Ac might have an issue

[Momboy]

Hello all,
I have a 3 month old 26rlds with 15K ac unit, we just came from Las Vegas,
Which was about 110 degrees, we are now in Utah, where temp high today was 100 degrees
When we parked the TT at about 3 pm it was 100 outside, the thermostat in the TT read 101 and is really taking along time to cool down. It is now 83 outside at 8 pm, the TT thermostat is at 76 and continues to work hard, the ac appears to be cold when I feel the ac output, but I do not have a thermometer
Does this sound normal for these conditions?
Thanks all in advance

[bikendan]

Yep, normal.

[nomad297]

Think about this: not only was the ambient temperature inside of your RV 101° — everything inside of your RV — your entire RV — was 101° or, probably, higher. Your A/C needs to work hard and long to bring every object and wall inside of your RV down to the lowest temperature your A/C unit is capable of bringing it down to. Once everything inside of your RV cools down, your A/C will be able to manage a constant lower temperature.

Bruce

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Momboy

....
but I do not have a thermometer

If you have a Dometic thermostat, you can scroll the Mode to Off and press the + or - key to see the temperature since the thermostat is also a thermometer.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Momboy

Hello all,
I have a 3 month old 26rlds with 15K ac unit, we just came from Las Vegas,
Which was about 110 degrees, we are now in Utah, where temp high today was 100 degrees
When we parked the TT at about 3 pm it was 100 outside, the thermostat in the TT read 101 and is really taking along time to cool down. It is now 83 outside at 8 pm, the TT thermostat is at 76 and continues to work hard, the ac appears to be cold when I feel the ac output, but I do not have a thermometer
Does this sound normal for these conditions?
Thanks all in advance

Sounds like it doing all it can do, your probably doing quite well, rule of thumb is about 15 degrees different then outside temp. AC’s are not like a house system.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Like Bruce described in post 3 it takes a long time to cool everything in the interior. After a hot day of travel I run 2 A/Cs several hours yet when I open a cabinet hot air rushes out. It takes a long time to cool everything.

[dmctlc]

It's normal, I was told a long time ago starting with when I went from pop-up to a TT to bring the inside air down about 10o at a time. Easier on the equipment. It seemed always to work for me especially now living in Florida when getting ready to go clamping with the MH inside is about 100 or more. It takes a lot to cool the inside and as noted anything inside not just the air, 30 or more degrees especially when the outside air is still hot, as well, JMO.

[Sleepy]

I agree with all the other post. You can give your AC some help. Once you have vented out the excess heat, close your roof vents and Place insulation in the roof vents. Place a foil backed insulation blanket over your windows then close the blinds/curtains. Place the foil backed insulation over the windows in your door or doors. Of course, the microwave, stove and oven work against your trying to cool down the interior. A fan (box fan, etc) will help to circulate the cool air quicker, plus help you to feel cooler. Just a few small ideas that I have learned that help.

[Comanchecreek]

We were in WahWeap campground, 105 degrees during the day back in June. Even starting out cooler in the morning the best we could do was about 90 degrees inside. That was with windows blocked with foil insulation, and the awning to shade at least a small part of the sun. Only thing that helped is I misted water over the outside of the trailer, and that seemed to temporarily drop the temperature, but it made me think seriously about a second air unit in the bedroom vent.

[TitanMike]

Also, if parked in direct sun, the A/C unit is doubly taxed. Not just trying to reduce ambient temp. but also the radiant heat from sun.

When there's no shade to be had I at least try to keep my "refrigerator side" to the North so it has a fighting chance. Cold water is beneficial at times like this.

[Chuck_S]

If you have a compressor type fridge it's pumping heat into the cabin. The old standby LP absorption refrigerators pump all the heat outdoors. (Why do you think all those refrigerator were on the shanty front porches in the South 40 years ago? Feel behind your home refrigerator.) Yet another reason to avoid the compressor type.

