Hot camper needs to keep cool

[RitaB]

Bob Wells of Cheap RV living has just started a series on keeping your RV cool. His second video just came out and is on RV windshield covers. He's a good researcher on ways to live better in an RV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mh8VApfwbA

[1984fireball]

37 foot 5th wheel has a much larger area but..
1. Blocking the windows with the reflective stuff did make a huge difference.
2. Thermostat. If it is in a bad location, such as having cold air from the AC blowing directly on it, it will think it is cool when it is not. My AC in the bedroom will cool the bedroom off and cool the thermostat that is in the main area causing the main AC to shut off.
3. Shade, find it!!

[Walholler]

Something to keep in mind, a RV air conditioner will only cool the air that it takes in about 18 to 20 degrees. So if it is 100 degrees inside you RV, then the output of the AC unit will range around 80 to 82 degrees. DW and I found that one 15K unit cannot keep our 32 ft. 5th wheel cool when sitting in the sun, so we added another unit. Big difference now.

[Pooneil]

A big heat gain from the sun will be the bubble windows. Anything you can do will help, even stuffing an old pillow into the small ones or inserting Reflectix. The side windows will get hot in direct sun too.

That said, I've never had the problem you mentioned. It stays comfortable inside even in the Texas sun. A inside fan will help a great deal to move the cold air a few feet off the floor, up to where you actually live.

A recommendation to open while the roof vent while the AC runs is silly. If it is cooler inside than outside, then anyair that goes out will be replaced by bringing in warmer air. The vent trick is like opening the windows on your car. It lets out the hot air from the car sitting in the sun, but once the AC starts really working, open windows make things worse.

[tomkatb]

An AC unit only does so much.

We rolled into central Kansas after a day on the road at 95 degrees. Was bummed about the poor performance of our new trailer till my wife told me the outside temp. That afternoon it was 4 hours until the sun went down and the units caught up.

Shade makes a big difference. Our ceiling fan makes a big difference.

In our driveway with good shade one 15,000 btu unit was enough in 90 plus. Trees are good.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Walholler

Something to keep in mind, a RV air conditioner will only cool the air that it takes in about 18 to 20 degrees. So if it is 100 degrees inside you RV, then the output of the AC unit will range around 80 to 82 degrees. DW and I found that one 15K unit cannot keep our 32 ft. 5th wheel cool when sitting in the sun, so we added another unit. Big difference now.

True, but not totally true. With your example, the AC will supply discharge air at 82 deg. But the temperature in the RV will begin to drop, so it is no longer having to cool 100 deg air, it's now cooling, say, 95 deg air and the discharge drops also, say, to 78 deg. This will continue until the air at your T-stat reaches the setpoint.

The only fly in the ointment is that the AC can only remove so many BTU's/hr. The "flow rate" of heat into the RV is proportional to the temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the RV, so as you cool the RV inside, the "flow rate"of heat from the outside to the inside increases. When the heat input from outside becomes greater than what the AC can remove, you won't cool anymore. And if this temperature is higher than what you've set your T-stat to, you probably won't be a happy camper.

[MCTroy]

Hello, Krasay. We are camping near Kentucky on the Ohio River. We can vouch for those hot, humid 95 degree days. We get full late afternoon sun and the 13k but ac struggles. I added black out drapes on the back windows. Those are a huge help. We also keep the "pillow" fillers over the vents. 91 outside now. 81 but no humidity inside so it is comfortable. Good news, cooler weather here next week.

[tomandtess]

Hi there. My husband and I have the Rockwood A 214 HW. We took it to Utah and Arizona last year in September and visited Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon National parks as well as Dead Horse Point! What an amazing trip! Living in the Shenandoah Valley and camping in Virginia in the summer means hot, humid weather. What we have found works best for us is to open the exhaust fan at least till it will turn on and run it on number one. We also have the ac set to auto and normally at around 75 degrees. James River state park was beastly hot the last weekend in June (around 95-100 and heat index around 108.). Our camper stayed nice and cool. Gotta keep the hot air going out of that peak!

[Reverse_snowbird]

Also, try to minimize the trips in and out of the camper. Once you open that door, the amount of heat gain is amazing.

[tomandtess]

Oh...keep shade closed on bubble window too!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by kho6658

Go to home depot and cover every window with this. Will make a huge difference.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflecti...6025/100012574

That's what I have done to our Class C !!!
But I saved some money by going to Menards !!!

[krasay]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. When I get back home, I will set the camper up and try out all the suggestions and see what works best.

[tomandtess]

Just went camping this weekend and noticed that as soon as I turned off and closed the exhaust fan/vent, it started to become uncomfortable even with the ac set at 75. (I was just testing what I had advised you to do.) As soon as I opened the vent, it started feeling much better. Simply set the on/off mode to “cool” and then set temperature to whatever you like and have that roof vent open somewhat! That’s what works for our Rockwood a frame.

[krasay]

Originally Posted by tomandtess

Just went camping this weekend and noticed that as soon as I turned off and closed the exhaust fan/vent, it started to become uncomfortable even with the ac set at 75. (I was just testing what I had advised you to do.) As soon as I opened the vent, it started feeling much better. Simply set the on/off mode to “cool” and then set temperature to whatever you like and have that roof vent open somewhat! That’s what works for our Rockwood a frame.

Thanks

[fredoe61]

Non ducted rv acs have a common problem. Because the cheap thermostat on these is usually on the ac itself where all the cold air is blasting the little cheap tstat will satisfy before the entire rv cools down. Since the fan never shuts off the compressor is off thus blowing only tepid air untill the compressor kicks in again. To solve this problem I had to completely modify the ac and put a thermostat on the far wall of the camper. Now the ac runs us out of there it gets so cold even in the hottest temps.

[lcangler]

We have used reflectix on all the windows for the last year. That made a huge difference. Also before a trip this week, we made the modification to move one vent to blow to front of the camper. I found it made a noticeable difference keeping the front as cold as the back of the camper. Granted, we had a shady spot. Will see how that mod helps when we don't have shade.

[krasay]

Originally Posted by lcangler

We have used reflectix on all the windows for the last year. That made a huge difference. Also before a trip this week, we made the modification to move one vent to blow to front of the camper. I found it made a noticeable difference keeping the front as cold as the back of the camper. Granted, we had a shady spot. Will see how that mod helps when we don't have shade.

Thanks, I saw a previous post with this mod, I was going to add it if needed. I will know on Monday's dry run.

[JKVenero]

Lift the bed and unscrew the plywood covering the ac. Check the ductwork to make sure there’s no kinks in the ductwork, no gaping holes in the surrounding panels and the drain holes are clear. The cabinetry that the ac sits in acts as the return for the unit.
I had a similar unit without the bump out over the table. The AC would keep up without a problem and freeze you out at night.
Hope this helps.

[sholdeman]

I use a small fan pointed up by the dinette table to circulate the cool air from the AC. I have a 2017 A213HW.

[DaRealDeal77]

Hi,
While traveling out west, in Bakersfield, CA we experienced 106 temperatures, which made our Motorhome 89 degrees, an oven with the A/C at 60. We also called a tech to come and check the A/C and found out it was working fine. He recommended covering all the windows with bubble reflecting material, (even the huge windshield) and purchasing to Vornado Fans model 660 and above to circulate the air! Magic! We never got the A/C to go to 60, but a cool 72-75, which made a big difference. Hope this helps