2016 Greyhawk 29MV very hot this summer

[tomknepper]

After spending this past summer on the east coast with the temperatures in the 90's most of the time, I've decided to put another roof top A/C unit in my 2016 Greyhawk 29MV.

There where many days we could not keep the coach below 85 degrees. In the shade the A/C unit would keep up. In the sun, it just wouldn't do the job.

FYI: We also sealed off the driving portion of our coach, used insulating foil in the windows, had a fan running and more. Just too hot to do that again.

My plan now is to replace my Fantastic Fan in the bedroom with a second Coleman/Mach 13,500 BTU A/C unit.

I am going to run a dedicated circuit to that A/C unit with a breaker and pull the power from the 50 Amp circuit at the RV park pedestal.

Does anyone know how to or has anyone run wiring from the ceiling area in the bedroom down to an accessible place I.E. under the bed or ???

I have not checked with Jayco tech support yet. Thought I would check here first.

Any guidance here is appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

[jgerhard]

I added a second AC to my old Itasca. I used Wire Mold to get the wire to a cabinet where I could then route wiring where it needed to go. Let me know how the install goes. I'm thinking of doing the same on my Greyhawk 31FS. Keep in mind the second AC won't work in 30 Amp parks or with the generator.

Face Value: $.02

[tomknepper]

thank you for your input.

I'll keep you informed.

[GrayHawk51]

Won't that be a bit noisy in the bedroom when you try to sleep?

[jgerhard]

It's been my experience that once the sun is off the motor home, the existing AC will cool the rig down with no issues. So when sleeping at night, you won't need the added AC over the bed. That being said, the noise wouldn't bother me anyway. I sleep with a fan often here in California and the noise would be similar.

Also, I found that Coleman has started making a 9200 BTU AC. It's max starting watts are 1,500 while the existing 15000 BTU AC draws 1,960 watts max while starting. At 3,460 Watts, the generator or 30 Amp shore power would just make it if I weren't using much else. Something to consider...

White Coleman 9,200 BTU Mach 8 Polar Cub RV Air Conditioner | RV Parts Country

[drk98]

We are in the same boat with our new Redhawk. One AC in the Texas summer isn't going to work. I'm planning on adding a 2nd unit in the spring. I removed the interior trim around the bedroom vent and found that there is a small gap in the insulation that will allow me to run the power straight back to the back wall, through the cabinet and down into the rear cargo area. Unless I'm missing something it "looks" like it won't be too difficult to get the wire there. The hard part is getting the new AC up on the roof without damaging the RV or AC.

I saw that new Coleman AC and thought it might just work on 30 amp but we rarely have issues finding 50 amp service so I'll probably go with a larger AC.

[jgerhard]

Great info on the gap in the ceiling! Thanks for the intel.

James

[tomknepper]

thank you, I will check that. very helpful.

[tomknepper]

thank you, i will look into that unit.

[tomknepper]

Giving this some thought, since I am running a dedicated line to power the second unit not using the existing motor home electric circuitry, I was not planning on nor do I know how to incorporate the generator into that second circuit.

I'm sure there is a way, just have not considered it yet.

[drk98]

Originally Posted by tomknepper

Giving this some thought, since I am running a dedicated line to power the second unit not using the existing motor home electric circuitry, I was not planning on nor do I know how to incorporate the generator into that second circuit.

I'm sure there is a way, just have not considered it yet.

If you were to tie it into the power center you'd be able to power it from the shore or genset since the auto switch would toggle where you get power from. I'm not sure there is room in mine to run a second circuit but like you I wasn't thinking it was an option.

[tomknepper]

I have installed the Coleman Mach 13,500 BTU rooftop A/C unit. I did see the opening in the Styrofoam you mentioned earlier. I didn't use that however.

What I ended up doing was boring a hole into the Styrofoam using a heated 1/2 copper plumbing pipe. It went thru the foam like butter.

