Community Forums

84coachman · 06-02-2011, 06:52 PM

hello all
i purchased a 84 chevy 454 35ft coachman p30 frame ,drove it home sat . me and wife been cleaning inside walls , carpet , etc .i have replaced brake pads all the way around , pretty easy . i was surprised has rotors on front /rear . i also got one of the roof ac working and other needs freon . my next projects , how to run both a/cs units on top and frig traveling ? do you run generator or buy lots batteries plus large 5000 watt inverter or 200 amp altenator, does not have ac in dash .
thanks for any help or ideas ?

RickO · 06-02-2011, 06:55 PM

Hi and

I think a very large percentage of RVers run their generators and A/C while traveling. We don't because it's just the two of us... we both sit up front... and have a pretty good dash A/C. I don't believe you even want to think about getting enough batteries and large enough inverter to operate your A/C's while driving.

Best of luck...

Rick

DRosedale · 06-02-2011, 07:01 PM

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on your new rig. If you want to run the roof air, just run the generator. The generator needs to be run anyway, so way not use it to keep the coach cool, since you don't have dash air. Save your money for fuel instead of a lot of batteries, invertor, etc.

ga traveler · 06-02-2011, 07:14 PM

Some of my customers with class A's, would hang curtain rods behind the front captain's chairs. this keeps the cold air from the dash A/C in the front area. Some used clear shower curtains so they could see into the back.

rvjimmy · 06-02-2011, 07:28 PM

Just run your generator ,if you had cab AC it is still cheaper to run the genny instead of of losing MPG. The genny running uses less fuel than what you would use running cab AC. I noticed this when I had a gasser it does'nt seem to make that much difference with my DP.

84coachman · 06-03-2011, 03:54 AM

hello
thanks for help with a/c question , run generator to keep us cool and pets . i am hoping the two coleman roof top ac will keep us cool until we reach destinations .i will wire up the circuits of the 2 ac units seperate and frig to seperate the load on generator and have a transfer switch so can use campsites plug in .
thanks

wildtoad · 06-03-2011, 05:07 AM

You may only be able to run 1 roof air at a time depending on the size of the gen and setup. Many older rv's and many new ones only allow one at a time. I had a 1994 Airstream MH which allowed one ac to operate at a time if plugged in (30 amp) but both if on gen as it had a 7kw gen.

Does the fridge not run on propane also?

84coachman · 06-04-2011, 04:16 AM

hello
thanks for help, my generator is a 5,500 contious and 8000 startup . the rear ac is little smaller ,may draw 25 amps ,will check , front is bigger may draw 30 plus amps , will check , needs freon first . i found bad electrical connection yesterday , loose wire nut going to front ac unit .
thanks

ga traveler · 06-04-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84coachman

hello
thanks for help with a/c question , run generator to keep us cool and pets . i am hoping the two coleman roof top ac will keep us cool until we reach destinations .i will wire up the circuits of the 2 ac units seperate and frig to seperate the load on generator and have a transfer switch so can use campsites plug in .
thanks

If your generator is 4,000 watts or less, it will only run one A/C. If it is a 5500 watt or more it will run two A/C,s