Parking in sunshine- How to stop it getting too hot and melting my MacBook?

[Amber]

Hello, I have a camper self build. Last summer I took it to Spain with my kids. A few times I had to park it locked up in the sun. It got really hot inside… In fact so hot it melted something in my new MacBook and destroyed the motherboard!!!

It’s also a problem at home in high summer as I have to park in the street and I’m worried about it will damage my power station battery.
Any ideas what I can do about this? I can’t find any relevant threads.

The obvious solution would be a fan/vent on the roof but I have a westdubs pop top. It’s ok when the pop is topped.

It’s black which doesn’t help.
I have silver reflective window screens.

Do I just have to crack a window?

 

[kipperman]

That is a proper tricky one if you are not going to compromise the security of the van. All I can suggest is a cheapo réflective windscreen cover that you are not going worry about too much if it goes astray. Parked up and with you around, fair number of solutions such as
1) A jerba screen that goes in an open window
2) If you have a diesel heater, you can usually use them in ventilation mode only
3) a good old electric fan works wonders

On a campsite, do the walk and find out the shady spots if they exist, or choose a campsite that does.

 

[Amber]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I have diesel heater but not yet installed, so I'll look into that.
I'm now wondering if there is some way I can rig up a little fan and vent from underneath the pop top.
If anyone else has other suggestions for venting I would be glad to hear them!

 

[Bargy62]

our storage under bed seems pretty cool even in the summer maybe try that

 

[Amber]

our storage under bed seems pretty cool even in the summer maybe try that

you mean that would be a good place to store the laptop? certainly worth a try - thanks. It's an oven when you walk in.

I'm also now looking at these windows vent options in case anyone else is looking for a similar solution:

Kiravans Vent for Right Opening Window VW Transporter T5 to T6.1 (2003-2024)

Specifically designed for Kiravans Windows. (Yet another advantage of buying your glass from Kiravans). Ever fancied leaving your campervan windows open without inviting in a swarm of bugs or worrying about the rain? We've got just the thing for you! Introducing Kiravans Window Vent This vent...

www.kiravans.co.uk

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Bargy62]

you mean that would be a good place to store the laptop? certainly worth a try - thanks. It's an oven when you walk in.

I'm also now looking at these windows vent options in case anyone else is looking for a similar solution:

Kiravans Vent for Right Opening Window VW Transporter T5 to T6.1 (2003-2024)

Specifically designed for Kiravans Windows. (Yet another advantage of buying your glass from Kiravans). Ever fancied leaving your campervan windows open without inviting in a swarm of bugs or worrying about the rain? We've got just the thing for you! Introducing Kiravans Window Vent This vent...

www.kiravans.co.uk

Pardon our interruption...

I'm quite suprised how much cooler it is compared to the rest of the van

 

[Kind of Blue]

Hello, I have a camper self build. Last summer I took it to Spain with my kids. A few times I had to park it locked up in the sun. It got really hot inside… In fact so hot it melted something in my new MacBook and destroyed the motherboard!!!

It’s also a problem at home in high summer as I have to park in the street and I’m worried about it will damage my power station battery.
Any ideas what I can do about this? I can’t find any relevant threads.

The obvious solution would be a fan/vent on the roof but I have a westdubs pop top. It’s ok when the pop is topped.

It’s black which doesn’t help.
I have silver reflective window screens.
View attachment 288802
Do I just have to crack a window?

For a start sell your vehicle and change it for a white vehicle or if available a silvered mirror finish one! Why buy a black or dark vehicle and then go camping in a hot country or even this one when the sun shines. Have every window fitted with reflective insulated covers make sure that the vehicle is well insulated. Park the vehicle under a sunshade or tree forget about the slime bird droppings leaf debris. Double insulate the roof area with an external sheet preferably white or silver reflective with an air gap between it and the roof could do the same with the body. Hire a punkahwallah or ten! Go to Iceland instead

 

[Bargy62]

another easy option that does work wrap the laptop in a towel or towels to shelter it from the heat

 

[Amber]

For a start sell your vehicle and change it for a white vehicle or if available a silvered mirror finish one! Why buy a black or dark vehicle and then go camping in a hot country or even this one when the sun shines. Have every window fitted with reflective insulated covers make sure that the vehicle is well insulated. Park the vehicle under a sunshade or tree forget about the slime bird droppings leaf debris. Double insulate the roof area with an external sheet preferably white or silver reflective with an air gap between it and the roof could do the same with the body. Hire a punkahwallah or ten! Go to Iceland instead

Thanks for these suggestions. I’m thinking I will dig up tarmac and plant a tree in the road outside my house

 

[Howzat]

Put it in the fridge?

 

[soldas]

Agree that under the bed generally feels the coolest place. We store dried food in boxes under and never an issue.