I ran a 10 gauge dedicated line thru the bored hole into the cabinet behind the bedroom TV, down behind the cabinets, thru the floor, over to the motor home electric hatch.

I protected it with a slow blow 20 amp fuse in a fuse holder.

I have purchased a 50 Amp to 30amp, 15/20 amp Y adapter to plug into the 50 Amp receptacle at the RV park pedestal.

If I am at a 30 amp pedestal then I won't use the adapter. Just plug direct into the 30 and the 15/20 amp receptacles respectively.

I have tried it here at home and so far so good. The acid test will be at the RV parks in the summer when 95 degrees or so. Have to wait for the season.

Wanted to thank you for your input as it helped guide me as to where and how to power the roof top unit.

[jgerhard]

That's awesome Tom! Any pics?

James

[tomknepper]

I thought of that after I was finished. Not used to doing that when I work on things.

Sorry.

I am happy to explain to anyone who is interested.

[jgerhard]

Hey no worries, I do the same thing. Maybe some pics of the finished install would be cool to see too.

[drk98]

Originally Posted by tomknepper

I have installed the Coleman Mach 13,500 BTU rooftop A/C unit. I did see the opening in the Styrofoam you mentioned earlier. I didn't use that however.

What I ended up doing was boring a hole into the Styrofoam using a heated 1/2 copper plumbing pipe. It went thru the foam like butter.

I ran a 10 gauge dedicated line thru the bored hole into the cabinet behind the bedroom TV, down behind the cabinets, thru the floor, over to the motor home electric hatch.

I protected it with a slow blow 20 amp fuse in a fuse holder.

I have purchased a 50 Amp to 30amp, 15/20 amp Y adapter to plug into the 50 Amp receptacle at the RV park pedestal.

If I am at a 30 amp pedestal then I won't use the adapter. Just plug direct into the 30 and the 15/20 amp receptacles respectively.

I have tried it here at home and so far so good. The acid test will be at the RV parks in the summer when 95 degrees or so. Have to wait for the season.

Wanted to thank you for your input as it helped guide me as to where and how to power the roof top unit.

Thank you for the follow up. I'm oping to tackle mine in the spring. Do you have any tips for getting the old vent cover & sealant out and prepping that area? Did you do much to seal the hole around the vent other than the AC foam mount?

[tomknepper]

OK, I will put together some pics of the finished product. Not sure how to upload pics to the forum however. Any guidance there is appreciated. I do see the icon above for loading pics but it asks for the URL for the pic. Not sure if I understand how to get a pic from my i phone using a URL address.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by tomknepper

OK, I will put together some pics of the finished product. Not sure how to upload pics to the forum however. Any guidance there is appreciated. I do see the icon above for loading pics but it asks for the URL for the pic. Not sure if I understand how to get a pic from my i phone using a URL address.

Typically you first upload the photos to something like Photobucket, Imgur, Google Photos.

But this forum has an ability to upload pictures directly. Go down to "manage attachments" click that and see if you can upload from there.

If all fails, and you're comfortable emailing them off to me, I'd be happy to upload them for you too.

patrick

[tomknepper]

I only used the foam gasket mount that came with the new unit to seal it. They do tell you how to tighten it using tabs for the correct tension on the gasket. I have since washed the roof and had a pretty good driving rain storm with no leaks.

I will send you a picture of the tool I used to both cut a hole in the ceiling behind the bedroom TV cabinet to get the power wire from the AC unit down behind the bedroom drawers and to remove 99% of the sealant from the original fantastic vent opening. The tool worked very well. Inexpensive at Harbor Freight.
After removing the screws for the vent and prying up the vent (sealant does a good job of sticking it to the roof) I used the tool to remove the majority of the sealant and then paint thinner to wipe off and clean the rest of the sealant.
That was it. 1 to 1 1/2 hours total to remove the vent and clean the opening.

[pconroy]

private message sent if you need assistance w/ photo uploading