When we bought our 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon, people had one main question. “But does it have air conditioning?”
Nope. Not even a little.
And honestly, we didn’t buy it expecting luxury. We bought it because we wanted to slow down. Besides the fact that its name is Orange Julius, we’ve started calling it our “experience mobile.” It’s not about getting somewhere quickly—it’s about enjoying everything in between.
We wanted spontaneous adventures that started the minute we pulled out of the driveway. We wanted to wander down backroads just because they looked interesting, linger over camp breakfasts, and watch our boys discover new places through what has to be the biggest windshield ever put into a vehicle.
Jason likes to joke that driving the Vanagon teaches patience. It doesn’t exactly fly up mountain passes, every new rattle sparks a conversation about what it might be, and getting passed by semi-trucks is simply part of the experience.
But somewhere between the slower pace and the nostalgia of driving a vehicle that’s older than I am, we’ve completely and utterly fallen in love with it.
There was just one problem… a hot, hot summer.
Jason and I knew we could handle the heat. We’d both driven—and even lived—in vehicles without air conditioning while living in Arizona, Utah, and Southern California. Some of my favorite memories from my early twenties involve driving at midnight in my underwear with every window rolled down, warm desert air rushing through the car while my favorite songs blasted through the speakers.
Those are memories I’ll always treasure.
But now? Now we have two young boys. Driving through the heat of the day suddenly mattered a whole lot more than it used to. While driving around in our underwear with all the windows down was technically still an option…it wasn’t exactly our ideal family road trip.
It’s 2026. Surely there had to be a better solution.
Enter the Solo Stove Windchill 30L
Originally, we were simply looking for a better cooler.
Something that would keep our food fresh without constantly buying bags of melting ice. When we stumbled across the Solo Stove Windchill 30L, one feature immediately caught our attention: It didn’t just keep food and drinks cold, but it could also blow cool air. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. A cooler that doubles as an air conditioner? It sounded way too good to be true.
How We Actually Used It
Most people set the Windchill outside beside their camp chairs and enjoy the mist while they drink a icy cold beverage.
We did something a little different. We used it inside the van as our AC while driving. We positioned it right behind the front seats and aimed the blower at the two boys in the back. While they enjoyed the views, the music and their cold drinks, they also stayed very cool and comfortable. And surprisingly upfront, we also received some of the benefits. The cold beverages + the colder cab was felt and enjoyed by us as well!
Now, let’s be clear. This isn’t going to replace a factory air conditioning system. But that’s also not what it’s designed to do.
Instead, it creates what I’d call a personal comfort zone. It pulls warm air through a built-in heat exchanger that’s cooled by ice water circulating inside the cooler before blowing that air back out toward you. Rather than simply moving hot air around, it’s using the cold already stored inside the cooler to create a genuinely refreshing breeze.
And for an old van with no A/C, it’s exactly what we need.
Our First Test
Our very first trip together couldn’t have been a better test. Temperatures hovered between 80 and 90 degrees as we headed off on our first family van adventure – to a river trip in the north eastern corner of the state, a good 6 hour drive away in normal car, which meant at least 8 hours of driving in the VW.
Instead of dreading every slow climb up a hill or every stoplight in a tiny town, we enjoyed the drive. We broke it up with ice cream stops, mandatory river and lake dunks and one over night stay on the side of a lake where we took in the sunset and sunrise via trail runs and hikes on the way there and a river side campsite on the way home.
The cool air from the Windchill took the edge off the summer heat and made the cab surprisingly comfortable. Not “turn-the-temperature-down-to-68-degrees” comfortable, but “we’re smiling instead of sweating” comfortable.
That may not sound like much until you’ve spent hours in an old vehicle on a hot day. By the second day, the boys had figured out exactly where the cool breeze reached and strategically sat where they needed to- adaptability at it’s best!
Cold Drinks = Happy Parents
The other half of the equation? Cold drinks.
There is something deeply satisfying about having a constant supply of cold yummy drinks and ice cold water no matter where you are. While we kept some of our lunch cheeses, meats and chocolate in there, it was mostly used as a dispenser of cold drinks. In our total 16 hours of driving over the course of 4 days, we went through 2 batteries and 2 big blocks of ice. Which for us is a great outcome.
We used it on maxed out power for about half of the time and on eco the other half. While we could have plugged it into our Yeti 300 we ended up not needing to as the batteries were surprisingly impressive with how much charge they put out. However for our next trip, which will be a full week in the van, we will for sure be using it!
Why It Earned a Permanent Spot
One thing we’ve already learned about van life is that every piece of gear has to earn its place. Storage is limited and space is precious.
If something comes along, it has to do more than one job. The Windchill quickly became one of those rare pieces of gear that solved multiple problems at once. It kept our groceries and drinks cold and it made driving our old Vanagon on hot summer days significantly more enjoyable.
And because it’s completely portable, we can just as easily set it beside our camp chairs once we’ve parked for the evening.
That’s a lot of value from one piece of gear.
Final Thoughts
Years of expedition racing and perhaps the act of getting older has taught me something that carries over perfectly into family adventures: Comfort isn’t the opposite of adventure, instead, comfort lets you enjoy the adventure longer.
“Orange Julius” is still slow and it still doesn’t have factory air conditioning, and it probably never will.
But now, when we’re winding down a backroad with the boys playing and giggling in the back, cool air drifting through the cab, and cold sparkling waters at our disposal- I can’t imagine a better way to travel.
For us, the adventure is never about having the fanciest van – it’s about creating a space where our family wants to spend more time together and is always wishing for “one more day” out and about together.
And if one cooler can help make that happen, I’d say it’s earned a permanent spot in Orange Julius.