Auxiliary AC for very hot weather? 25' Flying Cloud

[Ladyfish]

"...you may want to consider a free standing AC unit that rolls around and has a 6 inch tube exhaust, available at any home supply store, reasonable price, a couple hundred bucks..."

We bought one of these at a local "big box" store when they were on sale last year to use when we needed the trailer and it is at home. Running the AS air conditioner blows our house breaker (not big enough) and this worked just great for keeping the AS a little cooler. We do NOT run this through the trailer circuit.

[andyherman]

As it turns out, my AC just died 2 days ago (I'm full-timing) and it will be a while before I can get it scheduled to be replaced (the current system is 13,500 BTU and I had been considering upgrading to a new 15,000 BTU Penguin II) so now that will definitely happen. At 12 years, it was probably due for replacement.



In the meantime I had to figure out what to do. I had a portable LG AC unit in storage so I brought it into the AS yesterday. It is large and takes up a lot of space but that's the only real option I have right now (I'd consider replacing the fried unit myself but I doubt it's a one man operation).


I have the LG in the bathroom with the exhaust tied into the bathroom vent. I can easily move the unit into the hall when I need to use the bathroom until I can get an appointment to have the current system replaced.


This probably wouldn't be an ideal solution for two people but the LG does keep the AS quite comfortable for me and my 2 dogs. Oh, and the LG is dramatically quieter than the old AC ever was.

[altemplet]

Try using a soaker hose running down the top of the RV if water is available. This will put a mist of water on the outside shell and as the sun hits it it should evaporate and make the inside cooler. Many auto shops use this in the south on their metal buildings

[Julie-Bob]

We full timed in our 25’ starting in August though April in Phoenix AZ This is how we did it, first cut some double bubble wrap aluminum insulation for all windows, close all windows, Purchase a room ( not a window) AC unit place in the bedroom, vent the hot discharge tube out the fan opening in the bedroom, wrap the discharge tube with more aluminum insulation, plug this unit into the RV park post not inside the trailer. We stay ok in 117 degrees temps during that time Yes you will never get the AS cold. Hope this helps.

[tim c]

I have seen a couple of youtube videos that help make your ac more efficient. I am going work on our ac and hopefully make it work better. For the most part we all have an awning or two on our trailer. I do not get to Florida very often......yet, but a few years ago I noticed that some houses had black screens hanging down from the eave of the house on sides that the afternoon sun tried to bake. Here in Nebraska where it can get pretty darn hot also, the local greenhouse guys always put this black netting on their greenhouses to keep the heat down. I don't really want the trailer to look like a greenhouse, but if one of these greenhouse shades would be cut to fit and draped over the AS in the really sunshiny hot places that we tend to end up at, and we can cut the temp down in the AS so the air can keep up, sounds like a win win. The black sunshade screen material is really strong. I do not want it to rub on my aluminum.... always an issue...

[Eagle & Bear]

Cobalt has it right. In the desert a "swamp cooler" (as they are affectionally referred to) works best. They will not cool anything in Virginia but in Utah they are ideal. See if you can find a small evaporative cooler. It consists of a rectangular body. Three of the sides will hold a pad with some kind of straw looking stuff inside and the bottom contains the water. Only moving parts are the fan motor and the pump. The pump provides enough water pressure to drip water over the three pads of straw or some kind of cellulose.

If you look at the houses along the road you will see a swamp cooler on the side of a house or on the roof. I am going to assume that you do not want to construct a platform for the cooler but you can just let it sit on the ground.

Not sure where you are at in Utah but ask one of the locals if they know where you can get an evaporative cooler. There may be a feed store that carries them. A swamp cooler takes 110v and draws no more than 15amps. If you have to use an extension cord make sure it contains 12ga copper. Smaller coolers can be put inside but you can create a duct of sorts that can run from the cooler on the ground to an open window. Make sure the cooler has a switch with three settings for the fan. If it works right you will not have to use the A/C.

[Boston Gary]

There is a personal ‘swamp cooler’ that runs of 120 ac or usb. It’s about a foot square, maybe less. I tried it in the Berkshires this weekend. Got the inside of a 23 FC cooled off a few degrees fairly quickly (was boondocking so no A/C$. Sorry, don’t remember the brand.

[fastrob]

Like the OP said, if he cannot fix problem, fix job.
I like the R2D2 A/c units, have 2, portable and work great.
Paint the roof white.

[cru-in]

Originally Posted by Rgentum

Have an RV service company add a second AC to your roof?

