13.5 A/C Upgrade

[Harmanjohn]

Just purchase 2021 FR Cherokee 255RR, 30 foot toyhauler. Love the RV but it seems the RV might be too large for the standard size 13.5 A/C. Located in Virginia currently experiencing a heat wave of high 90's. In peak time of the day inside temperature climbs to 83 with a setpoint of 75 and runs continuously.

Has anyone tried to upgrade to a larger unit or are there better replacement alternatives. Starting research now for possible future A/C upgrade.

[youroo]

Add 2nd Air! Youroo!!

[The Evil Twin]

Yup. Add a 2nd one. Hopefully the trailer is pre wired for it. That makes things easy provided you have a 50 amp service already installed. If not, it is a bit more complex and pricey.
Optionally you could put a 15k up there to squeeze a little more juice out. I replaced the 13k in the rear of ours with a 15k and then sold the 13 for nearly what I paid for the 15. Made no sense why they put two different sizes up there. I think it cost me $40 in all. Drop in, same controls and plenum. And yeah, it was 100 yesterday here in NoVA!

[ysidive]

Originally Posted by Harmanjohn

Just purchase 2021 FR Cherokee 255RR, 30 foot toyhauler. Love the RV but it seems the RV might be too large for the standard size 13.5 A/C. Located in Virginia currently experiencing a heat wave of high 90's. In peak time of the day inside temperature climbs to 83 with a setpoint of 75 and runs continuously.

Has anyone tried to upgrade to a larger unit or are there better replacement alternatives. Starting research now for possible future A/C upgrade.

Add a second unit with a separate exterior receptacle if your unit is not prewired or if it is only 30 AMP... Adding a second unit gives you some options if one craps out..... I have a 30 amp service with a 15Kunit that struggles when it is hot... I added a second 13500 in the Bedroom non ducted and a separate 20 amp plug on the outside... Now when I go to a campground I plug my 30 amp and then plug the 20 amp separate heavy duty extension to the 20 amp exterior plug for the other AC... Everything works in the Camper because I am not overloading the circuits.... Easy install... Quite a few you tubes showing the install....:trink39

[sstandfast]

I'm not contributing anything to this conversation other than to say that this makes me feel better about the AC in our unit. Before we picked up our new Wildwood 26DBUD, we paid to have them upgrade the 13.5K to a 15KBTU A/C. We wanted them to install a second one in the bedroom but, alas, the RV was only wired for 30A so they couldn't. There's not even a vent in the bedroom for me to install one myself later.

But we took ours out this past weekend and the outside temperatures were also in the high 90's and the best the 15K A/C could muster was keeping the rig temps in the low 80's. I think it topped also at 83°F on the second day. The first day it took well over 8 hours after first connecting to shore power at around 4:00pm and running the A/C constantly to get the inside temperature down to the set point on the thermostat (68°F). I was concerned that they didn't install the new A/C correctly even though it was blowing really cold air out of the ducts.

Shawn

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by sstandfast

I'm not contributing anything to this conversation other than to say that this makes me feel better about the AC in our unit. Before we picked up our new Wildwood 26DBUD, we paid to have them upgrade the 13.5K to a 15KBTU A/C. We wanted them to install a second one in the bedroom but, alas, the RV was only wired for 30A so they couldn't. There's not even a vent in the bedroom for me to install one myself later.

But we took ours out this past weekend and the outside temperatures were also in the high 90's and the best the 15K A/C could muster was keeping the rig temps in the low 80's. I think it topped also at 83°F on the second day. The first day it took well over 8 hours after first connecting to shore power at around 4:00pm and running the A/C constantly to get the inside temperature down to the set point on the thermostat (68°F). I was concerned that they didn't install the new A/C correctly even though it was blowing really cold air out of the ducts.

Shawn

Completely normal here. Runs most of the day if 95 outside. Sometimes I run both in the daytime if needed. Kinda like the 1 ton deal.. it's there if you need it.

[scottnlindsay]

I do think that some travel trailers should have a second AC and be 50 amps. I have a 34 foot heritage glen 272rlis and I think this one falls into that category.

