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Old 03-14-2003, 11:40 AM   #1
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1959 22' Caravanner
Atlanta , Georgia
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Retrofitting Roof A/C

Ok the PO of our 59 hung this god awful looking window A/C through the front window. It will stay till I can find a window and a afford a NEW Roof A/C with heat.
I read though all the A/C posts and other information. Found a lot of post about replacing existing but not much about adding one to a camper that never had one.

One thing I have found, I think it was Vintageairstream.com was that our 59 predates any reinforcement to deal with the weight. How much bracing do I need? Due to the design of our unit it it would not be difficult to add some suport inside and infact I could pretty easily make it look like it came that way. Only down side is I would have a partition wall at the end of the galley counter. second down side is it may require that I locate the unit at the rear most vent. It seems more natural to install it in the center vent and better for weight distribution as well as circulation.

What I could do is add a brace inside the wardrobe to suport the exisiting structure that the sliding partition hangs from. There is a MIA 3/8's removable peice that use to slide between the over heads to fill the gap between the counter and window. Make that peice out of some 5/8 and permemntly atatch it as a suport. Might just replace that whole end of the cabinet to get the suport down to the floor.
(see images below)

Would that create enough suport to have the A/C in front of it about 1ft (at the rear most of the AC as it would sit on the roof). The center vent is about 6 inches in front of the overhead light.

Next issue is what sort of supply feeds do I need up to the unit in way of power and drain? I'll be doing some floor repair and while I have the unit that far appart I would like to prewire up to one of those two vents. Then When I have the money I can just pull the vent and all the stuff will be ready to go.

I read that the Coleman will drain outside. If I were to just route a drain up through the skin is there a way to tie into it's existing drain system?

The way my unit is built I also have no option but to route the drain up the curbside because the windows are lined up down the street side. This is not the ideal side but I may just have to make a way to have a extend line when camping.

What would be a suitable unit to handle our 22ft Caravanner? What should I expect to pay for one of these units.

Thanks.
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1988 R20 454 Suburban.
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Old 03-14-2003, 03:27 PM   #2
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I moved my AC to make room for solar panels, used 12 ga. on a dedicated circuit. The Coleman AC has a pan with two drains. I plugged one end, cut a barb so it would fit flush in a hole in the other end. Use as large a drain tube as possible, they plug with algae and insects.

For bracing I went between the 2 adjacent ribs. They are strong enough that they don't deflect if I stand on one. I used 1x2 poplar and went far enough across the ribs so that it would be supported by the curve.

The seals on the exterior portion of the AC are thick enough to pull up and seal without any metal work on the roof.

Check rvcatalog.com for decent prices on alot of items like the AC.

John
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Old 03-14-2003, 03:46 PM   #3
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1959 22' Caravanner
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Ohh ok I did not understand the problem. I was just thinking there was not enough to suport vertically. The problem is between the ribs.....Darn I was hoping not to have to remove that much of the interrior pannels. I was just going to pop out a vent and pull the lines and stash them up there till I needed them. I guess I can still do that and then add the braces at a later date.
So do I need a LP line as well or just 12v and 110v ?
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Old 03-14-2003, 04:23 PM   #4
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Toaster,

If you go with the Coleman there is a special plastic adapter pan which will allow you to connect a hose to it for the Coleman to drain. I found this out on my Minuet after spending hours disassembling my new unit to fabricate and install a pan with the drain line. My smart alec Airstream parts guy showed me one after my install and they cost around $75. I know on the older A/S's which came with the Armstrongs you need to beef up the roof skins when installing Colemans. The Armstrongs are attached with a zillion screws and Vulkem insted of using a compressed foam seal like the newer Colemans and possibly the Dometics though I am not that familiar with them. I had to brace the skins on my Minuet.

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Old 03-14-2003, 04:54 PM   #5
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The AC is strictly 110v, no dc or propane. Run the 1 wire and you are done with that part.

John
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