Community Forums

Garyaber · 06-07-2022, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainYARRR

Hey all,

Still working out getting to know our 2016 Anthem. When we picked it up from Phoenix in Dec the AC seemed fine but it was not hot. Now it's 100* in Texas and the dash isn't cutting it. Using the generator to take the edge off.

How cold are they when new? Should I look in to a fix?

Similar problem with dash air on a Entegra Vision. Just would not keep up with the hot humid weather her in S Florida. After 2 trips back to dealer and checking freon levels, they found that the heater control valve was leaking and not allowing the air to cool as much as it should. After fix, it is much better but be aware that the dash air will probably not cool the whole coach and the best you will be able to do is direct the flow onto you and passenger while driving. I read where some people block off the front and contain what cool air there is to front and it works fairly well.

sgrol · 06-07-2022, 05:09 PM

Wow, wish I would have spent (insert your coach value here) to put up with sorry, leaking A/C. My F350 keeps me cool running down the road. FWIW, and as already mentioned, I used to have a Ford van and I installed a curtain to separate the front two seats from the back. A/C worked great with curtain closed, not so much with it opened. In Texas heat.

JeffreyVoigt · 06-07-2022, 05:47 PM

Think about this. A dash air conditioner will only cool an area the size of a pickup truck cab. The unit would never be able to cool or heat the front of a Motorcoach that has a glass windshield the size of a 4’ X 8’ sheet of plywood that leaks way too much air when going down the road at 60 mph in 100 degree weather. If you have a 15 to 20 degree split from where the air goes into the system and at the duct where it comes out the system is doing all it can do. Most units have 3 15,000 btu air conditioners mounted on the roof to keep the unit cool during the hot summer months, how do you expect a single 8,000 to 12,000 btu unit to keep the coach cool while driving throw 100 degree air like a cooking a chicken in a rotisserie oven and producing who know how many btu of heat from the engine.
I run my generator and all 3 roof air to stay comfortable.

2Nailz · 06-07-2022, 06:47 PM

See the below link for what I did to help mitigate the issue. As previously mentioned on hot days the dash air will not cool the coach. When we use our curtain the cabin area can stay tolerable, when the dash air is working, and the area to the rear of the curtain gets very warm. We usually will have to run the roof airs and generator prior to reaching our overnight stop to cool the coach completely, especially when the dash air is not working. I have had the dash air worked on 3 years in a row. It would be great to find a service center that knows the secret sauce to make our dash air function reliably.

https://2nailz.com/privacy-curtain/

Safe travels.

Curtis

oneknight · 06-07-2022, 07:28 PM

Ours works great. We rarely run the roof a/C's while driving.

Sent from my moto z3 using iRV2 - RV Forum mobile app

ponytl · 06-07-2022, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon_C

I had clear ceramic tint installed on my windshield and front side windows, most of the time my dash air keeps up now. The tint blocks about 1/2 of the radiated heat. Cost around $800 but worth it.

any issues with the windshield tint? is it on the inside or outside? does it change visibility? glare issues? thanks in advance for the insight

Steve 716 · 06-07-2022, 08:52 PM

It might be time to have your freon level checked. My compressor locked up and broke the fan belt. I installed a new belt and watched it spark and break again when we turned the front AC on. After verifying that it was indeed locked up, I ordered a new one from Spartan and installed it. This took about three hours. (Note - if you ever need to replace a compressor unbolt and lower the hydraulic fluid tank and bracket first to get better access). Removing the old compressor and disconnecting the refrigerant lines meant losing all of the freon. I checked prices to have the system recharged locally and the cheapest I could find was $450 plus parts. I purchased online a manifold, pump, and the various valves needed, found good instructions, and charged the system for about $200 total. It took about four hours but most of that was waiting while the pump evacuated the system. Maybe an hour was actual work. Your coach takes 2.5 pounds of R134a and you may need to have someone add refrigerant to your system (see BELOW).

If you still have front air conditioning, just not enough, then you probably don’t have any leaks. I purchased my new compressor from Spartan because it comes already full of oil and it fits correctly on my engine. If you purchase refrigerant (I got mine from Walmart), buy two 3-ounce cans of refrigerant with oil and use 16-ounce refrigerant only cans for anything additional. This will make sure that everything that needs to be lubricated will be.

There are old and new fixtures on the top of R134a and other types of refrigerant cans. For the old style a pin punctures the can and what you don’t use vents out. The new style has a schraeder valve on top and instead or a sharp pin the opener has a square pin that pushes the valve open. When you remove the opener the can seals. That is the kind you want.

Now that we have looked at how to replace an engine mounted compressor and fill a totally empty system (I included that for any IRV2 readers who need to do a replacement) here is the BELOW part of this conversation for you to try first.

If your just want to just add some refrigerant buy a 20 ounce can of AC Pro. Extend your generator drawer so you have access to your refrigerant lines. Remove the red or blue cap (I don’t remember which but the instructions on the can will tell you) and attach the hose from the can. The red and blue valves are different sizes so only one will accept the hose. Start your RV, turn the dash AC on, press the AC button, and turn the fan up high. Squeeze the trigger on the can and the refrigerant will start flowing. When the gauge on the can reads in the center of the green you are done. Don’t forget to reinstall the valve cap. Your front AC should now provide plenty of cooling.

jloftice · 06-08-2022, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Every post from the beginning of this thread is telling you accurately about AC in these buses. I live in NW Louisiana but I am now stuck in Houston getting medical treatment and so I am dealing with AC while in an RV park on 97 degree days. All 3 of my AC units work solidly/continuously from ~ 9:00 am to ~ 9:00 pm.

