Question on 3011 Air Conditioner

[mbutts]

Hi,

On our previous trailers (most of the time with our 3011), we only used the A/C at night. It usually has no trouble keeping it quite cool.

Today, I was at a motocross track all day in Kentucky, humid, sunny, and 85°. We had the generator running and the A/C on & it wouldn't go below 78. The compressor was running. All blinds were closed.

I tried opening the dump vent in the main area, but that really didn't affect the temp.

Am I being unrealistic thinking I should be more than a 7 degree drop?

[GL1800Rider]

If you have not had the windshield and side windows shielded from the heat that is realistic if there was no shade and the sun was out. The cab generates a lot of heat. I have heat shield panels on the windshield and side windows of the cab and use reflectix on the rear window in the bedroom, foil back cushions on the vents except for the fantastic fan and also have reflective covers on the coach door window and the inside of the skylight in the shower.

If you are not taking th.ese steps then you have a lot of heat entering the coach, especially the cab area If you have done what I have done then you may want to get your a/c unit checked out. Not sure what year model you have but mine has been replaced twice and I now have the Penguin unit and am happy with the performance. 32' is a lot to cool with a single 15K unit. You can pick up a hand held thermometer and check the air temperature yourself at the intake and exhaust of the unit and it should be 15+ degrees difference.

Recently when camping in Sweetwater, Tn with the sun beating on the awning side at 94 degrees at 3 in the afternoon the highest it got up to was 82 inside.

I had my a/c unit checked this past June with an outside temperature of 98.9 and the inside temp of 93 sitting at the dealer. The unit was started and allowed to stabilize for about 30 minutes or so. The air temp at the intake was 86 and the exhaust temp coming out of the unit was 65.6 with a 12.2 amp draw.

Hope this helps.

[mbutts]

Thanks for the info. I had the blinds closed, the vents have Maxair covers, but I only had the curtain up across the cab. I'll test out the in and out temperatures when I get home.

[pismolocal]

I have a 2017 Forester 3011 and do a lot of camping in the CA,AZ & NV deserts during summer. Some of the things I do to keep my unit cool:

Turn AC on in the morning before it gets hot

I keep my slides in to keep a smaller area to cool

I have a front window ADCO window cover over the cab

All windows are tinted as dark as I can get them. Including the coach door.

I purchased gaffer tape, climbed up on the roof and completely covered all vent covers and the shower skylight.

I have InfraStop Double Bubble wrap cut for all windows. I use Velcro on the sides to hold it.

Keep blinds down

I also use a sunshade (it looks like a screen) to help block heat of the sides of the RV

I have USB charged battery fans that help circulate air.

I cycle my 15k AC and keep it set at 75 degrees. When it is 115 degrees outside I have had my coach maintain around 80 degrees.

[markb422]

I installed a privacy curtain between the coach and cab just behind the front seats. I mostly did this so we can heat with two small electric heaters in the fall and spring here in Michigan. It also helps a lot for cooling on hot days

[RamblerGuy]

Our 3100 has the overcab bunk. I lower it and hang a blanket behind the cab during hot or cold weather.

Check under your slides. There's a gap in the bottom seal of our slide that lets air infiltrate. I put household door bottom gap seals under the dinette and couch on our slide.

Check your air conditioner intake and discharge temperatures. You should get about 20 degrees F drop from intake to discharge. That's true whether it's 90 F inside or 70 F inside.

[ka7cxa]

The 20 degree drop is a fact. I have been in the air conditioning business for over 25 years. I was taught in school that if the temperature drop is below 10 degrees it's a refrigerant problem. If the drop was above 20 it was an airflow issue. Hope this helps and yes you can add refrigerant to a sealed system.

[mbutts]

I finally made it over to the storage lot last week. It was 82° outside, the sun was just starting to set, and there was a slight breeze.

The A/C unit was able to drop from the measured 85° at the inlet to a smidge below 60° at the outlet so it appears I don't have an A/C problem, but a heat management problem.

The Chief Seamstress is measuring for insulated curtains for the cabover bunk and the velcro-ed on curtain for the cab area. We'll also start up the A/C before it gets hot inside.

If those aren't enough, we'll try the window insulation as well.

Thanks for the help!

[ka7cxa]

If you have the temp. drop the other problem could be airflow. Check the filter, blower wheel, and the Evaporator coils. The book says filters should be cleaned or replaced after 30 days of use. I'll admit I forget and don't always clean as required. When my system starts to mess up, I always check the filter first.

[RamblerGuy]

I made window insulators from Reflectix that I purchased at Lowes. When the sun is on a window, you can feel a huge difference in the amount of heat coming through the shade by itself and through the Reflectix. When I don't need them I roll them up with a long Velcro strap.

I also pull the bunk's privacy curtain and close the overhead vent. Although it's just thin cloth, when it's cold the next morning you can it feel a difference in the temperature in the bunk, so it does some good. A custom made insulating curtain that goes from the ceiling to the floor would be a much nicer way to do it. It's great to have a talented partner to make it.