Campers living in hot weather states

[MillerTime]

We live in central Oklahoma. Here in southern areas a lot of house hold ac units are heat pump units ( we are all electric at our place- no ng or propane) - in the winter they work in reverse and can heat your house till temps get in the mid 30°s. I was wanting to add a second ac unit to our master bedroom and get the heat pump, so we could warm the trailer a little on electric if needed when it is just a little chilly.

Sorry I didn't mention, that it was adding a 2nd ac that was a heat pump

[Terier]

I have a single A/C on my 20' TT and it will keep the trailer cool enough while running. I usually will use a table fan to move the air around while directed at me. I camp solo so I don't need to share.

I live in SoCal and avoid camping in the city or desert during during warmer months. Instead I will head to the beach where it's much cooler but the mountains would be another good choice.

A year ago on the 4th of July it was 104* and both campgrounds lost power several times including once for 18 hours. Surprising since I was staying in the new campground that was about a year & half old. Since the power was out the water play area was out of order too.

[Jtant]

Originally Posted by MillerTime

We have the basicly the same settup. 32-34' 5er, 2 slides, 1-15k ac. Here the past 2 summers it has been over 100 most of the summer. Our ac would keep it in the 80s untill it got over 110, then it got up to 90-92, and we had a tower fan blowing all the time. We are adding a heat pump in the spring so we wont have this problem.
- our quick fix was to just stay in the lake or a pool in the afternoons & evenings

Do you have a 50 amp hook up? If not how is the heat pump powered? JT

[MillerTime]

No I have 30 amp. You can have a dedicated 20 amp cord that you will plug into the pedastal, if you dont want ti convert to a 50 amp service.The dealers around here have been $1400-1700 and said they were adding 2nd acs every week the past 2 summers.

- I was thinking about basically converting my trailer to 50 amp, by installing a new breaker box that is wired for the 30 amp and a 20 amp, pulling my existing 30 amp cord out and adding a 50 amp shore cord to the breaker box. Then just hard wiring from the new breakers to the prior 30amp service and to the new ac unit.

-hope this isn't too hard to understand. Of course a dealer could get you taken care of- the dealer that quoted me the $1700 was going to do pretty much what I just said about adding another breaker box. The other one I think was just going to add a 20 amp extention cord to run the 2nd unit.

[Jtant]

Originally Posted by MillerTime

No I have 30 amp. You can have a dedicated 20 amp cord that you will plug into the pedastal, if you dont want ti convert to a 50 amp service.The dealers around here have been $1400-1700 and said they were adding 2nd acs every week the past 2 summers.

- I was thinking about basically converting my trailer to 50 amp, by installing a new breaker box that is wired for the 30 amp and a 20 amp, pulling my existing 30 amp cord out and adding a 50 amp shore cord to the breaker box. Then just hard wiring from the new breakers to the prior 30amp service and to the new ac unit.

-hope this isn't too hard to understand. Of course a dealer could get you taken care of- the dealer that quoted me the $1700 was going to do pretty much what I just said about adding another breaker box. The other one I think was just going to add a 20 amp extention cord to run the 2nd unit.

$1400 to $1700 is a big chunk of coin but I will keep it in mind if the one AC doesn't work out. Right now I am just excited to get into a fiver. Our hitch just came into the dealership and we are scheduled to get it installed and pick up our new camper next Saturday. Thanks for all the great contributions. JT

[MillerTime]

That's exciting! Have fun next sat., and have fun camping!

[LaydBack]

The link in my sig will take you to pics of my 50A upgrade on the TT I recently sold. It's an in-depth undertaking, to do right, but not impossible. Having done it, I ordered the new fiver with 50A service and 2 ACs. It's not always the temp that overwhelms our units, sometimes it's the humidity. After the 2nd AC unit, I had no issues. I could get the trailer cooled in the heat of the day, even if neither AC unit had been on at all.

[DnD]

Originally Posted by Jtant

$1400 to $1700 is a big chunk of coin but I will keep it in mind if the one AC doesn't work out. Right now I am just excited to get into a fiver. Our hitch just came into the dealership and we are scheduled to get it installed and pick up our new camper next Saturday. Thanks for all the great contributions. JT

Congrats! Enjoy the new 5er and happy camping!

[RVChick]

Yes congrats on the new 5er!! You are going to love it!! Hope you can show us a photo!

[TheFordes]

JTant,
Hello from VA,
First keep in mind that anything over 70 is hot to my family.

First camper 31 tt with 30 amp service with 1 15btu AC.
In the summer couldn't keep the camper below 80.

Put a 13.5 ac in the bunk house where the roof vent was. Ran a seperate 30 amp cord just for the AC. With cheaters for 50 amp and 20 amp. Complete install for about $700. That was about 5 years ago thouogh

Camper was then nicknamed the meat locker!!!!

Now have a 43ft toy hauler and it had 2 ac and put a 3rd on it in the garage.
Her name is Bertha but she also a meat locker!!!

Good luck and Happy Camping!!!!

[Jtant]

Originally Posted by TheFordes

JTant,
Hello from VA,
First keep in mind that anything over 70 is hot to my family.

