Anyone have a Dometic Cool Cat Under Bench AC?

[lisasammy]

Hi!
Looking to install an AC in our 17 foot '66 Caravel. Really do not want a rooftop AC. Came across the Dometic Cool Cat and would love to hear if anyone has pros, cons or opinions on it. Thanks!!

[annieairstrm]

We installed a Dometic cool cat heat pump under one of our twin beds in our 1966 Tradewind restoration. The key issue was distributing the air throughout the trailer. We had a galvanized distribution box fabricated that was installed under the subfloor between frame crosspieces that has 2 inch high compression tubing going from it to various vents through the floor. There is a 15in x 4in return duct in the bathroom closet that feeds under the bulkhead back to the unit. If you wan to see pictures you can go to my restoration blog at annieairstreamrestoration.blogspot.com. It works great for us, providing our AC and heat down to 40 degrees when the thermostat automatically kicks it off and switches to our gas furnace. However, from what I understand from the local Camping World guy that sold us the unit, it doesn't work nearly as well if it is not ducted. It was also a bit involved to design and install so it would work properly, including have to cut a hole in the side of the trailer for the exhaust and intake. We had a compartment door that matched our other doors made so it would not be obvious when we were not using the unit.

[mericks]

Originally Posted by lisasammy

Hi!
Looking to install an AC in our 17 foot '66 Caravel. Really do not want a rooftop AC. Came across the Dometic Cool Cat and would love to hear if anyone has pros, cons or opinions on it. Thanks!!

Originally Posted by lisasammy

Hi!
Looking to install an AC in our 17 foot '66 Caravel. Really do not want a rooftop AC. Came across the Dometic Cool Cat and would love to hear if anyone has pros, cons or opinions on it. Thanks!!

While an older thread, I want to give current experience for people's review:

I'm restoring a vintage 26' coach/trailer and wanted a single unit for heat and AC. Much like lisasammy, did not want to cut a hole in my roof (or even the sides of the trailer).

Pros:
Relatively compact
Under/in cabinet installation Heat pump and AC combination unit
Available 3rd party support and works with MicroAir's Easy Start (soft start). Have tested/used the Cool Cat with the Easy Start on a single Honda eu2200i generator and works well.
Can pipe heat or cool to other parts of the trailer using front plenum punch outs and 3" flexible/insulated duct pipe - unit location and available duct routing space a major consideration.

Cons:
Price - the unit is pricey ($1200-$1400 US) and does not include anything else but the unit.

The unit seems noisy, but I don't have too much experience with RV AC/heat units (and to be fair, I've not currently done everything possible to lower the noise level within the cabinet).

Mounting kit is extra (and not recommended for one main reason - the kit comes with plastic threaded/barbed nipples for the drip pan - they're garbage - get brass equivalent).

The only supported exhaust venting option is horizontally; through cutting a large rectangular hole in the sidewall of the trailer - the extra exterior trim kit is expensive and looks cheap. This is a design fail. I've engineered a way to vent down through the floor, by building my own exhaust plenum.

If you want to direct heat/cool air directly from the front of the unit, Dometic sells an interior trim kit - again expensive and looks dated/cheap.

You might be able to use a non-Dometic thermostat, but Dometic recommends their digital one - a bit expensive, but not ridiculous. You can easily set and see heat/cool temperature, but cannot see the current temperature when in use without first turning off the unit and then checking (what?).

Main con:

Getting support from Dometic is challenging - it seems only authorized resellers can contact Dometic technicians.

I've had a cool cat installed in the cabinet in my coach for about a year, but have only used it about 10 hours. In that time, it has leaked water on the floor and had to be removed. After removing, I bench tested the unit and found that the design of the fan and shroud exhausting air out the condenser (back) creates cavitation and bubbles in the drip pan water (of about 1/8th") and before the water is high enough to drain out the provided holes. This causes splashing of water against the sides of the inside portion of the cover; then running down the cover and between the cover and the drip pan - leaking outside the unit and on the floor. Dometic technician says it's an installation issue, or that it could be an incorrect fan speed. I believe it's a poor design issue. Because it's out of warranty, my fix has been to remove the cover and lay a bead of silicone between part of the frame, drip pan and the outer cover; sealing the cover to allow the water to run back down into the drip pan.