AC upgrade

[fxfb2000]

Hello, I have a 2018 FR rockwood 2902WS travel trailer. It seems that our air conditioner is just not producing good to cool our trailer down. Is it possible to upgrade the air conditioner? We have two Max fans as well. Been trying to run those two along with the air conditioner. Right or wrong, not sure. Any thoughts would be welcomed.
Thanks.

[nvs4602]

Do you know what size AC unit you have now?from an ad online it shows its a 13500btu. Which is really not enough for camper. We have a 32' class c and the 15000btu is really not enough. I found we are losing a lot of cold air out through the bottom of our slides. You can actually see daylight under them. I bought 2" x 2" air conditioner foam to tuck in the bottom when slides are out. You could upgrade to a 15000btu unit and see if that works. If not put the original 13500btu unit in the bed room and make it so you use the 20amp plug on the post to plug it into.

[fxfb2000]

Thanks, yeah, I should have put in the thread. I’ll get that and put it in this thread

[wildmanabe]

when i'm trying to get my 5'er cold. i run fan at low speed. But 13k ac isn't enough. I'm in florida. where a lot of times by 9am it's in high 80's. So i set ac to 68, get the rv as cold as possible prior to sun heating it up. Also i had a 2nd ac in bedroom 13k. most time rv just goes to 76 around 2pm.

[tomkatb]

The word ultra lite means lite weight.

Depends. No insulation under the floor and plastic bottom?

How many and how big are the ac units. Without one optional 15,000 btu unit and a second 13,000 btu ac unit you simply Do not not have enough air conditioning capacity for Houston Texas during the summer!

Dirty units? Coils need occasional cleaning. Measure output temps of the units. Should be 20 degrees below air temp in the room.

We use the fantastic fan when we first park. Removing the really hot air for a half hour helps get the heat to dissipate. Then we turn it off.

When traveling in hot weather, above 95 degrees, our two 15,000 btu ac units cannot get our 37’ fiver with heavy insulation, in control much before bedtime.

[18LT]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

The word ultra lite means lite weight.

Depends. No insulation under the floor and plastic bottom?

How many and how big are the ac units. Without one optional 15,000 btu unit and a second 13,000 btu ac unit you simply Do not not have enough air conditioning capacity for Houston Texas during the summer!

Dirty units? Coils need occasional cleaning. Measure output temps of the units. Should be 20 degrees below air temp in the room.

We use the fantastic fan when we first park. Removing the really hot air for a half hour helps get the heat to dissipate. Then we turn it off.

When traveling in hot weather, above 95 degrees, our two 15,000 btu ac units cannot get our 37’ fiver with heavy insulation, in control much before bedtime.

I don't have any magical fix for the problem. I'd remove the ceiling fixture to make sure the cold air/return air bulkhead isn't passing air between them. Mine was passing quite a bit of air, which I sealed with aluminum duct sealing tape. At that time you should be able to see if the fan assembly is dirty, which will reduce airflow.
I had to install some thin self-adhesive weatherstrip foam around the perimeter of my ceiling fixture. It was leaking air between the edges and the ceiling.
Every little bit helps.
As mentioned in another post, pull the cover from the roof unit and inspect the condenser for dirt and clean it and the fan.
Hi tomcatb! I'm still hoping to get the ok to get down your way to do some camping while visiting the Air Force Museum.

[tomkatb]

The Air Force museum has expanded. Bad news. Cannot see it all in a day! Still free! Convenient rv park is at Caesars Creek. Open most of the year! Right now, the air show is coming up. Also a treat.

Yes, everything helps ac.

Next step is measuring temps. Could be dirty coils. Like yours, could be boogered ducting. Debris in ducts.

[Scotrv]

You shouldn't be running your Maxxair fans with the AC. Your Rockwood is a very well insulated trailer with a 4" thick block foam roof. As others have said, make sure the unit is clean. If you can measure the air outlet temp on the unit it should be around 15 - 20 degrees cooler than the ambient inside air temp. If it is, it is working as designed. Is your AC unit a 13.5 or 15? One or two units?

