Replacement A/C

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Hello All!

I've been a long time fan of this site and have been enjoyed reading the many posts on it.

Question.  Has anyone replaced the standard window unit that comes in the wall?  If so, what brand?  How big (wattage and/or BTUs) should I consider.  My camper is now in it's 11th year and I've owned it for 4 of those.  The AC works, but it's noisey and doesn't seem to do a good job keeping the camper cool on a hot day.  Any suggestions?

I pulled out my manual for the cabinet A/C in my 2001 2720SL. It is a Fedder's Model RQ10F2, 10,000 BTU with a 9.0 EER.  It works great for us in the hot South Texas weather.  Hope this helps.

Seems to me we've had discussions about A/C in the past. Sometimes it is not the A/C that's the problem but the airflow from the A/C to the remote parts of the trailer.
We put an oscillating fan in front of the unit, facing it. As the fan oscillates back and forth it blows air into the extremes of  the RV better than the A/C which tends to blow mostly toward the head (that's Navy talk for toilet).
You might also want to add a night light so you don't trip over the fan during the night.
Dick_B

Dick:
Thanks for the suggestion.  I've tried that with one of the little oscillating fans we have in the camper.  This seems to be more of a problem in the day than the night.  Unfortunately, a fan on a stool gets in the way going in and out.  While we sleep in the aft bed at night, we like to use it for our kids during the day for naps.  It tends to get a little stuffy back there during the day.

Mine does not have an AC unit installed (yet), but have investigated it. When I get it back, it will have one, and as far as I can tell, they come with the 10,000btu fedders, but you can get up to 12,000btu on 115V ac. On another note, if you have a generator, you might consider checking the wattage as per what the generator can handle. I picked up a decent one at Harbor Frieght for $600.00 that runs 3100 watts with a Honda (quieter) engine. It should run my ac unit when I get it. I'm gonna start a new thread on this topic.

I bought a 27/20 in Feb 93 and it came with a 7500 btu Whirlpool,while in Texas in 97 it was not large enough to cool the trailer was  talking to other owners was told that Wal Mart had a 10,000 btu Fedders that would fit in the opening without too much trouble.I got one and did the job with great results,only had to modify a little trim and side with plenty of room,the Fedders pulls less amps and is less noisy with much better cooling.Just sold my TM the 6th of April 2002 because of age and health.
                          Jim E

Last weekend I pulled out our side-mounted A/C and will store it.  It's an simple task (if you're reasonably strong).  Here in Michigan we find the need for A/C to be low as we will camp the summer months "up north".

I was surprised at how heavy the unit is and will be glad not to carry this weight.  A lack of finesse in the original installation was also noted.

Jim:

Thanks for the info on the Fedders. I'll check out Walmart and see what they have.  I found a Whirlpool model that looks like it will work as well.  http://www.whirlpool.com/cgi-bin/nco...emsku=ACQ108XL

I need to get my camper out of winter storage and do some measuring before I make a purchase.

Joeber:

I'm a fellow Michiganian as well!  I agree that I would rather not use the AC (most of the time  ;D), but my wife is not a avid camper.  She camps as a labor of love (so she says ) She has ALOT of allergies, so a camper that has AC was a good compromise.

Well,  Thanks to Jim's recommendation,  I went and purchased the 10,000 BTU Fedders model.  Turns out after I pulled the camper out of the garage and pull the old AC out, the Whirlpool model I mentioned wouldn't fit in the hole!  The fedders model will need a little trimming on the sides, but I think it will be ok.

Looking at the old box, it was only a 5000 BTU unit.  No wonder it had troubles keeping the camper cool on a hot day!

Hopefully this weekend, I can get the new one installed.  I'll keep you informed!

[Bill]

For you folks contemplating the purchase of a new TM, the roof-mounted air conditioner is mighty nice. Very little additional cost, a little more powerful, better air distribution, and it saves one of the best storage cabinets in a kitchen that already has too few.  Beware of the effect on the TM's closed height, though - the specs on the TM web site are wrong!

Bill