. It looks like it might be another rainy day. Now it's time for your van life tip of the day from a truck camper. Whenever you go camping with a group of friends, if you're the type of person who likes to go to sleep early, make sure you get the camping spot as far away from the campfire as possible. Even though it's been hot, they've been having campfires and we are camped right next to it, which means we heard everybody all night long. Now our reprieve is running the AC and the fan in the back so that all that noise is drowned out. So that's another little tip. All right, now let's go see what the locals are up to for breakfast. Our favorite chef was back at it this morning, cooking up all the bacon and eggs folks brought for the camp out. I'm pretty sure Drew ended up cooking about 10 pounds of bacon and I don't know how many dozens of eggs. Drew cooked up an amazing breakfast for everyone and now it is time for us to hit the road and head to our next camp destination. We're going to travel into the mountains of North Carolina. But first, assuming the weather is gonna hold, we're stopping by the house because it's on the way to the next campground and I'm picking up the motorcycle and taking that out. This will be my first time driving Leo on a long trip by myself. This is y'all's lucky video because I'm giving you van life tip number two. That is have a checklist and actually go through your checklist before you leave the campground. Some of you more astute viewers may have noticed that we didn't latch our roof as we were driving away from our campsite. That's because we got too excited. We were talking about making this video and some other things we were doing. We started driving away and I look at Kate and I was like, wait a minute, did you latch the roof? Cause I certainly didn't. So we had to pull over, latch the roof. Luckily we didn't get on the road but it's always good to go through a checklist. Make sure everything is packed. Things are closed, all of that stuff. So you don't do any damage to your RV when you drive away from the campground. I'll put a link in the description below. We actually have a checklist starter for different types of RVs. So you can go down there, put one together for yourself and then you'll be set. Well, we're not heading to the mountains. The road had other plans for us. And when we were driving back I heard a grinding noise coming from our wheels which means new wheel hubs for Leo. The bearings are shot in that. So I'm gonna have to replace that rather than going on a camping trip. But these things come up and you just have to be flexible and be able to plan around them. So that is the end of this video. Thank you so much for watching. We hope you come back to see what's next for Leo and what's coming up but check out our other videos on YouTube at We're The Russos We'll see you next time. Bye. This video is sponsored by Four Wheel Campers.