Second AC Unit Install??

We picked up our very first Sundance just over a month ago. It is prewired for a second AC unit.

We were camping in Virginia Beach and the single AC unit was running 24 hours a day set at 70. Never brought the temp down to below about 75 or so. I am thinking about installing the second unit.

A few questions

1. Where does it go?
2. Does it replace one of the vents?
3. How does it hook up to the existing air vents?
4. Is this something that someone with no AC knowledge?
5. What should I look for when purchasing the second unit?

Thanks for the help and info

Second AC goes in the bedroom
It replaces the 14" vent over the bed area
It does not connect to the duct work - it's is a down-draft affair only - it will have vents on it that you can direct

Jim

We put one in the bedroom prior to our trip to the rally in Nashville this year. It was a downdraft model and made all of the difference in the world. Ours replaced the vent above the bed and all was prewired for the unit.
You'll love the difference it makes

When you refer to the "bedroom", do you mean the front master or the rear bedroom?

Also, what is involved with a "do-it-yourself" installation? I would prefer to do the work myself.

And if the unit is to go in the front, do I have to be concerned with water leaks from not being installed on a level surface?

Ryan, excellant post, I am watching because I want to do the same thing. 1 AC unit absolutely will not cool my unit in the summer. Guys, comon, how do we do it step by step...

The 2nd AC mounts in place of the bedroom vent in the master bedroom.

It is not hard to do and you need no AC knowledge. It simply sits over the 14X14 inch hole that you remove the vent from and the inside bracket goes up against the ceiling. the 2 pieces are clamped together using 4 bolts through the same 14x14 hole (No holes to drill in the roof) And connect the electicity to it.

It should not be connected to the existing vent system, Although some owners do that. You dont even need to consider it.

So for Rollinghome, Step by step.

Remove the existing vent over the bed.

Clean the roof of all the sticky gooey stuff.

Unpack the inside parts to the new AC unit.

leave the outside roof parts in the cardboard box.

Lean a ladder against the camper pretty close to where you are going to be putting the AC.
lay the BOXED roof unit leaning against the ladder.

Tie a rope around the box (A good rope, Not a string)

One person on top of the camper pulling on the above rope.

One person walking up the ladder working the AC unit up as he goes. (It isnt heavy if you do it this way, the person pulling on the rope keeps the weight off of the person working the box up the ladder)

Leave the roof parts in the box until you are ready to sit it over the hole in the roof because cardboard slides much better on the rubber nd you wont tear the rubber with a sharp edge trying to move the unit around.

Once it is in place over the hole. One person goes inside and holds the Inside piece up against the ceiling and inserts and starts the bolts that will clamp the unit tightly to the roof.

Connect the electrical wires that are already there at the opening for you.

Tighten the bolts to the manufacturers specs.

there will be a fabric or flexible duct that needs to be placed between the 2 pieces once you get this far. ( it keeps the cooled air flowing into the room instead of being sucked back into the unit again).

Install the cover piece inside that will make it look all proffesionally done.

Go to your breaker box, Flip the breaker on that is labeled "front AC" or something like that. Hmmmmmmm, maybe we should have checked a while back to make sure that it was off.

Turn on the New AC and enjoy.


ONE MORE THING.. The roof on these Heartlands is thicker than the industry standard. The bolts that come with the new AC unit are not going to be long enough. So before beginning you need to figure out what you are going to do about that. My solution was to go to the local hardware store and buy some threaded rod the correct size and some nylon lock nuts. I cut the rod the length I needed and used the lock nuts on the inside. ( the Roof piece is threaded to accept the bolts or threaded rod)

Dont be scared of this one it isnt hard to do. It will take longer to get the old vent off and clean all the sticky stuff off of the roof than it does to mount and hook up the AC. Clean it good, a good seal when you mount the AC will make sure you never have a leak there.

Hope I didnt skip anything, If i did I will add it later.

My wife and I live in VA Beach, and strongly recommend installation of the 2nd AC if you plan on camping from MD, south to FL & the Keys. Typically it goes in the bedroom area over the bed where there is a vent. That area is usually pre-wired for an AC unit. We run both and it moderates the temp. The one in the bedroom runs the fan continuously, cycling the cold in and off, unlike the master unit that cycles the fan on & off. At night, we like to think of it as white noise. Do the install - it is worth it.
Jim

Wesley, Your "Detailed" step by step instructions took the boogey man away for me, THANKS ! I'll be doing it. Just a couple more questions guys. What about the T-Stat, is it built in ? What size (BTU's), what's the largest BTU unit that will fit the 14" vent hole ? I ask this because this summer we are entering our 8th heat wave in PA. We went on a couple 4 day trips where we could not get our rig below 80F in the full sun (no tree CG). It was too hot to stay inside during the day and too hot to have guest over - WE BAKED ! The tent mod helped, but not enough. I would NOT recommend anyone skipping the second AC at purchase time when getting a 5vr. I will need to get a low profile unit for overhead door clearance. Thanks Again, Tom

All of them are the same size and fit the same size hole (14X14). We went with a 13500 BTU Carrier Air-V Low profile Model Because i didnt want it to be so tall sitting on the front of the rig. Lots of people go with a full sized unit on the front instead of a low profile unit, there is no difference in the way they work, one is just taller than the other.

