[DeadJohn]

How much gear are you bringing and how long will you need to keep it in the car?

If your car is parked in the sun the trunk and the interior will get very hot. The coolest place might be on the interior floor where the sun can't shine directly on it, ideally hidden under a seat to discourage thieves. Leave the windows slightly rolled down to let the hottest air escape.

Don't bring too much expensive gear camping. Keep it near you when sleeping. Take it when you hike. If it's too heavy to hike with ask yourself if you really need it on your trip.

[LaurenOE]

Wouldn't the trunk be cooler? Also, less chance of theft there.

It's a question of air volume/circulation and insulation.
Most car boots/trunks don't have much of either.

The space behind the seats, is in the passenger compartment, and has the greatest air volume and is usually behind some kind of tinted windows.
Often the space behind the seats will escape most direct sunlight.

There aren't a ton of options when dealing with a hot car and gear.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

A couple years ago I went to work and forgot my phone in the car. It was a normal 105 degree june day and the phone was in my center arm rest console where I normally keep it, so it wasn't even in direct sunlight.

After work, I tried to turn on my phone. It never did, despite many varied resuscitation efforts. I could also see where part of the lcd under the glass had liquefied in a couple corners.

I'm not subjecting my DSLR, lenses et al to that kind of heat.

Of course the cabin of a vehicle gets very hot with the glass and everything, but does a trunk get much warmer than the outside air temperature? I wouldn't think it would be nearly as extreme as the interior of the car.

[UncleVanya]

maybe one of these also?
https://www.amazon.com/YEEGE-Car-Sun-Shade-Accessories/dp/B01DK09GGA/ref=sr_...+car+cover+sun

[Edgar_in_Indy]

maybe one of these also?
https://www.amazon.com/YEEGE-Car-Sun-Shade-Accessories/dp/B01DK09GGA/ref=sr_...+car+cover+sun

Father's day is coming up...for the dad who has everything, a hat for your car!

[Apet-Sure]

does a trunk get much warmer than the outside air temperature

If the trunk lid is black or dark blue and exposed to the desert sun on a HOT day, you could get second degree burns touching it. (Yes, you could fry an egg on it, really.) Some of that heat will transfer to the interior space via infrared radiation.

[monochrome]

Don't be fooled. White cars (and their trunks) get just as hot inside as black cars due to radiant energy.

One risk not yet discussed is melted aperture blade and helicoid grease. It isn't only electronics at risk - it's your lenses, too, and they're where the real money is.

[UncleVanya]

Don't be fooled. White cars (and their trunks) get just as hot inside as black cars due to radiant energy.

Terminal temps are similar yes. The rise time is lower however.
So for a short pop in to the store - the temps will be lower at least for a little while.

[yucatanPentax]

What are the dangers of leaving camera gear in a hot car? Anybody ever had their gear damaged that way?

From experience with film SLR: high heat can liquefy or vaporize oils or greases used to lubricate lenses. This can migrate onto aperture blades and create the need for a complete disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly. Oil or grease vapor may also be deposited on the lens elements themselves. I imagine there are other areas where a problem might be caused, but basically, you never want your lenses to get really hot, like inside a car.

Plastic also swells and may not shrink back into the exact form as before. Rubber and synthetic rubber replacements, like seals, etc, deteriorate faster in high heat.

[Vmax911]

If I had to leave my camera in a hot car, I would take the battery with me. Heat can kill the useful life of lithium based batteries very quickly.

[Fenwoodian]

The helicoil grease in older manual focus lenses can liquify in extreme heat and get on your aperture blades.

[ChrisPlatt]

I'd bring a mechanical camera loaded with Tri-X film.

Chris

[K David]

I'm going to be camping in the Nevada desert in June. What do you recommend for keeping electronics (camera, laptop, etc.) cool in a hot car? I was thinking of sticking them in a cooler with no ice or anything, but I'm not sure if this would be enough or whether you guys have better ideas.

Everything said so far about oil getting on the blades is correct. It can get on the blades, vaporize into haze on your lens, and also ruin your camera for grease inside the camera. If you have an electronic camera, the electronics can be damaged.

Be sure to check your campgrounds' safety out. Some of the Nevada campgrounds can be unsafe at times. One of my photography professor friends related a story where her friend twice, separated by more than a decade, camped at Death Valley with a large photography group and both times the groups were robbed at gunpoint overnight. That said, I like to think that's an exception and not a rule.

If you haven't planned out your full itinerary, I'd recommend some time at Rhyolite. Here are some of my shots from there:






Nevada has some amazing ghost towns that the desert has well preserved.

Also, most any grocer in Nevada will sell dry ice. So if you find a cooler isn't keeping your gear cool enough, putting your gear at the bottom, loading the cooler with clothes, and putting a couple card-deck-sized pieces of dry ice at the top will add a few hours or so to how long your gear will stay cool. Of course, if your gear is resting on top of the dry ice that's going to freeze your gear's lubricating oils and cause it to break down into a thick, gummy mess.

If you have a moon roof, leave it cracked. If not, crack the windows. That will also help prevent your windows from blowing out if the inside of your car gets too hot.

One other general safety tip, if you're planning to drive state route 95 and never have before, that road is what nightmare horror movies are made of. It is TERRIFYING to drive. The road is long and straight and cars just look like they're miles away for 15, 20 minutes and then in a matter of seconds they pass you at 80-100 MPH. And it's two lanes with just a dashed line between them. The closest I've come to dying in my car was on our honeymoon driving 95 from Vegas to Rhyolite. We were doing about 70 and this chick decided to pass a TEN-TRUCK convoy. She was easily going over 100 and darted back into her lane with less than two feet between us. I flashed my high beams, honked, slammed on my brakes and she had no compunction about driving head on into someone. That stretch of road has daily fatal accidents. And when she finally got past that convoy, I was going less than 30, thanks to slamming on my brakes, and we were very nearly rear-ended by the truck behind us that didn't feel as much urgency to avoid an accident.

Wouldn't the trunk be cooler? Also, less chance of theft there.

I leave my moon roof cracked and that helps a LOT with the heat. The trunk gets just as hot as inside my car but stays hotter longer (well into the night) because it doesn't get to cool down with AC or open windows.

[Outis]

Ah, no, we're going to take 15 and stay at Valley of Fire State Park. Thanks for the heads-up, though!

[TaoMaas]

Excessive heat could damage the cement used to glue lens elements together, warp plastic parts, degrade seals, and wreak other havoc.

This is what I've always heard, too. The ideal situation would be to always carry your camera because modern cameras can tolerate much higher heats than the human body.