New Forest River HVAC Not Cutting It... - Page 2

TURBS · 07-05-2016, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

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.

This is the second forest river camper of three that I've had this happen.

2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"
2016 nights camped "10"

Drrayrn · 07-26-2016, 12:24 PM

In regard to my ac which I believe is not cool enough, I do not believe I ever heard compressor come on (I could be wrong here), the therm/fan will run forever. I feel some cool air in bedroom, and out of the quick cool vents, but the living room vents are marginal. I have plenty of water coming off the roof from the unit. with that said, does water coming out mean the compressor is working? this is my third rv and I never had this problem even in the summer in desert with one unit. Thanks for any input!!!

HVACMASTER · 07-26-2016, 02:04 PM

If you are producing water compressor is running

Drrayrn · 07-26-2016, 03:36 PM

thanks hvacmaster. that answers that question! other than that I cannot figure why we r not getting as cool as I think we should. enjoy your day!

Randall32749 · 07-26-2016, 06:00 PM

I have a Rockwood ultra light TT and it does the same on the A/c. Just want cool like my old camper.

Drrayrn · 07-26-2016, 06:23 PM

I just sent a certified letter regarding this issue to my dealer and forest river (prob a waste of ink). I have had 2 previous tt's and they would run you out they were so cold. If I were not in Wyoming now I could not live in it (we r fulltiming for now)) it seems to be an issue with others too Randall. I cannot get any service here in the middle of nowhere and any other place states 6 weeks to get me in and some said they have too much business now and since I did not buy there they will not squeeze me in. so....I know a guy in az who will look at it when we get down that way.

HVACMASTER · 07-26-2016, 07:56 PM

I final convinced my dealer after having camper for a week that there is not enough air flow. They tried to tell me was working fine with 82 return and 53-55 supply. I own an air conditioning company, I had to explain to them that won't fly. Factory is no help so far, told they what they need to do, increase return, mine has ducted return and supply. It is way too restrictive, gave them two options in my opinion they can install return below unit like they used to be or tear off roof and rebuild. Factory tried to blame Coleman, they concurred not enough air flow. Dealer is getting new returns to add while they wait days for response from factory. I've read too many posts about this same issue to believe factories are unaware of the problem by now.

BDavis · 07-29-2016, 07:24 PM

Sucks that we have to go through all this BS to get the manufacturer to do what's right.

Too Tall · 07-30-2016, 10:09 PM

When you open the quick cool down sliders on the ceiling, does it blow plenty of air?

HVACMASTER · 07-30-2016, 10:39 PM

That's the thing, they took out the quick cool vents and went fully ducted, just too small of return. Had dealer add return with quick cool damper on ceiling below units.

Too Tall · 07-31-2016, 09:03 AM

Yeah cuz in my little trailer it blows like hell through the ceiling but when you close the quick cool there's not much air coming out of these vents. I think all of Forest River campers are probably ducked it too small.

Henboy · 07-31-2016, 02:35 PM

The factory AC duct cutouts in the ceiling run continuously from the front of the trailer to the back. They use expanding foam to block them off at the end of the run if not blocked by a wall.

We discovered cool conditioned air blowing out of the refer vent on the back outside wall. They neglected to block off the duct after the last outlet before the refer, allowing conditioned air to continue to blow in the ceiling duct over the refer, down the wall chase and out of the trailer!

Another duct was blocked with foam before the last vent on the run, not allowing AC into the bath area. Maybe the tech mixed up left from right.

AC work fine now!!

Drrayrn · 08-01-2016, 09:21 AM

Hey thanks for all the info on this evidently all too common problem. It seems I get cool air out of the quick cool vents. But there is not enough air to keep it cool in the living area with the quick cool vents closed (so I usually keep them open). The bedroom seems to be the coolest place in the rig. I am going to have a tech come out soon to take a look at this. But, again, I had a 2007 Montana 31 ft. and the air in there froze us out and even in the high desert in summer. Also had a 27 ft. salem years ago and it too did the job in the desert. So...

Too Tall · 08-01-2016, 09:39 AM

I'm wonder how one would check to see if the ducts are not sealed but more importantly if they are not, how can one reseal it. The only access that I can see on my RV is to remove the little round vent on the far ends and pump some foam in there just as a precaution in case they were not adequately sealed?

Any ideas on the easy way to handle this.

Drrayrn · 08-01-2016, 10:00 AM

that is the only thing I could figure too( with the vent holes). when I get the tech in here (about 2-3 weeks) I will post what they advised or fixed (I hope). I have to move to a less remote area to get it checked because there aint nobody out here!!!

Too Tall · 08-01-2016, 10:07 AM

Thanks I would be curious to know. It could be that the duct work is just too small for the capacity of the fan and AC but I would sure like to follow up on this possibility of a leak.

Drrayrn · 08-01-2016, 10:26 AM

I wonder that too (too tall). I have 2 vents in living area, 1 in kitchen area (besides quick dump), one in BR and 4 in bedroom (u figure that out-4 in an area half the size of the living area?)? Oorah!

Henboy · 08-01-2016, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Too Tall

I'm wonder how one would check to see if the ducts are not sealed but more importantly if they are not, how can one reseal it. The only access that I can see on my RV is to remove the little round vent on the far ends and pump some foam in there just as a precaution in case they were not adequately sealed?

Any ideas on the easy way to handle this.

Yes, pull out/remove round vent deflector. Use a rod and a flashlight to probe for blockage. The ducks are blocked/sealed with expanding foam insulation.

Drrayrn · 08-01-2016, 11:24 AM

Thanks Henboy. I was wondering about that; now I have to find a flexible rod about 8 foot long

**Bama Rambler** · 08-01-2016, 04:53 PM

I took a picture inside my ducts this morning with my phone. The round vents are large enough for the phone to fit in them. The duct is tall enough for the camera part of the phone to fit inside. I could see the end of the duct. It looks like they smashed the ends of the ducts together to terminate the duct. However, that left a small hole on each side of the duct that is surely leaking cool air out. I plan on filling the end of the duct with foam to stop the loss.

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