Installed the A/C...

[Anon]

The 13.5kBTU Carrier requires a different modification to make the drain tube adapt to it.
I will post pictures and a step-by-step procedure for doing this in my photos section.
Should anyone have any questions regarding the A/C installation, I will be happy to answer them for you.

[87MH]

Originally Posted by pattersontoo

The 13.5kBTU Carrier requires a different modification to make the drain tube adapt to it......Should anyone have any questions regarding the A/C installation, I will be happy to answer them for you.

Did it come self-panned, were you able to use the old pan, or did you have to purchase a new pan separately?

If you had to purchase a pan - what did you get and where?

Any modifications to the "hole" or to the mounting bolts?

Thanks.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by 87MH

Did it come self-panned, were you able to use the old pan, or did you have to purchase a new pan separately?

If you had to purchase a pan - what did you get and where?

Any modifications to the "hole" or to the mounting bolts?

Thanks.

Well, I had no hole. I had to use the dimensions from Airstream and then center the hole myself. I used my Roto-Zip with the diamond blade as it ate up the metal cut-off wheel too quickly.
I reinforced the front and the rear of the hole using 1.75" aluminum C-Channel. It worked BEAUTIFULLY!
The Carrier will not take the standard Airstream drain pan. It uses the "Slinger Wheel" technology that throws the condesation back at the condensor. What I did was to tap into the Carrier's drain pan by cutting a notch into the plastic. I then used a 3/8" I.D. plastic tube and a 3/8" plastic elbow and cut a 15/64" hole in the metal pan of the A/C and stuck the elbow through it. I then used a 1/2" to 3/8" rubber tubing reducer to get it to hook into the drain tube in the trailer. I caulked the crap out of everything too!
Take a look in my phoe album. I am placing some pretty good pictures of the modification in there.
I know it works because once I sat the A/C on the roof I pour water into the far end of the drain pan and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! I must have poured a quart in there at first.
I recommend that you do that test after you hook up your drain tube. It will allow you to find leaks before you button the whole unit up.
Take a look at my photos and let me know what you think!

[Ken J]

Lou

How did you lift the a/c onto the top of the trailer?

Ken J.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Lou

How did you lift the a/c onto the top of the trailer?

Ken J.

Ken,

I made use of my brother.
We removed the shroud so we would not damage it.
The bottom of the AC has a heavy-duty gasket that is ok to slide it along the top of the trailer. Position it over the hole and VIOLA!
I used two 8-foot step ladders with the steps facing each other. I walked up a couple of them and then my brother swung in towards the other step ladder and started up. With the two of us, we got it up there in less than a minute. It just took teamwork.
Did you look at my photos?
I am going to post another one that shows the A/C sitting on the roof and you can see the two step ladders facing each other.

[Ken J]

Lou

Yes I did see your photos - sounds like lifting onto the trailer wasn't too bad - how much does it weigh?

Ken

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Lou

Yes I did see your photos - sounds like lifting onto the trailer wasn't too bad - how much does it weigh?

Ken

Ken,
They say it is 92lbs. It felt like less than that with two people though.
I am a short fat guy and my brother is just a step above that. We had no problems lifting it.
I would probably be easier if we had scaffolding and a cat-walk. No biggie though.

[Ken J]

Wow - thats lite - cool I'm going to look into getting one myself......

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Wow - thats lite - cool I'm going to look into getting one myself......

You HAVE to get it from Family RV Center in Florida.
They sold me the 13.5kBTU with the heat strip for $499 plus $69 for shipping.
I cannot find them that cheap ANYWHERE else.
Family RV Center's number is: 727-389-3440
I do not gain ANYTHING by you buying it from them. As a matter of fact, I have only called once since I bought mine and it was to find out where the mounting hardware was hiding, (inside the interior shroud). I was very impressed with how nice they are and how much they know about the Carrier product line.

[fireflyinva]

After reading the last thread, I also bought a unit from Family RV. We ended up buying the heat pump unit. We needed to replace our a/c (an original 61 unit) since it is dying. Our furnace also is kaput. Currently, we are using a portable catalytic heater for those borderline months when we use the trailer. After talking with other folks, we decided that (since we don't plan to use it much when it's significantly freezing), getting a heat pump and an installed cat heater would be the most cost efficient way to warm up the trailer--and chill it in the summer.

We were very happy with the family RV deal, which I followed up on based on Lou's recommendation. We got the unit for $599 (it's also a 16 btu unit, iirc) plus $69 shipping. That was more than $100 cheaper than the next best price I could find. The other thing is that the salesman who answers that number is one of their leading mechanics. He really knows everything about this unit and is very patient with anwers. Finally, the $69 gets the unit shipped Fedex. That means that I could track the delivery and arrange to leave work for just a few hours to meet the package. Plus the delivery guy brought it inside for me!

