Who uses one? I want a single hose and will use one of the existing wall vents for the exhaust. That will leave one other 3.5" Ø vent open. The trailer is 7' x 8' x 16' with about a 2' v nose front. I'm concerned that there won't be enough air to pull in, causing it to just suck all the cool air out. Maybe that's not a problem, other than it running continuously. I only need it to run at night for sleep, like 7 hours max.

It won't suck 'all' the cold air out, just about 1/3 of it (which is why single-hose portables are 'oversize' - you pay for 10,000 btu (compressor/electricity) but only get 6400 btu of cooling.
Terrible for 'efficiency', but if costs don't matter then a single-hose 'will do'.
If you get a 'small' one you may need to turn it on a few hours before going into it to cool trailer down if it's been sitting in the hot sun all day.

Who uses one? I want a single hose and will use one of the existing wall vents for the exhaust. That will leave one other 3.5" Ø vent open. The trailer is 7' x 8' x 16' with about a 2' v nose front. I'm concerned that there won't be enough air to pull in, causing it to just suck all the cool air out. Maybe that's not a problem, other than it running continuously. I only need it to run at night for sleep, like 7 hours max.

Terrible for 'efficiency'

I have a trailer like yours. How are you adapting the hose to the vent? I was thinking about somehow rigging the vent out the window.

This describes all those portables but the 2 hose is better than one. Your trying to cool a room and you have the condenser (hot) inside with you. Put the RV style on top and don't look back. If you don't want that (240V), a window unit is the next best option. The portables are the least efficient of all.
Edit: looks like you can get the RV style in 120V too.

How do these things cool small bedrooms? I'm still undecided on the whole AC idea.

I don't have a window. If I did, I'd go with a window unit once I got it on site and remove it when I was on the road. Mine will sit at the lease a few months at a time so I would make the window unit somewhat temporary. Also, I want nothing on the roof, I don't even have a roof vent.

My trailer has 2 vents, one at the front high on the wall near the ceiling and one low at the rear near the floor. They are about 3" Ø. On the outside there is a rectangular vent cover about 4" x 6". This is about the size of the exhaust hose vent. I would cut the 3" Ø on the inside to accomodate the vent. I would remove the vent cover on the outside and replace with an open, metal grate. I would keep the original exterior grate so if I ever sold the trailer I could put it back in place.

I'm still on the fence if I want to go to the trouble of an AC at all, since I'd only need it a few nights per year. A cheap motel may be the best option a couple of night per year.

In your case, I'd cut a piece of exterior siding to fit in your window opening, and a hole for the vent, screw the vent mount to the wood. I have all the tools to do just about anything. Holler if you need a hand.

Thinking about an Icy Breeze, may be the solution to venting. Anyone use this?

Thinking about an Icy Breeze, may be the solution to venting. Anyone use this?

Do you not have electricity (110v) at your campsite?

A $300 'Icy Breeze' might work if you're camping in the parking lot of Bucee's and don't mind waking up every hour to buy another 12 bags of ice ** to keep cool!


** 12 10# bags of ice ~ 4800 btu's, per hour, equivalent to smallest 5000 btu window/portable AC

I made my own for camping, it works ok. Better than just a fan for sure, but certainly not AC.

Icy breeze has a brass heat exchanger/coil and pump that moves the ice water across it. Did you build yours this way, or are you just blowing air across the ice?

We have electricity for another year then moving to a new lease without. This will run on a rechargeable battery option. I'm hearing 30 lbs of ice ($6.00) will blow very cold air right on me for 6-7 hours which is all I need. No problem for me to have enough ice on hand for two nights sleep.

No sir, no pump and coils for me. Various size jugs/bottles frozen solid. I pack ice this way in every little corner possible. One fan blows inward, the second fan is outward. It lasts much longer than an hour. Obviously the smaller the space the better. An entire cargo trailer may be a bit to much. If you decide against an AC, maybe use a tarp or shower curtain to seal yourself off in the smallest space possible, where you sleep. Why are you against an RV AC on top? There is no substitute for AC.

30# of ice is about 1200 btu's of cooling - equivalent to running a small window ac for about 15 minutes.
How well insulated is the cargo trailer?, and how well shaded (from direct sun), and what kind of outside temps for time of year you planning on?

p.s., don't let the 'efficiently' issue with a portable (1-hosed) ac dissuade you;
if you have power available even the smallest portable 110v AC will give you at least 5000 btu's of cooling PER HOUR (equal to 120#'s of ice/per hour!) without having to cut any holes.

You can always get a generator next year when power isn't available.