It is no secret that the Odom family is an outdoors-oriented family. And in the last few months we have taken to camping in a major way. We have always enjoyed it but lately it has just been such a wonderful way to “get away” and really just decompress. Perhaps because I travel a bit for my “day job” and stay in hotels and highrises the call of the great outdoors is what seems loudest for us when searching for R&R. And since doing more camping it has become obvious to us that our daughter is now a new concern that goes even further than just whether or not the firewood is seasoned, if we remembered to check the pop-up trailer tail lights, or even if we got the cooler before we headed out. At only one-year old her needs come first and one of those is comfort.
Raise your mouse hand if you understand the following equations.
- 1 small child + 1 night of cold temperatures = 0 nights of sound sleep.
- 0 nights of sound sleep + 2 exhausted parents = 1 lousy weekend.
Because of such fundamental ‘rithmetic we decided it was time to do a little DIY on our Jayco pop-up camper. Now, like most pop-ups, ours came equipped with a banquette that compressed down into a double bed, 2 bench seats that doubled as storage, and a small kitchenette that had minimal storage. The kitchenette also had an ice box and a stove that looked dangerous to use around canvas. What we need now in our lives though is not a kitchenette in the camper. We haven’t once cooked in there (we prefer outdoors and a solid picnic table far away from flammable fabrics) even once. We also didn’t need the banquette as we have an outdoor room we set up in for a dining room/sitting room/playroom. What we DO have a need for now though is a play area for our daughter so that when it is too hot outside or it is sprinkling or when we are trying to wake up (but she is WIDE awake) we can set her without fear of her wondering off or getting hurt. We also have a use for a small fridge and a HUGE need for temperature control (refer back to my earlier math). So in our DIY we removed the whole kitchenette and converted that space into a bench with storage. We removed the banquette and turned that into a carpeted, padded, indoor play area. We made the remaining benches more sturdy and, last but NOT least, added temperature control.
Tiny r(E)volution has been fortunate enough to partner with ClimateRight™ for our tiny house. They provided us a portable heating and air solution in the way of a CR-7000 Maxunit!
A deluxe, heavy duty, long lasting portable electric air conditioner and heater combo, the ClimateRight™ CR-7000 is made exclusively for small to medium sized outdoor enclosures and vehicles. The unit works best for 350-1200 cubic feet spaces which is perfect for either our 90 square foot pop-up or our 280 square foot tiny house trailer.
Installation really was quite easy even though we had to drill a few holes. The CR-7000 came with an assembly kit including everything we truly needed (except drill) to install. Intallation involves porting the 2 air intake and outtake hoses from the ClimateRight into your structure. And because ClimateRight™ is portable we are able to use it for both of our “homes” without any problems! It runs on a standard 115v electric which meant just plugging it right into the campsite pedestal. To see our entire process take a few minutes to watch the video below.
Crystal and Andrew Odom? Normal people with normal ideas! But life for us is one of sustainability and stewardship in the home and around the land. We live it. We write about it. And we always want to talk about it. Read more 
