Despite our previous experience we accepted the advice of the salesperson at the Hershey RV show that the Big Country's were so well insulated as to not need 2 aircons. What I should have noted was that the dealer was from the northernmost part of NY state.
We ordered our BC with only the one aircon and very quickly realised what a mistake that was especially as we travel widely and so encounter all climatic conditions. (I would note at this stage that regardless of where you travel in North America you will encounter extreme heat conditions. I have encountered 40deg+ (105 in the antiquated Fahrenheit system) in Minnesota!!!
So, within a few weeks of picking up our new unit we were ordering a second aircon and today had it installed. I had intended on installing it myself but couldn't figure out how to get it onto the roof on my own, (it weighs over 100lbs.) In the end, and to my wife's great relief, I relented and got a local RV tech to help with the install. It was a good thing too, as a couple of issues arose with the install which would not have been easy to address on my own, particularly the fact that the roof on the BC is quite a bit deeper than usual and the standard bolts supplied with the unit were not long enough. If I had been doing this myself I could have found myself with a big hole in the roof and the inability to secure the aircon.
Lessons learned:
1. Do not think you can get away with 1 aircon if you are using the rig for extended periods.
2. Consider ordering the 2nd aircon from the factory although it will probably be cheaper (but less convenient) to install it afterwards.
3. Do not rely on the standard deliverables to be enough to install it yourself.
Cheers
Craig
We ordered our BC with only the one aircon and very quickly realised what a mistake that was especially as we travel widely and so encounter all climatic conditions. (I would note at this stage that regardless of where you travel in North America you will encounter extreme heat conditions. I have encountered 40deg+ (105 in the antiquated Fahrenheit system) in Minnesota!!!
So, within a few weeks of picking up our new unit we were ordering a second aircon and today had it installed. I had intended on installing it myself but couldn't figure out how to get it onto the roof on my own, (it weighs over 100lbs.) In the end, and to my wife's great relief, I relented and got a local RV tech to help with the install. It was a good thing too, as a couple of issues arose with the install which would not have been easy to address on my own, particularly the fact that the roof on the BC is quite a bit deeper than usual and the standard bolts supplied with the unit were not long enough. If I had been doing this myself I could have found myself with a big hole in the roof and the inability to secure the aircon.
Lessons learned:
1. Do not think you can get away with 1 aircon if you are using the rig for extended periods.
2. Consider ordering the 2nd aircon from the factory although it will probably be cheaper (but less convenient) to install it afterwards.
3. Do not rely on the standard deliverables to be enough to install it yourself.
Cheers
Craig