This would require rewiring the RV to 50 Amp service. A very large task that may not be doable.

IMHO I think 25 and up airstreams should come standard with two ACs.

[lsbrodsky]

What I find amusing is that RV's went how many years with only 1 AC and 30 amp service? When I joined this forum Airstreamers said follow the weather, avoid the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.
Now you gotta have ducted air, 2 AC units, 50 Amp, on-board cell boosters, satellite TV and internet, etc, etc. Seems amazing that parks without sewer can even exist....

Larry

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by MicheleL

Hi all! We are full-timers living and workcamping for the season in Utah.
. . .
If this keeps up and we can't find a solution, we are going to have to leave and get someplace cooler...

Any suggestions or ideas much appreciated!!!

In my personal opinion . . . sorry this has to be said . . . your plan was ill-conceived from the beginning.

You should cut bait and leave ASAP. Not sure what your “season” is, but are we talking about at least 6 more weeks, with the worst heat yet to come?

Vamanos!

Happy Trails,

Peter

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

What I find amusing is that RV's went how many years with only 1 AC and 30 amp service? When I joined this forum Airstreamers said follow the weather, avoid the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.
Now you gotta have ducted air, 2 AC units, 50 Amp, on-board cell boosters, satellite TV and internet, etc, etc. Seems amazing that parks without sewer can even exist....

Larry

Lots of younger “dreamers” hitting the wall about many issues in life!



Add the essential hair blow dry to your list.

[twbucksr]

Sadly “Dreamers” aren’t the only ones.

Baby Boomers on down are starting to realize that their 5th wheels with slides and truck large enough to pull it won’t fit in any State or National Park and very few RV parks with shade that are at least 20 years old.

These new rigs are too tall and too wide and want us to cut tree limbs so they won’t scratch their rig. I just laugh at them and state “these beautiful trees are what attracted you to our RV Park, you’ll have to move your rig.”

They can’t make the turns, can’t back them into a site or are so long that if they park their rig at the end of a 65’ site so it all does all fit, their power chord or sewer hose won’t reach the facilities pedestal.

The newer RV Parks have longer, pull thru sites but you’ll have to wait 15 years or longer for shade.

There are plenty of work camper jobs out there. Find one with some shade.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

So far this season we have not been "blessed" with a 50A pedestal anyplace we have gone. It's all been 30A or nothing at all. We do not have a one of the magic solar setups that will run the A/C, let alone run it all day and all night. Have we died of heat exposure?....

So far we've done fine. 30' trailer on one or no A/C at all has been plenty up to this point. We head out again in a week or so. I still expect that to be the case. If we happen onto a 50A setup, sure we'll use it. We still will be at a mix of "no power at all" sites as well as those with power.

The big qualifier on all this is (of course) where we have been camping and just what our route plan is from here forward. We will be much closer to Canada than to Mexico on this trip. The lack of 50A hookups is not because they aren't out there. It's more basic. Sites cost money. Fancier sites cost more money. Better not to spend all that cash. I certainly do *not* begrudge people for charging more for electric sites. In truth, I don't think they charge enough of a premium. Running all that A/C all the time really spins the electric meter .....

The flip side is being stuck in a specific location due to work. If you need to be physically present at location X each day, moving is not an option. If it's the dead of winter in Fairbanks AK or Yuma AZ in August .... that requires some planning. Of the two, Yuma is easier to deal with in a conventional RV. Not just any RV will do, but you can find one that will work out.

Combine a work situation with a very tight budget and you have an even bigger problem. Chances are, the low cost answer is not an RV in extreme conditions. The cost of the rig *and* the cost of running it get silly very fast. That doesn't even get into maintenance and upkeep. There's a motel down the road that has a better monthly rate .....

Can you find people who make it all work? Sure you can. Some are mobile with a work schedule that keeps them warm in the winter and cool in the summer. That takes planning and for a lot of them a specific set of skills. Some just happen to be in a magic location that never gets to hot or to cold. .... (right ...) ... More likely they have a high tolerance for the heat and cold.

So lots of variables and lots of twists and turns. The bottom line is that one solution really does not fit all problems. A bail out to the motel may be the cheaper thing to do in some cases.

Bob

[pteck]

There's multiple ways to skin a cat. Do more with more. Or do it more efficiently with less.

Personally, I don't see the "draw" of 50amp service. I like the ease of use with a 30amp service, with a more pliable wire. And my recent upgrade to a newer modern single AC unit and quenched all wants for effective A/C performance. Even in a larger 27FB floor plan. Something that didn't seem possible with my earlier Dometic Penguin I 13.5k unit.

