Air Conditioning, too small?

[buckeyes]

We bought our 2006 Wildcat 30' 5'er last fall, and heading into this summer, we plan on traveling (alot). We are concerned that the current air conditioner may not be large enough, as we have a 13,500 BTU, single unit, which is centrally ducted. We see two air conditioning units atop many of the other 5'ers and are starting to get concerned. We will be traveling with out two cats, which would make matters even worse if the air cannot keep up.
Any thoughts you may have on this, I would certainly appreciate.

[buckeyes]

We bought our 2006 Wildcat 30' 5'er last fall, and heading into this summer, we plan on traveling (alot). We are concerned that the current air conditioner may not be large enough, as we have a 13,500 BTU, single unit, which is centrally ducted. We see two air conditioning units atop many of the other 5'ers and are starting to get concerned. We will be traveling with out two cats, which would make matters even worse if the air cannot keep up.
Any thoughts you may have on this, I would certainly appreciate.

[Frankie]

I think your right at the middle with a 30'.I had a 35' TT and the one ac was not enough down south.

[Dona and Elvin]

we have a 30'TT with the same size A/C, also a 16lb long haired cat. On St. pat's day in Quartzsite AZ it was 104f. The a/c kept the TT very comfy and cool for the cat, who I did find sleeping on the dinette table with air ducts blowing his fur!
Dona

[buckeyes]

Thank you for responding. This is our 1st experiece at RV'ing and as we enter retirement and the new adventures, I am certain that I am micro-managing everything. Now we just need to stop fretting, and enjoy.
See ya'll down the road I hope somewhere.

[TXiceman]

In the southern climates in summer, you will be marginal. Keep the windows shaded and parked in shade, especially from the noon and west sun and you will slip a bit but should be OK. Full Sun, you will have a hard time.

Ken

[allendp]

We found out the hard way while at a rally in Tow Texas on the 4th of July a couple of years ago that our 15K Carrier wouldn't do the job and we really found out when the compressor went out on it that same week end. Went the next week and added a Coleman Low profile Unit (8900 BTU) to the bedroom and we are now comfortable and have the insurance of the additional unit should one fail. The Coleman has turned out to be a excellent choice and it actually cools the whole rig by itself better that the larger Carrier alone. Hope this is of some help.

[Ray,IN]

I think ducted A/C is a bad thing. We have a 15K ducted and a 13.5K standard in our 5er. The front 13.5 will cool the entire coach, but the 15K will not in 90* weather.Our 5er is 40' long though. One thing you should check is the ducting, most have openings between the cool air and intake air. Taping these opening closed really helps. Camping World sells a bottom unit for ducted A/C units so the cool air may be directed down,if desired, as a standard A/C unit; gonna get me one!

[Jim Wilson]

My guess would be that a 13.5K unit will struggle some in a unit that big, especially if you have a number of slides (or spend much time in hot or humid areas of the country).

[RustyJC]

Several RVs back, we had a 30' single slideout 5th wheel with a single 13.5K BTU A/C. This worked fine in Ohio, but when we moved back to the Houston, Texas area, we quickly learned that the temperature and humidity (sensible and latent heat load) were too much for the A/C to handle once temperatures went over about 85 degF. Above that, the temperature inside the RV went up about 1 degree for every 1 degree increase in outdoor (ambient) temperature. Direct sunlight increased the radiant heat load and made matters worse.

When we bought our next 5th wheel (a 36' triple slide), the dealer assured us that a single 15K BTU A/C would handle it, but we insisted on the optional 13.5K BTU 2nd A/C, and we were glad we did.

Based on our experience, our philosophy on RV air conditioners is, "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!"

Rusty

[powerboatr]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I think ducted A/C is a bad thing. We have a 15K ducted and a 13.5K standard in our 5er. The front 13.5 will cool the entire coach, but the 15K will not in 90* weather.Our 5er is 40' long though. One thing you should check is the ducting, most have openings between the cool air and intake air. Taping these opening closed really helps. Camping World sells a bottom unit for ducted A/C units so the cool air may be directed down,if desired, as a standard A/C unit; gonna get me one! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

wow us to. out bedroom unit will freeze us out
while the ducted unit struggles, even after many vents removals to plug air leaks into the attic it still feels like its struggling... we have a chill grill that lets about 80% of the air supply blown down into the living room it helps when its near 100 out side