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rodsterinfl · 06-16-2014, 07:53 PM

Alright lets take this up a notch,

Have you heard of those odd hunch top Airstreams that lack the sweet private Learjet sound that lulls one to sleep at night and adds that sense of travel while you watch TV in your Airstream? Boy, will owners be missing something! They are supposedly whisper quiet. Gone is that sense of substantial camping- the sound of a jet engine, or maybe warp drive, whatever- the campground dampening field. (borrowed avatar)

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 12:54 PM

Ok, pun over. I just came home from CampingWorld I WISH I had my meter with me. I went to look at their sale and clearance (got a mailing) and while I was there I saw a new model Coleman explorer trailer CTU271RB with opposing slides and the door open- 31' very nice with an island. There were no sales people around but I went in to look at it. It was hooked up to power. I noticed that it had "ducted air" by Advent with an intake in the center and four outlets toward each side end. I just couldn't help myself so I switched it on! From the doorway I could hear the compressor first then the interior blower. IT WAS LOUD! It drowned out any outside noise. The difference was that the sound was like standing near a regular roof unit wherever you went. The vents all added to the wind noise and the intake was as loud as my unit. It was surround-sound blower noise. I switched it off but it did not shut off- some sort of delay. I walked away as it later shut off thinking, wow someone needs to come up with a quiet design for campers. I do not see how even the new AS unit could be much different from the Coleman- maybe. I will say that the lower fan speed makes a difference but if the unit behaves anything like mine, you cannot use the lower setting without freezing up or raising the temperature on the unit. One benefit I noticed is that cool air was better distributed all around.

PharmGeek · 06-17-2014, 01:02 PM

Rod - so you have sound tested non ducted AC Airstream but we are waiting on your ducted air test - c'mon man - make it happen

Also get back to that Coleman and do it for that one as well

RVDreamer · 06-17-2014, 01:11 PM

I don't think you can gauge anything from a completely different trailer.

The first hand accounts that came from people who actually walked through the new ducted A/C Airstream trailers said that they were significantly quieter.

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 01:19 PM

Hey PharmGeek I would do it but the Airstream dealer here does not have any ducted units yet and his lot is not powered. They also already know me as the nut with the measuring tape from my last measuring models escapade. I learnt a lot bout 25-27-28 models.

RV Dreamer, agreed but I can tell you it was loud. I was actually amazed. I sounded like I had started several acs. Of course I refer to the blower sound. The center area noise was indistinguishable to the noise on either end- at least on that camper. Hey, I wonder if the AC was on when those people were walking through!

The sound was very similar to a jet plane in flight sound, from all around.

Interestingly I am digging through posts on RVnet regarding ducted versus non-ducted. Some are retrofitting to non-ducted AND while they find air distributed better, do not like the lack of control- cold at night, etc. One mention of quieter but not sure.

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 03:40 PM

Ok, just got back from CW AGAIN. The meter reads 60.5 dB all over that unit on the ducted AC. It has a 17' single duct foam insulated metal arched hump with four exhaust ports Not as I reported before as having four on each side. Another unit was there with running AC ducted. It was reading the same reading with a different floor plan and duct layout. I know this is not an Airstream but it is some data on ducted systems. The human ear supposedly cannot distinguish between up to 3db. That is obviously the case here.

Where this would become really interesting is when we can get the dB of the ducted AS.

BAB · 06-17-2014, 03:49 PM

I saw the ducted air at Alumapalooza in the new trailers, and at my dealers. Also examined what the "makings" of the ductwork look like during the quiet time factory tour (Friday afternoon). While it makes for a slick looking ceiling (albeit peppered with what look more like speaker grills than anything else), it is not persuasive enough for me to remotely consider trading "up". I did find it interesting that, unlike your car or your home where you can close the vents if you want to, there didn't appear to be any way to close down the ceiling vents if you wanted to put more air in the BR than in the rest of the cabin (or close down the BR, for that matter). Noisewise, I had both the 15,000 and 13,500 units running at the FOD rally in Hot Springs a couple of weeks ago (where the weather was HOT and fierce), and we were able to sleep with both units full blast. More impressive to me was the awesome improvements in the interior design of the Classic. It no longer looks like grandma and grandpa's kitchen.

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 03:55 PM

Hmm, decor upgrades too huh. Yes, none of the campers I am mentioning have any duct control, that too is why some with ducted RVs are switching at least one of their two units (if they have two) to having one non-ducted for immediate cold air- been reading about the pros/cons. AH, just saw it BABS. It is REALLY nice LOVE THE SOFA recliner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vANDL7iGddg

**jcanavera** · 06-17-2014, 04:15 PM

I had ducted air on my sob years ago. The major benefit was the lack of the blasts of air that typically come from the hang down units like most of us have in Airstreams today. The interesting thing is the report that the vents in the new ducted Airstreams have no airflow adjustment. I know my sob's ceiling vent outlets could be adjusted for airflow. It was good that it did since the front bedroom was cooler than the rest of the trailer when the vents were fully open. I wonder how Airstream handles this variation? I would think that airflow might vary much like it did in my sob.

