Community Forums

DGBPokes · 07-18-2016, 06:56 PM

We spent the weekend in Abilene TX, the afternoon temps approached 100 and the two A/C units cranked to keep us at 80. I have a Magna Shade on the windshield, along with 3 M Silver light. I have insulation pillows in the Fantastic vents. I have added insulation board in the back of the cabinets. The only thing I have on my to do list is insulation in the shower sky light.

I own a IR temp gun, and Saturday afternoon, I shot the black frame around the window, it was 115 , on the INSIDE of the coach ( sunny side of coach). By the wayI I have window awnings, and they were extended.

Any ideas or suggestions?

ahicks · 07-18-2016, 07:08 PM

Time to do some exploring in the northern parts of the country and do the snow bird thing?

jelag · 07-18-2016, 09:34 PM

have you looked at the output temperature of the AC units.. I noticed on mine that when I sent a lot of air down the vent system... the units would eventually start to freeze the evaporator and air movement would slow down.... too much resistance to push the air down the ducting... and the slower air meant freezing evaporator... opening the grill on the AC units kept the air flowing at a faster speed, thus no freezing.. and lower temperatures...

Waiter21 · 07-19-2016, 04:58 AM

I did a lot of the similar stuff you mentioned. I still need to add insulation foam board inside the cabinets.

I went up on my roof and painted the outside of the skylight white. It looks good and still lets in light. I read somewhere that someone had removed the interior skylight and put in some of the clear bubble wrap stuff and then reinstalled the interior. Not a bad idea, the bubble-wrap will act as an insulator.

I also installed window tint on all my windows (except windshield and two lower side windows)

It was 115 outside in Phoenix, My 13.5 BTU AC was able to keep up with it and the inside was a nice comfy 75 Deg.

http://www.2001mirada.com/windows-tint-and-covers/

One of the issues I see in beating the heat, newer style paint schemes are dark. This is great in the winter, but not good in the summer.

..

TQ60 · 07-20-2016, 07:58 AM

When we built the shop the insulation was a very thin foam material with foil backing.

When we would roll it out on the floor to cut the reflected heat was amazing.

This stuff comes in rolls and can be cut to size as window covers etc.

Cover on outside and heat stays out and if used inside it makes a hot pocket.

MSHappyCampers · 07-20-2016, 08:42 AM

We're gonna try to stay away from those really hot areas!

My next big project is to put tint on all the side windows! I think that will make a huge difference!

mchero · 07-20-2016, 08:57 AM

We are up here in the N.E. waiting for the S.W. to cool down!

Good idea putting those sun blockers on the OUTSIDE of the window!

Jupiter · 07-20-2016, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGBPokes

I own a IR temp gun, and Saturday afternoon, I shot the black frame around the window, it was 115 , on the INSIDE of the coach ( sunny side of coach). By the wayI I have window awnings, and they were extended.

Any ideas or suggestions?

I measured my frames with my IR temp gun, too. They get incredibly hot especially in direct sunlight. Problem is that there is no thermal break in the window frames. Same frame gets mighty cold in low outdoor temps, too. No easy solution but I like the idea of moving to a cooler environment

cheers,
Joopy

Mr_D · 07-20-2016, 09:52 PM

They make a double wall, insulated dome for the Fantastic Fans. I put them on the '02 Dutch Star and the Magna came with them. We have two Fantastic Fans in the rig, one has a white cover over it too. Would like to put another of the covers on but there's not enough room for it behind the Girard style awning.

1ciderdog · 07-21-2016, 11:33 AM

I have basement air in mine and it has a reputation of not being very efficient so I added one roof top AC. Just finished a trip around the USA with temps above 100 in several locations and above 105 in a couple. The roof top along with the basement would pert near freeze us out - I'd turn the roof off at 75 degrees. Adding another AC unit may help - if you plan on spending much time in high temp areas it may be worth it.

**TonyDi** · 07-21-2016, 02:19 PM

If the temperature is so hot that your ACs can't handle the heat, a tip I've seen is to retract some, or all, of your slides. Thereby reducing the volume of air that needs to be cooled. You can deploy them again when it cools off outside.

530ktm · 07-21-2016, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGBPokes

We spent the weekend in Abilene TX, the afternoon temps approached 100 and the two A/C units cranked to keep us at 80. I have a Magna Shade on the windshield, along with 3 M Silver light. I have insulation pillows in the Fantastic vents. I have added insulation board in the back of the cabinets. The only thing I have on my to do list is insulation in the shower sky light.

I own a IR temp gun, and Saturday afternoon, I shot the black frame around the window, it was 115 , on the INSIDE of the coach ( sunny side of coach). By the wayI I have window awnings, and they were extended.

Any ideas or suggestions?

The shower skylight will be a huge help if you do it properly. There is another thread about this, check it out.