It ultimately was a reasonable cost as well. I spent ~$900 all in self installing the upgraded Dometic Blizzard NXT 15k unit. Add $300-500 more for a shop to do it. No need to mess with any infrastructure electrical upgrades.

Best of all, my little 50lb Honda eu2200i inverter generator runs the A/C from the tongue of the trailer. Pull into a rest stop on a scalding 100 degree heat soaked day, fire her up, and enjoy a comfortable lunch with cool air wafting over the family.

This doesn't answer the failsafe cooling of having a second unit. But perhaps there's way to mitigate that with a temperature monitor and having a reliable new unit.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by MicheleL

. . .
Either that, or time to move on to someplace cooler!

You last post was over a week ago, so I am wondering if you have found a solution?

Happy Trails,

Peter

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by pteck

There's multiple ways to skin a cat. Do more with more. Or do it more efficiently with less.

Personally, I don't see the "draw" of 50amp service. I like the ease of use with a 30amp service, with a more pliable wire. And my recent upgrade to a newer modern single AC unit and quenched all wants for effective A/C performance. Even in a larger 27FB floor plan. Something that didn't seem possible with my earlier Dometic Penguin I 13.5k unit.

It ultimately was a reasonable cost as well. I spent ~$900 all in self installing the upgraded Dometic Blizzard NXT 15k unit. Add $300-500 more for a shop to do it. No need to mess with any infrastructure electrical upgrades.

Best of all, my little 50lb Honda eu2200i inverter generator runs the A/C from the tongue of the trailer. Pull into a rest stop on a scalding 100 degree heat soaked day, fire her up, and enjoy a comfortable lunch with cool air wafting over the family.

This doesn't answer the failsafe cooling of having a second unit. But perhaps there's way to mitigate that with a temperature monitor and having a reliable new unit.

Hi

If you have a larger trailer *and* it's over 100 degrees out with no shade .... indeed there is very much a use case for 50A service and two A/C's thundering away full time for 8 to 10 hours of the day. Been there / done that on multiple occasions. It all depends on how you happen to plan this or that trip / how (un) lucky you get. With a single A/C on a 30' you will be really toasty otherwise ( unfortunately done that as well ...)

Yes, move into shade, put out the awnings if you can, drop the temperature 10 degrees (and maybe get the humidity below 90% ...) .... the use case is not as strong. It needs to be *mighty* hot to get both A/C's running full time for hours on end.

To put some numbers on it. In full sun / no shade / high humidity, one A/C will struggle to get you down by 15 to 20 degrees. Two will get you down by 30 degrees. If it's 105 out with humidity above 80%, getting the trailer to 90 (and 90% humidity) isn't very comfortable. 75 to 80 and humidity down below 70% is *much* more livable.

Bob

[lsbrodsky]

For those of us too poor to buy(or too smart to not buy) a new trailer with 50 amp and 2 A/C units, the only solution available, still, is to avoid camping in weather that requires more than one A/C unit. That has worked for us so far, but we are retired and can choose our times to go camping. This year a very hot spell in May reminded me, while we were at an unshaded campground, to stay home, in my well-air-conditioned house, until August in the mountains.
I continue to believe that even if you can cool off the inside of your trailer to the low 70's, if you cannot sit outside and enjoy the scenery, then there is no point in going camping.
Larry

[2MileHi]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Lots of younger “dreamers” hitting the wall about many issues in life!



Add the essential hair blow dry to your list.

Ha! Joke's on you! In 2020 you'll be paying off my $60,000 loan that got me my bachelor's degree in He/she/whatever Studies! Troll me all you want. I'm going to my Safe Place in Mom's basement. 👼

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

For those of us too poor to buy(or too smart to not buy) a new trailer with 50 amp and 2 A/C units, the only solution available, still, is to avoid camping in weather that requires more than one A/C unit. That has worked for us so far, but we are retired and can choose our times to go camping. This year a very hot spell in May reminded me, while we were at an unshaded campground, to stay home, in my well-air-conditioned house, until August in the mountains.
I continue to believe that even if you can cool off the inside of your trailer to the low 70's, if you cannot sit outside and enjoy the scenery, then there is no point in going camping.
Larry

Hi

In the same hot spell in May (we were down there and yes it was warm) 30A and one A/C worked ok for us. It does not take a lot of shade to make a big difference.

Bob