How efficient are your air conditioners?

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by alpha99

We have THREE 15K roof a/c units and can keep it as cold as we want, even at 100+ degrees.

I think any rig greater than 35 feet in length needs 3 a/c units in very hot weather, IMO.

Cheers!

I think you're right!

[bborc]

I replaced my older penguins 13.5s with the newer penguinII 13.5 last year and they do work better than the older ones and are a little quiter

[DGBPokes]

Originally Posted by 336muffin

I have insulated our ceiling ducts and done some common sense mods and our coach remains very comfortable usually with ONE ac.

We have insulated our ENTIRE coach from end to end and top to bottom! This is where we improved our liveability of our coach. What brought us to do this was we spent three winters in single digit temps! I started findi g cold spots and from there we have a very efficent coach! Not to mention the quietest coach, especially while driving! We were at a Rally in Shawnee,Ok. With 105 temps and never lower than 99 at night with 30 amps with no problems! We are in a 2005 American Tradition 43ft. Full window awnings and Ceramic 30%tinting and outside windshield and front side window sun screens.
Don't blame the ACs for not keeping up.........blame the camper! I've helped a few of our friends do theirs and they still can't beleive the difference. Have fun

Sounds good, but I need a little more information. My a/c performance is lacking like so many others. I am adding 3M Silver film to,the cockpit interior including the windshield, and a Magna Shade to the exterior windshield.
ButI have no idea as to how to,go,about insulating the a/c ducts in the ceiling. And adding insulation to the front capos wood area, not sure about how and where to,do that. The electronics in the front is generating a ton of heat, but that is already inside the coach.

[Coma]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s00

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Coma

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s00

Thanks!

[Terminex]

FYI - I mentioned that my AC worked awesome in extremely high heat & humidity. kept the RV at 70 when it was 116 - 119 in the shade with high humidity.

There was once omission in regards to this: I could not close the main vent on the AC's to push the air out of the other vents.

If the air was coming out of all of the vents throughout the RV instead of the main vent, the AC's would shut off after about 30 - 45 minutes.

This weekend I removed the inside AC covers and moved the wiring out of the line of airflow, fixed the metal covers that are supposed to segregate incoming and outgoing airflow, as well as using thermal tape to seal all of that. (I noticed that you could feel cold air coming out of the filter side before I did this.)

The big test was today while I was at the track racing. I had the main vents closed all day, and the AC's never cut out. worked like they should have from the factory.

[alpha99]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

Thanks for the comments! Muffin told me yesterday about the ceramic tint and I plan to go that way!

Our coach is mostly black in color, but with three 15K A/C units, keeping it cool has never been a problem, even at 110 degrees.

It gets as cold as we want. It can freeze you out even on a 110 degree day. Color isn't the issue, proper cooling is.

No after market shades, just the MCD solar and blackout shades(electric on the windshield) as originally installed.

If you have three 15K units on a 40' coach, you're set.

I can get the coach colder than I can my S&B home!

2011 Winnebago Journey Express 39N.

Cheers!

[Dutch Star Don]

Joe.....before you go too far, I think you need to take some posts with a grain of salt. First, some of these suggestions only work if you have cool evenings, button up the coach early in the morning and then run the A/C's all day. None of this works if you try to cool a hot coach after driving.

We did all of the insulation to our 05 Diplomat, insulated the front cap, insulated the actual A/C units, checked all ducting, sealed up openings with silver tape, etc. I even added additional holes to the roof covers like the new ones and still there was not much difference.

The reality is you have a 40' coach with two 13.5 units. Those same 13.5 units didn't keep my 36' cool. Our new coach is MUCH better insulated than the Diplomat and we have two 15K units and they're still not enough on a hot day. As Thunderfoot stated, you need 3 A/C's on a 40' or larger coach to keep it cool like you would a house. No matter what, 20-25 degrees is the best you can hope for with a large Class A with a large windshield. Your best result will be to add a box fan in the bedroom where it gets the coldest and blow some of that air forward. On the older coaches that have the visible vents below each unit, open the vents and bypass the ducting for best cooling.

[Coma]

To piggy back on Don, I agree that passive thermal management is critical. Use your awning. I have purchased the sunshades that complement my Carefree, they really help to keep reflected heat off the MH. Shades completely drawn. Cold soaking, too. We set the thermostats at 68 for the night. Do not run the dryer during the day, no oven use or inside cooking.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Joe.....before you go too far, I think you need to take some posts with a grain of salt. First, some of these suggestions only work if you have cool evenings, button up the coach early in the morning and then run the A/C's all day. None of this works if you try to cool a hot coach after driving.

We did all of the insulation to our 05 Diplomat, insulated the front cap, insulated the actual A/C units, checked all ducting, sealed up openings with silver tape, etc. I even added additional holes to the roof covers like the new ones and still there was not much difference.

