13500 BTU vrs 15000 BTU 233S - Page 2

satdog01 · 03-10-2015, 03:10 PM

Upgraded my unit to 15k, never regretted it. Camping in southern Louisiana proved to be a good test two summers ago. 10-4 on the extra humidity removal of bigger unit. Also use the inside vent cushions which also helps on the Den and BR. Picked those up at CW on sale.

Witch Doctor · 03-10-2015, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RooVader

When I posed this question to Forest River, they told me the cooling would be similar but the larger unit would have more capacity to remove humidity.

Mine on order is a 21dk so it is a little smaller and I have Ecofoil (similar to reflectix) all cut up and ready to roll. I am sticking with 13500...after a while each upgrade started to add up when I calculated it out.

That is really a dumb answer from FR being that is what an A/C does. More Humidity you remove the cooler you get.......All an A/C is, is a big dehumidifier....

RooVader · 03-10-2015, 03:26 PM

Haha, yes...good point as far as Forest River....but another member on here mentioned to me that the longer the unit runs the more effective it may be at removing humidity. From a common sense standpoint it made sense to me that the smaller unit may actually help a little more with humidity as it will run longer.

Who knows, I am no expert.

geotex1 · 03-10-2015, 03:30 PM

Having come from a 21SS - and remember folks the OP is asking about an HTT - I would sway to the 15K unit on the triple bunks if they will all be in play camping in 90-100 degree temperatures because that much tent will be a challenge. Using PUGS and reflectix help, but you can only overcome the thermal loss so much with an HTT. Never a problem with 13.5K on our 21SS with bunk fans circulating, but that's 2 bunks versus 3.

Witch Doctor · 03-10-2015, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RooVader

Haha, yes...good point as far as Forest River....but another member on here mentioned to me that the longer the unit runs the more effective it may be at removing humidity. From a common sense standpoint it made sense to me that the smaller unit may actually help a little more with humidity as it will run longer.

Who knows, I am no expert.

That's a myth....

If anyone ever did any heat calculation you would see how really undersized these units are for the heat gain that RV's allow. Not just FR but all manufacturers.

trbomax · 03-10-2015, 04:26 PM

Our Merhow LQ horse trailer has a 12000 Dometic roof AC and its like a refridgerater in there even with it set as low as it will go.Of course maybe the spray foam insulation has something to do with it too.I cant (well yes I can) believe the difference in quality build in the LQ vs the 315.No staples,all screws covered with grain matched plugs,soft touch walls and cielings,and no place where you can see daylight thru! No plywood or paneling either,but Im getting OT. The 12000 dometic runs just fine off of my 2000 Honda.

tomrob1161 · 03-10-2015, 04:29 PM

You made a smart decision going with the 15,000 BTU unit. Also, when the humidity is high and the temperature is hot, don't run the AC fan on Auto, put it on HIGH. The A/C Compressor will cycle on and off as needed but the fan will run continually. In the evening, when the sun goes down and temperature outside drops, move the fan back to Auto.

Good luck with your new rig.

geotex1 · 03-10-2015, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomrob1161

You made a smart decision going with the 15,000 BTU unit. Also, when the humidity is high and the temperature is hot, don't run the AC fan on Auto, put it on HIGH. The A/C Compressor will cycle on and off as needed but the fan will run continually. In the evening, when the sun goes down and temperature outside drops, move the fan back to Auto.

Good luck with your new rig.

Good tip, especially with the new Dometic's have dark internals regardless of dark or light exterior case!

Tennesseetroy · 03-10-2015, 04:50 PM

I have a 15K and in florida it is not keeping up during the heat of the day in my columbus 5th. Has anyone added 2 nd a/c in bedroom, mine is wired for it and has vent in ceiling. How hard is it?

geotex1 · 03-10-2015, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tennesseetroy

I have a 15K and in florida it is not keeping up during the heat of the day in my columbus 5th. Has anyone added 2 nd a/c in bedroom, mine is wired for it and has vent in ceiling. How hard is it?

Pre-wired and box = piece of cake! RV A/Cs are sold as ready-to-go contained units with no charging or fiddling needed. Simply follow the installation directions and you are good. In fact, it'll be more of a challenge to find were the tucked the pre-wire to hook it into the power center!

chriscowles · 03-10-2015, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RooVader

Mine on order is a 21dk so it is a little smaller and I have Ecofoil (similar to reflectix) all cut up and ready to roll. I am sticking with 13500...after a while each upgrade started to add up when I calculated it out.

I survive with a 13.5K on a 21DK in North Central Florida. It's not as cool as my house in mid-day but it's comfortable enough to take a nap. I'm not foolish enough to camp on an unprotected beach in August, but I don't go to the beach in August, anyway. (Grew up in Florida. Too many blistering sunburns as a kid.)

PUGs definitely help. I haven't gone as far as Reflectix. It's dark and ugly enough as is with just the PUGs. Putting Reflectix in the windows will make it even more of a cave.

That's my main dislike of the 21DK. It's REALLY dark compared to a pop-up. I'm even considering putting a small skylight in the main cabin in the front left corner (facing forward) just to gain some light.

Everything else, we like, but I do wish they were smarter about where they put the exterior storage hatches. If they revised how they hung the plumbing and wiring, there's room for a pass-through at the front end. As is, it strikes me as lazy design.

