Air conditioner not blowing enough air.

[jimtoo]

The air conditioner on our 06 Bighorn 3055RL does not have enough air volume from the ducts to keep the trailer cool. The a/c puts out lots of cool air when you open the outlet on the unit itself, but when it is closed to make it blow from the ducts in the living areas, it just does not do the job. I have taken it back for the dealer to work on it and the first time they did improve the volume some what. At least now you can tell the air is coming from the ducts, before it would not even blow out a candle. I took the unit back for work 5-4-06, with the a/c air volume as one of the main concerns and the dealer did not even try to do anything, because he said he did not know what to do and the factory had not helped them. The dealers need some help solving this problem and I know I am not the only one with it.

I am planning on leaving on an extended trip the last week of May and I really would like to be able to stay cool. Please call me or tell me what to do.

Thanks
Jim

 

[ChopperBill]

An apology for butting into your ATF thread but just want to add a word. This AC not blowing thing has been going on and on. Seems like a simple thing if installed at the factory correctly. Haven't heard of any other makes with this problem. I hope my dealer understands if mine doesn't work on the PDI and they are not able to fix it the final check will not be written. A request for our deposit back will be made and I will head down the road. (This was my lovely wifes, Renee, final word) Nothing like the wRath of Renee! I already had to scrape her off the ceiling about the things that were not included she thought we were getting.

 

[Scott]

A/c

Jimtoo -
I'm not sure who your dealer is, but - here is how we can get this handled: Contact David Partin - Heartland's Director of Dealer Services - at 574.262.8030 about this issue and he will make sure that steps are put into place so that your coach is blowing cold air the way it was designed to.
If you check some of the previous posts regarding this issue - you will see ways that this issue can be caused, as well as ways to allieviate the problem.
I am confident that we will be able to make it blow considerably more air for you, whether the dealer knows what they are doing or not.

ST

 

[busted2341]

Jimtoo,

I too have found this to be true. My first trip out this weekend and I was disappointed in the A/C volume. I just thought my expectations were to high, but like it has been said here, the vents just do not seem to put out any volume....I guess I will take my 3055 back and see what happens as well...by the way, I choose the 3055 for the floor plan but we did not get anything bigger because 34 feet, I was told was to cooling capacity for the 1 A/C.....

 

[v92c]

Scott,
My 3655RD has poor AC performance also. I havent taken it in to be fixed yet but I will take Dave Partin's contact info with me to the dealer. Thanks for the info. The fact that you are here to help with these issues puts Heartland way out in front in my book.

 

[ChopperBill]

Do these A/C ducts get squashed in transport? I kind of figured the A/C would get checked before it leaves the factory. Seeing how some dealers cant seem to make them blow air what can us as consumers do to fix the problem? And can a person that has an on going problem just put a regular plenum on them. I know for a fact that it would blow air then but would defeat the purpose of the "central" air. Just my opinion but I think maybe a hard plastic tube for the duct work may be in order.
Scott you been catching it from all ends here lately. Thanks for standing up and answering all our inquiries. I know it cant be easy but we appreciate your attention. I still think we made the right decision on our 3055 we ordered.

 

[Scott]

A/C Ducts

No, typically, the initial damage is done at the factory and it may grow worse over time (and bumpy roads).
It really isn't all that hard to get them back into shape - they actually push something through the duct that will raise up any "squished" spot in the insulated ducting.
That is should a mis-shaped duct be the culprit. Often times, it is the seal at the A/C unit itself that is the culprit. Each A/C comes with a telescoping piece that has to be attached into place. If this slips down, it allows the air to escape into the roof. I have seen this happen as well.

I have had some people who still wanted more air - and actually added a couple of vents in the living area.

There are also new vents available through our parts department now that have much wider louvre openings for increased air flow.

ST

 

[DennisZ]

Are these new air outlets now standard on new models being built???

 

[timk]

Guys,
You can pop off a vent and take a mirror and look down the duct tube to see if its smashed. You might be suprised, as I was, by how small they were. I was doing some snooping arround in the AC install instructions and the darn lil things are in spec. or real close. I should add that I dont think they could be much taller and still fit in the truss area availabe.

In my opinion whats happening is the ducts are just too small. The air blows down with quite a bit of force out of the AC, and when we close the grill to force all the air into the ducts, we are expecting it to take a tite turn into a little hole, and then down a little duct. When you divide that small duct volume by all the vent holes, there just isnt anything left.

It was 90 here yesterday, so I thought I would go out to test ours for the first time. I found if you open the grill so the AC blows straight down, the volume of air out the vents is only reduced a little bit.

After doing my testing, I went back in the house for a well deserved nap. Well I forgot to actually turn off the AC and it was colder than snot in there when I went back out to lock up, it got down to 72 while it was about 90 outside at the time.

So.... in my case anyway; the AC blows good and cold and the ducts suck.
The living room, was quite comfortable, but the bedroom was still a little warm. Oddly the vent in the stool room, just like the heater works GREAT. Perhaps that vent extends enough into the bedroom to add another vent. Also when the vent covers were off they did blow a bit better. Perhaps we could upgrade to the new covers Scott mentioned.

TimK

 

[Ken Washington]

Timk,
If you upgrade to the new vent covers, you will have to cut the holes bigger. Mine was done by dealer and the only thing I don't like is that you can see into the duck work. With the ones that came standard, you could look up and not see inside the ducks. Dealer worked on mine three times before we installed the second A/C.
Ken

 

[Scott]

New Style Ducts

Yes, the new style ducts with wider louvres are what we have been using since they came out last year.
FYI - the stool room vent works so well because it is the closest to the A/C and it is the "end" of it's run on that side of the coach.
You're right about the size of the ducts being limited by what can fit through the aluminum trusses. It is the nature of the business.

ST