Small Air Conditioner installed into Small RV

[Mondoggie]

After a few warm days in Arkansas I determined that the air conditioner in my Melbourne 24K was not going to do the job. Yesterday I dug out a portable unit that I had used in my old 32 ft class A. With a little work and some odds and end I had around the house, I was able to install the portable into the bedroom and exhaust it out the window. From all indications it appears it's going to work fine. The little AC wont take up much usable space in the tiny bedroom and can barely be seen from the main living quarter.

[Grumpy]

Ingenuity..��

[jd99336]

This is fascinating to me as I have been thinking of doing the same for my 31DS instead of adding a second roof air. We are taking an "Epic" trip (for us) this summer that will go from Washington State to New York, to Kentucky to Missouri, over to Arizona/Utah before heading home in June and July. I fear our one 15K roof unit will not keep up, so was looking at these remote units as a auxillary.

How do you power it? Can you plug into a regular outlet and still run your roof air? Or do you have to run a remote extension cord? Any advice would be helpful....thanks.

[Mondoggie]

Mine is just plugged into a regular wall outlet. I can run it along with the regular roof top unit and it works fine. I’ve had both ac’s running, along with 2 tv’s and several lights. Ive also tested them under generator power and they work well. I have not taken them on a long trip yer, but when I had the portable hooked up in my old class A, I had to switch my water heater from ac to propane while using both air conditioners. Also, if my wife has to run a hair dryer, I have to shut the portable one down or I’ll throw a breaker.

[jd99336]

Yeah...I get the hairdryer thing. When my wife uses hers, I have to make sure any small heaters or microwave are off.

Interestingly, I think the roof unit is on it's own outlet, so makes sense that you could run both.

I may have to get one of these. I have a place to put it where it would be out of the way, and as a safety factor from big heat it makes sense.

Do you have any issues with the humidity creating a water drainage issue?

this is the unit I am looking at....goes on sale next week for $325...

https://www.costco.com/De'Longhi-Pinguino-500-sq-ft-4-in-1-All-Season-Use%3a-Air-Conditioner%2c-Heater%2c-Dehumidifier%2c-Fan.product.100474736.html?langId=-1&krypto=BJQdlEGMRegH5bHRqiO1Ou4M1aHfUKAa2jG%2FB52 N1eJ75xw%2F4O%2BoHalbQf56Tq8pukauABwhTrqGE%2BHwnPr yQ%2FbCchEAVtXjTCY2Zv%2B6YWLBp6CmPWLC6opqUEe7hs9G3 E6fBrYM4leF%2FQH6VmcFriPZRJ8B0pWmpcWzJBWQCF%2F0RUU Tx6eDH8feKseP2l3Gs8EoqZY8VStf1WGU%2FTIyeM8MGFY%2FN kUI%2Fjc%2BY2ONofwvPsn5A%2BS%2BoNwLwN2lB53W

[Mondoggie]

No water drainage issues so far. This has a built in dehumidifier and because of that there is an internal tank with a drain port in the back. When the AC was in my old rig last summer I worried I'd have to disassemble the thing several times each summer, but the "full" indicator light never came on so I never checked it. At the end of the summer I pulled the unit out and unscrewed the drain cap. Not a drop came out. I bought the AC from Amazon and that question came up a few times in the reviews. Everyone who answered reported that they had collected very little water or, like me, none. The theory seemed to be that with the AC on, the damp air was exhausted through the hose and out the window.
I guess it depends on where you camp (I camped in the Florida Panhandle) and if you ran the dehumidifier without the AC (which I never did).

[Mondoggie]

This was the one I bought last year from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't recall paying $500.00 for it, but maybe I did.

[tom463219]

Originally Posted by jd99336

This is fascinating to me as I have been thinking of doing the same for my 31DS instead of adding a second roof air. We are taking an "Epic" trip (for us) this summer that will go from Washington State to New York, to Kentucky to Missouri, over to Arizona/Utah before heading home in June and July. I fear our one 15K roof unit will not keep up, so was looking at these remote units as a auxillary.

How do you power it? Can you plug into a regular outlet and still run your roof air? Or do you have to run a remote extension cord? Any advice would be helpful....thanks.

We have the same type 31 DS that you have. We have traveled across the US in summer and have not had any issues with the single AC. We close the ac vents in the bedroom and bath, shut both doors, pull all the shades down, and have installed thermal curtains between the cab and living area, and close the bunk curtains. The trick is to have the AC on early. Don't let RV heat up and then decide to put the air on. Believe me, I hate heat and humidity. In the evening when the sun is down and it starts cooling off, we open the bath and bedroom doors and open the ac vents in there. Never had problems. Just my opinion. Have a fun and safe trip. We will be heading up towards your neck of the woods this summer.

[jd99336]

This sounds like my practice in general during summer camping as we typically get into the 100's around here. I don't have a "thermal curtain" other than just stretching the flimsy curtain they gave us across the front. Generally, it remain tolerable.

I guess I have not camped in the Southeast, so I was worried the humidity might get to me.

Interestingly, the BTU rating of the single AC should be more than enough to keep our coach cool, but I think the insulation is a bit light.

We did survive Death Valley a couple of years back, so maybe I am overthinking this.

I went out and looked at the coach and while I have a logical place to put a portable, the window doesn't open very far (at an angle about 4 inches at the bottom). That may create a problem for efficient venting.

Oh well...the nice part is that if it get's unbearable, I can always buy one on the road.

[tom463219]

Lots of heat comes thru the front cab area. I also put Heatshields in the cab windows. The front thermal curtains are hung on a tension curtain rod. Been up there for over a year.

[pconroy]

I did the same thing in our 2016 31FK.

[Mondoggie]

I agree with Tom, in that if the rooftop ac is enough to keep you comfortable, that’s the way to go. There are trade off’s with nearly everything in an rv.
But I like the little ac because it cools down the bedroom really fast. And because the rooftop only has to cool the front of the rv it’s able to handle the job without obstructing the view from my windshield or giving up the extra living space the cab area provides. That’s a big percentage of space when your whole rv is only 24 feet!
On the other hand, the ac takes up a few cubic feet of bedroom space, adds 50 pounds of weight, is a bit noisy and puts restrictions on the remaining electrical availability. I’ll be the first to admit that I look forward to the fall when I can move the ac out of the rv and back into my garage.
One other note; my portable vents fine out of the bedroom window which only cranks out about 5 inches. I just found a piece of styrofoam big enough to cover the window opening, taped it in with black gorilla tape, then cut a hole for the exhaust vent. I have to crank open the window when we’re parked, which means, of course, that I have to remember to close it when we’re moving or the styrofoam might blow out!
Such is life...

[Pfflyer]

A portable unit is what I used in my Sprinter van when we camped in it before the Melbourne. I haven't thought about using it in the Melbourne when travelling until this thread. I read somewhere here where the AC ductwork to the remote parts was collapsed or clogged with Styrofoam from the build. There is reduced flow to the bedroom but a small desk fan sitting on the floor in front blowing cool air to the bedroom works for us so I haven't looked into the collapsed/blocked ductwork yet.

[Mondoggie]

Looks good Pconroy!

[Mondoggie]

Pfflyer, The good news for you and me is that since we already have our portable air conditioners, if they don't pan out in the Melbournes we can always get rid of 'em with no harm done.
I've only had my Melbourne for about six weeks. So far the problems have been very minimal. I think this Jayco is the best of the six rigs (two new) that I've owned (although my 1998 Roadtrek was a darn good product.)
By the way, I'm a kid of the 1960's and I've run faster and jumped higher many times in a pair of PF Flyers.