-- Chuck

[MarcGoldstone]

Consider yourself lucky that your AC compressor stays on and at least removes heat from your RV. I live in Bullhead City, AZ and like to "camp in our front yard. My Sportscoach 339DS purchased new in Nov. 2020 has two Coleman 15K BTU heat pumps. Both turn off their compressor when the outside temperature reaches 108 to 110 degrees which is typically before noon. I spoke with a Coleman AirXcel technician who stated that the unit was designed to function in the desert southwest with "100 degree temperatures". Coleman in my humble opinion has a serious design problem in this unit when it transitioned to 410 Freon which for resedential AC units requires a much larger Condenser coil. I asked the technician to have the responsible Engineering Program Manager contact me... weeks have passed and nothing!!!
Buyer Beware!

Will Forest River/Coachmen make this right?

[Momboy]

I do indeed have a Coleman Mach AC unit, could my coils be too small like previous reply’s think so???

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

If you have a compressor type fridge it's pumping heat into the cabin. The old standby LP absorption refrigerators pump all the heat outdoors. (Why do you think all those refrigerator were on the shanty front porches in the South 40 years ago? Feel behind your home refrigerator.) Yet another reason to avoid the compressor type.

-- Chuck

For the life of me, I can’t grasp why any person who truly wants to “camp” with an RV would desire any type of compressor refrigerator — 12 volt, 120 volt — makes no difference. There are so many downsides to them with regards to RVs when compared to absorption units. Your point is one of those many downsides. Where do people think the heat from a compressor-type refrigerator/freezer goes? They say “My ice cream is hard”, but at the same time wonder why their RV’s A/C can’t keep them comfortable.

I would rather go back to the old dry ice units (as long as I still had A/C) than have an RV with a compressor-type refrigerator. I remember my ice cream being hard back in those days.

Bruce

[CC75]

Over 100 degrees is management challenge; same with under 25 degrees in an RV.

We use Reflectix behind RV window shades while traveling. Have a vent cover, and open the vent in bathroom to suck out hot air while traveling. This brings in a bit of road stuff into RV, and the wifey is a bit annoyed. Temp is ambient temp or lower, depending on when we got started in the morning, instead of higher when we get ready to set up. Try to get to your destination before 2PM, and get a head start on the cooling.

If you can’t find Reflectix you can use cheap car window shades in between your RV window shade and RV window. We use Velcro to put on and take off the the reflectix. I use gorilla tape around the edges to stiffen up the Reflectix, to give it some support for the velcro.

[Oklamartin]

Originally Posted by CC75

…I use gorilla tape around the edges to stiffen up the Reflectix, to give it some support for the velcro.

Great idea! Thanks for posting this trick! I’m picking up some Reflectix today at Menards after barely surviving the 100+ temps in Seattle and points eastward as the heat dome followed us home.
I’m also appreciative of a person who mentioned Reflectix is much cheaper when purchased locally versus Amazon due to its inflated price there to cover shipping such a bulky product.

[Momboy]

Does altitude play a factor in cooling of trailer as well, we were at 5600 feet and 100 degree weather???
This was first time out at this altitude and heat
Thank all
Rick

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Momboy

Does altitude play a factor in cooling of trailer as well, we were at 5600 feet and 100 degree weather???
This was first time out at this altitude and heat
Thank all
Rick

NO

[MarcGoldstone]

At higher altitude the air is thinner which means it has less mass. The ability to move heat is governed by Q=M*C *delta T. Q is heat. M is mass. C is air velocity. delta T is the difference in air temperature across the condenser coil. Reduced air mass reduces the efficiency of the AC unit.

So YES altitude does make it more difficult to cool the RV. Let me ad that another way to increase the air's mass is to add humidity. So at altitude on a hot day with low humidity is a worse case scenario.

Originally Posted by Momboy

Does altitude play a factor in cooling of trailer as well, we were at 5600 feet and 100 degree weather???
This was first time out at this altitude and heat
Thank all
Rick

[Momboy]

Yea, what he said!!!