Jack

tsunami · 06-17-2014, 04:49 PM

Question, wonder how solar panels will be installed and the wiring routed to the interior? Will it make after market solar install more costly with the ducted AC?

After reviewing the video of the interior, I noticed that it appears that they have a solar display unit on the wall by the SeeLevel tank monitoring display. I'd like to see photos/video of the top of the AS in the video.

tsunami · 06-17-2014, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I had ducted air on my sob years ago. The major benefit was the lack of the blasts of air that typically come from the hang down units like most of us have in Airstreams today. The interesting thing is the report that the vents in the new ducted Airstreams have no airflow adjustment. I know my sob's ceiling vent outlets could be adjusted for airflow. It was good that it did since the front bedroom was cooler than the rest of the trailer when the vents were fully open. I wonder how Airstream handles this variation? I would think that airflow might vary much like it did in my sob.

Jack

Could be the chance for some ingenious/industrious individual to develop after market upgrade to solve this issue. Seems to me that it could not/should not be that difficult to resolve.

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 05:03 PM

When I got my AS I changed the air distribution box right after our first trip. It made a huge difference in airflow.

RVDreamer · 06-17-2014, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsunami

Could be the chance for some ingenious/industrious individual to develop after market upgrade to solve this issue. Seems to me that it could not/should not be that difficult to resolve.

+1. Seems like it could be as easy as changing out the standard vent cover with an adjustable one.

It also could be that the new vents are adjustable but in a way that is not visible to the casual observer.

rodsterinfl · 06-17-2014, 06:14 PM

The colemans have angled vents in the disk so by turning them you can direct the flow but it does not restrict the flow.

Msmoto · 06-18-2014, 03:55 AM

Just a note on the original topic....LOL. My new Serenity 30RB arrived at the OutOfDoorsMart yesterday and when I did a quick walk through did not realize the A/C was on except that it was cool. This may be as quiet or possibly quieter than my Allegro Bus. I will be doing a full report on this unit as it has the UltraLeather recliners, power awning, XM Satellite radio, rear camera, and new for 2015, curtains on all the bedroom windows for much better privacy. I think Airstream may be listening to some of us.

J. Morgan · 06-18-2014, 07:59 AM

There is a very interesting mix of folks on this forum..... Generally exhibiting a strong divide among those who own the newer units and those who own the older units.

As an interesting note, judging from the DBA readings recorded on this thread, my forty two year old Armstrong is more quiet than either modern setup, ducted or not.

On low fan I can have a comfortable cell phone conversation sitting directly under the air conditioner.

Maybe AS should just start making air conditioners like they installed forty years ago instead of going to all of the trouble of ducted air?

Endodoc · 06-18-2014, 09:18 AM

Apparently there is no access to the units from the inside. Could this not be an issue when there are problems with leaks, drains, etc?

tsunami · 06-18-2014, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Msmoto

Just a note on the original topic....LOL. My new Serenity 30RB arrived at the OutOfDoorsMart yesterday and when I did a quick walk through did not realize the A/C was on except that it was cool. This may be as quiet or possibly quieter than my Allegro Bus. I will be doing a full report on this unit as it has the UltraLeather recliners, power awning, XM Satellite radio, rear camera, and new for 2015, curtains on all the bedroom windows for much better privacy. I think Airstream may be listening to some of us.

Would enjoy seeing photos of your new AS. We are considering an upgrade to more length. Thanks

hemi · 06-18-2014, 10:38 AM

We just came home from Foley RV, MS where we purchased our 2015 Flying Cloud 25FB. What an huge improvement from our 2013. You can hear the tv and sleep well with the quiet of the ducted air! Love this ducted air feature. Also the no crank up tv antenna is great also no booster button to remember! Awesome new audio system with usb ports is a plus. I also love the new cashew ultra leather color.
I highy recommend Foley Rv in MS. They were very knowledgible and efficient. Great customer service and had a very good service center.

RVDreamer · 06-18-2014, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

There is a very interesting mix of folks on this forum..... Generally exhibiting a strong divide among those who own the newer units and those who own the older units.

As an interesting note, judging from the DBA readings recorded on this thread, my forty two year old Armstrong is more quiet than either modern setup, ducted or not.

On low fan I can have a comfortable cell phone conversation sitting directly under the air conditioner.

Maybe AS should just start making air conditioners like they installed forty years ago instead of going to all of the trouble of ducted air?

Possibly, but we haven't got any DB readings from the new ducted Airstream yet. All that was reported was for the old non-ducted system and for a ducted SOB.

From what I have heard the new ducted Airstream is significantly quieter. There is a Youtube video floating around with a review of the Land Yacht. While the video is being made the ducted A/C is on and is barely audible.

In addition, a lot of old A/C units can't be made the way they used to be made because they would violate environmental impact laws. Many old A/C's only run on freon which was banned.