Front HVAC Swap and general maintenance on 2014 Fleetwood Discovery 40G 6-2017 PART 1
Posted 06-21-2021 at 02:12 PM by MEWright
Part 1 of 3 due to limit of picutres per post
Our front AC went out at the end of the season last year. Due to covid, non-use and general lack of caring I never got around to taking it in to the shop. I did have a mobile company come out and diagnose it as “A Dead Soldier” and not worth trying to fix. They also told me that to do a proper write up for it to qualify for warranty they would charge 400 and take it off the bill when I did the repair. The shops I call wanted upwards of 10 shop labor hours plus the unit and materials.
So here we are a year later, and it is still not done. We are leaving for Colorado Springs in a few weeks, and it really has become a priority. First things first; Google find me videos on “HOW TO CHANGE THE AC ON A 40G” Nope not 1 video, no blogs, write ups, nada, squat, nothing. Nothing on UTube or reddit either. Plenty on systems that have the ceiling mounted inside portion but nothing on a set up like mine.
I found the model#, went on Amazon and it was 1350 and could be delivered in 7 days. A quick local call and it was in stock 45 min from my house for 1100, a second call to Camping World, 30 minutes past the first option and it was in stock for 803.00. Hour and half later I have the new updated version of the Coleman in my truck headed home.
Jumped back online to search for instructions one more time to no avail so its time to just dive in an learn it….
I know there are 4 screws holding it in place but that’s about it. No instruction came with the new unit, so I am flying slightly blind but here we go. See the pics and descriptions as step by step below;
I decide to write this to hopefully someone else can see how amazingly easy this task is. Start to finish 2 hours, 2 people 1 ladder.
Material and tool list;
New AC
Ladder
2 towels to put under the ladder so the ladder does not scratch the coach
Drill
5/16 nut driver bit and Phillips tip
Phillips and regular screwdrivers
1 tube self-leveling roof sealant
Roll of good quality FOIL tape –NOT DUCT TAPE
Pictures and step by step description below;
I will try to keep the pics and description in order
1. Remove the 4 screws on the top of the outer cowling
2. with flat blade screw driver pry apart the tabs of the cowling to separate the front and rear halves
3. Remove the cowling to expose the AC unit
4. Locate the 4 attachment screw. They are covered in pookie (white caulk) 2 on the front, 1 on each side of the unit
5. With dull scrapper (very carefully to not damage roof) scrape away the pookie to expose the screw heads 5/16" nut drive on a drill to remove
6 - 7 Remove the 2 self tapping sheet metal screws on the right and left side tabs to remove the securing tab ( you will need them for the new unit)
Our front AC went out at the end of the season last year. Due to covid, non-use and general lack of caring I never got around to taking it in to the shop. I did have a mobile company come out and diagnose it as “A Dead Soldier” and not worth trying to fix. They also told me that to do a proper write up for it to qualify for warranty they would charge 400 and take it off the bill when I did the repair. The shops I call wanted upwards of 10 shop labor hours plus the unit and materials.
So here we are a year later, and it is still not done. We are leaving for Colorado Springs in a few weeks, and it really has become a priority. First things first; Google find me videos on “HOW TO CHANGE THE AC ON A 40G” Nope not 1 video, no blogs, write ups, nada, squat, nothing. Nothing on UTube or reddit either. Plenty on systems that have the ceiling mounted inside portion but nothing on a set up like mine.
I found the model#, went on Amazon and it was 1350 and could be delivered in 7 days. A quick local call and it was in stock 45 min from my house for 1100, a second call to Camping World, 30 minutes past the first option and it was in stock for 803.00. Hour and half later I have the new updated version of the Coleman in my truck headed home.
Jumped back online to search for instructions one more time to no avail so its time to just dive in an learn it….
I know there are 4 screws holding it in place but that’s about it. No instruction came with the new unit, so I am flying slightly blind but here we go. See the pics and descriptions as step by step below;
I decide to write this to hopefully someone else can see how amazingly easy this task is. Start to finish 2 hours, 2 people 1 ladder.
Material and tool list;
New AC
Ladder
2 towels to put under the ladder so the ladder does not scratch the coach
Drill
5/16 nut driver bit and Phillips tip
Phillips and regular screwdrivers
1 tube self-leveling roof sealant
Roll of good quality FOIL tape –NOT DUCT TAPE
Pictures and step by step description below;
I will try to keep the pics and description in order
1. Remove the 4 screws on the top of the outer cowling
2. with flat blade screw driver pry apart the tabs of the cowling to separate the front and rear halves
3. Remove the cowling to expose the AC unit
4. Locate the 4 attachment screw. They are covered in pookie (white caulk) 2 on the front, 1 on each side of the unit
5. With dull scrapper (very carefully to not damage roof) scrape away the pookie to expose the screw heads 5/16" nut drive on a drill to remove
6 - 7 Remove the 2 self tapping sheet metal screws on the right and left side tabs to remove the securing tab ( you will need them for the new unit)
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