Jay Flight Swift SLX 184BH /2013 Air Conditioning Problem

[GBrown]

Originally Posted by jeff brittain

I too am having problems with the a/c in my tt. The 5000 btu just will not cut it here in Al. I camped last weekend and it was around 94 outside and 88 inside. I called my dealer (Burton Campers in Calera) they in turn called Jayco. According to them there is nothing they can do and did not offer the 8000 btu in this camper. I did however go to lowes and found a 8000 btu portable on sale. With the two a/c working it got downright cold. But I will prob. change to a larger wall unit. I saw someone said they changed theirs, does anyone have a link?

Jeff. What kind of portable a/c did you get and how do you vent it? We had to have our 5000 btu a/c completely replaced after our first trip. We had considered a portable a/c, thinking the 5000 btu would never cool enough. So far we have camped in 93 degree weather, site with no shade and it has been cool enough. My husband researched portables and even came up with a place to vent it on the floor in the cabinet. Are you loosing a lot of space with the portable?

[MikeeDee1]

We have the 184bh in Arkansas, and are really needing a new solution to the 5000btu unit. Ours is a 2013.

Thank you for any info you can provide.

[dlindsay001]

Originally Posted by MikeeDee1

We have the 184bh in Arkansas, and are really needing a new solution to the 5000btu unit. Ours is a 2013.

Thank you for any info you can provide.

I also have a 184BH with the 5000BTU A/C in it, would love to hear from anyone that has put a bigger A/C in it and see pictures or hear about how it was done.

[MikeeDee1]

Looks Like for the 2014 Models, (JAYCO 184bh), 5,000 btu model was replaced with Frigidaire FRA086AT7, or similar, High Efficiency 8,000-BTU Room Window Air Conditioner w/Remote Control. I am trying to figure out if I can do the modifications my self.

[MikeeDee1]

Ok. What I did;

1. I pulled my 5000 btu Fridgidaire unit. One screw on the top frame and the feet are glued to the drip tray underneath. I had to un-bend the drip tray in the front for the removal. It came out with a bunch of wiggling and pulling because of the glue.

2. I purchased a 6000 btu Artic King unit and it fit right in the existing hole like a glove. Model WWK-06CRn1-BJ7. This unit fits all the way back to the pre-existing condenser screen, but it sticks out the front a little more, the top bracket is about 1 to 1.5 inches away from the mounting face. I caulked around the bended drip pan because there was not enough material in front of the replacing unit to fold it back up. This should keep the water in the tray.


What we noticed immediately is that the air dampers had better control of the flow of the a/c air. Second, it is coooold air coming out.

What I had done prior to this is install a vortex ii fan in the bathroom vent, connecting to the wiring in the light. Its a good fan because it draws out air from the camper at 3 speeds and can push air into the camper at two speeds.

We are not sure yet if this is going to be the "FINAL" solution, but I have asked my local Jayco Dealer for a quote for the change over to the 8k unit.
But the camper was 10x cooler that the night before with the AC running only a few minutes. But the scfm is not that great with the artic king, but temperature is a lot better.

Hope this helps.

Mike D.

[honeymooner]

Gang,

Just thought I would note that I have a 2013 (built in 2012) 184BH with the 5,000 BTU Fridgidaire and the unit DOES NOT cool in Texas! Researching what will fit into the same location has not yielded good results. Possibly looking at a rooftop unit but concerned about the roof supporting it. I will keep you posted if I find anything that will be an easy swap or if the rooftop is the only way to go. I can't imagine putting a large rooftop unit in. Something smaller and low profile would be the way to go. If any of you can post pics of your mods that would be great!

[bailee21]

Originally Posted by honeymooner

Gang,

Just thought I would note that I have a 2013 (built in 2012) 184BH with the 5,000 BTU Fridgidaire and the unit DOES NOT cool in Texas! Researching what will fit into the same location has not yielded good results. Possibly looking at a rooftop unit but concerned about the roof supporting it. I will keep you posted if I find anything that will be an easy swap or if the rooftop is the only way to go. I can't imagine putting a large rooftop unit in. Something smaller and low profile would be the way to go. If any of you can post pics of your mods that would be great!

roof tops are only 150 pounds and this would not be a problem this is the rout im going to fix my problem as well

[bailee21]

Originally Posted by MikeeDee1

Ok. What I did;

1. I pulled my 5000 btu Fridgidaire unit. One screw on the top frame and the feet are glued to the drip tray underneath. I had to un-bend the drip tray in the front for the removal. It came out with a bunch of wiggling and pulling because of the glue.

2. I purchased a 6000 btu Artic King unit and it fit right in the existing hole like a glove. Model WWK-06CRn1-BJ7. This unit fits all the way back to the pre-existing condenser screen, but it sticks out the front a little more, the top bracket is about 1 to 1.5 inches away from the mounting face. I caulked around the bended drip pan because there was not enough material in front of the replacing unit to fold it back up. This should keep the water in the tray.


What we noticed immediately is that the air dampers had better control of the flow of the a/c air. Second, it is coooold air coming out.

