breith95 said:How exciting for you, Katstark. Good luck. keep us up to date.

Thank you! I am excited about the whole adventure. I feel like I'm going home. I just hope to goodness I can get myself, my cat and all my plants over there without too much upset. It occurs to me that some my smaller, shorter plants can go in the back of the car. It's the monstera deliciosa on its climbing pole, the California Alocasia, the Hope Philodendron, the Poet Jasmine and my mothers ANCIENT clematis that are the most worrisome at the moment.

If heat is the problem, you could try insulating the plants. Try putting them into or under a large cardboard box. Mist the box in the morning before you drive, getting the cardboard as wet as you can while still not causing it to collapse. Have some visquin plastic sheet underneath, so water does not collect on the floor of the trunk. The evaporation of the water will help cool the inside of the box. To be more elaborate, you could line the box with newspaper, making another layer of paper (or cardboard, if that is feasible) so there is air space between the inside and the outside of the box.

In effect, you are making a cooler to house the plants.

I have no idea if this would work, but it seems like a possible technique.
PK

mm
PK,
at the risk of seeming too critical,
that cooling depends on evaporation, airflow would help greatly, but in a closed truck.. I'm not feeling confident

I'm not sure how much to worry. Tropical plants come from pretty tough places. Opening the truck every couple hours, cools the leaves. The pots won't heat as much, and can cool at night.
But I wish you luck in all the adventure

Yes, the airflow is going to be the most important thing. I'm kind of liking the idea of the portable battery with the fan attached idea! Sheesh, you give a girl a trailer ...............

No, I wouldn't add any moisture either. Maybe an RV fan to keep the air moving. Opening the doors everytime you stop should be enough though.

Nurseries haul plants in a 'shoebox'. That is a trailer that hauls dry freight, a van. No water to move them, no cooler and this is all year long.
By the way, we haul canned vegetables in the same type van in the winter. Inside the van will not freeze the cans, in summer it will not cook the cans, tho chocolate needs refrigeration, chuckl, so the oils don't go rancid. June across the northern routes is much drier and cooler than the humid and variable southern states.
Any watering can cause damage to your roots enclosed for a long trip. IF you were hauling bananas, chuckl, we used to open the doors to allow the gases to escape so it wouldn't explode the trailer. Plants can handle some dry roots for awhile, water only if you see droop. Trees are hauled with burlap wrapped roots on a flatbed trailer