You could get one of those laptop cooling pads with a built in fan. That would run off usb/12v I'm sure and pull low watts. That under the bed so out of sight would be my go to.

Or get a reflective picnic bag to keep it in and the heat out.

I wouldn't worry about a power station. They are designed to run hot and will have a BMS which will shut it off when it runs hot.

 

[Amber]

Agree that under the bed generally feels the coolest place. We store dried food in boxes under and never an issue.

You could get one of those laptop cooling pads with a built in fan. That would run off usb/12v I'm sure and pull low watts. That under the bed so out of sight would be my go to.

Or get a reflective picnic bag to keep it in and the heat out.

I wouldn't worry about a power station. They are designed to run hot and will have a BMS which will shut it off when it runs hot.

Good ideas and good to know thanks. I think I was just so horrified by the heat that assumed I should find a way to cool the interior. Won’t be taking laptop away abroad again in a hurry. Think I’m going to buy those window vents for heat wave days

 

[Sasquatch]

T'is why I chose a white van over dark blue! The latter looked lovely, but function before form every time with me.

A thermal laptop bag, or rucksack with a thermal laptop compartment, and place it under the bed is just the ticket.

 

[Kind of Blue]

Yes White is best for hot or cold climates concerning in or out radiated heat

Function before form normally for me I key to keep low key when out especially camping hence Ex Military Drab clad vehicles from my past well that is how they came and I had no choice with my present vehicle it came in a colour that does not stand out but not so good in the heat of the day but mine was a cancelled order If I where to wrap it it would be a lighter camo or Desert Sand Camouflage interrupted silhouette. Do not Like heat ether but dislike impairing the beauty of the countryside when parked up. I take all my rubbish home or put it into an appropriate place.

 

[JumpShip]

Our van is natural grey and in spain it can get hot but as others have mentioned any low down cupboard is pretty cool inside .
Our phone, tablets have never suffered .
An external silverscreen and having the front windows cracked whenever possible helps .

 

[Dave A]

T'is why I chose a white van over dark blue! The latter looked lovely, but function before form every time with me.

A thermal laptop bag, or rucksack with a thermal laptop compartment, and place it under the bed is just the ticket.

That's why prison vans, police vans and police dog vans are white after a number of fatalities and near misses due to heat. Having said that Lancashire Constabulary horse boxes are all blue and the PSU vans dark blue - they were happy to cook us when on PSUs!

 

[Sasquatch]

Then original mk1 Transit came as standard in a mid grey colour, but Ford changed it to white a year or so in after several customers were cooked.

 

[Amber]

T'is why I chose a white van over dark blue! The latter looked lovely, but function before form every time with me.

A thermal laptop bag, or rucksack with a thermal laptop compartment, and place it under the bed is just the ticket.

tbh I bought the van in December and wasn't really thinking about the heat issue. It was just a really convenient purchase for me. Certainly will think about it if there is another time!

 

[Kind of Blue]

tbh I bought the van in December and wasn't really thinking about the heat issue. It was just a really convenient purchase for me. Certainly will think about it if there is another time!

I guess we all do things occasionally that we then wish we had done something else. Its raining here now so it does not really matter!

 

[Ayjay]

I must have got away lightly as we routinely take my M1 Macbook Air (and before that a much older Intel silicone MacBook Pro) along with iPads and Kindles when we go on our summer European road trips (including to S.France, Spain, Croatia and Greece) and have never suffered any noticeable damage apart from my mobile and Kindle which got too hot on the beach a couple of times but both had enough sense to shut themselves down to cool off. There's a small and handy spot where I stash the laptop in the van but it's higher up rather than down in the depths of a potentially cooler cupboard. I'm not sure whether it makes any real difference but we do have privacy glass in the back (I think 80% light transmission), external silver insulated winsdsdreen and front door window covers and light(ish) grey pop top canvas. Also when we're pitched in hot weather, we generally try to find a spot with some shade and leave front windows open slightly (but the gap is hidden under the wind deflectors and covers until you get close up close), leave a tailgate stand off in place at the back and the pop top windows unzipped. The van itself (and pop top) i is Acapulco Blue. Having said all that, on quite a few occasions, we've got back to the van after a day out and the inside thermometer has been hovering around 48°C when we first open the doors so I've no idea whether our precautions are making any real difference. Plus, despite my saying that the laptops showed no apparent damage, I've really no idea whether their lives were perhaps shortened by suffering the high temperatures but I wouldn't be surprised.

I doubt if any of the foregoing really helps except to suggest that maybe you just got unlucky with your laptop. Either that or the latest generation Macs just ain't as good as they used to be. If yours hadn't been a new one, I might have said maybe regard it as an upgrade opportunity but....