What I had done prior to this is install a vortex ii fan in the bathroom vent, connecting to the wiring in the light. Its a good fan because it draws out air from the camper at 3 speeds and can push air into the camper at two speeds.

We are not sure yet if this is going to be the "FINAL" solution, but I have asked my local Jayco Dealer for a quote for the change over to the 8k unit.
But the camper was 10x cooler that the night before with the AC running only a few minutes. But the scfm is not that great with the artic king, but temperature is a lot better.

Hope this helps.

Mike D.

pics please

[dlindsay001]

Originally Posted by bailee21

roof tops are only 150 pounds and this would not be a problem this is the rout im going to fix my problem as well

I thought about putting in a roof top RV A/C also, but, I don't think I am going to do this. The bottom shroud or control pannel would hang down too far I think as it appears that most of them would hang down from the ceiling about 2-3 inches and the ceiling height is only 73 inches I believe. I have a message in with Jayco and I am waiting to hear back if they can recommend a way to put a bigger side A/C in a 2012 184BH.

[NevadaCamper]

I have the 2015 model. You are the first one I have run across with this model. Let me know how your first year has gone. I have inky gone out once for a real camping trip.

[dlindsay001]

I heard back from Jayco today about installing the bigger 8000 BTU in my 2012 184BH. Here is what they said in the Email:
"Thank you for contacting Jayco. Unfortunately, when we made the model changes the following year and added the 8000 BTU AC there were also adjustments made in the sidewall. The 8000 BTU will not fit in this opening, the whole structure of the sidewall would need to be changed and we would not recommend doing this to the structure of the trailer."
I really don't think I am going to do anything now. I hate to start cutting into the wall and making a bigger opening and then cause other problems. This is so disappointing!

[MikeeDee1]

I heard back also from my local dealer that Jayco does not recommend the upgrade to the 8000 btu unit and they didn't say why. But in my mind it was probably the same reason. If that's an issue, than so would a roof top mount one also. I will try with my 6kbtu unit and fans and see how it goes.

Regards,

Mike D.

[honeymooner]

Very disappointing indeed dlindsay001 It appears they designed the trailer around the air conditioner instead of the other way around. Which in my opinion is a design flaw. How about a trade-in coupon/credit towards the new design version that anyone south of Indiana can use for camping in the summer months?!?!?

I suspect that once the warranty runs out, more dealers will try and offer a better solution since Jayco has bailed on us.

One thing is for sure. This is my first RV and it wont be my last. Based on this knowledge, I will make sure i look at all other RV makers before considering a Jayco RV for my next upgrade.

[MikeeDee1]

Originally Posted by bailee21

pics please

Here's the hole exposed

[Threebutchers]

Originally Posted by MikeeDee1

Here's the hole exposed

Thanks for posting that picture...now you have good information to find a solution.

[jvwrip]

Hello,
Just took my 2012 184bh out to the Texas coast for the first time and I am also having the same dripping problem both inside and out. Also noticed that the A/c struggled with the Texas heat. If any of you have pics of your mods to a 6,000 btu unit please post them and let me know how it cooled. I appreciate your advice and love this site.

Thanks

[bailee21]

Originally Posted by jvwrip

Hello,
Just took my 2012 184bh out to the Texas coast for the first time and I am also having the same dripping problem both inside and out. Also noticed that the A/c struggled with the Texas heat. If any of you have pics of your mods to a 6,000 btu unit please post them and let me know how it cooled. I appreciate your advice and love this site.

Thanks

i hope you like it better than we did i just sold mine could not find a fix that would work

[dlindsay001]

I pulled my A/C out yesterday and measured the entire opening. I went to 6 different stores in town, there were none that would fit the opening that were 6000BTU or higher. I looked up the 6000BTU Arctic King that is mentioned in this thread and it has such bad reviews online that I just decided to put the one I have back in place.

[MikeeDee1]

Here is the picture. Notice the homemade suction ducting. I read somewhere in the threads that due to the location of the unit, the cold air bouncing off the ceiling may cause the units to short cycle/false positive that the air is reaching temp. This fabrication does help the unit's compressor to stay on longer, but still not enough scfm (standard cubic feet minute). So, we are still using a box fan. During the day on the table, and at night on the counter by the door blowing towards the bunks. We have not experienced a "hot" day yet. There is a post out there where someone has modified the baja version 184bh with the 8k unit. My only concern is two fold; 1. will the existing interior cabinet maintain the new weight from an impact point of view/Impacts caused by bumps on the road. 2nd. where could i order that exterior wall condenser screen? The existing one fits the arctic king like a glove.

And yes, the Arctic King fit the existing set up
and yes, we were aware that the Arctic King had some bad reviews, but we were desperate to try something. A modified induction may work for the 5k unit but the scfm is still to low.

Hope this helps. I do have dimensions if anyone is interested.

[jvwrip]

Thank yall so much for the replies. I am brand new to this forum and this 184bh is my first TT. Thanks for the pics of the Arctic king mod. Can you send me the dimensions. I am going to block off most of the windows and overhead vents and see if this helps with cooling also. Once again thank yall so much for the help.