A/C is too cold for us Installing window unit

[Jodys Joy]

I stumbled on to an old thread about this subject but can no longer find it.
My wife and I find the roof mounted Coleman 13,500 BTU unit way too loud for us to sleep, and way too cold for the 18' TT that it's in. Can't seem to regulate the temp to our liking. AC technology has changed a lot in just the past 2 or 3 years so we decided to try a window mounted unit and we love it. I found a 6000 BTU unit with an inverter instead of a compressor and it's so quiet that sometimes I need to see the pilot light to know if it's running.
I don't drive with it in the window, but have a mounting system that makes it fairly simple to put in and out. And it's not very heavy. I'm tempted to try driving with it in place. I would need to remove the pop out window to do this. See the attached pictures and you will understand. Let me know your thoughts on this.
The next step is to remove the roof mounted unit. That will remove about 90 pounds of dead weight, and maybe lower the center of gravity too, not to mention lowering the total height of my rig by about 6 inches.
Am I the only one interested in this approach??
See attached pics...... Don't KNOW WHY THE PICK ARE TURNED SIDEWAYS ??

[oldenavy]

Glad you found something that works for you.

I don’t understand your comment about it having an inverter instead of a compressor. Those are two different things that perform different functions. You can’t replace a compressor with an inverter.

Compressor: increases the pressure of the refrigerant in the vapor compression cycle found in most air conditioners. Usually driven by an electric motor.

Inverter: converts DC electricity to AC electricity. Often used in RVs to power AC appliances from the battery bank.

Some modern air conditioners have a variable speed compressor that is powered via a variable frequency drive (VFD) to make them more efficient. The VFD consists of a rectifier and inverter to change the constant frequency power from the outlet to a variable voltage & frequency to enable variable speed operation of the compressor motor. The VFD is used in addition to the compressor, not instead of it. Maybe this is what you are referring to above?

[twinboat]

There are quieter roof units, i have them in my RV. They are GE brand.

There are some RV parks that don't allow window units. Probably the same ones that have the 10 year old RV rule.

[RVfixit]

Jodys Joy,

Well, whatever works! I understand your issues as I have the same ones with my AC units.

Twinboats; Which units do you have? I have two Dometics in my RV and both are very noisy. I bought my RV new in 2016, the bedroom one is a low profile Penguin and the other is a Brisk Air II. Both work fine but the constant sound is annoying. I am also looking for a VFD style unit, not a heat pump. I am looking at the Furrion units but they seem to have good and bad reviews.

Stay cool Jodys Joy!

[Arch Hoagland]

You can see a pilot light? I didn't know air conditioners had pilot lights.

[wildtoad]

First, I'd wait till late August before removing the 13,500 BTU AC to see how the 6,000 BTU window unit works in a high humidity high heat situation as is common in the south.

Hanging a window unit out the side window, running down the highway will require a good bit a reinforcement, and don't be surprised if you end up using a good bit of duct tape.

Have you tried raising the temperature and running the fan on low all the time? Kinda get used to the always on noise level?

[RVfixit]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

You can see a pilot light? I didn't know air conditioners had pilot lights.

Not a gas pilot light, sometimes a small light indicating power or the unit is on is called a pilot light. Usually they are blue.

[wildtoad]

Originally Posted by twinboat

There are some RV parks that don't allow window units. Probably the same ones that have the 10 year old RV rule.

Not this case, but usually by the time someone puts in a window unit, the rest of the RV looks like crap.

[d23haynes57]

You don't want to be driving around with anything sticking out the side of a vehicle, trailer more the a few inches. Look for a unit or something that can be assembled more inside the trailer. If possible maybe the back wall.

That AC does have a compressor. The motor is powered/controlled by an inverter to provide variable speed operation. This way the compressor speed can be optimized for the cooling load to increase efficiency and reduce noise.

The roof AC is typically installed over a standard 14 X 14 roof vent opening. After removal a roof vent or roof vent fan can be installed to easily close the hole, provide some light, and ventilation. While pricey there are also smaller rooftop units including those that operate on battery meeting the lower BTU requirements that you have. Part of the problem is that your unit is too large for the trailer it is cooling.

[twill]

Is there a way to run the roof air on the low fan setting or will that still be to loud?

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by RVfixit

Jodys Joy,

Well, whatever works! I understand your issues as I have the same ones with my AC units.

Twinboats; Which units do you have? I have two Dometics in my RV and both are very noisy. I bought my RV new in 2016, the bedroom one is a low profile Penguin and the other is a Brisk Air II. Both work fine but the constant sound is annoying. I am also looking for a VFD style unit, not a heat pump. I am looking at the Furrion units but they seem to have good and bad reviews.

Stay cool Jodys Joy!

Ther are GE units. They came on my 2023 Forest River FR30DS.

[Mudfrog]

Funny how we're all different. Ours is a 15k btu rooftop unit. I'll admit that I have to sometimes turn up the TV volume a bit when it's running. On the other hand, the white noise kind of sound it makes helps us to sleep like babies.

I don't know if they still make em or not but we used to have an 8 foot pop up truck camper that we optioned with a 7k btu rooftop unit. Not ducted but it was quiet and worked perfect for that little rig.

Edited to add: I've recently started looking at smaller travel trailers for vacationing with. Some of the models come with window units. However, they don't hang out the side like your typical window unit. They instead, are mounted in a cabinet inside the camper. The condenser exhaust grill is the only thing seen outside. Might be something the OP could do instead of hanging one out a window.

[1stimerveer]

it looks like great minds think alike.
Our rooftop ac quit working about a week before a 10 day trip in august.
It was easy to fit a 5000 btu window unit into our escape window, as you did.
It was quieter than our rooftop unit and did the job. We got the rooftop repaired and and use it as is, but keep the window unit for emergencies just in case.
Safe travels and all the best.

[1stimerveer]

Originally Posted by twill

Is there a way to run the roof air on the low fan setting or will that still be to loud?

We run ours on low most of the time. Its quieter and does the job.
Safe travels and all the best.