The Mini Mate Camper offers many conveniences and comforts to your camping experience, but if you are reading this, chances are that you are looking for even more ways to bring the comforts of home to the beauty of nature and camping. Adding air conditioning, heat, and/or electricity to your Mini Mate may just be the final step to pure bliss at the campground! This article will explain how to make those additions a reality. Let's check them out!
Electric
Electricity is most likely going to be required for any kind of A/C or heat, as well as possibly adding lights, running a fan, or charging up all of those electronics that we can't seem to live without. Hooking up to electric at the campground is as easy as bringing an extension cord. While the Mini Mate tent is attached around the majority of the camper body and lid, the section at the door is not attached to allow entry. In this case, you can simply run your extension cord up under the outside drip edge, and down over the body edge to supply the interior with electricity. Below is a picture of a customer running their electric cord into the camper near the door area. (Far left side of the photo)
You could also mount an electric outlet in the body of the camper if you are looking for a more permanent hookup like this customer has done.
As you can see, adding electricity to your camper is quite simple when you have an electric hookup at the campground. If you are camping where electric hookup is not available, you can carry a portable power box, which is the perfect companion for off-the-grid camping. Use this box to charge up all your devices, run a fan, pump up a tire, or charge your bike battery.
The final option is to carry a generator or solar panels to provide power. Below are some customer pictures of their solar panels mounted on the lid or a tongue box as well as using a freestanding unit for setting up at the campsite.
Air Conditioning
Depending on where and when you are camping, cooling your sleeping area can become a quick necessity. Even getting a little air movement with a small fan can make a difference, but sometimes you just need that air conditioning! Here we will show you ways that customers have used air conditioning with the Mini Mate even though it does not have a designated A/C port. Due to the small size of the Mini Mate, it takes very little to cool the area, which means that having an efficiently sealed port isn't a must. The photo gallery below shows many different ways that air conditioning has been added to the Mini Mate Camper.
There are generally two options that customers adapt. The first involves making an A/C mount, either over the tongue or a stand on the ground, to raise the A/C unit up to one of the windows of the Mini Mate. This allows cold air to be blown through the screen with the window partially zipped open. In this case, you may have to make a canvas covering to protect the open window from rain, or if using a stand on the ground you can have it placed at the window that would be covered by the available Mini Mate 5' x 7' awning package. The second option is to place the A/C unit on the ground and make a hood and tube extension to funnel the cold air up into the camper. This tubing can access the interior of the camper in the same manner as running an extension cord from the outside.
Heating
While there are other fuel options for heating, electric heat is simple and safe. Any small portable heater such as this bathroom heater pictured below can add some quick heat. Many of these units also have a fan setting so they have dual-purpose use for warm nights. Make sure they also have a thermostat function, so that if they fall over or an item is directly in front of it, it can sense the increase in temperature and automatically shut the unit off. As mentioned with the air conditioning, the small size of the Mini Mate Camper means that it doesn't take a whole lot to change the temperature inside. Electric blankets are another good option for keeping warm while camping in colder temperatures.
We hope that the information above was helpful in understanding how the Mini Mate Camper can be customized to fit your specific needs. For more information on the Mini Mate, please visit our Mini Mate Camper page at www.kktrailers.com/minimatecamper. You can also price and shop for a Mini Mate below or on our online store.