However, I did do something to my 13.5k that really helped. One day when cleaning the filter I noticed that it was not sealed very good in the inside.

A Lot of air was being sucked back in. If you look at the tape/foam stuff around the inside, mine was not very sealed.

I took hvac heating and air tape and taped it all really good so there were no place for air to go but out.

Now, my air blows harder out of the vents and it blows colder and takes out the humidity faster which needs to happen before it can cool.

It was almost 90 out this past weekend and i got her down to 70. Was not able to do that before. It also helps to have a couple fans circulating the air since most heat comes from the slide outs.

Also, make sure you get on top and take off cover and blow out your AC and coils. Just did that yesterday and there was alot of cotton up there. Dont know where that came from as i dont think i was around and cottonwoods but you might be surprised. Now iam even more excited to see how much it cools since my coil was about half full of cotton and dirt.

[nayther]

Originally Posted by sstandfast

the inside temperature down to the set point on the thermostat (68°F).
Shawn

Why did you you set it that low? The AC unit has one speed, setting it lower than what you want won't get it there any faster. Too low a setting and you run the risk of icing it up at night when the load drops off.

[sstandfast]

What do you mean when the load drops off at night? On a good day, summertime overnight lows maybe get down to the mid-80's around here. Just yesterday, I went outside at 11:30 at night to take the garbage to the curb and it was still 91° outside. The only real load that gets removed is the solar load. That helps quite a bit, but there isn't a chance of the unit freezing up unless there is a refrigerant leak or the airflow is restricted.

[formerFR]

try a 120v portable a/c unit, or two, found at most any hardware or wmt store... much less expensive and can be moved around and placed anywhere you like it, and while it can be plugged into to one of your existing outlets, you could even run it from an extension cord to the power pedestal if it also have it's own 20amp outlet...

everybody's in a 'heat wave' right now, and even us with TWO a/c units complain, even those sometimes with THREE still complain!

[Jeeper44]

Originally Posted by The Evil Twin

Yup. Add a 2nd one. Hopefully the trailer is pre wired for it. That makes things easy provided you have a 50 amp service already installed. If not, it is a bit more complex and pricey.
Optionally you could put a 15k up there to squeeze a little more juice out. I replaced the 13k in the rear of ours with a 15k and then sold the 13 for nearly what I paid for the 15. Made no sense why they put two different sizes up there. I think it cost me $40 in all. Drop in, same controls and plenum. And yeah, it was 100 yesterday here in NoVA!

The reason they put a 15k and a 13.5k is because you can overload a 50amp service with two 15k units. You will probably be ok after replacing the smaller one, but you might be in trouble if both ACs kick on at the same time and you're running anything else electric, like the refrigerator, microwave or TV.



I saw a 5th wheel the other day that was running three ac units on a 50 amp service, but the only way they managed it was to run three 13.5k units.

[houstonstroker]

Originally Posted by Jeeper44

The reason they put a 15k and a 13.5k is because you can overload a 50amp service with two 15k units. You will probably be ok after replacing the smaller one, but you might be in trouble if both ACs kick on at the same time and you're running anything else electric, like the refrigerator, microwave or TV.



I saw a 5th wheel the other day that was running three ac units on a 50 amp service, but the only way they managed it was to run three 13.5k units.

Tell me how it gets overloaded? Both legs can deliver 50 amps each. Then the other appliances are devided between the two legs for balance.

[The Evil Twin]

Originally Posted by Jeeper44

The reason they put a 15k and a 13.5k is because you can overload a 50amp service with two 15k units. You will probably be ok after replacing the smaller one, but you might be in trouble if both ACs kick on at the same time and you're running anything else electric, like the refrigerator, microwave or TV.



I saw a 5th wheel the other day that was running three ac units on a 50 amp service, but the only way they managed it was to run three 13.5k units.

Hmmm.... Maybe. I amped my friends before I made the jump. There is a negligable difference. The big one pulls 14.1 amps running. The little one pulls 13.7. In rush current is about the same. 41-42 LRA.
So even with two 13.5s and a water heater it would be just as close.

[Kimber45]

run the serial number. my unit paper work shows a 15 and a 13.5 and based on the serial numbers I have two 15's