Not cooling very well.

wdk450

Well-known member
I made the big mistake of not ordering a third 15k air conditioning unit on our RV as an option when we ordered it. We were brand new to RVing and didn't know better. We have slide toppers which help. Presently we are in AZ and looking at temps of up to 110 daily. Both of our 15k air conditioners never shut off all day now and the best we can get the temp to is mid eighty's inside the rig. It still beats being outside. I was thinking of purchasing a window unit that I could put in my back window, as we are staying in this park for the summer months. If not for medical reasons right now there is no way I would be staying in the AZ climate right now.

Piperflyer:
By any chance do you have one of the RVing Travel Assist insurance plans like Good Sam ( https://www.goodsamtravelassist.com/ ) or FMCA (https://www.fmca.com/index.php/fmca-assist.html ) offer? They do require that you (or your co-insured) be a hospital inpatient for a few days, but then they get you and your loved one back to your home of record medical facilities, drive your rig home, care for pets, and more.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I made the big mistake of not ordering a third 15k air conditioning unit on our RV as an option when we ordered it. We were brand new to RVing and didn't know better. We have slide toppers which help. Presently we are in AZ and looking at temps of up to 110 daily. Both of our 15k air conditioners never shut off all day now and the best we can get the temp to is mid eighty's inside the rig. It still beats being outside. I was thinking of purchasing a window unit that I could put in my back window, as we are staying in this park for the summer months. If not for medical reasons right now there is no way I would be staying in the AZ climate right now.

You might look at floor standing units where the exhaust is vented through a window. Strength of the window frame and surrounding material might not be up to supporting a window air conditioner.

Big box stores carry a number of floor standing units.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Strength of the window frame and surrounding material might not be up to supporting a window air conditioner.
I've seen window units in a couple rigs. The're are good if the rig is stationary but wouldn't be for travel while in a window frame.
I've got a picture of one somewhere, I'll have to look for it.

Peace
Dave
 

Piperflyer

Well-known member
Piperflyer:
By any chance do you have one of the RVing Travel Assist insurance plans like Good Sam ( https://www.goodsamtravelassist.com/ ) or FMCA (https://www.fmca.com/index.php/fmca-assist.html ) offer? They do require that you (or your co-insured) be a hospital inpatient for a few days, but then they get you and your loved one back to your home of record medical facilities, drive your rig home, care for pets, and more.


I have great medical insurance and don't worry about medical bills. My home is where we park. We are full timers! Thanks for the info though!

- - - Updated - - -

You might look at floor standing units where the exhaust is vented through a window. Strength of the window frame and surrounding material might not be up to supporting a window air conditioner.

Big box stores carry a number of floor standing units.

You would have to make some type of outside support for the window air conditioner which isn't a big deal if your handy
 

GK2018

Well-known member
The stand alone unit or portable AC unit is what we just finished installing today, we thought about doing a window unit as we've seen several in other RV's but I'm always afraid sealing them in the window might be an issue and if it rained water might come in, plus removing them for travel unless braced really well would be more difficult than a portable AC. Here's the pics of our stand alone install. We used a stud finder and we both puckered up as we cut yet a second 4" hole in the side of our RV but it was definitely worth it!! We can already tell a huge difference!!
ee10537f064a034996f979cf74e1134a.jpg
c12e71e1eaca422155f582509b30d4a8.jpg
b26937491b28564305ffd68d4d52abd9.jpg
eb86e042cabf7be5769606629249318a.jpg
3a67bf33b2182c6c680cdc85e4cd67b0.jpg
7511b611e99fab17de789920dad851c9.jpg
c29457231d0aa22464c77399f1ebce17.jpg
be1b2551f43e99975ca1187615e98d75.jpg
390052eb314b0dc20df595e7a3b3ad02.jpg


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GK2018

Well-known member
I made the big mistake of not ordering a third 15k air conditioning unit on our RV as an option when we ordered it. We were brand new to RVing and didn't know better. We have slide toppers which help. Presently we are in AZ and looking at temps of up to 110 daily. Both of our 15k air conditioners never shut off all day now and the best we can get the temp to is mid eighty's inside the rig. It still beats being outside. I was thinking of purchasing a window unit that I could put in my back window, as we are staying in this park for the summer months. If not for medical reasons right now there is no way I would be staying in the AZ climate right now.
The 110 degree temperatures is what had me concerned about just the two air conditioners up top and seeing how they weren't cooling at even the low 90's.

I'm not sure 3 AC's is an option on ours but I'm definitely going to dig around and see if it is and if so I plan on adding it for sure. Hopefully your medical issues get better and you can get away from that crazy heat!

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TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
The stand alone unit or portable AC unit is what we just finished installing today, we thought about doing a window unit as we've seen several in other RV's but I'm always afraid sealing them in the window might be an issue and if it rained water might come in, plus removing them for travel unless braced really well would be more difficult than a portable AC. Here's the pics of our stand alone install. We used a stud finder and we both puckered up as we cut yet a second 4" hole in the side of our RV but it was definitely worth it!! We can already tell a huge difference!!
ee10537f064a034996f979cf74e1134a.jpg
c12e71e1eaca422155f582509b30d4a8.jpg
b26937491b28564305ffd68d4d52abd9.jpg
eb86e042cabf7be5769606629249318a.jpg
3a67bf33b2182c6c680cdc85e4cd67b0.jpg
7511b611e99fab17de789920dad851c9.jpg
c29457231d0aa22464c77399f1ebce17.jpg
be1b2551f43e99975ca1187615e98d75.jpg
390052eb314b0dc20df595e7a3b3ad02.jpg


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Looks like a fairly simple addition that will make a world of difference!

We considered this as well.


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lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
Good job. I had a SOB that only had one AC and I added a protable AC unit to it and it did make a huge difference. There are a lot of folks that will talk about sucking in outside air, etc., but that wasn't my experience. The thing worked great. I vented mine down through the slide floor and slid it under a desk so you really couldn't see the vent pipe. If I were to add one to the Big Country I would definitely research a mini split. I think a little innovative thinking would make it pretty easy to install.
 

GK2018

Well-known member
Good job. I had a SOB that only had one AC and I added a protable AC unit to it and it did make a huge difference. There are a lot of folks that will talk about sucking in outside air, etc., but that wasn't my experience. The thing worked great. I vented mine down through the slide floor and slid it under a desk so you really couldn't see the vent pipe. If I were to add one to the Big Country I would definitely research a mini split. I think a little innovative thinking would make it pretty easy to install.
I did quite a bit of research on the mini split and really wanted one but just couldn't find a place to mount the outside portion since we don't have our rear bumper installed yet. I thought about attaching it to the exterior fiberglass but felt that was way to risky for my level of expertise. So far by just adding this one unit it's dropped the temps down remarkably, it's a consistent 20 degree difference now and I haven't even installed the second one yet! I'm still waiting on my recliners to come in before I start.
2317dab3dfa49808071df42530663b24.jpg


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GK2018

Well-known member
Looks like a fairly simple addition that will make a world of difference!

We considered this as well.


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It made a huge difference! It's now a consistent 20 degree temperature difference between inside and outside! We're going to put our second AC in after the recliners come in and I remove the couch. We also order the closeable AC vents for the bedroom and bathroom so hopefully when they come in those will help too!

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lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
"I did quite a bit of research on the mini split and really wanted one but just couldn't find a place to mount the outside portion since we don't have our rear bumper installed yet. I thought about attaching it to the exterior fiberglass but felt that was way to risky for my level of expertise. So far by just adding this one unit it's dropped the temps down remarkably, it's a consistent 20 degree difference now and I haven't even installed the second one yet! I'm still waiting on my recliners to come in before I start."

That would be the problem for sure. I think it would have to go on some kind of bumper on the rear. Your install looks great and thanks for the results. The one I was speaking about was removed from the SOB and stored in my garage. My Daughter had an AC failure in her house and used the portable to cool one room for an entire summer. Obviously they DO work. They're sure easier to replace than a rooftop unit.
 

cmalberto

Member
Wow - all the war stories...I had those kind of issues in my 35ft motorhome when we sat in high humidity and mid 90s - I ran a portable AC upfront which helped alot - but there wasn't much else I could do as the great big window up front didn't help on much of anything I did. We finally built a RV cover and never needed the portable AC again.

But that being said we will be picking up an almost 42 foot(Elkridge 38MB) this weekend. Being that we will use most of the time under our cover, we will most likely be OK during the 90+ days. However, we do plan to travel more and really wondering how the open sun will be on temps inside. From what I have read in this thread, I think I already know my answer and better load up the portable AC for the main living area cooling...not sure what to do about the bunk room yet as it is in what I call no-mans land - being in the middle of the 2 AC units.

So what about night time...do these bigger RVs cool down as one would expect/hope? We like it to be 72 while sleeping. In the MH, we only run unit that cold while sleeping as we like the noise too. But we are going with a bigger rig as we will have guests with us at times.

And lastly - not too much discussion(unless I missed it) about a 3rd AC. I was thinking I could always add above the loft / bunk room. The question would be how to power it - could I get by running on a 15 amp circuit/plug that is already up there - the AC would be a ductless and just dump cold air that could be distributed via fan.

Its really a shame about the RV AC- they do blow cold but the fans aren't designed to blow enough air. They could easily fix that.

Thanks for the post - this has been a good read.

--Mickey A
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
If you are running those two roof AC's fans on 'AUTO'...try switching the fan to 'HI' or 'LOW' instead.

The fan setting 'AUTO' is for running the furnace, and if you run those AC's on 'AUTO', they will often just keep turning the AC on or off constantly, or will run but won't cool, will freeze up, or all of the above.

Been seeing that a lot down here in the Yuma, AZ heat.

As for those portable AC units, try running separate power plugs from the pedestal if you can as you might just overwork the power supply inside the trailer if running off of inside outlets.
 

Warrstang331

North Carolina Chapter Leaders
My 2019 landmark has 3 A/C and I have been experiencing the same. Pull the vents and hat to re tape all where the track comes thru the ceiling, didn’t help much. Got a borescope and looked deeper in where the A/C comes in from the roof and connects to the duct work and this is what I found IMG_0140.jpg
IMG_0135.jpg


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Warrstang331

North Carolina Chapter Leaders
IMG_0135.jpg
The pics are from all 3 A/C on the rig.
There are more pics but MB are to big to add.
I have sent pics to heartland and they will be sending me what I requested to do it right. Currently waiting on the seals that go between the A/C and the roof. I will go in from the top to make all necessary repairs, and take more pics as I pull each unit. Heartland also asked if I can send pics when I pull the units of what I find in there so they can share it with the factory.


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