Bambi AC

[luckydc]

A posting on this site suggests that the AC in a Bambi be up-graded to 13.5K BTU. As my Bambi is on order, I would appreciate other current owners input on how well the 11K BTU unit cools. Should I up-grade?

Thanks!

[jcanavera]

It depends on the conditions where you will use your Bambi. Full sun? Hot climes? Silvertwinkie felt his A/C labored under hot conditions. I can tell you that my 13,500 BTU unit in my 27' Safari was no match for upper 90's full sun conditions. Just understand that an oversized A/C unit has its own issues when you use it under lower heat conditions since it may not run long enough to pull out the humidity in the air.

Jack

[Silvertwinkie]

Yup, that'd be me.....

I had the 11k unit in a 19' Bambi and in 1/2 to 3/4 sun, it worked , but it worked hard. I would suggest to anyone that the 13.5k unit be installed on any coach that is above 16'. As Jack said though, it depends on how you think you'll use it.

On the 25' we just picked up, I special ordered the 15k btu unit w/ the comfort control unit.

Eric

[Rickk48]

I have an 01 Bambi with the 11K AC. Camping in up to 100 degree temp. I have found the AC to work very weel. Kept the Bambi not just comfy, but very cool, and did not seem to over cycle.

[jcanavera]

I think the issue is how much sun you are in. 100 degrees in the shade is doable. I did some camping like that and my unit worked great. Full sun during the daylight is a different issue. About 11:00 am I started noticing the inside temps beginning to climb even the the compressor was running full time. By afternoon I was dealing with a 12 degree spread between outside air temps and inside my unit. The factory said my unit was working to specs. The answer in my mind was the unit was undersized for full sun upper 90's conditions.

I upgraded my A/C in the new Classic to the 15K unit also.

Jack

[campcollector]

As I am rebuilding my Bambi and have its guts all over my house and garage. I am also in need of a new AC. Do I have to use an Airstream unit or can I by a Duotherm equivelant without the airstream plastic shroud? Airstream 11,000 btu replacement is 1200 dollars

[Silvertwinkie]

Actually, the one that Airstream uses is by Dometic/Duo Therm. You can find the Penguin units here and then go to a list of resellers. The only difference is the shroud when bought on the coach has the Airstream name--- other than that I think that it is the same unit and should be a direct replacement (minus Airstream name on shroud). I found the tech support folks at Dometic also very helpful in answering questions. There are contact numbers on that site as well.

Eric

http://www.dometicusa.com/products/c...rs/penguin.htm

[campcollector]

I found a 13,500 unit at camping world with the air box for $655 this will be an upgrade from the old 11k unit. I will need to replace the ceiling insulation as well. Is there anything better to use than the fiberglass that I pulled out? Somthing with a higher R-value. Also when using Olympic rivets should I use the vulkum or sikaflex for sealing in the rivet holes? And finaly I found this rivet drilling tool and am going to give it a whirl. As soon as I get a digital camera I will post photos of my mess. turned out 2 ribs bent and 1 cracked. I can get new ribs for 38.00 apiece.

http://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/de...t.asp?PageNo=1

[87MH]

FWIW,

When I replaced the Mach III with a new 13.5 Mach last year, I found that the new Mach already had a drain pan built into the unit.

To use it, I just would have only had to modify a drain point in order to hook it up the the Airstream drain.

Knowing that at least some AC's are self-panned might open up the number of units available to you for use.

[campcollector]

Spoke with dealer about air conditioner and was told it was airstream unique ????? ie made for the trailer. I am not a believer for $975 dollars. Normal penguin without airstream shroud will work ok I think.

[MikeL]

Just purchased a 2004 bambi with 13.5 ac from a dealer near El Paso Tx..was informed they order all with 13.5 ac because the 11
will not cool even a 16ft bambi in the temps of the summers of the southwest.

pieman

[campcollector]

My old 11000 unit relly did'nt do the trick on a 100 degree day. ran all the time and never got below mid 80s.

[RangerJay]

I guess geography is everything .....

I was questioning if we would ever use the airconditioner at all (never had one before - can only think of two times when we would have liked one) - I certainly didn't worry about whether it would be large enough. Why don't you point those Airstreams north - where you can enjoy the cool air from OUTSIDE the trailer???

On a different but related topic I was more wondering about how you could wire the air conditioners heat strip into a thermostat - right now the heat switch is simply on or off.

Happy RVing,



Jay

[Silvertwinkie]

If you get the 13.5k unit and it is the one with a heat pump, you could get the comfort control system (although I am unsure it is avail in the 13.5k or the Bambi--you'd have to check with Airstream) as it does control, heat, A/C and heatpump.

As for geography, it's not static, so I suppose one would have to figure out where they would like to go and where they usually go to make the best choice.

Eric

[luckydc]

I got the Safari upgrade in the original order. It includes the 13,500 BTU A/C. Case closed!

The Safari package includes spare tire, fantastic fan, black tank rinsing system, aquajet water pump, cast aluminum tail lights, electric hitch jack, 13,500 BTU A/C w/ heat pump, screen door guard, one touch galley faucet w/ separate spray, and 2 AS jackets and caps.

Thanks everyone!