Airstreams in the heat?

[adonh]

Originally Posted by carl2591

have been reading about the newer AS having white roofs on them. Was wondering what was used..

Last year I had my 1976 Sovereign polished and new clear coat applied at Oasis RV in Tuscon AZ. At the same time they painted the top white. The process was to clean and sand the area that would be painted white. Otherwise the paint would not stick. They used a spay on white gloss paint that dries hard, not the rubber type like kool-coat. It looks great when I get on a ladder to look at it, you can't see the white from the ground. There are no chips or pealing in the white paint in over a year. I think it does help in keep the temp down inside.

Here is picture taken from the back toward the front.

[ATTACH]188305[/ATTACH

[litlgeezer]

Originally Posted by Silver Goose

We also live in TX and have a 27FB with a single A/C unit. If we can find a shady campsite, it is adequate but in full sun at 100° it is only marginally comfortable for the 2 of us even with all the awnings deployed and Reflectix in the skylights, roof vents and unshaded windows. Add some children and the heat load goes up as well as the frequency of the door opening. Shiny aluminum would seem to be a good reflector but it is actually a good conductor and that is why it is used in electronic heatsinks. Another attractive feature of an Airstream are the windows. In most floor plans there are many that offer a bright open feel, but all the glass and skylights admit solar heat. I am very happy with our decision to go with an Airstream but expect down the road to convert to 50A service and add a 2nd small A/C to cope with the Texas Sun.

Here in Louisiana, I have a Duo-Therm unit on top of my 1979 28' Ambassador, but not sure of the size. Last summer I could only keep the temp about 15 deg. below ambient. On 100 deg weekends, not even my dog wants to go camping with me, most less my wife. What would be the largest unit available for 30 amp service? And, what all would be required to bump up to 50 amps, just in case I wanted to consider two AC units?

[adonh]

Originally Posted by cwf

34' 1999. White roof, 1 AC.

The temp of 97 here with all awnings deployed we hit 80 inside. No door open, cooking or TV.

Just a thought, I have been working on my Carrier 15,000 BTU unit on my 1976 Sovereign today. I installed this AC about 7 or 8 years ago. I started to have a problem with water/condensate leaking back down form the small pan area on the AC to the inside of the trailer. So I took off the cover and the inner plastic cover over the front coil and blower. I discovered why the water was not draining through the drain line it was covered with dirt and slime. But here is what I wanted to pass on that may be causing the poor cooling of your unit. The front coil was covered in dirt and dust from the return air side although I keep the filters clean. Also the cupped blades of the blower were filled with dirt and grime and this could not be good. The back coil on the fan side under the cowling was also blocked pretty much with dirt and grime and coil fins look like is starting to deteriorate. I cleaned everything by spraying simple green aircraft formula that is non corrosive for aluminum in the coils and then rinsed with water on low pressure. I could not believe what came out. I also cleaned the cupped blades on the blower so that is operating like it is supposed to. Also check the screw that holds the blower cage on the motor shaft. These can get loose and the blower cage just spins on the shaft. I made sure mine was tight. Put it all back together and turned the AC on cold, high fan. No leaking to the inside and condensate is draining to the outside through the drain line so I fixed that. But an added benefit is that the AC is really cooling much better than it has been and the trailer temp inside after a couple of hours is at 73. Outside temp here in Houston is around 90 degrees with about 70 to 80 percent humility.

So you may want to check out your coils and blower blades and see if this helps. I have heard that the lifespan of an RV AC is about eight years. So mine is getting to that point but it seems to be back in shape now so I will keep an eye on it for now.

[Silverflames]

Are 50 amp service 110v or 220v?

[adonh]

Originally Posted by litlgeezer

Here in Louisiana, I have a Duo-Therm unit on top of my 1979 28' Ambassador, but not sure of the size. Last summer I could only keep the temp about 15 deg. below ambient. On 100 deg weekends, not even my dog wants to go camping with me, most less my wife. What would be the largest unit available for 30 amp service? And, what all would be required to bump up to 50 amps, just in case I wanted to consider two AC units?

I would bet that you have a 13,500 BTU unit. Duo-Therm now makes a 15,000 BTU unit that requires the same 30 amps.

Get a couple of good thermometers and check the inside temp of your return air at the grill where the filter is and the temp of the discharge air coming out. Regardless of the temp outside you should have an 18 to 20 degree temp drop between the return air and the discharge air. If not then the unit is not operating properly. See my previous post about cleaning the coils and this might help.

[adonh]

Originally Posted by Silverflames

Are 50 amp service 110v or 220v?

50 amp RV service provides 2 legs of 110v. In other words some 110v items run off of one leg and some run off of the other, with a 50 amp breaker.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

White...

Bob

Totally dig the pic and the AIRSTREAM branded awning!! :-)

[PharmGeek]

yeah, nice pic...and great info....I called a dealer today and asked about the AC units...the salesperson may not have been the very most knowledgeable...he thought a 28' model with a single AC unit would keep it "very cold"....I think not based on what I have heard from near everyone...ill need two units...I hope the 28' has a stock unit with two...otherwise my "new on lot" vs. "new direct special order from factory" will be a much easier decision.

[gtc6452]

Most airsteams have wheels, you drive them somewhere cool.

[Silver Goose]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

... the salesperson may not have been the very most knowledgeable ...

