Opinions please

[Thurman]

2015 FR Coachmen Freedom Express 310BHDS. Since day one I have had problems with cooling this unit. Within the two year warranty the Dometic 15,000 unit was replaced twice under their "leaking refrigerant" problem. The last new unit was installed August 2016. Warranty expired January 22, 2017. The last unit has seemed to work as it should, so far. But we noticed late last summer that with the hot temps here in S. Ga. the unit would not cool the camper down as I felt it should. This camper has two slides and when they are out it is hard to cool the unit, but bring them in and the camper will cool down better. I keep thinking that this 15K unit is not quite enough to cool the floor space of this camper. While doing some mods to the camper I have had to remove the skylight and vent fan in the bath, the vent in the front bedroom, and a couple of the LED lights in the ceiling as the lens were falling off. While looking up into the "attic" for lack of a better word, I noticed that there are crowned trusses which hold the roof up. At the center of each truss there is approximately four inches (4") of height tapering off to each side. Now I have come up with one wild idea: What if I rent one of the machines that blows insulation into the attic of a home and try blowing insulation into as much of this attic of the camper as I can? The insulation that was put in at the factory is approximately one-inch thick and lies under the bottom of the ceiling joist and on top of the ceiling material. In other words, the insulation is smashed under each ceiling joist. My son and I kicked this around and I believe that I can adapt the four inch (4") hose that comes with the machine via a long funnel shaped adapter down to a 1 1/2" shop vacuum hose to blow insulation into the attic. We did a trial run of feeding the 1 1/2" hose as far into the attic as I could and surprisingly I was able to place the hose deep into the attic at several points. We wouldn't feed much insulation into the machine at one time so that we can control how much we can put into any space available. Doing some rough figures as far as the weight added by doing this I come up with approximately 80 pounds of insulation scattered over as much area as I can do. Feedback please

[Philos3]

To understand the insulated condition of a trailer or motorhome, you need to look at many factors, not just the attic.

The windows and slides are big factors in air leaks and heat/cold transference...including the types of windows used and the seals.

The insulation or lack thereof in the walls and floor are also an issue, as well as the thickness of both.

Insulation that is squeezed together seems to severely reduce its effectiveness.

The issue is "not" can you add insulation in the ceiling, but how much good will it do overall. If your main problems are in the windows and slides, if your walls are thin and therefore poorly insulated...probably not much.

If you research the high end trailers, like DRV, you will likely be stunned at what they do to insulate their trailers, the thickness of the walls, the insulation used in the ceiling, walls and floor, the windows used, and efforts to seal the slides, compared to the entry level trailers.

Also research the concept of four seasons, though this concept is misused quite often.

Try to park your unit where it will get a lot of shade (best of luck), install a 2nd a/c, and of course add more power capability.

Put more beer in the cooler and take along an electric blanket.

Or trade up for a full-time, residential trailer...MSRP well over, again well over, $100K.

[Bama Rambler]

I think adding blown insulation to the 'attic' is a good idea. Since you can't readily add it to the walls, you do what you can, and adding it to the attic is relatively easy and inexpensive. While it may not help a great deal, it will certainly help some.

[FricNFrac]

Originally Posted by Thurman

2015 FR Coachmen Freedom Express 310BHDS. Since day one I have had problems with cooling this unit. Within the two year warranty the Dometic 15,000 unit was replaced twice under their "leaking refrigerant" problem. The last new unit was installed August 2016. Warranty expired January 22, 2017. The last unit has seemed to work as it should, so far. But we noticed late last summer that with the hot temps here in S. Ga. the unit would not cool the camper down as I felt it should. This camper has two slides and when they are out it is hard to cool the unit, but bring them in and the camper will cool down better. I keep thinking that this 15K unit is not quite enough to cool the floor space of this camper. While doing some mods to the camper I have had to remove the skylight and vent fan in the bath, the vent in the front bedroom, and a couple of the LED lights in the ceiling as the lens were falling off. While looking up into the "attic" for lack of a better word, I noticed that there are crowned trusses which hold the roof up. At the center of each truss there is approximately four inches (4") of height tapering off to each side. Now I have come up with one wild idea: What if I rent one of the machines that blows insulation into the attic of a home and try blowing insulation into as much of this attic of the camper as I can? The insulation that was put in at the factory is approximately one-inch thick and lies under the bottom of the ceiling joist and on top of the ceiling material. In other words, the insulation is smashed under each ceiling joist. My son and I kicked this around and I believe that I can adapt the four inch (4") hose that comes with the machine via a long funnel shaped adapter down to a 1 1/2" shop vacuum hose to blow insulation into the attic. We did a trial run of feeding the 1 1/2" hose as far into the attic as I could and surprisingly I was able to place the hose deep into the attic at several points. We wouldn't feed much insulation into the machine at one time so that we can control how much we can put into any space available. Doing some rough figures as far as the weight added by doing this I come up with approximately 80 pounds of insulation scattered over as much area as I can do. Feedback please

Thurman,
Just a thought; Does your MH have ducted AC? If it does I think that space in the attic is for that, not positive though.
Hope you get your issue fixed.
Happy camping!

[donniedu]

If its a ducted AC system, switch it to direct.
I seriously doubt a single 15K AC unit will cool your coach much below 85 degrees on a hot day. You really need a second AC to do a decent cooling job in high temp/humidity situations.

[rsdata]

I think you will be disappointed that adding to the attic insulation will not solve your problem. Although adding insulation to the attic will not hurt, why not add another air conditioner? Those portable units that use a hose to exhaust warm air out of a window might be the way to go, adding cooling power to the camper without anything permanent. The power cord could just be also stuck out the window to a separate circuit on a power pedestal.