Neighbors hot over HP noise

[az-streamer]

okay, what about the tent campers who lug an old, noisy house a/c window unit along with them?

they set up the unit, duct-taped to a hole in their tent and run it full speed after plugging into the electric.

i'd complain about the noise but i really can't hear it over my HP.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Well I will bring it back to somewhat on topic as I have had tent campers complain about the noise from my Honda's 2000 during non quite hours.

What do you do about it?

Ken

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

okay, what about the tent campers who lug an old, noisy house a/c window unit along with them?

they set up the unit, duct-taped to a hole in their tent and run it full speed after plugging into the electric.

i'd complain about the noise but i really can't hear it over my HP.

Please tell me where this has happened, so I can stay away.

Ken

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

Please tell me where this has happened, so I can stay away.

Ken

I can promise you that this has happened on the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels. I don't know which campground, but my neighbor in San Antonio did this annually when his partner dragged him camping with his family. It probably wasn't that noisy, though... it was a newish unit bought for the purpose.

[az-streamer]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

Please tell me where this has happened, so I can stay away.

Ken

one specific instance was last year at myrtle beach campground altho i have seen it at other S.P.'s.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

one specific instance was last year at myrtle beach campground altho i have seen it at other S.P.'s.

Looks like something I've missed. I'd love to take a photo of something that strange.

When we tent camped, we avoided most anything "civilized", so it is hard for me to have ever thought of bringing an A/C for a tent. Sometimes the Airstream feels decadent. Don't worry—just an attack of Calvinism—I'll get over it.

Gene

[J. Morgan]

People who drive diesel tow vehicles should not complain about noxious fumes in a campground.

J. Morgan

[Skater]

Originally Posted by Gene

Skater, thanks for answering the question as best as you can now. Sounds like the injectors had been ready for servicing for a while and that (mysteriously?) affected shifting. Let us know how it works out when you get a chance to test it in really cold weather—I think it is coming back to the East.

Yesterday morning, we fired it up and left the driveway fairly quickly, and it shifted right into second. Ambient air was in the 50s, but it had been in the 30s overnight so it's likely the engine and transmission were still cold. Good sign.

Both times we started it yesterday, we noticed how quiet and smoothly it ran when cold compared to before, so that's a good sign too. It's nowhere near as obnoxious as it was.

I still think you do not need to warm up any engine for even a few minutes any more. Additionally, it wastes fuel and does pollute the area. But it is unlikely either Ken or I will ever be camped next to you since we live 2,000 miles apart.

I suspect, even if you were next to me, you wouldn't notice it. Most people, I've noticed, consistently underestimate the time they spend doing things - commute time is a big one around here, for example - ask anyone how long their commute is and they'll tell you half an hour, but drive it yourself a couple times and you'll find it's probably consistently 35 to 45 minutes. I bet I'm just the only one being honest about how long my engine runs before I take off. And, honestly, I probably wouldn't be running a gasser any less - the difference is a gas engine is quieter, of course.

And, I think the biggest complaints are about people running them for half an hour or more. I've never seen that happen, to be honest, but I can see being annoyed by it. It's not something I do. I have let mine idle a few minutes while hooking up - it's quite hard on any battery to fire it up then shut it down right away. And in fact one of the issues I was having was due to a bad battery that was about two years old.

One other thing, how much winter camping do you even do? We do it every year, one or two trips. I'm not talking about fall "cool weather" camping, I'm talking about guaranteed freezing weather and snow being a very real possibility while you're out there. This winter was the first time in several years that I only had to winterize the camper twice. The idling we're discussing is only during those trips - the rest of the year, it's basically get in and go.

Also, whatever happened to "Can't we just get along?" We're in a society here, people are going to annoy each other from time to time...

[Pitou49]

Ac in tent !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiytzlyP0Q0

Good for neighbourhood

[urnmor]

What do you do about it?

Ken

Not much. I did turn them off about an hour before quite hours began.

[thehandyman]

Tents with AC's are a common in Texas in the summer time which is the end of April to the end of October.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by thehandyman

Tents with AC's are a common in Texas in the summer time which is the end of April to the end of October.

Air conditioning a tent still seems weird, but it is Texas after all. I wouldn't want to pay for electricity to keep a tent cold in the hot sun.

Why not go tenting to the north?

Gene

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Gene

Air conditioning a tent still seems weird, but it is Texas after all. I wouldn't want to pay for electricity to keep a tent cold in the hot sun.

Why not go tenting to the north?

Gene

You have to go a long way north from most parts of TX to find cool weather in the summer, and most of the developed sites in TX state parks are water+electric.

[m.hony]

Back to noisy heat pumps...
They are ridiculously and unnecessarily too loud.
When I first bought this really expensive trailer (honestly overrated and overpriced, but I love it anyway) I was really disappointed in how loud the air conditioning/heat pump units were.
The a/c in my previous $18,000 sob trailer was so much quieter...
I thought the reason may be because the sob had ducted air or maybe because it had a wood frame/roof structure.
Maybe something about the sound transferring through the aluminum ribs makes it louder than an a/c unit mounted on a wooden roof structure-
The point about ducted air is this: If sob manufacturers can, and Airstream can on the $140,000 Land Yacht concept trailer...