My dash AC unit has never worked for long periods of time. I mean, when new, it worked maybe 9 months and then just was not working well. Needed Freon added. Then it worked another ~ 9 months and again needed AC service. I've also had the compressor replaced once on this Cornerstone and twice on my previous Anthem. As mentioned already, the dash AC was never able to keep the front of this B floor plan cool on a hot day. When it was working well, it cooled Dee and me but not beyond the front seats.

I've gotten tired of the dash AC not working so now the genny and the three roof AC units are running anytime I am in hot weather. The fittings on the compressor seem to leak Freon on many coaches. If you are double jointed and a contortionist (I'm not) you can buy the equipment and add Freon yourself. The fittings are behind the generator.

Word on the street is that there are units that are fully elf-contained on the drawing boards and don't require 50' runs of hose to get from the compressor to the dash unit, and maybe that will be a logic that works, but I have been unimpressed with the dash AC set up of my coach since I bought it and it was the same as my previous Anthem.

Gary

Our dash air (18 Aspire) worked pretty well for about 3 years but now will not hold a freon charge for too long. We just made run to FL from Cincinnati area and had our front A/C die as well. No dash and no front a/c in 90 degree temps sucks. The other two did an ok job while stopped but enroute was rough. We bought a small fan to push air forward and that helped.

Called Entegra to learn new units are hard to find. I called a number of places looking for a new unit. Hoped NIRVC in Atlanta might have one and we could get ours replaced on the return trip. No luck.

I was told by RV Products that our Heat Pump units are scarce and some people have been replacing them with a straight a/c unit. I was on the path to to do when I got an email from Entegra saying they had a unit set aside for me and it will be installed next week while at Entegra U! Thank God they found one as our travels take us to TX later this summer. I can't imagine losing another unit in that heat but looks like we should at least depart with 3 a/c's in operation.

Funny you mention a self contained dash air unit. My mind was working overtime as I was trying to find a new air conditioner and feeling the nice warm air coming from the dash unit. So I thought about our son's Tesla which has two HVAC units . One for the cabin and one for the batteries (at least thats my understanding) They are all electric of course and are obviously very effecient to run on nothing but battery power. How nice would it be to have one or two of those sitting up front to cool the coach while traveling! No 50' hoses to try to find leaks in. Hope they can come up with a retro fit too! I'd rather retrofit than to keep throwing $1500 a whack at trying to fix what we have. In the meantime I put a can or two of freon in when I hit the road.

Nowabeachbum · 06-08-2022, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jloftice

Funny you mention a self contained dash air unit. My mind was working overtime as I was trying to find a new air conditioner and feeling the nice warm air coming from the dash unit. So I thought about our son's Tesla which has two HVAC units . One for the cabin and one for the batteries (at least thats my understanding) They are all electric of course and are obviously very effecient to run on nothing but battery power. How nice would it be to have one or two of those sitting up front to cool the coach while traveling! No 50' hoses to try to find leaks in. Hope they can come up with a retro fit too! I'd rather retrofit than to keep throwing $1500 a whack at trying to fix what we have. In the meantime I put a can or two of freon in when I hit the road.

The problem with Tesla compressors are they run on 400 volts and cost waay more than $1500.! I wouldn’t look for any self contained systems anytime soon.

Jon_C · 06-09-2022, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponytl

any issues with the windshield tint? is it on the inside or outside? does it change visibility? glare issues? thanks in advance for the insight

Your welcome, zero issues, I actually think it improves clarity thru the windows. The guy who did the work said the same thing, he was going to put it on his truck just for that reason. Im amazed at how much heat it blocks. It looks totally clear to me but in actuality i think its a couple percent tint in order for it to work.

Ponoare · 06-09-2022, 10:20 PM

Our new 2022 Thor Ace 30.3 front AC only pushes semi-cold air (probably 68F) no matter if recirculating or from outside. Since it is still under 1 year warranty I should probably take it to have the AC checked by Ford.

Needless to say when we came from St Augustine to Charlotte on 95F we barely notice the air being cold (just the fan vent pushing 70 or so air).

Did not want to start the generator (we have 2 ACs) thinking that the MPG would go really low, anybody knows how the MPG would be affected while driving with generator on?

Right now we get 9MPG (no tow) and 8MPG (with Jeep in tow) for flat roads (between Charlotte, NC to Florida or Myrtle Beach it is mostly flat).

Ray,IN · 06-09-2022, 10:41 PM

Steve716, that is not how my Spartan chassis is arranged, much of what your typed is wrong for my 1999 Spartan MM GT chassis. Blanket statements are usually incorrect in some areas.
Any air conditioner that is operating properly should have a Delta of 20° or close.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ponoare

Our new 2022 Thor Ace 30.3 front AC only pushes semi-cold air (probably 68F) no matter if recirculating or from outside. Since it is still under 1 year warranty I should probably take it to have the AC checked by Ford.

Needless to say when we came from St Augustine to Charlotte on 95F we barely notice the air being cold (just the fan vent pushing 70 or so air).

Did not want to start the generator (we have 2 ACs) thinking that the MPG would go really low, anybody knows how the MPG would be affected while driving with generator on?

Right now we get 9MPG (no tow) and 8MPG (with Jeep in tow) for flat roads (between Charlotte, NC to Florida or Myrtle Beach it is mostly flat).

Depends on the genset size and type. My diesel 7.5kw genset used 3/4 gallon per hr at full load. Read your genset owners manual to view your specs.