Working on keeping my cool

jonrjen · 07-03-2019, 12:12 PM

I knew from before the purchase of our coach that there was going to be great room for improvements in keeping the interior of the coach cooled down in summer heat.

And while it's been a fairly cool summer here in the DFW area (we have yet to break 100 degrees), I know that the triple digit temps are but a few days away. I went out and started the AC's last week in the morning to see how long they could keep up with temps that were to climb into the upper 90's. The Berkshire is parked in our driveway on a washed concrete surface that does radiate summer sunshine fed heat very well. By the late afternoon the interior temp was only 10 degrees cooler than the outside temperature taken in the shade.

Off to Lowes to purchase a couple rolls of the bubble foil insulation followed by a few days of measuring, cutting, fitting and trimming to all of the windows. I also cut and installed a piece in the dome of the shower ceiling. Along with 3 of the vent pillows with the reflective bubble insulation foil.

The above pieces of foil insulation now enables me to keep the interior temps lowered to 25 degrees below the exterior temperature on a like sunny overly warm Texas summer day.

I have yet to install the piece that has been cut to fit the massive windshield. In doing so, I assume that this will made a good difference in keeping the coach cooled down.

I plan to pick up a camera that I can run through the air ducts to make sure that I have no blockages that can be removed looking for better efficient air flow.

I have also checked to make sure that there are no wasp nest/mud dabbers in the roof mounted units.

Push comes to shove, I can with ease make use of one of the portable AC units. I can place the portable unit behind the drivers seat, run the power cord out of the slide out seal and plug it in separately from the coach power. To exhaust the warm air from the portable AC unit I can run the hose out of the driver side window that opens by cutting a small board with a hole in it to run the vent hose though to the outside.

Any thing that I may be missing? I will say that the interior is dark with all of the foil window panels in place which is a plus for sleeping, not so much for enjoying the views of the outdoors. They do however quickly pull out if the view is worth viewing.

dan-nickie · 07-03-2019, 12:21 PM

I feel your pain. we are headed for Colorado ASAP.

jonrjen · 07-03-2019, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan-nickie

I feel your pain. we are headed for Colorado ASAP.

LOL!! We have some relatives that planned on a cooler summer this year and took off a month or so back heading to Alaska from the DFW area.

And right now Alaska is having record setting high temperatures.

Call it the best laid plans of mice and men, or Murphy's Law. Sometimes what's in the plans isn't what's in the plan.

NO3putt · 07-03-2019, 01:54 PM

In the 90's here in Pueblo CO. Hope your headed to the mountains. Skip

dan-nickie · 07-03-2019, 01:58 PM

76 in Pagosa Springs

Roberte52 · 07-03-2019, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan-nickie

76 in Pagosa Springs

Headed to Pagosa Springs on the 14th!

Oscarvan · 07-04-2019, 06:13 AM

Rather than foil on the inside, the windshield area will stay a LOT cooler with a Magneshade on it. Yes, it's not cheap but it works. A lot of your heat gain is in that greenhouse. And it looks better.

rdonihoo · 07-04-2019, 09:25 AM

We have a 2018 39a, have already traveled this year to several warm (almost hot) areas. We also are in dfw area and understand your concern, so far when both AC units are working the coach stays very cool. But last week we
On the Mississippi coast and it was warm and humid. The rear unit stoped cooling. It starts out working but after the compressor warms up, it drops out and won’t recycle. The only way I can tell is watching the current load on the touch screen display. It’s wired with one ac per power leg, so it’s easy to tell when the compressor is on or off. When on the gage pulls 14-16 amps, when off it’s only 2-4 amps, but the fan is running.
My point is, make sure both units are running properly, check the current gage on the touch screen for proper loading. You may have a unit dropping out. I have an appointment with my rv repair shop for next week, since the starting capacitor has already been changed, we suspect the entire unit will need to be replaced. The Dominic warranty is two years, so mine should still be covered.
Good luck.

planopat · 07-05-2019, 09:08 AM

I had bubble foil left from my gasser so that’s what I use in my Berkshire. Works great in 100+ Texas heat and direct sun. Have 2 pcs (L &R) and can easily remove one or the other for changes in shade or more light. Keep it against the glass. Have separate pc for drivers window. Roll it up, keep it in shower. Hard to justify MS $ when this works so well. Both good choices.

DavidBo · 07-05-2019, 02:55 PM

Got any leftover Reflectix? If so you might want to give this a try:

That big metal box under the cover is the plenum where the evaporator coil is located and all the cold air is made there. Needless to say a little insulation will help keep the cold inside where it belongs. I first made sure all the seams were sealed up with metal duct tape, then cut the Reflectix to fit and glued each piece down with spray adhesive. I wiped everything down first with window cleaner so the glue would stick. I used sections of self-adhesive velcro on the side with the service panel for easy removal should access be required.
If you look closely, you can see where I wrapped some self-adhesive insulation tape around all the low pressure refrigerant lines to keep the cold in them as well. It also reduces external condensation. The low pressure side has the larger diameter tubing, don't wrap the smaller lines as those just get hot, which is what we're trying to get rid of in the first place.
It's a bit of a job and not for everyone, but my A/C has no problem keeping my Mini-Lite plenty chilly even when directly under the hot Texas sun. Down here every little bit helps!

feedfold · 07-07-2019, 03:00 PM

Check the area behind the front tv, I pulled mine tv out and the wood paneling behind it to find very little insulation in the whole fibreglass cap. I picked up a roll of home insulation and stuffed the full roll in behind cabinets on each side and tv area.
WOW what a difference.

Oscarvan · 07-11-2019, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feedfold

Check the area behind the front tv, I pulled mine tv out and the wood paneling behind it to find very little insulation in the whole fibreglass cap. I picked up a roll of home insulation and stuffed the full roll in behind cabinets on each side and tv area.
WOW what a difference.

I may have to do that too... thanks.

You may also like: