23FB Air Conditioner BTU

[Johnrb3]

Hey all, I'm currently looking at buying a 19 international or a 23FB international. I'm concerned about the a/c strength on the 23. I live in Texas where the heat stays in the high 90 to 100 degrees all summer. I noticed the 23 has the same size air conditioner as the 19. Do you guys think that will be an issue on the 23?? The dealer had a 19 setup outside the day I visited and the air conditioner didn't turn off the whole time I was there. Granted people were going in and out of it some. Just worried in the 23 that the a/c may be overloaded in our summers? Would really appreciate any southerners experience with this that might have a 23 with the same a/c setup. Thanks in advance!

John

[AstroBruce]

I don't think 2 AC units is an option on a 23. You should be fine with a single AC unit. I would get the awning package, though. Any AS 25' and over in the south and summer should have 2 AC units. We spend the winter in S. Florida and there are days when a single AC is not quite enough.

Bruce

[Rich W]

In our 23' we have the optional 15,000 BTU A/C. I think the standard size is 13,500. Ours does a nice job in 90 degree heat, full sun, but it is loud. It's loud enough so you can't really enjoy the TV when it cycles on, but it is cool, that's for sure. The wife usually makes me turn it down because she gets so cold. 90 outside and she wears a sweatshirt inside.

[OTRA15]

If the two units have the same A/C, the extra 4' of length [+/-] will result in much more exterior surface area to absorb heat and direct rays from the sun IMO. If you are sitting in direct sun in 90 degree plus weather, both air conditioners may be challenged cooling either length trailer down to 71 F.

From our perspective, the dry bath shower in the 23FB would be the one "plus" that controlled the choice over the 19' hands down.

Comparing the A/C units and cooling would be a distant #2 consideration.

Good luck with your search!

Peter

Originally Posted by Johnrb3

Hey all, I'm currently looking at buying a 19 international or a 23FB international. I'm concerned about the a/c strength on the 23. I live in Texas where the heat stays in the high 90 to 100 degrees all summer. I noticed the 23 has the same size air conditioner as the 19. Do you guys think that will be an issue on the 23?? The dealer had a 19 setup outside the day I visited and the air conditioner didn't turn off the whole time I was there. Granted people were going in and out of it some. Just worried in the 23 that the a/c may be overloaded in our summers? Would really appreciate any southerners experience with this that might have a 23 with the same a/c setup. Thanks in advance!

John

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

From our perspective, the dry bath shower in the 23FB would be the one "plus" that controlled the choice over the 19' hands down.

Comparing the A/C units and cooling would be a distant #2 consideration.

19 is a dry bath too, with shower being close to, if not, the same size as the 23FB shower.

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the correction! Would still go for the 23FB with its vastly improved bed location and size FWIW.

Peter

[OTRA15]

PS -- Not sure what divides the front bedroom from the main room in the 23FB, but in our old 25' it was a light-duty accordion pleated panel, with a horizontal track at the top. In really hot weather, we would close this bedroom door, and stuff a pillow or two between the ceiling and the top track, thus maximizing the A/C's cooling in the main room.

[Boxite]

John, ...it's not an apples/apples comparison, but our AS is only 1 foot shorter (22' Sport) and the 13.5 AC does just fine for us, and I'm a guy who likes it to be cool down here in central TX. But I suppose changing to a 15K unit might be possible if you're at a dealer and want to pay extra....

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Boxite

John, ...it's not an apples/apples comparison, but our AS is only 1 foot shorter (22' Sport) and the 13.5 AC does just fine for us, and I'm a guy who likes it to be cool down here in central TX.

It's also 6" narrower.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by overlander63

It's also 6" narrower.

Correct.... but the cu/ft may be as large since it has smaller cabinetry...and my model (08) has mousefur lining the main living area which I believe helps insulate both temp and noise.

Clearly, this is only a subjective comparison...nothing scientific about it.

[dst]

We picked up a 23FB from Bayer down the road from you in Dublin, Tx in March. So far the standard 13.5 AC has done fine, including sitting out in an RV "ranch" outside of Blanco a few weeks back. The real test will be in a month or two when we look at Palo Duro Canyon State Park and perhaps Abilene SP or on up into the Durango, CO area.

The ducting helps with the noise, it does not eliminate it. I guess you could close the vents over the bed and perhaps force more air out in the rest of the trailer, but we just point the vents in that direction so their output is directed towards the main area. At night we spin them around towards the bed.

[Lil Bear]

We just took delivery of a 2017 23FB with the standard 13,500 BTU unit. In the 4 days we were in NC summer 85+ with humidity it did great. In fact at night we turned it off and used the two Fantastic Fans. It actually got too cold in the middle of the night.

We like it cool and hitting 70 on the thermostat was not an issue. I like having the lower BTU unit as we intend to boondock and want to A/C with a generator.
Having the awning package allowed us to deploy on three sides and keep some of the sun off us during the day...also a help.

[Elly Mae]

We also live in Texas and our 23FB cools down nicely, sometimes too cold at night. The ducting feature on the new models really helps with the noise factor, we do not have any noise issues.

[dolson]

Originally Posted by Johnrb3

Hey all, I'm currently looking at buying a 19 international or a 23FB international. I'm concerned about the a/c strength on the 23. I live in Texas where the heat stays in the high 90 to 100 degrees all summer. I noticed the 23 has the same size air conditioner as the 19. Do you guys think that will be an issue on the 23?? The dealer had a 19 setup outside the day I visited and the air conditioner didn't turn off the whole time I was there. Granted people were going in and out of it some. Just worried in the 23 that the a/c may be overloaded in our summers? Would really appreciate any southerners experience with this that might have a 23 with the same a/c setup. Thanks in advance!



John

I have a 23fb with the 1300 but not ducted ac. It is robust enough in 90 degree heat with a few caveats.
Shade makes a huge difference especially in the bedroom area. If you put your hand on the ceiling in full sun it is very warm.
The air distribution cools the dinette/kitchen/bath just fine but little air is directed toward the front where it is needed most.
We put a fan in the dinette area directed toward the bedroom and this helps a lot. Also fashioned a shelf over dinette to put fan on.
I am adding about 20 square feet of solar panels primarily over the bedroom area and I expect the resulting shade on the roof to help keep things cooler.

[Johnrb3]

Thanks everyone for all the input. It's really helped a lot! Probably making a decision tomorrow. Excited and nervous at the same time. There are so many things to consider with all the choices. Thanks again.

[CRH]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

PS -- Not sure what divides the front bedroom from the main room in the 23FB, but in our old 25' it was a light-duty accordion pleated panel, with a horizontal track at the top. In really hot weather, we would close this bedroom door, and stuff a pillow or two between the ceiling and the top track, thus maximizing the A/C's cooling in the main room.

I use a pool noodle on top of the door track.

[rjbrown99]

For folks in the future that find this thread - a bit of additional info to add. We have a 2017 23FB with ducted air and the 13.5K AC unit. Standard awning and we added a back awning but have not done the driver-side awning yet.

In 109 degree temps last weekend in full sun and the 2 awnings and all shades down, it was able to cool it down to around 88 inside. Not great but that's pretty extreme heat. As soon as it cooled off to the 90s outside it was able to get the interior back down to the 70s. So for an almost off-the-lot package, assume you can hit the mid 90s outside in full sun and you are OK. Beyond 95 with full sun it's going to get warm.

We're adding a few things:

- An O2Cool 10" fan ($47 @ Amazon)
- Camco 45192 Vent Insulator (fits into the overhead vents and insulates them) ($13 x 2 @ Amazon)
- The driver-side awning ($TBD but a lot more than that)

That should help get the temp down if we hit that kind of heat again.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by rjbrown99

For folks in the future that find this thread . . .
. . .

Also FYI FF, there is a thread devoted to the 23FB:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...um-166374.html

FYI FF

[Johnrb3]

I wanted to follow up since I've camped out in my new camper a few times now in the heat. It definitely struggles to keep cool. Like the above poster states. It was in the low 100's and I couldn't get it below about 88. Which feels very warm if it's hot outside. I have the full awning package. Considering upgrading to the 15k air conditioner, but not right away. I'll let anyone know if it makes a big difference later if I have it done. Trying to decide if the difference between the 13.5k and 15k will make enough difference to justify it.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Johnrb3

I wanted to follow up since I've camped out in my new camper a few times now in the heat. It definitely struggles to keep cool. Like the above poster states. It was in the low 100's and I couldn't get it below about 88. Which feels very warm if it's hot outside. I have the full awning package. Considering upgrading to the 15k air conditioner, but not right away. I'll let anyone know if it makes a big difference later if I have it done. Trying to decide if the difference between the 13.5k and 15k will make enough difference to justify it.

My 2006 has the 15K A/C. We were down in TN for 3 days with low 90s every day. It was a pleasant 72 with 3 of us in the AS. There was a river of condensation running down the driveway, it was most definitely humid. The A/C would run maybe 10 minutes, cycle for 10, then on again. We kept the fan running all the time. We were in afternoon shade, which makes a big difference. I have been in full sun in upper 80s, low 90s and it still does OK, but I've not experienced 100s.