BTU? You can use anything from a 9000 BTU up to the full size 15000 BTU. Some owners who install the 15000 BTU model complain that it cycles on and off to fast and freezes up, Some of them say they dont have that problem. My experience with our 13500 BTU model is that it works great. We were at Kerr lake a few weeks ago and the outside temps were 102 to 106. With both units running, We could maintain 65 degrees in the camper and both units were cycling on and off like normal.

You can get a thermostat kit and hook it up to a wall mount thermostat, but that isnt needed. The built in thermostat works like it is supposed to. Mounting one on the wall in our camper would probably put it directly into the cold airflow from the unit and make the unit cycle off sooner.

One other thing you need to remember is that with the units designed to be mounted up front with built in t-stat, the fan runs all the time and the AC compressor cycles on and off. think of it like your car, the ac is on the fan blows all the time. Unlike your main AC unit that cycles both the fan and compressor. Some people dont like the fan running all the time, some people do. Personally I do. Even when the compressor is not running its helping circulate air through the rig.

Ordering one and putting it in yourself will be less than half what a dealer charges to order you one and install it. it has been well over a year since i did any research on these, but when i got ours I did alot of research. I ended up ordering from http://www.adventurerv.net/. they had the best prices and awesome customer service, they dont have to order the unit, they have them in stock, quick shipping. Awesome people to work with. you can get a non ducted low profile unit for between $700 and $800, A full sized non ducted unit even cheaper. Carrier got out of the RV AC buisiness, and since that is the only one i have experience with i wont make any recomendations on which brand to buy. Adventure Rv has all of them.

Good luck, You will be glad you did this!

Wesley, many thanks for the detailed step by step. I feel pretty good about doing this upgrade.

Tom, I see you are in Lancaster PA. We have been to the Yogi Bear near there many times now, and 2x this summer. In Quarryville. Beautiful area. Will be back for sure.

I also installed a front AC in our Landmark. I can't really add much since Wesley has covered everything so well.

I bought my 13,5 Carrier low profile on ebay from familyrvrepair, an RV parts dealer in Fla. I got a fantastic deal. I have also bought a lot of stuff from Adventurerv.net and also highly recommend them. Their prices are heard to beat and way better than Camping World. They're only two things that I can add (Wesley actually already covered them); the sealant under the existing vent is a PITA to remove. It takes a lot of time. And (like Wesley also mentioned) you will need longer bolts than what come with the unit. Make sure you get this ahead of time or you'll be stuck. For the Carrier, I used 5/16 threaded rod and nuts. Worked great.

With a little luck, you can get this installed on a leisurely Saturday.

Good luck,
John

Wesley & John, ditto Ryans comment... I'm not sure if I could remember an install with such detail, very helpful.

Ryan, We're about 15 minutes from Q-Ville's Yogi Bear Park. I've gone thru it. Almost everyone with kids loves the place. The owners really try their best to give their guest a great place and time. A word of caution, The only negative I can state is definitely watch your speed going thru the town of Quarryville. Their roads have been good to their revenue bottom line - too good ! Hopefully you got out to see some of the other local attractions, some neat stuff to see not far from Yogi Land... Tom

Just purchased one from Adventures RV Net. Price right now is 525.99 includes heat. Great Price.

I plan on using 3M 5200 - 24 hour to seal the new unit. Do you suggest other (GEOSEAL - maybe?). Tom

Tom, we went there twice this summer, and never once passed a speed trap. Anyway, it would not have affected us, as speeding is generally not an issue. And with all of the hills and winding roads speeding would be difficult. There was a lot of road construction when we were there, maybe limiting the speed so the need for speed traps were not needed. Dont know.

We did the trail ride out of Lancaster(I think that is where it was). About a 30 minute ride on the nations oldest railroad. pretty cool.

We will be back, its a nice stop over from coming home from further south. Its about 5.5 hours home from there.

lwmcquir - What unit did you get? Why?

If my trailer is wired for the second AC unit in the front bed, should I be concerned about the installation of the AC unit on a very unlevel roof surface. My trailer is not a full profile and slopes downward significantly at the forward bed vent. thoughts??

Duo-Therm RV Air Conditioner
Brisk Air 13,500 Btuh Complete with non- ducted Ceiling Assembly

Price is right and they are as good as any. The units don't have to be level to work. The only issue might be the condensate as to where it runs off.

Not sure if these pictures help anyone, but this is the Sundance Factory assembly line taken in May of this year.

I ordered mine with a 15,000 BTU unit instead of the 13,5oo and was in 94 degree weather and it kept my Sundance at 70 degrees and cycled off once in a while. I personally would recommend the 15,000 option for everyone. The cost of a second unit may be avoided as I feel I have with mine.

CPE said:

I ordered mine with a 15,000 BTU unit instead of the 13,5oo and was in 94 degree weather and it kept my Sundance at 70 degrees and cycled off once in a while. I personally would recommend the 15,000 option for everyone. The cost of a second unit may be avoided as I feel I have with mine.

Click to expand...

Mine came with the 15k. Would not go that low with temps in the mid to upper 90's. Maybe the difference is that mine is nearly 37' long.

Keep in mind that when you add the front A/C unit it will increase the overall height of your 5ver. You may want to take a new height measurement.