Community Forums

CapuTech · 08-15-2016, 02:54 PM

I was in Moab at Portal RV Resort July 30 to August 5th facing west in front of the pond. We kept our coach set at 70F during the day. The front AC ran constantly during the day, while the others cycled only occasionally. Hard to know exactly how often as we were out most of the day. I kept it at 65 for sleeping and after about 20-30 minutes of initial cooling, the A/C came on very infrequently during the night.

Compared to the Texas humidity, Moab was easy on the coach.

Right next to me was a Tuscany and then a Winnie Tour. Their A/Cs never shut off and were fairly loud as well.

We had the front MagnaShade on, but not the side ones.

I have a friend with an Anthem and believe the insulation is similar to the Newmar's. The only difference with his is that he has trouble cooling while driving as his vents are covered by the slides.

Entegra and Newmar are the only coaches to use batten insulation and thicker walls. We have other friends with Tiffins, including a Zephyr, and there is no comparison. We also previously owned a Berkshire and that was an exercise in futility in hot weather.

AspireDoug · 08-15-2016, 03:08 PM

I hate the fact that the AC vents are covered by the slides. I have considered making some kind of scoop to channel the air out from under the slides. Have any of you done something like this? I end up closing at least half of my vents, (like the one in the toilet room) and others so I get a ton of air out of the two vents over the front two seats.

Doug

Cruzer · 08-15-2016, 06:04 PM

When I saw the way that Entegra runs their ducting I can understand why the vents are outboard and above the retracted slideouts. Nothing wrong with that but Entegra maximizes the height in the slideouts and that results in the tops of the slides being much closer to the ceiling than in many other brands. On our 2016 the air does get out and it is comfortable in the main coach interior when driving. I understand that they made some kind of change in the 2016s but I don't know what it was compared to prior years. I believe it had something to do with the front vents, which were also moved in 2017 according to the initial specs that were released, but can't confirm that. I just know that it keeps its cool when driving.

brobox · 08-15-2016, 06:05 PM

The 14 and above Anthem have two vent between the driver and passenger seats. Noel did a post way back when on adding those two vents. I think Entegra copied his modification. I have them factory installed and they are great.

Slice · 08-15-2016, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmghmg

Very impressive. Thanks for the responses. Jokes aside, according to my infrared temperature gun, it was 127 degrees inside the front cabinets when it was 100 outside at about 4:00 pm, again facing west. Those Entegras truly must be something special insulation-wise. Glad to hear it's not just marketing hype. I'd love to hear from more owners about their experiences as well!

I Have 08 tiffin phaeton. 2 ac units I also experienced what you describe. The front cap of most MH have no insulation behind cabinets. Open dead air space that truly gets into the 140*. I have measured it. I removed the tv to gain access to the space and backside of cap across the front, I installed product called "dyna mat ". That helped. Then I added blue jean type thick insulation and then covered it with a silver roll product and taped seams. The front of the cabinets now only get about 95* facing west. In 100* heat Houston Tx style mid day 3 pm ish start to get warm and ac can't keep up. Till about 7 ish. I have on order mangashade which will certainly help in lower temps up front

AspireDoug · 08-15-2016, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

The 14 and above Anthem have two vent between the driver and passenger seats. Noel did a post way back when on adding those two vents. I think Entegra copied his modification. I have them factory installed and they are great.

My 2014 Aspire has two vents between the driver and passenger seats but most if not all the others are above the slides when driving down the road. It can get a little warm on a 95 degree day in the middle of the coach even with all three AC's.

JJ

brobox · 08-15-2016, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AspireDoug

My 2014 Aspire has two vents between the driver and passenger seats but most if not all the others are above the slides when driving down the road. It can get a little warm on a 95 degree day in the middle of the coach even with all three AC's.

JJ

I never ride in the middle

I thought you were referring to the front area before they added the two front vents.

Thought of an idea to fix the center as I looked up at my vents. Do a couple of the vents with the magnet mod, swap them with deflector vents when traveling.

kmghmg · 08-15-2016, 08:25 PM

Thanks for the continued information, everyone. Much appreciated!

Matt

DebbieMH · 08-16-2016, 07:19 AM

Right now it has been getting in the low 40's and upper 30's at night in the Colorado mountains. (nice!) Anyway, the coach is nice and comfy. Really don't have to put on the heat at night, but if I want it toasty in the morning on my feet ... I have been putting on the zone 2 gas heat (which is the floor). Wonderful!!!! The coach is well insulated - much, much better than my two prior motorhomes. You won't be disappointed with the insulation, for heat or cold.

MoHoGo · 08-17-2016, 04:56 PM

Don,t have anything to compare the AC to as this is our first coach. What amazes me ithough is how quiet the coach is inside.

Two examples. The second day we had the coach we were camping at Stone Mountain in GA courtesy of our dealer. I was outside and the DW was inside. THe parks klaxon horn sounded for a lighting alert at the park. The klaxon was only 200 feet away from the coach and when I went back inside and told my DW about the horn and alert she was surprise and said she never heard it.

The second was today. They were mowing the grass at the park right next to the MH. Never heard it inside.

So I don,t know if this translates to better insulation for HVAC, but I would think so.

flscarab · 08-17-2016, 07:28 PM

Had the same problem with our 2013 Phaeton. Our new 2017 Aspire is 100% better.

HouseDriver · 08-17-2016, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmghmg

Hi All,

We currently own a 43' Allegro Bus that we really love. It's been a great coach. My only real issue with the coach is using it during very hot weather. During those unfortunate times when the coach is facing west and it's a hot afternoon, the three air conditioners simply can't keep up. For instance, we were in Moab, UT this week, and it was 100+ degrees in the afternoon. Our site faced west, and it got to 85 degrees in the front half of the coach. That's fairly typical for us in that situation. We spoke with an owner of a four-year old Winnebago Tour parked next to us, and he had the same situation - 85 degrees in the front. Incidentally, we also have a Magneshade. I think it helps marginally, but the real heat appears to come from the upper cabinets that face the sun.

We are strongly considering a move to an Anthem (probably a 2014), primarily for the added insulation that we keep hearing about. This is clearly a big decision, so I want to ask the Entegra owners… What inside temperature will your Entegra hold on a 90-100 degree afternoon when parked facing the west?

Many thanks!

Been reading for years but never have tried a reply.
We had a Beaver Patriot Thunder 06. Now about two weeks in to an Entegra Aspire 2017, 42 PDQ.
The insulation is really impressive. Driving is super quiet. The engine is almost silent.
Plus, compared to the Beaver, the Aspire corners like an indy car.
Well, time to see if this reply works.
Thanks to all you all.

buddy110 · 08-18-2016, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmghmg

Does anyone happen to know with certainty about the insulation in the Newmar coaches? I'm curious as to how they'd compare, and I'd love to hear from someone with such knowledge.

Thank you again for the very, very informative responses to my initial question!

I own a 39' cayonstar with 2 15k HP units. They have R19 in the roof. With that said this past weekend it was 95 facing west and it struggled to keep us as cool as we like. The inside temp was about 75. With three, I am sure it would have been much cooler. I admit I did not check the temps inside the cabinets, but it was considerably warmer by the front windshield. I was thinking of fabbing a front canopy out of reflective material. Reflective material needs have air space in between the space that it is protecting. Otherwise it conducts the heat straight through to the surface it is in contact with