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Old 07-13-2016, 03:47 PM   #1
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Helix cooling system...not very cool

My husband and I are new owners of a 2016 north point 377rlbh. We are currently in Texas and the average temp here is usually in the low to mid 90s. Our fifth wheel has two a/c units and comes with the helix cooling system. Our bedroom a/c unit works very well but the other a/c unit and the helix system throughout the rest of the camper does not. While it is extremely quiet, as advertised, I don't feel like it cools as it should. On our hotter days when the temp outside is in the mid 90's, the temperature in our fifth wheel reaches up to 85 (we have the thermostat set on 68-70) and the temp usually won't come down until the sun starts to set. We keep our filters clean and put our awnings out when we can (it's usually too windy here to do so and even when we do it doesn't help much). Has anyone else had similar problems with this system? Is it just at its' capacity for cooling in this type of heat? Has anyone had any luck getting theirs to cool properly? I thought I would post here in hopes there might be a simple solution we can take care of ourselves before we pay to have someone look at it. Thanks for reading and for any help!
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Old 07-13-2016, 03:55 PM   #2
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Are you running both units together? Close a couple of the vents in the bedroom to help push air into the rest of the FW.
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Old 07-13-2016, 04:11 PM   #3
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This was the first thing we tried. It didn't make a very big difference. We have also tried placing a fan in our bedroom pointed down the hall to blow cool air from the bedroom to the rest of the camper. Not much luck with that either.
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Old 07-13-2016, 04:34 PM   #4
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I've got no ideas other than what you tried. I'm just hoping that this isn't what is to come when we head to Santa Rosa Beach, FL at the end of the month. Luckily, our spot is heavily wooded with a tree canopy. That should hopefully help a lot.

As a side note, we just got back from San Antonio and stayed at a hotel downtown. There is noway I'd want a wide open spot down there with the RV. It was hotter than Haddies down there!! I don't know how Camper Bob and several others even tolerate it??
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Old 07-13-2016, 05:39 PM   #5
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Well, as Philip Henry Sheridan said: "If I owned Hell and Texas I would rent out Texas and live in Hell."

And it's not even really hot here yet.
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Old 07-13-2016, 05:45 PM   #6
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Our last time out was a couple weeks ago. Ours seemed to cool a little better than yours. Here's what I did to help. First, I replaced the ceiling fan. That made a big difference. Second, we keep all the blinds down. Third, I run the fantastic fan. Lastly, I close all the vents in the bedroom during the day and open them in the evening. We we able to keep the coach around 79 with outside being 95 plus. (No shade either). Lastly I had to sound like my dad yelling "CLOSE THE DOOR!" to my kids anytime they went in or out. Hope that helps


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Old 07-13-2016, 09:16 PM   #7
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Red face

We are in the same boat so to speak. We just went from a 2013 Keystone Premier 31BHPR with 15k ducted a/c to a 2016 Jayco 29.5 FBDS with 15k "whisper quiet" a/c. Our old trailer had no problems cooling things down and keeping it cool inside even in 107 degree weather. Our new Jayco can't make things even comfortable after several hours in 80 degree weather. The air coming out of the "whisper quiet" system is not very much compared to our other trailer. The "whisper quiet" system has very little difference in air output from the "high" fan setting and the "low" fan setting. I hope this is fixable and not how the system actually works.
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Old 06-01-2017, 10:30 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Truemarsh View Post
My husband and I are new owners of a 2016 north point 377rlbh. We are currently in Texas and the average temp here is usually in the low to mid 90s. Our fifth wheel has two a/c units and comes with the helix cooling system. Our bedroom a/c unit works very well but the other a/c unit and the helix system throughout the rest of the camper does not. While it is extremely quiet, as advertised, I don't feel like it cools as it should. On our hotter days when the temp outside is in the mid 90's, the temperature in our fifth wheel reaches up to 85 (we have the thermostat set on 68-70) and the temp usually won't come down until the sun starts to set. We keep our filters clean and put our awnings out when we can (it's usually too windy here to do so and even when we do it doesn't help much). Has anyone else had similar problems with this system? Is it just at its' capacity for cooling in this type of heat? Has anyone had any luck getting theirs to cool properly? I thought I would post here in hopes there might be a simple solution we can take care of ourselves before we pay to have someone look at it. Thanks for reading and for any help!
My husband and I are also newer owners of a 2016 NorthPoint 351RSTS. We made our first trip to FL in March 2017. We had the exact same problem with the a/c in the main living area. The bedroom a/c works great. The outside temp was in the 85-90 degree range and our a/c was set at 76. The inside temperature would not go below 81 during the day. We went to Savannah, GA May 8, 2017 and the temperature there was mid 90s. Even though we had the thermostat set at 75, the inside temp went all the way up to 86 degrees inside. We were so uncomfortable in our camper we ended up spending time in our friends' motorhome in the site beside us during the day. Just wondering if you were able to get some answers or rectify the situation.
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Old 08-07-2017, 05:58 PM   #9
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We have a 2016 377RLBH and are having the same issues....well this is one of the hundred issues we are having with this rig. We can't get it below 84 when it is 95 outside. So much for Jayco's claims that it will stay at 70 when it is 100 outside! I've written to Jayco on their Facebook page and via Messenger several times with no response. Today, I sent an email requesting a phone call. We shall see. I'm wishing there were lemon laws for RVs!
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Old 08-07-2017, 07:41 PM   #10
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Take a look at the mods to 377 thread. We have had great success with the system by taping the ducts to the ceiling and removing the black ring that attaches to the vents


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Old 08-08-2017, 09:20 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Bookemdanno View Post
I've got no ideas other than what you tried. I'm just hoping that this isn't what is to come when we head to Santa Rosa Beach, FL at the end of the month. Luckily, our spot is heavily wooded with a tree canopy. That should hopefully help a lot.