And that's where it sits! I am still muddling through how to install that drain tube (fortunately, I have a tube installed for the previous a/c unit). I think I"m going to have to spend some time comparing the installation diagram with Lou's pics.

One question, Lou--do you think we could do it with just ladders & Rick and I? I just worry that we won't be able to lift the old unit off.

Mary

[Ken J]

Lou - thanks for the tip on the a/c - I'm still have not decided what to do - I too have the original a/c on my trailer (you can see in my photos) and it appears to still be working - pretty ugly though - this is going on year number 2 to restore this trailer - should have it back on the road in late summer. I will then decide on the a/c.

As with Mary, my biggest fear is getting the old unit off and the new one on. Probably the safest bet would be to build some scaffolding.

Ken J.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Lou - thanks for the tip on the a/c - I'm still have not decided what to do - I too have the original a/c on my trailer (you can see in my photos) and it appears to still be working - pretty ugly though - this is going on year number 2 to restore this trailer - should have it back on the road in late summer. I will then decide on the a/c.

As with Mary, my biggest fear is getting the old unit off and the new one on. Probably the safest bet would be to build some scaffolding.

Ken J.

The scaffolding was my next choice. I like to work from a stable platform. My father was an Ironworker by trade. We have the heavy-duty scaffolding right across the street at my mother's house. If my brother and I hadn't done this a couple times before, then I would have used the scaffolding. We are still kind of young and dumb so we just went up the ladders. I do recommend removing the shroud. It gives you a nice lip to grasp the metal base pan of the A/C unit. You do have to put the shwoud back on once it is on the roof. I recommend putting the shroud on BEFORE you tighten the A/C down to the roof of the trailer. That way you can step back and look at the alignment of the unit from a distance and move the A/C around until it is square with the trailer.
Has anyone found my pictures of the drain tube modification helpful? If I had to do it again, I would probably find a small piece of plastic to dam up the run-off of the condensor pan and caulk that in place. I do not recommend using a semi-permanent caulk as that will make it impossible to remove should you need to remove it.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by fireflyinva

After reading the last thread, I also bought a unit from Family RV. We ended up buying the heat pump unit. We needed to replace our a/c (an original 61 unit) since it is dying. Our furnace also is kaput. Currently, we are using a portable catalytic heater for those borderline months when we use the trailer. After talking with other folks, we decided that (since we don't plan to use it much when it's significantly freezing), getting a heat pump and an installed cat heater would be the most cost efficient way to warm up the trailer--and chill it in the summer.

We were very happy with the family RV deal, which I followed up on based on Lou's recommendation. We got the unit for $599 (it's also a 16 btu unit, iirc) plus $69 shipping. That was more than $100 cheaper than the next best price I could find. The other thing is that the salesman who answers that number is one of their leading mechanics. He really knows everything about this unit and is very patient with anwers. Finally, the $69 gets the unit shipped Fedex. That means that I could track the delivery and arrange to leave work for just a few hours to meet the package. Plus the delivery guy brought it inside for me!

And that's where it sits! I am still muddling through how to install that drain tube (fortunately, I have a tube installed for the previous a/c unit). I think I"m going to have to spend some time comparing the installation diagram with Lou's pics.

One question, Lou--do you think we could do it with just ladders & Rick and I? I just worry that we won't be able to lift the old unit off.

Mary

Mary,
I sure am glad that we have become friends. I enjoy the bantering we do.
I am not sure how much your old unit weighs. If I base it upon the fact that your trailer is one day older than dirt then I would have to say that it probably weighs as much as a Pontiac!
I would be careful in the removal. Loosen it up and have Rick try to lift one end of it while it is on the roof. Let him judge the weight and see if he thinks the two of you can do it.
If need be, strip parts off of the old unit while it is still on the roof. It isn't like you are going to be using it again anyway.

[TOM CRUMP]

Lou, Looking forward to more pics and info on the AIR V install. We are planning on swapping out the orig. a/c on our 34' excella. I did help out on a AIR V swap out on a 31' Int. we owned previously, for some reason we had to use wooden shims to level the unit and were unable to tie into the existing drain tube, so run off was running off the side of the trlr. Question: Will I be able to use my existing drain pan and run off tube without making major modifications. I'd like to take the easy way out and take it to an RV repair shop, but doing it myself, I know it's done right, besides the RV repair guys charge more than the lawyers here in Mississippi. The AIR V Unit on our old trlr was remarkably quiet and all the extra vents are a plus, Thanks much, Tom

[Anon]

