Would like to add a small air conditioner

[HikerBob]

We have a Thor Hurricane 31s which has a 30 amp with 1 air conditioner. When the temperature gets up to 95 degrees outside it cannot keep up. I would either put a air conditioner in the wall with a plug outside of the RV to plug into the electric pedestal. Or a air conditioner that is portable.
Does anybody have any advice on this?

Thanks,

Hiker Bob

 

[HueyPilotVN]

Years ago I had a Dutch Star that had only one A/C.

I added a second unit in the vent over the kitchen.

The 14 inch standard opening for a fan/vent will allow you to roof mount another A/C unit.

You will need to run a separate 110 line dedicated to the unit and plugged into the outside power and on a second circuit.

 

[IBTripping]

A portable a/c doesn't do much cooling. However, one that has 2 hoses works pretty well. One of the hoses draws in outside air and the other exhausts the warmed air to the outside.

 

[Contributor]

Portable unit doesn't sound realistic. They are bulky, take a lot of space, need to have the condensate tray emptied often and the in/out transition is leaky.

Wall unit would be my choice.

 

[silversport]

If you have the room look into changing to a split AC. Uses half the power and very efficient.

 

[Rene T]

If you have the room look into changing to a split AC. Uses half the power and very efficient.

It’s called a mini split

 

[Kirk]

put a air conditioner in the wall with a plug outside of the RV to plug into the electric pedestal.

The first thing you should do is to check the temperature of the air entering the air conditioner and then the temperature of the air leaving it. The difference between the two should be between 18° and 22°. If it isn't the air conditioner needs attention but if it is the air conditioner is working properly. Next would be to check for outside air penetration into the RV as such air leaks can be a major problem.

To cut a hole through the RV wall is an extremely difficult and risky undertaking as you could well destroy the structural integrity of the RV.

 

[Contributor]

I was thinking of maybe finding a super small unit and removing the microwave and using that space for the AC. It would have the support already built in and AC power nearby.

 

[djw2112]

My experience has been that RV's are so poorly insulated that even adding another AC will still leave hot zones. My main AC blows in the living room and i have a window AC in the bedroom. Even with those the sofa area and the front door area of the living room still get hot, as does the bathroom area between the two cool zones. I still find it strange that i can go from cool to hot in the same enclosed environment with two AC's blowing.

 

[djw2112]

@Pedro Dog You most likely wont be able to do that because the filter slides out from the side and mounting it where the MW is would block the removal of the filter for cleaning. Also you really want the bottom drain of the AC outside of the RV.

 

[WME]

Check out this unit...8,000 BTU U-shaped Air Conditioner
It has a low power draw, you maybe able to add a breaker to your main panel and run both AC units off your 30 amp main.

 

[Onyrlef]

We have a Thor Hurricane 31s which has a 30 amp with 1 air conditioner. When the temperature gets up to 95 degrees outside it cannot keep up. I would either put a air conditioner in the wall with a plug outside of the RV to plug into the electric pedestal. Or a air conditioner that is portable.
Does anybody have any advice on this?

Thanks,

Hiker Bob

Here's my $.02 fwiw, I am in the same situation, a 32' 30 amp coach w/ 1 ducted 15K btu a/c. What I've done. 1. Did the plenum fix which directs the cold air directly into the ducts and increases the velocity of the air coming from the ceiling vents. 2. Made exterior window covers for the windshield, pass. & drvr., and rear window from reflectix. 3. I have two portable tornado fans which I can use if it's exceptionally hot outside. 4. I never, ever, nein, nix, nada, nyet, non, park with the coach oriented West and try to park in the shade ( the afternoon sun is especially hard on your a/c's capacity to keep up). 5. I installed a soft start capacitor so I can continuously run the a/c while using the microwave, toaster, coffee maker, etc. ( shutting the air down to run a separate appliance for even a short while requires it to start again from way behind). So far there has been such a difference I've shelved the plans to install a separately power sourced mini split on the rear wall.
I'm one of those Churchill was talking about when he said "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing,.....after they've tried everything else".

 

[HikerBob]

Thanks Everyone Great advice.
When we camp when it's hot we would put a blanket over the window and pizza boxes in the roof vents.
If the sun is in the front we would hang a blank behind the cab area. Doing those things helped alot.

 

[Rene T]

Just so you know they sell vent pillows to seal the vents from the heat or cold. No need to save pizza boxes for that

 

[Onyrlef]

Just so you know they sell vent pillows to seal the vents from the heat or cold. No need to save pizza boxes for that

They do, we have them for all our ceiling vents, they will stay in when underway as well.

 

[Contributor]

I made my own insulators for the skylights. My living room skylight is 22"x22" and I couldn't find the right size. I used foam board insulation that I cut to size and wrapped with ducting, reflecting tape. I held it in place using some tension curtain rods.

 

[gwinger]

With a 30 amp system, you may have a problem. Your rooftop unit (13.5k) will draw over 25 amps on start up. An 8000 btu unit will draw up to 15 amps. Even when just running, you will be limited to what else you can run. No coffee pots, microwave or hair dryers.

 

[WME]

The Midea 8000 btu is 8.8 amps max.

 

[Onyrlef]

With a 30 amp system, you may have a problem. Your rooftop unit (13.5k) will draw over 25 amps on start up. An 8000 btu unit will draw up to 15 amps. Even when just running, you will be limited to what else you can run. No coffee pots, microwave or hair dryers.

30 amp rigs with a single a/c ordinarily have a ducted 15K, when they have two units on a pms they're ordinarily 13.5K. In any event the start and running amps can be greatly reduced by swapping to a soft start capacitor. I have a 15K with a soft start and I can run the microwave and the a/c simultaneously and even during a/c start up without as much as a hiccup and that's even on my 20 amp home shorepower. That being said however, I like you would be skeptical about running a window unit on the same circuit. You'd likely have to run a separate line to the pedestal.

 

[djw2112]

I run my window AC unit from a 15amp 110v bedroom outlet and works just fine even on high.