Considering portable A/C in Niagara

I found a decently priced 14,000 BTU portable A/C unit here.  It's $494.10 ($0 s/h & $0 tax) and the rep said it's rated at under 56 decibels.  I Googled and found a regular A/C unit and conversational speech is considered to be rated at 60 decibels, so it should be fairly quiet.  The dimensions are Height: 32 7/10" Width: 20 1/10" Depth: 16 3/4" and it weighs 75lbs.

So my questions are:
Has anyone done that has done this give me some feedback?
What do people think of this idea?
Where the heck am I going to place this in my camper?  On the counter?    Again, it weighs 75lbs.

My nephew put one in an un-air-conditioned sunporch at his house. It was certainly quiet enough, but it struggled to cool a 150 sq ft room with high ceilings.  Not a fault of the design - just not enough btus.  But 14k is as much as an RV roof top a/c, so ought to be ok for your pop-up (unless it is one of those that opens to 30 feet).

By the way, the a/c needs an external condensation drain line and air (heat) exhaust duct. Usually that goes into a window and they supply an adjustable adapter to fit common window sizes. You would have to jury rig it some how for the pop-up. Probably not too difficult, but hard to say without seeing how yours is laid out. So you have to find room for the duct hose as well as the a'c unit itself. My  nephew's is 30" tall but only about a 12x15" footprint.

I installed a roof top ac unit on my '92 Chesapeake.  I bough a used unit off e-Bay several years ago.

It cost me almost as much as a new unit by the time i fixed shipping damage, bought a new shroud, etc..

This Coleman A/C looks like a better deal than installing a portable.

BTW - it's not a problem at all to cut the 14"-by-14" hole in the roof.  Some bracing is required, but go visit a dealer that sells the campers with A/C and see how they do it.

RV Roamer said:

My nephew put one in an un-air-conditioned sunporch at his house. It was certainly quiet enough, but it struggled to cool a 150 sq ft room with high ceilings.  Not a fault of the design - just not enough btus.  But 14k is as much as an RV roof top a/c, so ought to be ok for your pop-up (unless it is one of those that opens to 30 feet).

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The ceilings are 7'1".  I told the rep ours has a solid roof, high walls, and the rest is Sunbrella and vinyl windows.  He told me to opt for the 14,000 BTU.  From the site...

Self-Evaporative System- This AP14000HS offers a new patented Z-Spray auto drain exhaust system that essentially eliminates the need to empty any water from the unit. It also offers a direct drain option that allows you to run the unit 365 days a year without having to empty any water accumulation.

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I figure I'll have to do some Macgyver-ing with the condensation drains and hoses.  I'm going to look into that Coleman unit as well.

Lou (onaquest) said:

I installed a roof top ac unit on my '92 Chesapeake.  I bough a used unit off e-Bay several years ago.

It cost me almost as much as a new unit by the time i fixed shipping damage, bought a new shroud, etc..

This Coleman A/C looks like a better deal than installing a portable.

BTW - it's not a problem at all to cut the 14"-by-14" hole in the roof.  Some bracing is required, but go visit a dealer that sells the campers with A/C and see how they do it.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about the issues with your used A/C.  And it only happens when you're trying to save money.  I'll have to do some research into installing the unit.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult.  I don't know if my dealership will let me poke around though.  I have been back a million times for parts they forgot, simple things breaking, etc.  They're probably getting tired of seeing me. 

Thanks for the info on this A/C unit.  The price definitely looks good to me and I'd rather have it on the OUTSIDE.

Lou (onaquest) said:

I installed a roof top ac unit on my '92 Chesapeake.  I bough a used unit off e-Bay several years ago.

It cost me almost as much as a new unit by the time i fixed shipping damage, bought a new shroud, etc..

This Coleman A/C looks like a better deal than installing a portable.

BTW - it's not a problem at all to cut the 14"-by-14" hole in the roof.  Some bracing is required, but go visit a dealer that sells the campers with A/C and see how they do it.

Click to expand...

I'm very agree with Lou. Top A/C are a better option. If you want to upgrade later on to a bigger camper it makes a big difference. Never make a hole in your camper to put a window A/C, it will devaluate your investment.

Now that camping season is right around the corner, I'm back here looking for more information.    But I figured I'd post an update: we bought a 7,000 BTU portable unit from Walmart for $299 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Haier-7-000-BTU-PORTABLE-AC-W-REMOTE/13423135#ProductDetail.  I know it's not as powerful as it should be, but it kept the camper cool when we were set up in spots with NO trees and full sun on high 90s days.  It is very quiet, self-evaporates and I easily vented the hoses through the windows by simply zipping them around the outlet hose.  BTW, made even easier since the outlet hose has an adapter for normal windows - a large, flat, resizable panel you would normally sandwich between the window sill and lower sash.  Just food for thought! 

I have used a 12,000 btu portable unit for 3 years.  It is wonderful. I also vented the unit and used a condensation hose taped to the vent.  Both were stuck outside through the bottom of the corner and I zippered it . A small tent opening is covered with duct tape. The unit sits on the counter next to the sink or stove.
This past summer I put a fiber glass tray on top of the inside sink, drilled a hole in the tray over the sink and allowed the condensation to drip and exit through the sink drain.
I love the AC and the fact that on mild days I do not need to haul the extra weight like you would if it were a roof unit permanently installed.