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Old 06-27-2016, 09:29 AM   #1
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New Forest River HVAC Not Cutting It...

Hello,

We just traded our Cameo 5th wheel for a brand new 2016 Forrest River 5th wheel 372 LOK from Camping World and we Love It!!!!

However, the temp outside is 92 degrees (Florida), the temp inside is 88 degrees.

I have the front bedroom AC set to 75, fan on Hi and the vent shut to push the cool air to the rest of the coach.

The back AC is set to 75, fan on Hi and 3 oscillating fans throughout the coach to move air and the best I can do at high noon is 88 degrees inside.

After the sun goes down it catches up and around 2am it reaches 75 degrees.

So is this normal for Forrest River?

I've read about the collapsing returns - might be the case between the return vent and the unit on the roof. Not much air is being sucked into the return.

I did go on the roof and pull the covers, and YES the AC unit in the back was pulling a bunch of hot air from the attic (where the wires come into play). So I metal taped it all up nice and tight. But not much of an improvement for the return airflow.

With both units going the supply side is cranking out cold air.

But they run non stop. The front bedroom will reach desired temp quickly.

Any immediate ideas?

Thanks,

Mako!
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Old 06-27-2016, 10:16 AM   #2
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Pull down the the intake grill and check to make sure return/ intake divider is in place and sealed.


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Old 06-27-2016, 08:51 PM   #3
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[QUOTE=TURBS;1240740]Pull down the the intake grill and check to make sure return/ intake divider is in place and sealed.


Sorry, what is that? the return/ intake divider???

I have completely removed the grill and frame from the ceiling, reached inside, didnt feel anything but space.
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Old 06-27-2016, 09:31 PM   #4
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Looking up through intake side.


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Old 06-27-2016, 09:43 PM   #5
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I have a Cedar Creek fifth wheel and what I do is set the AC, front bedroom and living room but I don't know anything about the fan. I have a fan on the thermostat but it's never on, just the AC. I guess yours is different, my two AC will pull the temperature down.


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Old 06-28-2016, 09:04 AM   #6
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[QUOTE=TURBS;1241551]Looking up through intake side.


Thanks Turbs, I don't see anything like that for mine. It's wide open.
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Old 06-28-2016, 10:01 AM   #7
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It cant be wide open, otherwise your a/c wont cool. Hmmmmm ?!?
You have to divide intake and exhaust or its pointless

Can you take a pic of yours?

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Old 06-28-2016, 01:52 PM   #8
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Question forest river a/c

I have 2017 forest river with coleman mach ac and just bought this thing. have had rv's in past and this is not working at all. 87 outside and 83 in here after 6-7 hours. actually this rig has been a mess with other things since we bought it 2 months ago. my other rv's would run u out it was so cold
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Old 06-28-2016, 02:01 PM   #9
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I live in Central FL and my destination of choice is WAY down south Florida.
I have not had any issue with my AC keeping up. Even in this HOT weather. I was recently in a 30amp location and was able to keep it cool with 1 AC with my front window blinds closed. When I went to sleep I switched from Front AC to Rear and froze all night. I hope you find the culprit because it would make camping not fun to sweat all the time.
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Old 06-28-2016, 04:19 PM   #10
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Do you have the Mode set to Cool or is it on Fan? It needs to be set on Cool for the A/C to turn on. With the fan set to high, once the temperature set point is reached, the A/C compressor turns off but the fan stays on to keep air moving. (If that makes sense, and in case you didn't already know)

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Old 06-28-2016, 06:58 PM   #11
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a/c

thanks for input. I have it on the right settings, cool, fan etc. I don't think I hear the condenser kicking in
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Old 06-28-2016, 11:00 PM   #12
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[QUOTE=brack31;1242483]Do you have the Mode set to Cool or is it on Fan? It needs to be set on Cool for the A/C to turn on. With the fan set to high, once the temperature set point is reached, the A/C compressor turns off but the fan stays on to keep air moving. (If that makes sense, and in case you didn't already know)

Hey Glen, its set to cool - I have cold air coming into the coach. its just not enough.

I'll take picture tomorrow - maybe that will help...

Thanks For the help!
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Old 06-29-2016, 06:17 AM   #13
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[QUOTE=Mako284;1243015]
Quote:
Originally Posted by brack31 View Post
Do you have the Mode set to Cool or is it on Fan? It needs to be set on Cool for the A/C to turn on. With the fan set to high, once the temperature set point is reached, the A/C compressor turns off but the fan stays on to keep air moving. (If that makes sense, and in case you didn't already know)

Hey Glen, its set to cool - I have cold air coming into the coach. its just not enough.

I'll take picture tomorrow - maybe that will help...

Thanks For the help!
What is the intake and exhaust temps?

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Old 06-29-2016, 08:48 AM   #14
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I didnt think my a/c was cooling very well, however its doing just fine.
23° difference between return and exhaust.

Ext temp 81
Int temp 76
Ret temp 67
Exh temp 44

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Old 06-30-2016, 05:31 PM   #15
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Have 2017 Columbus 377MB, we are having same issue, in sun and 93 outside its 84 in living room and 88 in bedroom, both units running none stop all day, start out at 65 inside, by 3:30 in afternoon it's 84-88 inside.
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Old 06-30-2016, 05:32 PM   #16
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Ours is ducted so no access from inside
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Old 06-30-2016, 11:34 PM   #17
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I have another thread about this, so obviously have the same issue with my 2017 RBOK. it will keep it around 15 below outside temp but ac' runs nonstop. I also have the upgraded insulation and thermal Windows which I'm calling bs on at this point. I added 2" pic to the return ducts to hold them open but don't think it helped. The exhaust temp is as low as 55 in the heat of the day so it's blowing cold. Just not enough air and too much heat coming in. It doesn't help that I have 2 huge shower skylights plus 4 exhaust fans and the door Windows. All of the skylights are now covered with insulation and still doesn't keep up as I would expect. The only the I haven't done is pulled the roof units to check the wiring holes..
I have really struggled to find the right thermostat settings. Lately have been setting the back ac to 65 so it runs all day otherwise it would shut off while the rest of unit was hot. I also taped up the vents in the bedroom and master bath to force more air to the rest of unit. Again, all of this didn't solve the problem but I'm guessing it helped a bit.
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Old 07-04-2016, 09:24 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TURBS View Post
Looking up through intake side.


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What am I looking at here and is it correct or incorrect? Thanx for your input.
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Old 07-04-2016, 09:42 PM   #19
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What am I looking at here and is it correct or incorrect? Thanx for your input.


Looking at the return and exhaust divider, you can see where it has come loose from the two sided white tape.
Therefore allowing intake and return air to mix.


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Old 07-05-2016, 09:31 AM   #20
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I just talked to my BIL this weekend and his A/C had the same problem shown in Turbs' pic. Apparently it's a lot more common a problem than I thought.
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