Crazy A/C question

[Good Dog]

Ok, first post. We are restoring a '63 Tradewind, 24 ft, single axel. Worried about weight.

Do you think it is crazy to foregoing the A/C top unit, replace with a fantastic fan and use a small regular plug in A/C unit to cool the trailer?

[redwoodguy]

Originally Posted by Good Dog

Ok, first post. We are restoring a '63 Tradewind, 24 ft, single axel. Worried about weight.

Do you think it is crazy to foregoing the A/C top unit, replace with a fantastic fan and use a small regular plug in A/C unit to cool the trailer?

I think it depends on where you plan to travel. Where I live on the northwest coast there are zero days a year when A/C is needed. Down in Palm Springs, I think you will surely want A/C. Just to give two extremes.

In our 25 FC when it gets about 80F inside the trailer, we use the A/C. We try to park in shade as much as we can in hot climates. But in a place where the outdoor temp is in the 80s, the trailer will eventually get to the outside temperature by 3pm or 4pm or so.

Fans provide ventilation, fresh air and a "sense" of cooling, but they do not cool down the temperature inside the trailer. Bringing in 85F air, and blowing out 85F air will not lower the temperature!

Good luck!

[Silver Otter]

Hey, Good Dog, Welcome and you're in the right place. Everything is a trade-off. We could not survive our *southern states* travel with the AC unit on top. We are out of the AS most of the day, but at night the AC makes sleeping inside so much nicer. For your size unit the 13,500 would probably work fine. We just replaced our OEM 13,500 with a 15,000 and it really makes a big difference, both because the original was probably at the end of its useful life and also because the new one puts out some really cool air.

[Good Dog]

Thanks for the replies and after considering your replies, we think we need to put another unit on top. This is a prospect we are not too excited about because we like the look without the A/C on top, however; there are some nice low profiles and the schroud can always be painted silver in an an attempt to "hide" it.

It seems to me, based on our size unit, a 13,500 would be appropriate.

Again, thanks for the replies. There is a wealth of knowledge here and this is our "go to" place when we have questions or run across issues.

We are currently replacing the floor with the shell lifted. Many more steps to follow.

Thanks again!

[63air]

Our '63 did not have air as it was a Montana trailer and I was not sure about altering it, as I liked the look without it. My brother convinced me to put it in when he said " are you going to look at it or use it ". Nice Coleman unit , looks fine and make the camping a whole lot better.

[TouringDan]

Here is a crazy solution to your crazy A/C question. The window design for the 66-68 Airstreams is ideal for installing a small A/C unit in the window opening when it is needed. I don't know about your window design, but it may work well also. Here is the link with all the details of my installation.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...nny-91215.html

I can't wait to remove the ugly A/C from the top of my trailer and replace it with a fantastic fan.

Dan

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Good Dog

Ok, first post. We are restoring a '63 Tradewind, 24 ft, single axel. Worried about weight.

Do you think it is crazy to foregoing the A/C top unit, replace with a fantastic fan and use a small regular plug in A/C unit to cool the trailer?

In general a "regular plug in A/C unit" doesn't work well in most situations. The usual recommendation for a 24 foot trailer would be a 13,500 BTU unit which would be large and heavy and require enough power that it should have a dedicated circuit. There are also problems with airflow.

So the question is really one of whether you need air conditioning. Depending on when and where you travel, you may not.

[HiHoAgRV]

I have tried a window unit in my '63 Overlander and it's fine in the shade and temps at or below the low 90's. Full sun and high humidity are a killer, a roof top unit is going back on!

[TouringDan]

I realize that my 5k unit will not cool my entire TW when it is in the 90's and in full sun. That is ok. I don't expect it to. It will cool the mid section where the AC is located no matter how hot or humid it gets because the area is only about 40 sq ft. When it was 92 yesterday evening it brought the mid section temperature down to 70 degrees in 30 minutes at the most. I then opened the partition to the front area, where there is another 70 sq ft and it cooled this area down to 76 degrees in one hour.

The point is that I and the other small Airstream owners do not need to choose between a 13.5k roof top unit and nothing. We can also consider a small high efficient unit installed in a window, when needed, to meet most of our cooling needs. I could have installed a larger 6.5k or 8k unit to provide more cooling capacity, but I want to operate the AC unit with my 1,000 watt Honda genny for when I am boondocking.

Everbodys needs are different, but the 5k AC unit works for me.

Dan