How to keep your RV cool

[Cujonaut]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

I’m curious doesn’t an evaporative cooler add moisture to the air? Does it make your RV damp?, Is that why you also run a dehumidifier?

It definitely makes the air more humid, hence the dehumidifier, but it doesn't create any condensation or dampness in the RV that I can tell. We've also got the dry pack dehumidifiers in our storage cabinets just in case.

[JimD]

In Southern California we used swamp coolers decades ago and they worked OK as long as the humidity was low, typically 15% or less. Once the humidity went up the cooling effect was lessened and the inside air indeed got "moist" and was not as cool as we wanted.

Using a swamp cooler in the same area as an air conditioner would not work. A swamp cooler puts moisture into the air while an air conditioner removes it. Your air conditioner would be fighting tooth and nail against the swamp cooler. Swamp coolers typically move a lot of air so it may negate the cooling from the air conditioner.

Possibly you could use one or the other by themselves but probably not both at the same time.

[Cujonaut]

Originally Posted by JimD

Possibly you could use one or the other by themselves but probably not both at the same time.

I didn't think of that, it's working pretty good so far though. With the AC by itself and thermal insulation in the windows my RV would be in the 90s. When I use the swamp cooler with the AC I stay in the low to mid 80s.

[norty1]

I wrapped both mine front and rear in Reflectrix. Big difference when sitting in the direct sun. I also drilled the drain pan holes slightly larger to prevent scum from stopping them up. All this is pictured in a thread from a few years back.

Yesterday I covered my door window with some Reynolds wrap tin foil to keep the afternoon sun from warming up my thermostat on the wall across from it. It really made a difference in the accuracy of the front ac thermostat. I plan to make a Reflectrix cover when we get back home next week.

Also packing the roof vents with foam bats we bought from CW years ago help in winter and summer on heat loss thru the closed vents.

[Bill Johnson]

a dehumidifier is an air conditioner and they can draw a lot of power. I found this, a dehumidifier should be plugged into a 15 amp, properly grounded 3-prong 115 volt outlet. Do not use an extension cord, plug adapter, surge protector or multi-outlet adapter. It should be used on a dedicated circuit and plugged directly into a grounded 3-prong outlet. This is a home type

[Bill Johnson]

Easy start says a person can run two ac units on 30 amps after installing their units

[dbvano]

Heading to my seasonal campsite in New Hampshire today, supposed to be a nasty hot and muggy weekend, will be checking out the divider in my air conditioners for sure. Thanks for sharing the video.

[Rubyhauler2016]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Watch this video. I have a 15k AC that wasn't getting the job done, thought I was going to have to add a second AC. Did the repairs shown in the video and bingo, a happy camper running on one AC.

Thanks for posting this video. Efficiency is the name of the game! If the manufacture were to pay a little more attention to details when building, there would be less complaining from owners.

[Scottenj]

This is a great thread.

I read this when we were camping in 90 degree heat in a sunny spot. My main AC was only getting us down to around 80 in the living area.

Both my ACs had no insulation on the AC lines, and I fixed that on both and put refletix on the cold box on one. I am planning to do the other later this week. I also have a tool on order to straighten the fins, my main AC has a lot of bent fins. I have a white shroud on order and once I make sure it fits I will order a second one.

All my duct work looks good.

One thing that worked while we were camping was to close the vents in the bedroom from the main unit to keep as much of that cooling in the living area. Then I turned the temp down in the bedroom and put a fan in the hall to blow some of that air into the living area. The bedroom got down to 70 pretty easy and finally with both of those things we got the living area down to mid seventies.

I have a mid bunk and there is a big furnace return to the basement in there and I covered that with pillows and blankets. I plan to make a cover for it for the summer. I am also replacing all the heat vents with ones that close although I am not convinced that will make much difference.

Thanks again for all the good ideas.