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mcaslaon4449 · 07-10-2017, 06:53 PM

We have a 2017 25' FC FB. We recently went on a camping trip in Utah, it was very hot 96 degrees. When we pulled into the campsite at noon the temp. in the trailer was 95. We turned the air on high, pulled all the shades, closed the vents & put all the awnings out. After about 4 hours the temp. finally dropped 4 degrees. The next day we left the trailer before 6 AM, it was cool out, so we left the fan running on med. with everything closed up & awings out. When we returned around 1:00 PM it was 100 degrees in the trailer. We realized we should have left the air on, but again the temp. only dropped to 90 after 5 to 6 hours running on high. Our question is: shouldn't the air conditioner be more efficient & cool the trailer down much quicker???? Are we doing something wrong????
Thank you for you help

A W Warn · 07-10-2017, 07:01 PM

The air coming out of the AC should be 15 to 18 degrees F cooler than the air going in at the filter. If it is not, there is something wrong.

TravlinMan · 07-10-2017, 07:15 PM

In the southwest the hottest time of day is 5pm in summer so it was probly warmin up outside at the same time the a/c was trying to cool the inside, which would slow things down I think. But to drop a space as big as our trailers from 100 degrees by 20 or 30 degrees would take a lot of work at that time of day.

Ya might wanna open the vents and run the fans with the a/c on for a lil bit to push the hot air out. Then close em up. Also the ducted air helps cause ya can point it in your direction.

Lotsa a/c threads right now I reckon in 3 or 4 months there will be a whole bunch of furnace and heat pump theads, right?

Bgibbs · 07-10-2017, 08:14 PM

Have you cleaned the filters in the return air vents? They get dirty pretty quick. We clean ours once a week when we are using it.

Tsunami-v2 · 07-10-2017, 08:17 PM

We placed the silver faced insulated squares (Camping World sell these) in the vent fan openings. We also placed a piece of the silver insulated windshield type material in the skylights followed by a fabric wrapped piece of foam (cut to opening size), along with the windshield material over all window to keep the AC from working so hard. And all awnings fully extended. You might even consider using the sun blocking mesh sold at Harbor Freight and attach it to the bottom edges of your awnings to further block the direct sun. If you have a small 12v DC fan, it will help with circulation. Good luck.

uncle_bob · 07-10-2017, 08:19 PM

Hi

Clean the filters and make sure the vents are wide open. It will help a little to set the fan to low or high rather than auto. Running on one AC, our 30' was able to get down to the mid 80's under 95 to 100 degree sort of temperatures. On two, it had no problems at 75 degrees. Don't open the door a lot and certainly keep all the shades in "blackout" mode.

Bob

Moflash · 07-10-2017, 09:01 PM

Something is wrong.

ChuckFeldt · 07-11-2017, 12:04 PM

I just went through this with my 2014 27FB. Using both a probe type and infrared thermometers, I got 10-12 degree air in to air out differentials. Per the dealer rep this was bad. They are installing a new a/c now at Tampa RV using my extended warranty. Also a battery disconnect relay. The batteries were on me.��

m.hony · 07-11-2017, 12:26 PM

We have a 50 amp trailer with 2 a/c units.
It cools down almost instantly.
I get to the campground and plug into shore power and turn on a/c first.
By the time I chock the wheels, uncouple from the truck, and hook up water the trailer is 10-15 degrees cooler.
Even when it is 80 degrees in the trailer it feels so much better because the air is dry- the humidity has been removed.
By the time we go to bed it is unbearably cold in the trailer and I have to pull the covers up over my head- even when it is still 90 degrees after dark.
It may all be subjective. I freeze indoors even when the thermostat is set to 74 or 76 degrees because I am so used to being outside in the 90 degrees + 90% humidity. When I come in all drenched with sweat it is cold. Most evenings I piddle around outside till almost black dark doing yard work or detailing cars. Living in the hot humid south and working outside all my life I guess I have gotten used to it. 74 degrees in the house is cold to me. I have to pull the covers up over my head to sleep.

fordgt40 · 07-11-2017, 12:52 PM

I my opinion you need to add an A/C. We live in Houston and have had 3 Airstreams and we have added a 2nd A/C on all of them. Two were 31' and one was a 26'. If you are going to spend the summer in the mountains or Nova Scotia, one should be enough, but anywhere in the South, one A/C does not cut it.
Charlie

Gneiss Guy · 07-11-2017, 12:57 PM

Your 25' is about the largest trailer that can function in hot environments with a single AC. In our 25' with the single AC, we never worked it out. We had the AC checked out and it was functioning to specs. In summer, we traveled with the aluminized bubble-wrap stuff in all the windows and skylight, and we had the full awning package installed, which we deployed as soon as we set up. Under the environmental conditions you describe, one AC is just not enough. It might keep a reasonable temp if you turn it on in the morning and leave it on all day. In my opinion, that is your only option.

