YouTube video DIY a/c install video

[stevespopup]

Just posting a separate thread for my recently published YouTube video on a full comprehensive end to end installation video of a rooftop a/c unit on my Forest River pop up camper.

Hope this will finally bury the hatch on questions surrounding an a/c install.

https://youtu.be/aDBzKIWOmTg

Enjoy!

[FlagMac227]

An hour of power! Microwaving popcorn now. Thanks so much Steve!! Today is probably the day to pop a hole in my 227 for our brisk aire II 15000. Texas camping will never be the same.

[stevespopup]

FlagMac227 I stayed up all night to get that video up b/c that was my commitment to you and my subscribers. It honestly was long overdue to get posted and if it weren't for you to ask me more about the details I probably would've procrastinated the posting of this vid!

Enjoy and good luck!

[FlagMac227]

Wow Steve. Excellent video. Excellent work. Now if I can get the family to coordinate with me so I can have the time to do the install I'm sure I'll have no confusion. Thank you! Updates to follow.

[Bama PrimeTime]

Great video, Final results were very professional and informative. Thank you.

[Prism 24G]

Steve,
very professional and clean job you
did,
enjoy comfort temperature in your camper with your family ...:-)

[stevespopup]

thanks everyone for the kind words

Yeah I made it a mission to make sure that the local RV dealers here weren't going to make more off of me than they already have. $175/ hour is the average RV tech rate in my city and when I was told it would cost me $600 in labor I knew that I would have to tackle this on my own.

Thanks for watching everyone

[Oaklevel]

Wow our dealer will just about do the entire AC install for that (including the AC)

[stevespopup]

yeah it's stupid what they charge. Honestly labor rates in Canada are so ridiculously overpriced that how anyone can afford anything here is mind boggling.

In any case I still support local dealers b/c I have to purchase my a/c unit from them ($1000 for the a/c getup). Still almost double the cost of what it is in the US for just the equipment....

[FlagMac227]

So I cut the hole and did the template mount today. A few notes.

I'm about 220lbs, so I made sure I had a 2' x 4' piece of plywood beneath me and did not stray from the edge of the roof. After putting the AC in place, I can notice that the side to side line is no longer convex as much. I don't know if that's because I put too much of me up there (I was not on the edge of the roof with the AC, only to reach the cuts), or if this is natural. It's more of a straight line now side to side, but front to back that healthy curve is still there to shed water.

[FlagMac227]

Do make sure that you put a box, ANY BOX, under your cut. It is't just styrofoam, hehe. And don't get in it. It is VERY scratchy. Lesson learned here, don't be a sloppy cook like your momma taught you.

Get a file, you'll need it. For some reason I chose my cheapest jig saw with the just any old blade that was in it. You'll want a finer metal cutting, stiff blade to slide against the wood and metal of the opening frame. Go slow, keep the base of the tool solidly on the roof, don't let a tear in the metal of the roof or the ceiling split away from the opening like I almost did but cleaned up with a file. Use the file to file off where it's not clean, don't take another go with the saw. I went inside the pup with the roof partly up and filed the opening clean. But wear sleeves or your arms will feel scratchy when you type.

[Prism 24G]

Same thing with all other work at dealer service, everywhere ....
When somebody wrote that dealer asking $1000.00 for base plate installation (Smart for two ), I was,
WOW.
I did by myself for less than 3 hours
efective work .....!!!!

[FlagMac227]

Go up to the wood braces at a shallow angle until you find them. On my pup the inside one was less than an inch from the center seam.

You don't need to remove the screw to drill a hole, heh.

Steve's instructions are about the most comprehensive I've seen on the Tubes.

Thank You Steve, more to come.

FYI, I am doing a Dometic Brisk Aire II 15000 btu for Texas Gulf Coast weather. I am installing a thermostat that I'll move around to different mounts. So a little more wiring to do. I'm also keeping the wiring inside, as I'm fairly sure that AC use will be standard, even if just to remove humidity, which the thermostat will also help with.

[FlagMac227]

If you don't use a box, and then proceed to play in the 'styrofoam', don't wipe your arms when cleaning them off. Wash them off with a cool, not warm, water stream for a few minutes. rubbing only rubs the fibers in deeper, they're actually tiny glass shards!

On second thought, don't file from below. Also, file into the hole, not outwards, so you don't pull the metal sheet away from the framing.

[stevespopup]

nope perfectly normal. The Forest River pop ups all seem to exhibit this issue where the roof has a tendency to "dish" in slightly. I doubt that you're 220 lbs plus the a/c did any appreciable damage. This is not to say that I would be walking on your roof all the time but I'm sure you're fine. Remember those steel support braces aren't that thick so any weight of any sort will cause them to flex a bit.

I am sure you're perfectly fine.

[iceblaze580]

Nice video excellent job with the install


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[stevespopup]

Iceblaze580 - thanks for the compliments

FlagMac227 has some very valid points in how he's been tackling his pop up. Very excited and glad to see those watching my tutorial greatly appreciate it.

[kandl]

Originally Posted by stevespopup

$175/ hour is the average RV tech rate in my city and when I was told it would cost me $600 in labor I knew that I would have to tackle this on my own.

Ya, that's just nuts. Even worse here in Oilberta even though the oil is headed for a trickle.

Very nice vid. Hat's off!

BTW... an inch-pound torque wrench is not hard to find and the better ones are very accurate - some down to 10 inch-pounds.

[FlagMac227]

I bought the wiring today and did a test of the AC and my wiring configuration. Details to follow, but a quick summary, I went with some very flexible 10/3 and 16/3 (x 2 lengths for thermostat, furnace, and generator start) because I am hard wiring it inside the pup. So it needs to supple braided wire to rise up and down without kink issues. That along with telephone wiring and a port to plug the comfort control thermostat in to and have it be mobile to where someone is. Some in the family are temperature sensitive, so this sensor mobility will increase comfort.
It's interesting that I am having a difficult time getting electronic control box mounting instructions (the kind I know would be labelled "OEM only installation" instructions) even though I can buy complete kits from anyone. This information is like a trade secret. Manuals did not come with any of the components for a thermostat install. I'm going to wait another day to try for responses from Dometic, and finish off the rest of the pup wiring while I wait.

[FlagMac227]

I also went with the 10/3 instead of 12/3 because of a tip I got from an electrician about AC wiring in general. That the reason so many people trip breakers on their home even if it's a proper 20 AMP is because wiring capacity is usually 80% of the home breaker. When you have multiple connections, from the AC through different plugs, different cords, an extension cord, an adapter, etc. , every bit of it adds to the resistance. The run I am making in the pup is 25 feet.
Contrary to the intuitive way one would think it works, electricity isn't blocked by resistance, rather it causes the device to pull harder for power. So the more resistance added up over a run, even over "adequate" cabling and proper plugs, the more amps are drawn for the power need. Until the breaker trips (or another weaker link goes if lines are bad enough, but there it might not be a clean break but instead an arc, often in the device itself, like an ac compressor). So increasing the wiring size, even in just one section, can help just enough.