Roof AC Shrouds

[thesameguy]

An unfortunate event yesterday, the smog place drove my '93 Southwind through their shop and the roof AC shroud magically got hooked on the garage door opening. It was a complete freak event - the door being in a specific position and the motorhome not being 1' left or right of where it was. I have not pulled the shroud off, but since the solar panel is completely intact I don't expect to find any damage under the shroud, so I'm just curious if anyone has any idea how much one of those shrouds cost? Mine is lightly cracked and, oddly, slightly bent. The owner was totally apologetic (he did it!) and took full responsibility. It was an honest mistake and it doesn't appear to be a big deal. If it's a couple hundred bucks I'm going to ask them to replace it, but if it's really expensive I'm not going to mess with them - they've been really accommodating of my fleet of weird cars for 10 years.

 

[gseason]

I just saw this in the classifieds. Dometic Duo Therm Air conditioner cover for sale $50.00

 

[blw2]

or this one for $125 on amazon

would depend on the model.....

I think if I were you I wold look at it the other way..... small money I might just cover it.  Bigger money would be harder for me to "swallow" and make me more likely to ask them to take care of it
but thats just me

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Mine are cracked and I've repaired them with duct tape, etc. I've reinforced the four holes for the retaining screws and put rubber grommets on the screws to prevent further damage. These covers are poorly made.

My covers are about $150 each and if I were you I'd have them buy you a new one. Once they start cracking it spreads.

You mentioned it is bent...you better pull it off and see what is going on.

 

[eldcas57]

I picked up two for my M/H from ppl at $84.00 a piece.

 

[kdbgoat]

Be sure you check the mounting area for damage and potential leaks.

 

[Rene T]

I had some minor cracking showing up on mine so I removed it, and reinforced the inside surface with fiberglass. It's been three years now and it still looks perfect from the outside. Don't know if this is a option for you. Depends on how bad the damage is.

 

[blw2]

another thought
I have no experience with this, but i remember from my days with the popup camper and over at the popup forum I used to participate in
there were always lots of discussions about roof leaks from the AC
apparently many even went so far as to periodically tighten and or change the gasket under the AC

I'm guessing it was more because of a roof deflection issue over on the popups
not such a concern with TT's and motorhomes perhaps....

but my point is this
you might want to think about just giving that gasket area an inspection.  If things to a load, it could have compressed a gasket or even just moved things around a bit, that might compromise that seal sooner or later.... even if there is no notable "damage"

just thinkin' out loud....

 

[thesameguy]

I have a VERY sturdy aluminum bracket for a solar panel that uses the same mounting points as the shroud and there is no damage to the panel or its brackets. It's essentially impossible there is any damage to the roof AC as any damage would appear in that bracket. One of the "vents" in the side of the shroud snagged on the pivot pin for manual release for the garage door opener and yanked it pretty hard. Where it snagged, it warped the plastic outwards. The only damage I can imagine here that would be beyond the shroud is if it damaged the roof itself somehow. That's definitely still on the table, but there was no visible damage to the roof coating so it seems unlikely - there'd be some sort of evidence if the roof structure was injured.

I'll check it out in depth this weekend, I just wanted to get a sense of what that shroud costs... I would definitely hit them up for a $100 or $200 shroud. I just wouldn't bug them about cosmetic damage if it was going to be really expense. If there *is* damage to the AC or the roof, they'll definitely have to get that fixed. I'm okay swallowing a little booboo on the roof, but I'm not going to let actual functional damage slide by.

I'll get some pictures & post them. I just can't focus on this right now as my garbage disposer in the house decided to throw up all over the floor, and that's my immediate problem.

 

[thesameguy]

Well, things are quite a bit worse than just the shroud.

http://www.sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/southwind_damage1.jpg
http://www.sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/southwind_damage2.jpg
http://www.sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/southwind_damage3.jpg
http://www.sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/southwind_damage4.jpg

The evaporator is pretty much wrecked as are the mounting bungs for the shroud as is the shroud itself.  The fan is wedged into its shroud and bent too. I have further concerns because lifting any corner of the AC unit produces movement relative to the roof. I don't know how the AC units physically attach to the roof, but since the AC is primarily metal and the roof is primarily wood, I am worried that the wood is damaged.

I dropped off these pictures at the smog shop this afternoon, and I will try and drop the motorhome off at a well-regarded shop that specializes in house (vs. chassis) repair. We'll see what they say, but the chassis shop casual diagnosis was "At the very least, a new AC unit is needed. They are not economically repairable."

 

[John From Detroit]

Did not look at your pictures but if the fan is sammed into the evaporator odds are the rooftop part of your A/C is TOAST.. Beyond repair (Well, technically not, but cost of repair exceeds replacement).

How is it attached?

The A/C makes what I shall call a "Roof Sandwich"

In the roof there is a 14" Square hole.. yes that is a standard size, always 14" square

The Rooftop unit sits atop a gasket of some kind which lays atop that hole, it too has a 14" square hole in it.

The in-roof section, depending on the unit, is eitehr a box, or two boxes, or a ducting unit. Two boxes with holes in the sides or ends of one)... Then there is the lower unit (part you see when you are inside)

There are 4 bolts, one in each corner of the in-ceiling unit.. You remove the lower cover, this holds any filters and such.. Then you find the plugs that run between the control box (usually part of the in-ceiling section) and remove the 4 bolts.. Then you can lift the upper unit off.. and remove to ground.

INSPECT the roof for damage.  Sounds like there is some.. Repair as needed. And from there on you are on your own.

IF your A/C is ducted,, you need a compatible rooftop unit or else you will have to replace the "Center" (Ceiling) part...

If it is not... Your options are far greater.  Since most of the non-ducted the middle part is the same. And if it's not it is way, way, easier to repalce.

 

[thesameguy]

Thanks for the info! I have done all I am going to do here - next stop is a pro who is just going to handle it. I don't like getting in the middle of insurance work - too many pitfalls. The unit is not ducted, hopefully it's an easy replacement and there aren't deeper issues.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Let us know how all of this plays out.

 

[thesameguy]

Got the quote from the repair shop - about $1100. Seven hundred in a new replacement 13.5k unit, a new interior vent, and installation. He offered that the 15k units are about $100 more, so I'll pick that up on my own dime. 

Dropped the quote off with the smog shop, am waiting to hear from the owner.

It's honestly far less expensive than I thought it'd be, hopefully the guys footing the bill feel the same way. Between me and the internet, if they offered to pick up the lion's share of the repair and I ended up a few hundred bucks out of pocket, I wouldn't be too upset. I'm getting a brand new AC unit on a 20 year old coach - it's unexpected and somewhat bad timing, but I'm definitely coming out ahead on this.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

If the smog place won't pay I suspect your insurance may cover it.

I've had pretty good luck with AAA covering things for me.