The reality is you have a 40' coach with two 13.5 units. Those same 13.5 units didn't keep my 36' cool. Our new coach is MUCH better insulated than the Diplomat and we have two 15K units and they're still not enough on a hot day. As Thunderfoot stated, you need 3 A/C's on a 40' or larger coach to keep it cool like you would a house. No matter what, 20-25 degrees is the best you can hope for with a large Class A with a large windshield. Your best result will be to add a box fan in the bedroom where it gets the coldest and blow some of that air forward. On the older coaches that have the visible vents below each unit, open the vents and bypass the ducting for best cooling.

Thanks Don! Annette and I have already talked about the fan blowing from the BR to the living area. The BR gets nice and cold, but then it's a much smaller area too!

When it's really hot, we run the genny and both A/C's while traveling. We had planned to be in upper Michigan right now, but still working on Annette's back problems. Hopefully, we will be able to start our 1-year fulltiming trial run about the 1st of January! (NOT to Michigan, maybe central Florida).

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Coma

To piggy back on Don, I agree that passive thermal management is critical. Use your awning. I have purchased the sunshades that complement my Carefree, they really help to keep reflected heat off the MH. Shades completely drawn. Cold soaking, too. We set the thermostats at 68 for the night. Do not run the dryer during the day, no oven use or inside cooking.

Good suggestions Jim! We have window awnings all around and they definitely help! We keep the thermostats set at 65 24/7!

[Smitty77]

Joe - Great thread, thanks for starting it, and thanks to all that added their pearls of wisdom!

We have some chips in both sides of our windshield, and have been waiting to have them replaced. That is one I had never considered. I think when we do, we'll look into adding the inside film for added cooling. We do use a snap on outside screen cover, which the DW says she can convert to magnetic with a bit of sewing! And Country Coach used some kind of bronze/gold cover dual pane windows all around, and that both helps on heat gain, and reduces WiFi signal too!

We plan on keeping our coach for at least 10 years, and have been slowly setting things up to be ready for those years ahead. As mentioned earlier, we do have two OEM 15K units, and my only concern about adding a third, is any impact it could have on my Solar Panels. I'm also already not pleased with the loud noise of the units when they run, and adding a third, would just add more noise. Also as mentioned, we do have plans to have the dark maroon colors changed over to a lighter tan/brown that would complement the rest of our color scheme. I'm hopeful that the lighter colors, tinted windscreen mod's - will allow our coach to remain cooled via the two units. And, on the other thread I started off of this one, I'm hoping someone will pipe in and say 'Oh yeah, you can get 25K BTU's, with variable whisper quiet fans.' - fingers crossed for new tech!!

My best to you and Annette on the process of getting her back back into Bristol Condition, and prepped for the year long experiment!

And best to all also. Be safe, have fun - and stay cool!
Smitty

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

Joe - Great thread, thanks for starting it, and thanks to all that added their pearls of wisdom!

We have some chips in both sides of our windshield, and have been waiting to have them replaced. That is one I had never considered. I think when we do, we'll look into adding the inside film for added cooling. We do use a snap on outside screen cover, which the DW says she can convert to magnetic with a bit of sewing! And Country Coach used some kind of bronze/gold cover dual pane windows all around, and that both helps on heat gain, and reduces WiFi signal too!

We plan on keeping our coach for at least 10 years, and have been slowly setting things up to be ready for those years ahead. As mentioned earlier, we do have two OEM 15K units, and my only concern about adding a third, is any impact it could have on my Solar Panels. I'm also already not pleased with the loud noise of the units when they run, and adding a third, would just add more noise. Also as mentioned, we do have plans to have the dark maroon colors changed over to a lighter tan/brown that would complement the rest of our color scheme. I'm hopeful that the lighter colors, tinted windscreen mod's - will allow our coach to remain cooled via the two units. And, on the other thread I started off of this one, I'm hoping someone will pipe in and say 'Oh yeah, you can get 25K BTU's, with variable whisper quiet fans.' - fingers crossed for new tech!!

My best to you and Annette on the process of getting her back back into Bristol Condition, and prepped for the year long experiment!

And best to all also. Be safe, have fun - and stay cool!
Smitty

Thanks for your comments Smitty! I may be mis-reading this, but it sounds like you are talking about tinting the windshield. It's my understanding that only a band of tint across the top is allowed, which is for glare reduction and wouldn't do much for heat rejection.

[HisMildness]

Originally Posted by 336muffin

I have insulated our ceiling ducts and done some common sense mods and our coach remains very comfortable usually with ONE ac.

We have insulated our ENTIRE coach from end to end and top to bottom! This is where we improved our liveability of our coach.

What low hanging fruit or big wins did you find?

Any tips or a write-up would be very welcome.

TIA,

BILL