Sadly you've hit the nail square on the head. The term caveat emptor has been around a really long time so some things have changed little. The more the purchaser knows beforehand, the more likely he will get what he wants and be more satisfied with it in the long run. Sales people are like anyone else trying to pay the rent and feed their families, but many really don't have an intimate knowledge of what they are selling. I think many of us have come away from an RV dealer's sales lot thinking the last time that salesman went camping was with his Cub Scout Pack!

Asking questions here can be very beneficial, but we often don't know all the questions to ask. See if you can find an Airstream rally or two in your area and get yourself invited. I think that will give you a better feel for what you want.

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

...otherwise my "new on lot" vs. "new direct special order from factory" will be a much easier decision.

No pun intended but to coin the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared... Airstream builds only to order, either dealer purchases or special orders through a dealer. Dealers are few and far between and many but not all carry a limited stock. When I was in Jackson Center last month they have boosted production considerably compared to 3 years ago. I recall being told on the tour that they are at current max capacity of 40-50 per week and have a backlog of 800 units.

[PharmGeek]

Originally Posted by gtc6452

Most airsteams have wheels, you drive them somewhere cool.

That seems mostly a wonderful plan...I live in AL, and I can hit norther GA, TN, NC has some great destination, some family in southwestern VA, etc....

But, I greatly look forward to beach trips here in the gulf...and possibly over around hilton head and other spots...the heat is fun when you can go swimming - we are pretty big beach bums in summer...even when it is hot as hell...

[m.hony]

I run from the scorching heat. I am probably not camping or riding my motorcyle much until labor day now.

[jcanavera]

Our first trip out with our then brand new 27' 2001 Safari pointed out how undersized the A/C unit was for 100 degree temperatures. That trailer came with a 13.5 K Penguin. The interesting thing was camped right next to me was my older SOB which was 30' and had a Duo-Therm 13.5 K Brisk Air. That trailer was comfortable and we were in the mid to upper 80's in the Safari. After a trip to the dealer and to Jackson Center, no one found any problem. One thing I did was to add a Zip Dee awning on the street side of the Safari that covered almost the entire length of the trailer. That made a big difference on heat gain.

When we bought our Classic in 2004 I opted to have it built with the 15K Penguin rather than the standard (at that time) 13.5 K unit. Quite honestly 100's are not the norm for this part of the country, but if I were one who camped where 100's were more common, I'd definitely have two units.

Jack

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by Silverflames

Are 50 amp service 110v or 220v?

The 50 amp service is 240v at 50 amp.

In most RVs it is used as 2 separate 50 amp 120v circuits, but on some motor homes it is used as 240v for some appliances.

[JimGolden]

I have a 34' Avion triple axle Silver Sister....

It originally had the 13,500 Coleman and a silver roof.

On a 95 degree day it would get up to 80 in the coach.

I painted the roof white (that's a whole 'nother thread unto itself...you gotta etch the roof, use aircraft primer, etc. before you can paint it....) with gloss white Rustoleum. That cut the inside temperature 10 degrees F.

I replaced the old Coleman Delta T with a new Carrier AiRV 15,000 BTU a/c....

Now I am comfy and do not sweat inside, no matter if it's 100 outside.

Cheers,

[PharmGeek]

Jim, that is gamechanging info for me

We are looking at a new 28 foot flying cloud, it comes stock with 15K btu AC unit.....based on that and what you said, I should be good...seems like others have had different experiences slightly, but perhaps they had 13.5k not 15..and perhaps they did not have the roof painted....etc...so perhaps you hit the sweet spot..

Man, its hard to imagine that 1 unit cooled the 34 as such in 100 degree heat....

[TBRich]

Our rig is only 19' and we have a 13,500 btu AC unit. It does great in this small space...and we camp in the heat a LOT, being where we are. Our roof is white and we have awnings all the way around which helps tremendously...you wouldn't think the shorter street side and rear awnings would do much, but they do...they shade the whole side of our rig even though we only have a few windows on that side.

That having been said, if we had a 28' rig or larger we'd definitely want two AC units (as big as you can get). In our climate, I don't think one would no be enough.

[cwf]

A little closer...

[lylesgl]

My 2007 27FB came stock with 15K BTU. I found out real quick that in 90 degree plus temps it wasn't gonna cool well enough for me. A few weeks ago I went to Jackson Center and had them instalI a 13.5 k BTU A/C in the bedroom (where the Fantastic Fan was located). They did an excellent job for a reasonable price. To save on costs and for simplicity, I opted not to have the electrical upgraded to 50 amps. JC's solution was to add a second 30 amp receptacle beside the existing 30 amp receptacle and added an electrical box for the A/C at the foot of the street side twin bed. I apologize for the quality of the pics. I just ran across this thread and just took the photos a sec ago (it's 11:10 Eastern time as of this post). In my opinion, if you have the exposed aluminum interior, and you plan on initially firing up the A/C often in the early afternoon during 95 degree temps in a 25' or larger Airstream, you need a second A/C.

[PharmGeek]

I am new to RV's...what is the functional difference (in dumb terms) with the 30 vs. 50 amp issue here?

We are looking to buy new this year possibly, and noticing the 28' flying cloud comes with only one 15K btu ac unit...I would need to special order (higher cost) or have it added after...

On the other hand, if we decide on a 30', it already has 2 15k units stock I think....a 10K ish difference in cost of the models....wonder how much cost to add the 2nd AC on the 28 would be both from jackson direct in the first place...vs. after the fact as was done by lylesgl?

On the other