Cooling RV issues

[Nebsteve]

I own a 2012 Pinnacle 31RLTS and have trouble trying to cool off the inside of our RV. Since most campgrounds still have just a 30 amp service, I'm only able to run one A/C unit. But here's the problem: with an outside temp. of 78 deg. and thermostat set at 74 deg, A/C ran steady for 5+ hours without reaching the set 74 deg. temp inside. When outside temperature cooled off, the A/C would cycle "on & off" as you'd expect to. If outside temperature is 90+ deg., the best temperature I can expect inside is 81 or 82 deg. (only a 8-9 temp. drop). Both A/C's have been checked out and working properly. Slide seals were checks also but it's seems like you're trying to cool with windows & door open. Our previous RV's would cool inside to almost an "ice box" with only one A/C. Is anyone having similar problems?

[Heady]

If your Pinnacle was designed to be cooled by two AC units and you can only run one due to the 30amp service limitation, then that one unit is going to work very hard. I would try to find a way to reduce the load on the AC unit. Things like drawing shades, finding shady camping spots, switching to LED bulbs, not going in and out of the RV frequently, not running the stove, etc.

[Larry G.]

Only has a cooling issue ONCE!

Thought I turned the rear 15.0 A/C on but found out that I forgot to move the thermostat switch from OFF to COOL so I was only running the fan. Hope this little tidbit helps but maybe you've looked at that already.

Currently in Baker City, OR with temps in the 90's and only running the bedroom 13.5 A/C and it is keeping the rear comfortable also.

[Bob Landry]

The outside temperature has very little to do with determining how an air conditioner should perform. You will read a lot of posts on various forums about the 20 degree split by people who don't know what it is. It is the difference between the discharge air temperature and the temperature of the return air being drawn across the coil. With all things being correct, clean air filters, clean evaporator and condenser coil, properly sealed duct work and a correctly charged unit, you should achieve this. It is unrelated to the outside ambient temperature except that heat is radiating into the RV through the roof. There are no quantitative measurements based on outside temperature except to measure compressor amp draw to determine if the unit is charged correctly, but that's another topic and the average owner is not going to do that.
If the unit is ducted, there are a couple of things to check. Drop the lower cover and check that the plenum is properly taped so that the discharge and return air paths are separated. If they are not, cold air will be dream back over the coil and the unit will short cycle without cooling and possibly ice. Pull out the ceiling registers and make sure the duct is taped around the cutout. You don't want to blow air into the ceiling. Finally, block off the duct after the last register in the string. There's no use for air to travel the entire length of the duct when there is not a register on the end. Regardless of what you've heard or read. the back pressure from this will not force air out of the register. You have to make it go where you want it.

After checking all of the above, and your AC is still not cooling the trailer, you are probably trying to do too much with too little. BTW, I don't think I have ever been to a State Park or COE Park that did not have 50A service, so you may want to scout around.

[Rob_Fla]

We have the same problem with both of the A/C units running almost constantly during the hottest part of the day.
DW is a 50 Amp Queen so we normally find sites with 50 Amp power.

I added some more vents in the A/C ducts for better air flow which improved cooling efficiency some.

[jstme1]

I have a quiet 2000W generator. Camping world sells a superpigtail; 2 30 amp legs to a 50 amp box. 1 lead to camp power, 1 lead to my quiet generator. Cool down with 2 A C's.

[rsbwjohnson]

opening your storage doors will let the cool air escape also

[tnchuck100]

Originally Posted by jstme1

I have a quiet 2000W generator. Camping world sells a superpigtail; 2 30 amp legs to a 50 amp box. 1 lead to camp power, 1 lead to my quiet generator. Cool down with 2 A C's.

For the benefit of other readers who wish to try this you should be aware of one thing. If your RV is a 50 amp unit then any of your 125 V items will operate properly. However, any 250 V items will not. The reason is when you are connected to a proper 50 amp source you have two 125 V circuits which are effectively 180 degrees out of phase with each other. When one leg is from a 30 amp pedestal and one leg is from the generator they will not have that 180 degree relationship. They cannot be synchronized with each other.

[Ela1948]

Originally Posted by Nebsteve

I own a 2012 Pinnacle 31RLTS and have trouble trying to cool off the inside of our RV. Since most campgrounds still have just a 30 amp service, I'm only able to run one A/C unit. But here's the problem: with an outside temp. of 78 deg. and thermostat set at 74 deg, A/C ran steady for 5+ hours without reaching the set 74 deg. temp inside. When outside temperature cooled off, the A/C would cycle "on & off" as you'd expect to. If outside temperature is 90+ deg., the best temperature I can expect inside is 81 or 82 deg. (only a 8-9 temp. drop). Both A/C's have been checked out and working properly. Slide seals were checks also but it's seems like you're trying to cool with windows & door open. Our previous RV's would cool inside to almost an "ice box" with only one A/C. Is anyone having similar problems?

We previously had a 28 ft. Artic Fox trailer with 1 large slide. Had a 13500 AC. Bought a 31.5 RLTS 18 months ago again with 1 AC. I was expecting issues because of the extreme square footage increase we had with the Jayco. We went out West last year in mid June thru July. The first day on the road it reached 104 degrees. Stayed there for 4 hours. When we stopped for the first night in Indiana at about 6:30, we found that chap stick and some suppositories that were in the medicine cabinet had melted!! It took until 10:30 that night to drop the temperature to 80 degrees!! It was 3 in the morning before the AC shut off. Obviously, that was an extreme situation. The whole trip was hot!!! Even when we stayed several days in one location, the AC never shut off during the day light hours. Full shade was very rare on that trip. Because we dry camp a fair amount with a 3000 Honda generator, I was reluctant to add a second AC. That trip give me lots of time to determine alternatives. It was very apparent that the vast majority of the heat was coming thru the slides and particularly the windows. Even with the curtains drawn, you could feel the heat blasting thru the windows. I started hanging thermometers around to get a handle on where the heat was the worst. The interior of the trailer were not the issue. Ceiling and interior walls were relatively stable. When you hung thermometers near the curtained windows, temps shot up. Talking to everyone that were in campgrounds, the obvious answer were thermal windows. Not very practical unless order them during manufacture. Several folks suggested having a reflective tint put on the windows. We came home and I found a local guy that did commercial office tinting. For about $500, he put a 64 percent tint on all the windows. What a difference it makes. The single AC will still be busy all of your daylight hours on a hot day. But will keep the inside temp. Within a couple of degrees of where you have it set. Before the tinting was done the fluctuation was as much 12 degrees when you couldn't get in full shade. It was for us a good move to keep from putting in a second unit.
My guess is that you now have multiple deep slides when your other unit didn't. The deeper the slide and the more windows. The heavier the requirements are for AC. Manufacturers just can't get as much insulation in those thin slide walls. We probably have close to twice as much square footage in our present unit compared to our old one. If we didn't boondocks so much, I'd probably put in the second unit.
The tinting did make a big difference for us