1963 Bambi - Air Conditioner/Heat

[highcotton]

I am the proud owner of a 1963 Bambi purchased from an ad I found right here in the Forums' Classifieds section. The seller, my new pal Case, is in Florida and is delivering the unit to me on tomorrow [27 Oct]. The unit does not have a/c, and I am wanting to get one installed immediately. Is there such a unit that has an a/c and heat combo, or should I plan to use one of the plug-in ceramic type heaters? I am not going to use the original heater [actually, it is gone]. Should this be an expensive job?

[Silverhobby]

Hi Mike, Carrier, and Dometic both manufacture A/C units that are heat pumps and can supply both heat and air. These units are designed to install in a 14"x14" rough opening in the roof. The Bambi trailer is probably NOT prewired for A/C nor is it braced for the additional weight of a rooftop A/C unit. I am not saying that it can't be done. It is just a bit more difficult than with a newer trailer. In the short term, a ceramic heater might be the ticket for your heating needs. Heat pump units are more expensive than A/C units with electric strip heaters.

[Webfoot]

Hi Mike, Congrats on your "new" Bambi. We own a 61 Bambi and I understand your interest in installing an AC as your climate is probably similar to ours here in east Texas, hot and humid. Because the early Streams were not braced for roof ac and I think that the ac looks out of proportion on the small trailers I installed 10,000 BTU window unit in my Bambi.

I built it into the bottom of the closet. I added a new door to the closet and the front of the ac is framed in with the same door material and matches the original interior wood very well.

The cooling air to condenser flows thru the floor of the former heater section area and then thru the wall of the closet into the side of the condenser and compressor section and then out the back of ac and ducted back thru the closet wall and exits thru the side of the trailer where the former heater vent was located.

The ac is boxed in with 3/4" foamboard insulation and all of the ducts are constructed of the same material. There is no heat generated from the unit. It worked fair this way the first summer. I felt that the original cooling air flow thru the condenser was somewhat restricted at the original heater exit and I inlarged this and also added a small birdcage blower inside the old heater compartment. It is attaached to the wall of the closet and blows directly into the side of the condenser and compressor section. The blower is very quite and really made the system work exceptionally well. I call this my "supercharged" airconditioner and we are on our 4th year with no problems.

I know that this all sounds confusing as I am very poor at explaining things. I have a few pictures of the system but I do not how to post them.

Tom

[goransons]

I can totally see the potential of an overhead unit looking to out of balance. Never seen a vintage bambi in person though. If you do go with a roof air, consider the Carrier Low Profile. We were amazed how much smaller it really is.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Webfoot

Hi Mike, Congrats on your "new" Bambi. We own a 61 Bambi and I understand your interest in installing an AC as your climate is probably similar to ours here in east Texas, hot and humid. Because the early Streams were not braced for roof ac and I think that the ac looks out of proportion on the small trailers I installed 10,000 BTU window unit in my Bambi.

Tom

Tom.

All Airstream are built to not only support the weight of an AC on the roof, they are also built to support the weight of several people standing on the roof at the same time.

That support is side to side.

Front to back support between two main bows, must be added when installing an AC.

That holds true for any Airstream ever built, from the 1930's to the 2009 models.

Andy

[Walter19]

I have a bambi 19' and I lost the air conditioning unit hood today in the wind..... I am in salt lake city and I am in desperate need of one... can anyone help me? Where can I find a replacement? Does anyone have an extra one.... uggg It's been a horrible day and if anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. I am traveling back to colorado, in case that helps.

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by Walter19

I have a bambi 19' and I lost the air conditioning unit hood today in the wind..... I am in salt lake city and I am in desperate need of one... can anyone help me? Where can I find a replacement? Does anyone have an extra one.... uggg It's been a horrible day and if anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. I am traveling back to colorado, in case that helps.

There's an Airstream Dealer in Draper, UT which is at the lower end of the Salt Lake City metro area off I-15...the address is 13153 Minuteman Dr./Draper 84020 the phone is (801) 255-9200 Website: New & Used RVs for Sale in Draper Utah | Motorhomes, Campers, Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels from Ardell Brown RV - Ardell Brown Salt Lake City (I know nothing about them.) You should be able to get an AC shroud at any RV repair center, it doesn't have to be an Airstream dealer.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Walter19

I have a bambi 19' and I lost the air conditioning unit hood today in the wind..... I am in salt lake city and I am in desperate need of one... can anyone help me? Where can I find a replacement? Does anyone have an extra one.... uggg It's been a horrible day and if anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. I am traveling back to colorado, in case that helps.

It's very doubtful that any dealer will have just the AC shroud.

You can, if you wish, have one shipped to your home, but you need to order it through a dealer that knows what you need.

Andy