We now use a 30' FC with dual ACs and find it cools nicely. Sorry for your problems. I know exactly how you feel.

Richard

ijustlee · 07-11-2017, 01:20 PM

All you can do is check to make sure that both the inside and outside fan blades are moving as much air as they can then check the temperature difference of the inside air going through the unit. Even when the AC is working fine it still takes a long time to cool all the stuff inside down if your trailer is heat soaked. When in really hot weather you need to get a jump on cooling by never turning the AC off. Even if you cool the air down you will get radiated by heat from sun heated walls which always feels uncomfortable to me. You have to stay ahead of the heat load!

franklyfrank · 07-11-2017, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bgibbs

Have you cleaned the filters in the return air vents? They get dirty pretty quick. We clean ours once a week when we are using it.

I have been trying to pull those things out to clean in our 2017 Classic but I have a hard time. They don't want come lose and I hate to force them too much in fear of bending something.
How do you get them suckers out ?

StreamNTyme · 07-11-2017, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gneiss Guy

Your In summer, we traveled with the aluminized bubble-wrap stuff in all the windows and skylight, and we had the full awning package installed, which we deployed as soon as we set up. Under the environmental conditions you describe, one AC is just not enough.
Richard

We purchased rolls of the aluminum faced bubble wrap from Lowes. Cut it to fit ALL windows, sky lights, vista windows, vents and mark each section so it is easy to find the right one when installing after being stored. Also inserted the aluminum wrap permanently in ALL cupboards, closets, behind and under lounge and bed; and ALL possible reachable locations along exterior walls.
When it is hot we close it up. If we are NOT using the rig the wrap keeps the interior 10 - 15 degrees cooler than exterior W/O using the air. When we travel, as others have said, hook up the electric FIRST when you pull into the site.

Adding the aluminum wrap to all accessible areas truly does help.

m.hony · 07-11-2017, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StreamNTyme

We purchased rolls of the aluminum faced bubble wrap from Lowes. Cut it to fit ALL windows, sky lights, vista windows, vents and mark each section so it is easy to find the right one when installing after being stored. Also inserted the aluminum wrap permanently in ALL cupboards, closets, behind and under lounge and bed; and ALL possible reachable locations along exterior walls.
When it is hot we close it up. If we are NOT using the rig the wrap keeps the interior 10 - 15 degrees cooler than exterior W/O using the air. When we travel, as others have said, hook up the electric FIRST when you pull into the site.

Adding the aluminum wrap to all accessible areas truly does help.

Me too...
Cut a piece to fit every window and skylight.
Keep the pieces of silver insulation behind the couch.
$24.99 for a 4' x 25' roll of "Reflectix" which looks like bubble wrap sandwiched between 2 layers of foil...
1 roll did the entire trailer with just enough left over to do one westward facing window in the house.

xrvr · 07-11-2017, 02:53 PM

once the trailer gets hot everything inside is hot,,,,cabinets, furniture, beds etc. best thing is turn the ac on first thing in tbe morning and let it run all day therwise it may never catch up.

m.hony · 07-11-2017, 03:13 PM

Shade helps-
from shed, house, trees, awnings, wherever you can get it.
I keep the trailer on the north side of the house-
Long side/street side/driver side shaded from the southern sun by the house itself-
Setting sun hits the front of the trailer which is somewhat shaded by the pickup...
There is a tree to the east/back of the trailer.
North side/curb side/passenger side never sees direct sun.

JCWDCW · 07-11-2017, 03:14 PM

One of the things you need to consider is whether you are pulling in some very humid outside air. Most air conditioning systems bring in a small amount of fresh air which is humid! Then you need to be sure ALL windows and vents are closed. When an air conditioner first starts up all it does is condense the moisture out of the air...in a house that could take the best part of 30 minutes. As moisture is condensed heat is released so the air exiting the cooling coils is not as cold as it will be once the de-humidification process is complete. If you are letting outside air in through vents, the cooling will be less effective as it works to condense outside moisture coming in the vents or windows. If the AC system is working properly , you should as noted, get a temp drop of 15-18 degrees once the system has been running for a while and the air is getting dried out.
JCW

xrvr · 07-11-2017, 04:37 PM

I'm not sure rv ac pull in any outside air, but you're right humidity is key.

BAB · 07-11-2017, 04:48 PM

Cleaning the filters in the Classic: there are two stainless steel extensions on each end of the short sides of the intake grate. The trick is to get something thin (and strong) that you can use to depress them. Once you get a bit of leverage you should be able to carefully work the grate from the roof. Don't be surprised at how filthy they are. If I'm using the A/C for a couple of days in a row, they collect a fair amount of dirt.