As a side note, we just got back from San Antonio and stayed at a hotel downtown. There is noway I'd want a wide open spot down there with the RV. It was hotter than Haddies down there!! I don't know how Camper Bob and several others even tolerate it??
We generally stay either inside or wet from about June to at least end of September. Best piece of advice? Find a swimming hole. Last year was a little more mild, but this year is shaping up to be a hot one down here. We got some rain this week, so that helps, but this weekend, we'll be up to 107. And that's just the temp, not the heat index. And even if there was a breeze, it's like standing in front of a hair drier.

As for keeping the rig cool, lots of good suggestions already: keep doors closed, keep blinds down, run fans to distribute air, keep awnings out as much as possible... I insulated the "cold" side our AC unit with Reflectix, and sealed the vents like was mentioned above, and that helps a little bit too. Run the AC cold early in the day to give it a head-start. It will probably be cold in the rig in the morning, but resist the urge to cut the AC off, and let it run. Also, try to cook outside as much as possible, but keep the door closed as much as possible too.

We tinted the windows in our S&B, and we have a roll leftover that I earmarked for the trailer. Our windows are tinted already, but I figure the film can't hurt; it's supposed to have "58% heat exclusion", so we'll see how that goes. I've also threatened to put Reflectix up over our windows on particularly hot days, but DW thinks it will look "too trashy" (even though after the factory tint and the stuff we'll add, you won't be able to see it).

Bottom line is it's a big box with not great insulation getting cooked in the sun, so it's going to be tough to keep it cool. Those of us who know what real heat is would never buy a claim to keep a trailer at 70 in 100 degree heat. Sorry, but that just ain't gonna happen with a large trailer, especially in full sun. So, like I said, find some shade and a swimming hole, drink plenty of cold water, and don't count on the trailer cooling down until later in the day...
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Old 08-08-2017, 10:29 AM   #12
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well, as philip henry sheridan said: "if i owned hell and texas i would rent out texas and live in hell."

and it's not even really hot here yet.
:rofl:
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Old 08-13-2017, 04:42 AM   #13
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Covers over the roof vents seem to help a little. Either the black or smoke ones.
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Old 08-13-2017, 05:27 AM   #14
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I have the unit in my sig and it came with the wisper quiet system. Although the unit is very quiet, the duct work is in the ceiling (Supply and return air). On a 90 degree day in the sun I'm sure the temp in the roof goes well over 100 degrees so in effect you are trying to cool the ceiling area. Add this to any air leaks in the ceiling and you probably have about 10,000 btu's of effective cooling in the living area. I'm looking into the possibility of installing a chill grill in the living room unit to direct the cool air directly into the living area. I can open it on really hot days and close it on cooler ones.
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Old 08-13-2017, 11:24 AM   #15
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I have the unit in my sig and it came with the wisper quiet system. Although the unit is very quiet, the duct work is in the ceiling (Supply and return air). On a 90 degree day in the sun I'm sure the temp in the roof goes well over 100 degrees so in effect you are trying to cool the ceiling area. Add this to any air leaks in the ceiling and you probably have about 10,000 btu's of effective cooling in the living area. I'm looking into the possibility of installing a chill grill in the living room unit to direct the cool air directly into the living area. I can open it on really hot days and close it on cooler ones.
I think John is on to the answer...

on those hotter miserable days when it is hard to keep the motorhome cooled down, we open the vents on our units so that we bypass the ducts in the ceiling. This helps a lot. The Helix system is cooling the attic and ductwork first, then the camper.
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Old 08-13-2017, 11:47 AM   #16
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Before you add a chill grill, look into removing the vents and taping to ducts to the ceiling. It'll cost you less than $10 to buy the foil tape and 30 minutes of work. Try it! You'll thank me later


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Old 08-14-2017, 07:55 AM   #17
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Before you add a chill grill, look into removing the vents and taping to ducts to the ceiling. It'll cost you less than $10 to buy the foil tape and 30 minutes of work. Try it! You'll thank me later


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+1

If they still use the same vents they used to, they leak into the attic and inhibit air flow. The little sleeves that connect the actual vent in the ceiling to the duct stick up into the duct as much as an inch. They are also not a tight fit or sealed into the duct, so they leak cool air into the "attic".

I pulled all the vents down, removed the little sleeve, and used foil tape to create a small "duct" from the ceiling opening to the opening in the main duct. This creates more open flow in the duct, and seals the opening in the duct to the living space, thus eliminating any leakage into the "attic".

I also used foil tape to smooth out some of the "stuff" inside the hole to the main unit. There's all kinds of things in there from parts of the roof membrane to ducts not sealed tightly that will cause turbulence and air leakage. Smooth all that down and seal it up with foil tape, and it helps a little more.

I taped off and insulated the "cold" side of my unit on the roof too. I taped all the joints in that box with foil tape, and wrapped the box in Reflectix. Another little improvement.

If you do enough little stuff, it makes a difference. My system definitely works better now than when I bought it, and the cost was minimal other than time.
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Old 09-23-2017, 08:01 AM   #18
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Does anyone have a 2017 or 2018 model and can they speak to if the Helix issue has been fixed?
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Old 10-26-2017, 06:52 AM   #19
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Helix air system on 2017 North point

I have the 2017 North point. The air conditioning issues have not been solved. I have the same issues with not cooling properly. I just seen the posts about removing the vent rings and can't wait to try it out next summer. Also thinking about the chill grille. Sounds promising.
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