Here is one AC that meets the basic requirements: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Eco-Friendly-11-000-BTU-Dual-Hose-Portable-Air-Conditioner-with-Dehumidifier-ARC-110WD/204146581
Here is one designed for camping and that comes with optional batteries: https://www.zerobreeze.com/collections/mark-2-portable-ac-for-tents
Once you have a generator, fuel, and a portable dual vent AC you are set. You can make a normal tent cool enough to sleep in (but probably not take an afternoon nap on 100ºF plus days), or to make a No Bake Tent cold at any time of day (Thanks to the dual layer heat reflective material the No Bake Tent starts off about 30ºF cooler than a normal tent at midday – and heats up much less quickly in the sun so you won't have to run your AC nearly as much).
But wait – what if I don’t want to spend $1000 plus dollars to stay cool?
Enter option #2 – The Evaporative or Swamp Cooler
Evaporative and Swamp coolers are the same thing with different names. They take warm air and run it through a wet membrane. This causes liquid water to phase change into water vapor which cools the air. In dry climates the difference is dramatic – up to 30ºF cooler. This isn’t a cold as an AC, but the swamp cooler uses a lot less power. Commercial swamp coolers use about 1/10th the power of a similarly sized AC. Homemade swamp coolers can use as little as 1/50th the power of an AC. You can make a 5 gallon bucket cooler for as little as 70 bucks and some elbow grease.
There are a couple tricks to making a swamp cooler work with a tent:
1. You must draw outside air into the swamp cooler anytime it’s running - so leave the swamp cooler outside the tent. Then use one of the ports on the tent for the cold air to flow into the tent. If the swamp cooler is inside your tent it mostly won’t work (unless you have a fresh air intake rigged up).*
2. You must open vents on the opposite side or the top of the tent. Swamp coolers only work when you are turning over the air inside the tent. Aim to replace the air every 3-5 minutes or faster. The tent should inflate slightly (i.e. show positive pressure like a balloon) when the swamp cooler is running. Adjust the vents in your tent to achieve this. Start by closing all of the vents and watching the tent inflate. Then start opening vents until the inflation is just barely noticeable – this is the ideal amount of venting for your swamp cooler.
Where can I get plans to make a 5 gallon bucket evaporative cooler?
There are a lot of plans out there, but perhaps the best are from a burner who goes by the name FIGJAM. Follow the directions closely - even small deviations can make the design fail. Check out this post on eplaya for details: https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?f=280&t=33842&start=1560#p869218
What about other Evaporative Coolers and ACs?
Unfortunately we haven't found any evaporative cooler that are specifically designed for camping tents. You can buy a commercial swamp cooler and rig up tubing to take the cold air into the tent - just make sure it's air tight. You could also rig up a window AC unit - again the trick is to manage the air intakes and outputs. So get your MacGyver skills ready.
*A small personal sized evaporative cooler will work for a while in your No Bake Tent - until the humidity rises too much. All evaporative coolers work by taking dry warm air, adding water vapor to drop the temperature through the magic of phase change, and delivering cool humid air. Once the supply of low humidity air is gone you’ll have to open a window to draw in fresh warm dry air. This helps but isn’t nearly as effective as a evaporative cooler as described above.
We compiled this chart for you to better understand your options:
