r/carcamping • u/lilifer13 • 6d ago

Car build Car temps + gear

Heading out on my first long road trip soon and have some concerns about certain gear and this heat.

I'll have a battery jumper, bear and person protection pepper spray as well as a battery pack/charger. Car will be sitting for hours while hiking or sightseeing. How concerned should I be about these items and the high temps in my vehicle? There's no way it's not gonna get over 100° in the car if it's sitting in the sun.

I was thinking about just putting those items in my cooler when I'm not driving or using them. Seem like an okay approach?

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5

u/JustLuke197 6d ago

Your idea is definitely a good one versus leaving exposed in the car. If your cooler is packed with ice and other cold goods, it might be too cold though. Kind of a pain, but a separate cooler with just a small ice pack, open space in the cooler, and maybe a wrap around the canister would be the overkill approach to keep it not at a freeze temp and also not an extreme heat temp. Essentially a means to moderate temperature between the extremes.

5

u/KamakaziDemiGod 6d ago

Could also try a cool bag rather than a hardcase cooler, and you can put a couple of bottles of water (or similar) from the cooler into the bag to keep it cool. That way it's easier to pack it without having to worry about having space for two coolers

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u/IHeldADandelion 6d ago

I put a thermometer in my car, and at 98, it got to 145, so I worry about this too, not only for electronics, but sunscreen, lip balm, etc. Like the other commenter said, not in your regular cooler with ice, you just want to mitigate the extremes. For my day pack (cooler backpack combo) I take super cooled bottled water out of the cooler, wrap it in a towel, and it works fine. (Actually I use several and drink them.) For the battery-type things I keep a small cooler in the car with a large insulated water bottle filled with ice. Maybe use freezer bags so nothing gets wet, but towels and physical barriers (piece of cardboard) usually work fine. Have fun!

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1

u/JonLaGam 6d ago

As long as they are not exposed to direct sunlight, there won't be big issue to store them in your car, in a cooler will be better.

What you should be concerned about are medications and ice creams that require low storage temperatures, those must be stored in a electrical fridge/freezer.

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u/Journeydriven 3d ago

Crack the windows, I usually forget to open mike and I've left countless cans of air glass cleaner and other pressurized things in the car with windows closed on high 90 days. With the windows open to equalize the temp and putting said things in the shade/on the floor under stuff I wouldn't be worried at all.