Air Conditioner for a1972 Land Yacht

[papa ter]

Does anyone know if a Newer style Air Conditioner can be mounted on the top of my Tradewind trailer? Is there wiring in place in the ceiling vent/light area to connect to? I have been told by a local RV repair place that the ceiling may not be strong enough and that fishing a 110 volt wire is to costly to even consider. Any Thoughts or ideas?

[Airline]

Did your Tradewind ever have an A/C before ?

If so,you should be good to go for a new unit install.

If not, I would assume it is set-up from the factory for an a/c unit.

My '72 Ambassador has a factory armstrong A/C unit.

Others that know will chime in.

[papa ter]

No this trailer never had AC and I don't believe it is wired for it. My panel has two 20 amp fuses I don't know if that has enough juice to run one as well as handling all the other electrics.

[Chuck]

It was pre-wired at the factory. That second 20-amp circuit is dedicated to it. There is also a drain line in the wall to connect to a condensate pan, (if the a/c is equipped with that feature), which will allow the condensate to drain to the ground, without it having to run down the outside of the trailer.

[MAJORJDB]

Currently installing(replacement) a Coleman Mach 8 RV AC Model # 47024A876 (white 15k BTU w/heat-pump and condense pump). The condense pump eliminates the need for a drip-pan and ties into the drip tube that is between the inner/outer shell draining forward the streetside tires. I had to make my existing AC hole a bit larger to the 14" x 14" required for installation. I think if you drop an interior panel near the center of the unit you'll see whether you have wiring/drip tube in place and go from there. I also think you could find a way to install a drip tube/wiring using trac-lite wire covers or run them in the cabinets as much as possible. I wouldn't tear my interior apart as it may open a larger can of worms. However, make sure you reinforce (frame-out) the AC opening, I've seen posts where folks use wood to tie in to the shell ribs so it shouldn't be a big deal. Another thing you might need to do is double the AC seals to account for the curvature of the roof. Mine is a 1989 Excella and folks said I didn't need to, but yours may be different. I did buy 2 AC seals just in case, so we'll see... Good Luck!!!

[rucos]

On my 1970 23' safari LA there is wiring for an AC factory installed. I can't remember if there is a drain tube when i renovated and had it open. I'm hoping to find one there as I'm looking at installing an AC this summer.
What model AC are you looking at?? ... I m leaning towards the Mach 8 13500 AC only.
I would think that if airstream added the prewire/ tube the ceiling should be fairly good for support but as Majordb said it shouldn't be difficult to increase the strength . Having the extra seal sounds like a plan too.

[GRussell]

J have recently done a considerable amount of research regarding this very issue. Here's what I have learned. All trailers from the mid sixties were pre-wired for AC whether there was one installed or not. The location of the wires is relative to the first frame and not the location of an existing vent. Send a contact email to the Customer Service folks at airstream.com and they can tell you where the wires are. In my case (1969 Caravel) the drain for the condensate was not put in, but yours may or may not be there. Also the ceiling must be reinforced. Out of Doors Mart sells some (Part number 104408-AC, Price $ 24.95). Or they can be frabricated from wood.

[papa ter]

Thanks Chuck I contacted Airstream gave them my VIN # and they said it was pre-wired. Is that unusual for that type and year?

[Chuck]

no, not at all. They started pre-wiring them some time in the mid-60's.

[papa ter]

I have forwarded my VIN #to Airstream to see if they have an answer for me. I checked the Vent/Light locations to see if there is wiring but could not find any.

[papa ter]

Sorry in my previous email I meant not prewired.

[MAJORJDB]

Papa Ter,

Want to update you on my AC install, even though I had an AC as OEM there was an issue that you might encounter. My Coleman Mach 8's instructions called for a 14" x 14" opening. The opening I had to work with was 14.5" x 13.5" with the narrow space being streetside to curbside versus the hitch to the rear bumper measurement. The only problem with that was that the two aluminum frame pieces that had to be widened where two main frame pieces that I believe ran the length of the trailer and I couldn't see cutting them and possibly affecting the structural integrity of the whole trailer. What I did was mount the bottom mounting plate on top of the frame pieces and ran the bolts through(plenty of clearance) to the roof AC and tightened it down to spec. I did drill holes through the mounting plate and AS frame(which has a 3/8" lip) and screwed them together so the plate wouldn't shift. While I haven't mounted the lower plastic cover yet, test fitting indicates a possible 1/8" gap between the cover and ceiling panel. I will cut a piece of foam floor underlayment to fill the gap. Other than that all appears secure. Not sure if the frame rail spacing was a factory defect but I am replacing an OEM Coleman Delta TX AC unit so I was a bit surprised at my findings, but you make it all work one way or the other...
JDB