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Old 06-21-2021, 03:05 PM   #1
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Air conditioner not adequate

I have a 2013 Tiffin RED 38 Ft. It has a heat pump for the front part of the coach and an air conditioner for the rear. When it is over 100 degrees outside the front of the coach will not adequately cool. It was 109 outside and the front part of the coach was in the low 90 degree range even when plugged into 50 amps. When outside air is under 100 it seems to cool adequately. The heater appears to work fine to warm the coach. Is this normal? Going down the road with the generator running both a/c and heat pump,it gets unbearable if it is too hot outside.

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Old 06-21-2021, 03:17 PM   #2
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Is the front A/C unit 13.5 or 15K?
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Old 06-21-2021, 03:22 PM   #3
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Your windshield is your biggest issue while driving. In really hot weather, you're going to need the dash air to work well and run both A/C units.

When parked, you might want to try buying a MagnaShade for the front windshield. Your front shades block out sun, but the heat has already penetrated the glass into the interior. The MagnaShade stops the majority of the heat, before it gets inside.

Sometimes, they just undersize these A/C units. If you bought a 40' Tiffin, just two feet longer, you would get three A/C's.
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Old 06-21-2021, 03:28 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Astone View Post
I have a 2013 Tiffin RED 38 Ft. It has a heat pump for the front part of the coach and an air conditioner for the rear. When it is over 100 degrees outside the front of the coach will not adequately cool. It was 109 outside and the front part of the coach was in the low 90 degree range even when plugged into 50 amps. When outside air is under 100 it seems to cool adequately. The heater appears to work fine to warm the coach. Is this normal? Going down the road with the generator running both a/c and heat pump,it gets unbearable if it is too hot outside.

A Stone
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First I'm not understanding why you would have the heat pump on at 100 degrees. I would set that unit to cooling, not heating.

If you mean the front ac unit both heats and cools? And you have both on, going down the road you will always have difficulty cooling the unit. Hopefully your dash air works good and you can blow the vents right on you. I have never run my generator or AC while traveling, and in some pretty hot conditions. I just put the dash air on max and set a fan blowing on me and that's enough. Yes when you top and walk back to the pottie it's hot.

Even parked, 2 ac units have trouble keeping up in 100+ degree heat.
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Old 06-21-2021, 03:33 PM   #5
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I m not familiar with your set up but suspect you are right on the edge as far as capacity goes. Before you drop a pile of cash into it, do a little house cleaning. Get some coil cleaner and wash out the condensers. The rooftops units are accessible from the roof. Odd that. 😂. Give them a good clean and flush. Careful, no water inside. The dash a/c will have its condenser stacked with the engine rad and may need to be separated for a good clean. Clean the rad at the same time.

Also check and clean the inside air filters. These are basic things and in many cases will fix or at least help. Good luck.
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Old 06-21-2021, 04:07 PM   #6
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Heat pump HEATS..... I have heat pumps on both front/rear units and CANNOT run heat pump AND ac at the same time!!!!

When it’s 100+ degrees outside, cooling down a class A becomes an issue - especially if you only have 13,500 units... Having 15K units front/back will help BUT with all the glass up front it’s a chore for units to cool coach down.....

Now some class A’s have 3 units which make everything much more manageable.....

When parked, you’re gonna have to cover those huge windows in front or you’ll never cool things down...

Just my $.02 worth....,
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Old 06-21-2021, 06:57 PM   #7
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I have a Phaeton with three airs and it won’t keep up in 100+ temp in the front. Too much glass and too little insulation. I’m not familiar with that year model RED but if a third AC was an option, it is possible that it is premiered for a third AC. As others have mentioned, a Magne Shade is almost worth a third AC but that doesn’t help you driving. I live in the south and drive often in high temps. We rarely run the roof AC unless we are cooling it down for the stop. The dash AC and the 12 volt fans usually suffice.
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Old 06-21-2021, 08:56 PM   #8
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Here is quick and dirty on how to help the dash air cool down the front while driving.
Buy yourself one of those spring loaded extendable shower curtain rods and a cheep plastic shower curtain to go on it. Put this up behind the driver and passenger when traveling. Then turn on your dash air wide open and turn on those windshield fans. Basically you have created a small area that has to be cooled vice the whole coach.
Also make sure you crack the kitchen vent and window and vent in the rear of the coach. This will aid in pulling out the hot air while traveling.
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Old 06-21-2021, 09:58 PM   #9
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I notice that several posters said they do not run their generator and rooftop air conditioners while driving. Is there a reason for not running them while driving? I'm curious because when it's hot and we are traveling we run the generator and rooftop AC. It cools us off while traveling and when we get to our destination we are already cool. In 100 degree heat it would take us forever to cool off if the AC's weren't already cooling the unit while traveling.
Thanks,
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Old 06-21-2021, 09:59 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amosnandy View Post
First I'm not understanding why you would have the heat pump on at 100 degrees. I would set that unit to cooling, not heating.

If you mean the front ac unit both heats and cools? And you have both on, going down the road you will always have difficulty cooling the unit. Hopefully your dash air works good and you can blow the vents right on you. I have never run my generator or AC while traveling, and in some pretty hot conditions. I just put the dash air on max and set a fan blowing on me and that's enough. Yes when you top and walk back to the pottie it's hot.

Even parked, 2 ac units have trouble keeping up in 100+ degree heat.
Heat pumps both heat and cool, though they're not very efficient at heating when the ambient temp dips below 40 degrees F or so.
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Old 06-21-2021, 10:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wog099 View Post
I notice that several posters said they do not run their generator and rooftop air conditioners while driving. Is there a reason for not running them while driving? I'm curious because when it's hot and we are traveling we run the generator and rooftop AC. It cools us off while traveling and when we get to our destination we are already cool. In 100 degree heat it would take us forever to cool off if the AC's weren't already cooling the unit while traveling.
Thanks,
I run mine that way. Can’t stay cool otherwise.
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Old 06-21-2021, 10:09 PM   #12
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Geez I'm pretty sure the OP was only describing the unit as a heat pump/ air cond. They obviously were using it in air conditioning.
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Old 06-21-2021, 10:10 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wog099 View Post
I notice that several posters said they do not run their generator and rooftop air conditioners while driving. Is there a reason for not running them while driving? I'm curious because when it's hot and we are traveling we run the generator and rooftop AC. It cools us off while traveling and when we get to our destination we are already cool. In 100 degree heat it would take us forever to cool off if the AC's weren't already cooling the unit while traveling.
Thanks,
I don’t know either. They’re made to run. It seems like low hours is some sort of area of pride.

When we’re running down the road the gen is running. The a/c’s are keeping us cool, the kids are watching TV, the ice maker is keeping my iced coffee chill, and dinner is cooking in the crock pot.
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Old 06-22-2021, 07:27 AM   #14
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From what you've said the air conditioners look like they are doing their job. There is something called a design temp in any HVAC system. Air conditioning is designed to cool air a certain amount from the outside temperature. In the case of RVs I believe that is about 20 degrees. In your case you say that the outside air is 109 and the air inside the coach is in the low 90s. That's about right, maybe just a little short. You may pick up some additional efficiency by cleaning the AC units, but it probably won't be a lot I don't believe. You might also try sealing the interiior of the units with some foil tape. There are a couple of videos on youtube about this, one of them by Changing Lanes. I think maybe you need to adjust your expectations as to what the air conditioners can accomplish or maybe try and add a third AC unit. Good luck.
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