First camper 31 tt with 30 amp service with 1 15btu AC.
In the summer couldn't keep the camper below 80.

Put a 13.5 ac in the bunk house where the roof vent was. Ran a seperate 30 amp cord just for the AC. With cheaters for 50 amp and 20 amp. Complete install for about $700. That was about 5 years ago thouogh

Camper was then nicknamed the meat locker!!!!

Now have a 43ft toy hauler and it had 2 ac and put a 3rd on it in the garage.
Her name is Bertha but she also a meat locker!!!

Good luck and Happy Camping!!!!

Thanks for the advise. I may be checking with you about how you installed and wher you bought the second AC. I was reading somewhere that 15K is supposed to cool up to 800 sq ft but I am not sure about what insulation value was needed and windows that are installed in most campers are single pane and not much help. I really don't like camping in extremely hot temperatures anyway but thanks for the post and I may ask for specifics from you if this just doesn't keep us comfortable. I owned a 31 ft travel trailer with a 13.5 and it was fine all the time except for once in Vegas. Need to get your way. Do you have any recommendations for camping in the Shendoah (sp) Valley? We are also seeking a nice campground on Chesapeake (sp) Bay? Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks JT

[TheFordes]

Jtant,

I will be more than willing to help in anyway.

In the Valley, Yes I am blessed to be born, raised and living in there are a ton of campgrounds. Depends on what kind of camping you like. If you let me know I will have to give you some recomendations. On the Bay there are two that I have heard good things about but havent been to. One is Cherry Stone and the other is Beth Page. From the looks of it they look like huge campground with Water\Splash parks with crabbing and all kinds of stuff to do.

So What kind of camping you into. Peace and quite, or tons for the family to do, state Parks, Hiking.

Let me know and I will be happy to help you out.

PS it is 70 degrees here today and my camper is covered and we wont go until March. Not a happy camper today

[Jtant]

Originally Posted by TheFordes

Jtant,

I will be more than willing to help in anyway.

In the Valley, Yes I am blessed to be born, raised and living in there are a ton of campgrounds. Depends on what kind of camping you like. If you let me know I will have to give you some recomendations. On the Bay there are two that I have heard good things about but havent been to. One is Cherry Stone and the other is Beth Page. From the looks of it they look like huge campground with Water\Splash parks with crabbing and all kinds of stuff to do.

So What kind of camping you into. Peace and quite, or tons for the family to do, state Parks, Hiking.

Let me know and I will be happy to help you out.

PS it is 70 degrees here today and my camper is covered and we wont go until March. Not a happy camper today

I feel your pain also. It's about 5PM and my outdoor thermo says 68 degrees wish I were camping also but it will be March before I venture out also. Not a fan if big places with putt-putt and all that other stuff. Love state parks but most of ours do not have sewer hook ups which is nice. However, my new rig has 84 gals of gray water and 42 black so I don't think that is an issue anymore, used to be 30 and 30. Love quiet places with lots of space between sites. Hiking and photography are my outside hobbies. Pets are a must, we travel with 2 jack russells. Not a fan of KOAs most of the time sites are small and very close to each other. Quiet parks with large sites that are not too close to each other with great scenery. Thanks for any suggestions if you are coming through Tn I have a few favorites I could recommend to you. JT

[jimh]

we camp in one campground that doesn't offer anything greater than 30amp. we run them one at a time. we run the main unit durring the day and switch to the heat pump (br) at nite. the noise blocks out outside activity.

[Ed and Joy]

Thanks for all this info. We plan to order our 5th Wheel at the upcoming show.
2 X AC it is. Bonus if the Bedroom unit is a Heatpump.

Got it.

[prairiecamper]

Originally Posted by Ed and Joy

Thanks for all this info. We plan to order our 5th Wheel at the upcoming show.
2 X AC it is. Bonus if the Bedroom unit is a Heatpump.

Got it.

Ed & Joy, I don't know of anywhere in Canada where you will need 2 A/C units even July August. We have 1 in our new trailer, and had 1 in our old trailer and hardly ever used it! And if you do need to use air conditioning 1 is more than enough. On the other hand if you plan on doing Arizona in July then????

[Ed and Joy]

We plan to go south for the winters. So Arizona, yes. Summer in Arizona, no. The summers are so nice here at home that I would not want to miss one. Summer is short but nice.
Also, I wrote about the heat pump being in the front AC and it is only offered in the rear AC unit.

It just warmed up to -20C here today, it has been -35C for weeks with wind chills making -40 to -46.

Which way to Arizona... next winter.

[prairiecamper]

Yes I agree summers here in the south (Canada) are quite nice as well, winters however are something else! As I get older I find I need more heat. One day I will check out Yellowknife, we have done Alaska want to do it again and will include Yellowknife in the next Journey. On the AC question get the one heat pump unit you won't regret it. We just finished a few days of -35C enough for me!!

[Pipeman]

If you come to Windsor, Ontario in the summer, you will probably use 2 ACs. Right now it's -9 C but on Monday it's supposed to get up to +10C and rain. Oh the Florida of Canada.........