Originally Posted by TOM CRUMP

Question: Will I be able to use my existing drain pan and run off tube without making major modifications. I'd like to take the easy way out and take it to an RV repair shop, but doing it myself, I know it's done right, besides the RV repair guys charge more than the lawyers here in Mississippi. The AIR V Unit on our old trlr was remarkably quiet and all the extra vents are a plus, Thanks much, Tom

I installed mine in a Minuet that had never had an A/C unit before. That meant finding the right place to cut the hole.
The wiring and drain tube were already installed at the factory. I cut the drain tube and wiring to the proper lengths and then used my new drain tube.
By the way, if you look at my pictures you will see that I notched the metal channel where the elbow goes down inside the trailer. That was my first attempt at running the drain tube. It was not a good method so I changed tactics. The pictures are of "Drain Tube Modification 2.0". "Drain Tube Modification 1.0" needed an upgrade!
The drain pan did not exist in my Minuet. From what I understand, some people say that the drain pans will not work with anything but the unit they were designed for. If it were me, I would be able to modify if to work. I am sure you could firgure it out too. Take a look and see what you have. If you install the Carrier Air V then you do not have to worry about the drain pan.

[TOM CRUMP]

Lou thanks for the reply, We did not use the drain tube on the last Air v, the run off was excessive, going off the side of the coach. Carrier says the condesation is slung back on the compressor/coils, but without the drain line, kinda makes a mess, guess I'll get into this project as soon as I get the pergo floor done, I'm at 80% complete on the floor

[Anon]

Originally Posted by TOM CRUMP

Lou thanks for the reply, We did not use the drain tube on the last Air v, the run off was excessive, going off the side of the coach. Carrier says the condesation is slung back on the compressor/coils, but without the drain line, kinda makes a mess, guess I'll get into this project as soon as I get the pergo floor done, I'm at 80% complete on the floor

The run-off is bad on ANY A/C. When I was restoring my 76 Argosy 24 I tore into the A/C that was a replacement. Of all things, it was an Emerson A/C! I can't believe they made RV A/C's! It sucked for run-off.
I had noticed that the PO did not use the existing drain tube with it. I got up on top of the trailer and spent two days modifying it to take the new drain tube. It was a pain in the butt because it had to be done after the initial installation!
The run-off used to run right down onto my awning. It sucked.
That was over ten years ago.
I made two vows that day:
1. NEVER EVER under no circumstances was I going to play around with another A/C.
2. When I break vow #1 I will make sure the drain tube is hooked BEFORE I put it on the roof.

I am in the process of finishing up the little stuff around the Minuet. I will then take a BUNCH of pictures to show my little masterpiece. Then I will diagram the A/C installation for all to use.

[Ken J]

Lou

You have a really great thread here - I'm sure that there are many who will appreciate your willingness to share what you have learned. Also really look forward to your pictures.

I've studied your pictures, looks like you ran the black hose into the roof and I assume down the side to through the bottom. You then connected the clear tubing from the a/c to the black hose and viola! if works. Looks like a fairly straight forward install.

Ken J.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Lou

You have a really great thread here - I'm sure that there are many who will appreciate your willingness to share what you have learned. Also really look forward to your pictures.

I've studied your pictures, looks like you ran the black hose into the roof and I assume down the side to through the bottom. You then connected the clear tubing from the a/c to the black hose and viola! if works. Looks like a fairly straight forward install.

Ken J.

Ken,

Thanks for the compliment. I try to share the knowledge that I have gained through the 22 years I have restored A/S's and Argosys as well as my new-acquired knowledge through trial and error. I joined the forums because I wanted to be able to learn more about my hobby and maybe share a few things along the way. I feel that we should try to convey what information we have to make the forums a useful place.
The nice thing about the 1970's vintage trailers is that they all are pre-wired and pre-plumbed. They also have roof supports built in so the roof does little buckling from the weight of the A/C.
I noticed that you have a 50's vintage trailer. That will not have any pre-wiring or pre-plumbing if it never had an A/C before.
If you have a previous factory or dealer installed unit chances are it is set up with a drain tube. I am not sure about the drain tube or the year that A/S started installing A/C's.
I will post more pictures and some diagrams in the near future. Right now I am just trying to get the trailer done so it is complete before the middle of June. I have a 10 week stint I have to do for work in Lansing, MI. I want to camp the entire time!

[Ken J]

Lou

My 58 has an A/C on it. Not sure its factory/original - but is close to it, probably installed late 50's/early60's. It does not have a drain tube - have not run it enough - but assume water runs down the side. I looks like they did a nice install as they put an additional 1x3 piece of maple up the wall to support the ceiling. Wiring is through the wall. I will be able to snake a drain tube down the wall as I have most of the inner skin out at the moment.

Good luck with your problem - I enjoy watching progress.....

Ken J.