[dankirk]

Check out the RV Air Flow device. It improves the efficiency of your AC. You'll need the one for Coleman Mach with shallow plenum for your Rockwood.

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by 18LT

I don't have any magical fix for the problem. I'd remove the ceiling fixture to make sure the cold air/return air bulkhead isn't passing air between them. Mine was passing quite a bit of air, which I sealed with aluminum duct sealing tape. At that time you should be able to see if the fan assembly is dirty, which will reduce airflow.
I had to install some thin self-adhesive weatherstrip foam around the perimeter of my ceiling fixture. It was leaking air between the edges and the ceiling.
Every little bit helps.
As mentioned in another post, pull the cover from the roof unit and inspect the condenser for dirt and clean it and the fan.
Hi tomcatb! I'm still hoping to get the ok to get down your way to do some camping while visiting the Air Force Museum.

definitely do the above
cold air may be mixing right under the a/c air filters and then getting SUCKED back up into the system before it has a chance to cool anything.


there are several videos on using insulation board to keep the hot and cold air separate .
https://www.google.com/search?client...r+modification




also keep in mind that the interior of your RV will take a long time to be comfy
everything acts as a heat sink and holds in the heat for quite a bit of time. (more than you think)


My thermostat only goes to 99

never tested just how hot is is to start with inside ... betting it is around 120 or more in the Florida sun


you can get a thermometer and measure how hot the air at the air filter
Then measure the temp of the air at the discharge registers
There should be around 15-20 degrees difference.


Intake = 120 Discharge = 100 ==== GOOD
Most times I do not expect my AC to get the rv real cold on the First afternoon
especially if I arrive at site around 2PM


Good use of curtains / window shades etc will improve things
maybe add some REFLECTIVE film to your windows to block out UV
sold by big box stores


crack open a window or two ...... for the last 30 minutes of your drive
if road is not too dusty and no chance of rain <---- do this at own risk

[Openroadorer99]

Ill just mention what hasnt been yet, and was my problem with my dometic 13.5 ac unit. 2017 forest river 26bh grey wolf.
... Mine was never filled correctly from the factory. It was to late by the time i noticed and out of warranty.
... For the OP, read up on how the RV AC units work, not very impressive compaired to a simple cheep window ac unit.
... Mine was fine up to about 85f, and in a dry climate, after 85, didnt do much at all.
... Take the temp going in, and going out, out, is said to be 15-20 or so when working. Mine was 4-maybe 6 comming out colder than going in.
... Yes, every thing was clean and all air leaks covered, just was junk from the beginning.
... I went portable, AC unit, and will be taking out the roof ac and putting in a vent soon. At 102f outside, the portable is great, my TT is only 26 foot and no slides, so that helps with heat and AC.
... I wont mention the portable type, as it gets ugly with dual vs single debate's.
Before buying, i found an article very well written online, explaining the pros and cons of each unit, and how to get the best for your needs........

[aceinspp]

If the unit has a 13500 ac install the 15000 ac will help seeing how your traier is no that big. I had a 35 ft tt and mine worked pretty good. Also if you have a sky light find a way to plug it or cover it this causes a l of heat in a traileralso. Later RJD

[fxfb2000]

I have one ac unit. It is a 15000 unit. So it’s seem like we will just have to make do. The trailer was not pre wired for 50amp so no can do with adding a second unit without upgrading wiring I believe. Thanks for your help.

[nvs4602]

Originally Posted by fxfb2000

I have one ac unit. It is a 15000 unit. So it’s seem like we will just have to make do. The trailer was not pre wired for 50amp so no can do with adding a second unit without upgrading wiring I believe. Thanks for your help.

What a lot of people do with a 30amp service, is run the 110v line to the new ac then just plug it into to 20amp outlet onthe post. And plug your 30amp in a usual. No need to upgrade to 50 amp.

My brother has a slide out kitchen in the basement of his bus. It's all electric so when he plugs in he uses the 50amp the 30amp and the 20amp outlets on the post.