Instant Low-Budget DIY Air Conditioning for Your Wrangler
Stay cool in your Jeep for about $20 worth of items at a home-improvement store.
The guys over at Dirt Every Day know a thing or two about having fun with a Jeep without breaking the bank. Recently, they showed a cheap and cheerful driver cooling system that anyone can make. For about $20 and a small investment of your time, you can add a simple, portable misting system to any vehicle. What do you need?
- 2 gallon Garden Sprayer
- Zip Ties
- Water
- Ice (optional)
This project is so inexpensive and simple, you may want to install two of them: one aimed at the driver and one at the passenger seat. Simply zip-tie the sprayer wand to the roll bar (make sure it isn’t aimed directly at your face) and adjust the nozzle to mist. Then fill the tank with water (and ice if you have it) then pump up the pressure.
For a little bit more money, you can even buy battery-powered sprayers. Once you see how awesome this is, you may want to build a more complicated set up with a larger tank, 12-volt pump, and misting nozzles for sprinkler systems aimed at multiple locations. Oddly enough, it was the golf-cart industry that first popularized these sorts of systems.
Possibly the best part of this idea? You can pick up the parts to make it practically anywhere on any day of the week, so it can be done on your way to a trailhead or OHV recreation area just by stopping at Walmart.
Fred Williams from Dirt Every Day made a little video that explains how it all works better than some still photos and text can.