AC in the AZ

[bgipeair]

Hello. I'm wondering how good the AC system is in a 28 ft. 2005 Safari that we are looking at. We anticipate using the AC a lot during hot summer days. Is it effective? thanks, Bruce 818 421 6961

[bryanl]

You may get a 20 degree (F) temperature difference between inside and outside.

Shade helps. Orientation helps. Awnings can help.

[bgipeair]

Originally Posted by bryanl

You may get a 20 degree (F) temperature difference between inside and outside.

Shade helps. Orientation helps. Awnings can help.

Thank you!

[MaxAB]

Unless already a feature on your rig, reflective white roof sealant helps reduce passive heat buildup by quite a bit... Awnings help tons.

[handn]

Two air conditioner options are available. The big one is 13500 btu and upgrading will help in your 28 foot trailer.
We have spent a lot of time camping in hotter than hell conditions in our 25 Safari with the small a.c.
The other posters are correct a 20 degree differential is all you are going to get.
It is marginally comfortable if you start in the morning and run the a.c. all day.
If the trailer has been sitting in the sun all day with the a.c. off and you expect to hop in and go camping..forget it, as it will take hours with the a.c. running full blast into the cool night to get things comfortatable.
We Safari owners are lucky. The fancy Airstreams with panoramic windows cool even worse.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by bryanl

You may get a 20 degree (F) temperature difference between inside and outside.

Shade helps. Orientation helps. Awnings can help.

Actually, you will NOT necessarily get a 20* temp difference between inside and outside. This 20* temperature differential (called 'DELTA T') is a measure of the A/C unit's performance.

It is a measure of the difference between the cool air coming thru the vents/ducts from the evaporator vs. the temp. of the intake air back to the evaporator, measured at the internal air return grill after the A/C compressor has been operating for 15 minutes. This difference in the INSIDE supply air vs. return air should be between 18* - 22*F in a properly operating system. It says nothing about inside vs. outside air temps.

After operating your A/C for an extended period and with enough BTU capacity, it is certainly possible to lower the inside temps beyond a 20*F differential between inside and outside air temps.

[tpi]

I've traveled extensively in super hot weather with my 25' and 11K btu Dometic AC.

I agree with Lew, it is possible to get more than the 20 degree difference, at least at times. First always park in any shade you can get. Even a bit of shade part of the day is better than nothing. Awning is good. Start the AC as early in the morning as possible to get all the mass of the trailer cold. This head start allows some very cool temps in the trailer around mid day and the heat rise generally occurs mid to late afternoon. At least on my trailer, the AC fan creates a nice breeze in two spots I'm generally located-on the front couch, or on the bed. The breeze allows comfort even if the temp rises to over 80 degrees in the trailer.

The worst thing about the AC is the initial cooldown when the trailer is over 100 degrees inside. It seems to take forever, usually till 9 pm the first day. No matter how hot it is at night, even above 90 degrees, the AC cools very well.

[bgipeair]

Originally Posted by tpi

I've traveled extensively in super hot weather with my 25' and 11K btu Dometic AC.

I agree with Lew, it is possible to get more than the 20 degree difference, at least at times. First always park in any shade you can get. Even a bit of shade part of the day is better than nothing. Awning is good. Start the AC as early in the morning as possible to get all the mass of the trailer cold. This head start allows some very cool temps in the trailer around mid day and the heat rise generally occurs mid to late afternoon. At least on my trailer, the AC fan creates a nice breeze in two spots I'm generally located-on the front couch, or on the bed. The breeze allows comfort even if the temp rises to over 80 degrees in the trailer.

The worst thing about the AC is the initial cooldown when the trailer is over 100 degrees inside. It seems to take forever, usually till 9 pm the first day. No matter how hot it is at night, even above 90 degrees, the AC cools very well.

Thank you!

[tpi]

Here's a couple more tips for the most extreme conditions.

Try to orient the awning side of the trailer to the sunny side. Do keep wind in mind when using awning, especially when away from trailer.

There are pads available from Camping World, etc. which you can stuff in any roof vents you may have.

In the worst weather I duct tape windshield reflectors on the outside of any windows heavily exposed to sun (cut to size, duct taped to glass). This is much more effective than reflectors located on the inside of windows and really helps keep the windows cool. The residue comes of quite easily with WD 40 or solvent followed by window cleaner. The reflectors are quite sturdy and stand up to rain and heat.

The skylight is major entry point for heat. I've never done it, but if in extreme conditions, I'd try to throw some kind of blanket or pad over it on the outside.

[Jammer]

Bruce

You may also want to consider trailers that have two air conditioners. The second air conditioner is an option on the 30' and 31' classic and perhaps on some other models as well. It does help in extremely hot weather.

[bryanl]

re: "Actually, you will NOT necessarily" -- ya' know, this kind of knee jerk pickyness is why all the qualifiers and conditions and caveats are needed. In this case, the word "may" seems to have been overlooked so perhaps some folks are so hot for fault they miss the caveats to misperceive just so they can take off on something ... or something. I wish I understood this phenomena better.

The input vs output temperature of the A/C depends upon many factors, including the air flow. On most RV's I've seen, they'll cool the air going through them quite a bit more than 20F. The problem is circulating that cool air throughout the RV in sufficient quantity to cool then entire rig. If the A/C was only able to cool air going through it by 20F, then it would be very difficult to get the air inside the entire rig that much cooler than outside, which they appear to do from what I can tell (caveats and cautions go here!).

This gets into the design criteria for HVAC air flow requirements and also into the swamp cooler options.

The fact is that RV's just don't have that much insulation and do have a lot of surface area compared to the volume within. Both of these factors make heating and cooling a difficult proposition.

[bgipeair]

We are considering using the trailer as a "guest house" during at least part of the year for one of our sons when he is home from college. Los Angeles in the summer can be very hot so we would anticipate leaving the AC on for days at a time in order to try to maximize cooling and livability. The trailer will also be positioned facing south with little direct sun exposure.

[DreamStreamr]

We spent a couple of weeks in Bakersfield CA in August 2008 -- 106 degrees day, 80 - 85 night.

The 20 degrees delta was fine because it was so darned hot out, we were grateful to be that much cooler in.

Good luck!

[bgipeair]

Hello. We are looking at a 2006 23 ft. Safari. The owner things it has a 13,500 BTU AC unit but is not sure. He doesn't have the manual. Is there a way that I can find out? I've seen it and it looks smaller than the 13,500 unit I saw on a 28 footer. Thanks,

[blmitch5]

Originally Posted by bgipeair

Hello. We are looking at a 2006 23 ft. Safari. The owner things it has a 13,500 BTU AC unit but is not sure. He doesn't have the manual. Is there a way that I can find out? I've seen it and it looks smaller than the 13,500 unit I saw on a 28 footer. Thanks,

It looks like a 11,000 BTU

Here are the specs

http://www.airstream.com/files/libra...f9300b4174.pdf