A/C Brand in 2007 Diplomat

[Lukeaa]

What brand and model roof A/C did they put in 2007 Diplomats?

I pulled into my RV storage lot today and a low hanging telephone wire snagged my rear roof A/C and ripped it off. I was not the first, but the telephone company and the cable company were fighting over whose wire it was and so no one thought to raise it. I have a $1,000 deductible, so I WILL find out whose wire it is.

[96 Wideglide]

You don't have the build sheet's for the coach?

Mine came with Dometic Duotherm heat pumps, but I recall seing Monaco coaches with Dometic Penguin AC's as well.

[vito.a]

Yes, Monaco used Dometic A/C units. The full height models are Brisk Air and the slighly shorter ones are Penguins. They come in 13.5k and 15k btu sizes in either std A/C or heat pump models.
There is a new Dometic model called Blizzard NXT that is supposed to be better.
PPL motorhome parts has good prices but stock has been low since Covid.

[Lukeaa]

Wide glide,
I have the build sheet in the coach, but it is parked about 15 miles inland to keep it out of the ocean salt. I just wanted to get an idea tonight of what the $damages would be. We were just coming back from a 5 day trip and I was trying to get the debris out of the road, understand what the hell happened and keep the next coach from running into the now very low hanging cable. I called 911 and the electric company sent over a crew with a boom truck and did a temporary fix but said it was not their cable. I will drive in tomorrow and try to find out whose cable it is. And pull out my build sheet. My wife said there were AC parts on the bed, so I may be looking at roof damage also.

I may just go cut the cable and see who shows up to fix it.

[jacwjames]

If the AC unit was completely torn off, which would explain AC parts on the bed, you may have bigger problems.
I just replaced both my AC's. There are wiring harnesses run that communicate between the AC's and Thermostat. Plus the 120 volt circuit. Depending on whether the wiring is still in tack will determine the difficulty of repair. If the wires are still accessible it would be pretty easy to replace, if not it may be difficult to get new wires to hook everything together. All the wiring is buried in the ceiling and, at least in my case, almost impossible to run new wires. If you have furnace or Aquahot the AC's may have to communicate with them.



The other issue is that the older AC's may not work with the new type. It may require a different circuit board to work with the older unit and thermostat. Or upgrade the thermostat and install a new circuit board in the older unit.



FWIW, I just replace my AC's & thermostat and it cost ~$3K. I decided to just bit the bullet and replace, started to have trouble with the rear, the units were 20 years old.

[hardy1000]

Originally Posted by Lukeaa

What brand and model roof A/C did they put in 2007 Diplomats?

I pulled into my RV storage lot today and a low hanging telephone wire snagged my rear roof A/C and ripped it off. I was not the first, but the telephone company and the cable company were fighting over whose wire it was and so no one thought to raise it. I have a $1,000 deductible, so I WILL find out whose wire it is.

Mine came with 13500 BTU with heat pumps Dometic Penguins. Here is the brochure.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by vito.a

Yes, Monaco used Dometic A/C units. The full height models are Brisk Air and the slighly shorter ones are Penguins.

Vito, mine are the taller models, but they don't say 'Brisk Air' anywhere.

Even the build sheet just lists them as Duo-Therm.

[153stars]

Look up suggested units and replacement shrouds with Google image. You should recognize them. Penguin 1s have old boxy look and a newer, more aerodynamic versions of shroud. P2s have holes in sides.
You better wrap with small tarp for rain.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by 153stars

P2s have holes in sides.
You better wrap with small tarp for rain.

Your kidding right ?

Everyone with vent holes in the sides of their AC covers should get on the roof and cover them if it's going to rain?
Any water that goes thru those holes is going to the drain pan on the bottom of the unit, then either go into the internal drains, or, out onto the coach roof.

[153stars]

I meant since he tore his cover completely up and seems to not the extent of the damage. OP says there AC parts are inside of the MH. Tarping it up if stored outside may be minimum I would suggest.

[Lukeaa]

I went up on the roof today and the cover and condenser coil are destroyed, however the good news is that it did not damage the roof opening. Inside it just knocked off the filter cover inside, but did not pull out any wires, etc. So it looks like the repair service will be able to just remove the old unit and replace it with a new one. I have to be sure the new unit is compatible with the existing thermostat system.

I probably will go ahead and replace the the front A/C also, since it is original and 16 years old. The covers are painted a light bronze, so rather than spend the money to have the new cover painted to match the old one, I will just have two white A/C's.

Now off to find be best deal on two new A/C's. I am in central California. Anyone have a suggestion on who has the best deal?

Any thoughts on whether I should upgrade to the 15,000 BTU unit. The original appears to be a 13,500 model.

And finally, off to do battle with PG&E, the local electric company whose poles held the offending cables. It was a fiber optic line with a steel cable.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I will let you know how it turns out.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by 153stars

I meant since he tore his cover completely up and seems to not the extent of the damage. OP says there AC parts are inside of the MH. Tarping it up if stored outside may be minimum I would suggest.

Ahh, got it !

[vito.a]

If you travel in warm climates I'd suggest going with 15k btu heat pumps. They cool slightly better and are very nice to use in moderate temperatures down to about 40 degrees.
If you replace both units it would be wise to also upgrade to the newer 10 button Comfort Control Center 2.
You could purchase a new control board that will make the new A/C unit compatible with your older 5 button thermostat, but two new retrofit control boards will cost more than one new thermostat.

Check with PPL Motor home parts for availability on new Dometic A/C heat pumps. They will drop ship to you or your installer.

[153stars]

You might just find a very close color in Rustoleum at Menards if you wanted to keep it looking close to the same.