Stormrider151 · 03-10-2015, 05:06 PM

We live in Georgia and it can get very oppressive here. I had the AC upgraded to a 15000 on my 23ss. What I would do was leave the bunk ends closed and turn the AC on while we set everything else up. When it was really cold inside we lowered the bunk ends one at a time and immediately put the pugs on. This way the AC wasn't trying to cool off already heated fabric. We also ran a dehumidifier the whole time we were camping. Everything stayed nice and cool even in 105 degree heat.

Stormrider151 · 03-10-2015, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tennesseetroy

I have a 15K and in florida it is not keeping up during the heat of the day in my columbus 5th. Has anyone added 2 nd a/c in bedroom, mine is wired for it and has vent in ceiling. How hard is it?

If it pre-wired its really quite simple. just remove the vent and place the ac over the hole using the gasket and sealer. Then it's just a matter of bolting the inside unit to the outside compressor and connecting a few wires. The hard part would be getting the compressor on the roof.

RooVader · 03-10-2015, 05:55 PM

Good feedback Chris, thanks! The company I work at makes a product similar to reflectix so I can wrap the whole camper if I need to, lol! In fact I came home tonight with about 400 feet of the stuff.

I find it interesting that you say it is too dark. That is what attracted us to the 21DK as we thought it felt incredibly light and open. Keep in mind we were debating between that and an r-pod though...so a coffin might have seemed more open than the r-pod. Totally agree on the outside storage though. We decided the outdoor fridge was worth the terrible storage setup.

Back to the AC though, I will definitely report back as the summer heats up. To be honest I am a person that loves heat and never even runs AC in my truck. I do need my wife to camp with me sometimes though! I will probably just turtle if she is there and we can't keep it cool enough.

chriscowles · 03-10-2015, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RooVader

I find it interesting that you say it is too dark. That is what attracted us to the 21DK as we thought it felt incredibly light and open. ... Totally agree on the outside storage though. We decided the outdoor fridge was worth the terrible storage setup.

It's darker that I prefer with the bed windows closed which, of course, you have to do for AC. I got a hybrid so I can get at least some of the sense of openness you get from a pop-up.

I had a false memory of there being clear plastic behind the bunk window covers of our camper. For some reason I was thinking there could be more light with the windows zipped. I guess the light flooding through the plastic on the awning side made up for that.

I briefly researched the cost of adding a clear plastic window at the end, behind the canvas window, but that would involve disassembling the entire tent and paying someone to customize something I just paid for. My costs were high enough already, and I'd mess up my warranty.

As for the dorm cube, I saw that as outside storage. It was one of the things that sold me on the 21DK. The first thing I did was remove it to give to my college freshman son. That adds a lot of space. I have plenty of room in my inside box for my beer.

What I'd value a lot is pass-through storage, or at least pass-in storage (my term, meaning a single door on one end of a long compartment), of which there is none. Having had the seat off the dinette bench I saw how much room there is. If it didn't involve removing the furnace so I could reroute the wiring/plumbing umbilical to the top of the compartment, I'd add a door on either end of that space, at the front of the trailer.

ParrishCamper · 03-10-2015, 09:18 PM

I have 233S and we went w/ the 15k AC. I'm glad we did. The unit does a great job in Florida sunshine. We have camped in the FL Keys in Summer and had no problems. I will say we always use our PUGs which makes a huge difference in the beds.
For the little extra it's worth it.

richard rv · 03-11-2015, 10:24 PM

Hi all, we have a 40 foot motorhome with a 13.500in the bedroom and a15000 in.the main living area. When we go to Florida it takes both units to keep it comfortable in the coach. Our camping buddy had a 13500 and wound up buying a 10000 but portable from walmart for his fiver's bedroom.

Hemlock04 · 06-06-2016, 11:56 AM

I have a 2017 IKSS and opted for the 15K A/C unit, I finally got a chance to use it Saturday and it was chilly. I did keep the privacy shades to the bunk ends closed. I also seasoned the tent ends, Sunday was very very heavy rain up here in MA and I had about a quarter size puddle in each end on the big slide side. The rain was coming down in that direction so I assume it came through the window area but it wasn't much and I was pleased. I did have a puddle on top of the tents when I opened them and was not pleased with that. I could see where it was coming in along the top thanks to the pollen being washed out where the leak is. I cleaned the gutter out on top of the seal and hopefully that will fix it up. It was clogged.

Ron045 · 12-08-2016, 10:29 PM

I did a search on this question and the only thing I could find was a thread from 2010 which basically said you can not tell the difference between these two units with out looking at the model number.

Does this still hold true? Does anyone have a picture of the 15K and 13.5K in recent models to compare?

Thanks!
Ron

RACarvalho · 12-09-2016, 08:53 AM

In my opinion, nobody buying a hybrid should choose the 13500.

My reasoning is this:
1 - Hybrids don't have good insulation due to the canvas over the beds.
2 - Even if you don't like camping in hot places, eventually you would get some days that are hot and you will regret the 13.5K decision.
3 - On the bill of my trailer it says the add on for the 15K is only $181.25, which is nothing compared to the total amount you are paying.
4 - We have camped in Nevada in the summer and I can tell you that even the 15K is borderline when temperatures reach 100F or above, and we have only two beds that goes out, with 3, It would be better to have a 25K airconditioning, again, in my opinion.

Those are my 2c....

This may help some:
Roo's have ducted air which is a good sales pitch but I learned that even when the dump vents are open, you still get air going out of the ducted vents so I just let the dump vents open and can get more cold air inflow doing that.

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