[Skater]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Back to noisy heat pumps...
They are ridiculously and unnecessarily too loud.

I haven't heard one, to my knowledge, so I'm hoping people can give me a loudness estimate...

Are they louder than the regular A/C units on the top of campers? Those can be fairly loud, inside the camper due to the fan noise, outside due to compressor noise and fan noise.

Also, the A/C unit (not heat pump) that sits outside my house, right next to my back porch , is pretty obnoxious when I'm trying to host a get-together outside, to the point where I'll turn off the A/C if possible when I'm hosting something. Are they as loud as one of those?

[Gene]

Loudness is partly affected by insulation and isolating the unit from stuff that amplifies sound. Metal will carry the sound further than wood. Ducting will divide the noise of air blowing to a number of areas rather than just from the roof. If you set the fan to run continuously the noise of it turning on and off doesn't stand out. There is a noise in ours when the compressor turns on and off that sounds like it is loose or not secured with sound dampening measures. I suspect the latter.

If the manufacturer buys the cheapest models and doesn't bother to install sufficient sound dampening, it is going to be noisy. Airstream has for well over a decade indulged in cost cutting by buying the cheap stuff, so that may account for the noise.

The A/C fan is noisy. We have to turn up the TV or radio when it comes on, turn it down when it goes off. This is annoying and for a so called premium trailer, unacceptable (except we didn't know it when we bought the trailer). The heat pump seems even louder, though not having used it for years, I'm not sure why or whether I'm right. I seem to remember an even louder noise than the A/C when the unit cycled—maybe it had to do with the valve that reverses the flow of the refrigerant.

Gene

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by Skater

I haven't heard one, to my knowledge, so I'm hoping people can give me a loudness estimate...



Are they louder than the regular A/C units on the top of campers? Those can be fairly loud, inside the camper due to the fan noise, outside due to compressor noise and fan noise.



Also, the A/C unit (not heat pump) that sits outside my house, right next to my back porch , is pretty obnoxious when I'm trying to host a get-together outside, to the point where I'll turn off the A/C if possible when I'm hosting something. Are they as loud as one of those?

I go on in that same post to explore theories of why they are louder, but yes, they are louder, especially on the inside of the coach while trying to hear the television.
I went to relate how much quieter the unit was in my previous sob trailer and the reasons why I think it is so.
The units may not necessarily be any louder than other campers on the outside of the camper.
The heat pump is another issue entirely. Normally during cool to cold times of the year an air only rooftop unit would not be running at all.

[Pahaska]

The heat pump is not a bit louder than the AC, if it is running correctly. It is simply the AC running in reverse. Any great amount of noise indicates a defective heat pump.

This morning, I spent several hours cleaning up the trailer at the storage yard, after returning from a 2-week trip for Alumafiesta. I had the heat pump running (it was 30 degrees when I arrived at the trailer). I am parked between two motorhomes and under a tin roof which should have made any sound worse. When I was outside the trailer, I could barely hear the heat pump running, just a low hum. It is a lot quieter outside the trailer than inside because of the rush of air from the fan inside.

If your heat pump is noisy, that is not natural. There is a problem ... maybe something like a mud dauber nest on the fan.

[m.hony]

I think you miss my point-
Compared to my previous trailer these Dometic units are loud inside the trailer.
I have to turn the television all the way up or switch on the surround sound to hear the television.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the units. They heat good. They cool good.
I don't think my units are any louder than yours or anyone else'.
I explained why I thought it was so- ducted vs. non-ducted, wood structure vs. aluminum structure and so forth.
No, the heat pump isn't any louder than the same unit using a/c.
Another point I made is that generally people don't run a/c in the fall and winter- so compared to total silence it is very loud-

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I think you miss my point-
Compared to my previous trailer these Dometic units are loud inside the trailer.
I have to turn the television all the way up or switch on the surround sound to hear the television.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the units. They heat good. They cool good.
I don't think my units are any louder than yours or anyone else'.
I explained why I thought it was so- ducted vs. non-ducted, wood structure vs. aluminum structure and so forth.
No, the heat pump isn't any louder than the same unit using a/c.
Another point I made is that generally people don't run a/c in the fall and winter- so compared to total silence it is very loud-

My observations match yours.

The first time I turned on our A/C, and it finally kicked in after a minute or so, my first reaction was WTH is wrong with it. However my previous trailer was a Bigfoot with the cold weather package. The roof was fiberglass much thicker than the Airstream shell, with an 2 inch layer of Styrofoam and 1/8 plywood on the inside. The airstream has thin aluminum supported by periodic aluminum ribs. What insulation there is in not much of a sound deadening material.

Any outside noise is much more noticeable in the Airstream than in the Bigfoot. Since the Airstream's air condition is sitting on a very flexible aluminum skin, I am convinced that the thin aluminum skin actually amplifies the noise.
.
My opinion is that the heat pump is not worth using. Obviously if you can use it you have shore power. A small electric heater will do a better job with practically no noise.

Ken