Roof vs Basement Mount A/C

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Bayrat

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Aug 21, 2012
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I'm looking at a couple of coaches on Friday, they both have the roof A/C. I like the lower profile of the basement A/C but am uncertain of advantages vs disadvantage to each type of installation. There are two others I am considering, both a bit longer rig, which have the basement A/C.

Would appreciate information about this. I have attached a picture of the 34V Adventurer that is on my list to check Friday. Thanks!
 

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Had a 35U Adventurer with basement air. It performed just fine no matter how hot/humid it was outside. The new coach has more slides, a taller roofline, and some dark full body paint and  the basement AC struggles in hot weather. I think as long as you are looking at coaches 35' and less and no dark full body paint, you're OK. Otherwise, you might think about adding an additional roof AC to supplement.
 
Thanks, I'm looking at both versions so that is good information to be aware of. I figured that the basement would be the "luxury" install as I find it in the higher end homes. Sounds as thought he roof mount will be more efficient.
 
My basement air has performed great for me, even in some really hot temps.

Jerry
 
You will find different opinions on both types of A/Cs.  Regarding basement A/Cs

  • Some feel the basement A/C takes up room in the bays that otherwise might be available for storage.
  • They can be more expensive to work on and to reach; finding technicians to do the work might be difficult.
  • Only a handful of coach manufacturer installed basement units.  Some of those manufacturers are no longer putting basement A/C in coaches.  I think Winnebago is one of them.
Marsha~
 
Recently bought a 2001 Winnebago 32v with basement air.  I checked out both compressors to ensure that they worked as designed.  That includes running on Shore line as well as generator and registering on the Power Meter as designed.

My air is always cold and we are satisfied with the operation.
Yes, we do have a lower profile on top.
Yes, we do loose some cargo space.

Something not mentioned....with basement air, there is no water dripping from the roof.  The condensed water drips from the unit under the MH.

As we all have experienced, there are always some trade-offs in owning a RV.

As it looks now, we have ample storage space 'under' and we have the benefit of a 'lower' top.
Are we satisfied...Yes, we consider this option as a 'Plus' for the unit.

Would we go for this the 'next' time?  Wait & see.......

Regards,
Paul
 
I think the pros and cons have been adequately described. My bottom line is that there is no significant reason to choose one over the other. Personally, I would hate to give up basement storage space, even though a lower roofline is also something I would like.

Somebody mentioned water (condensate) dripping off the roof, but high end rigs with roof air have a/c drain hoses to prevent that.

Another mention was struggling to cool dark-painted coaches: that's a problem with either roof or basement air. An RV needs a lot more btus per cubic foot than a stick & brick house.
 
Our problem with our basement air involved obtaining parts-that was solved by AAA Appliance Service www.aaarv.net -and finding an air conditioning tech that would work on a sealed system. It didn't help that it was in an RV (-: Once we found someone reliable to work on it; he installed a port on the low and high side to facilitate servicing. Unfortunately, most techs would rather trash a sealed system rather than try to repair it. Once the air was repaired and running properly, we were very happy.
 
One thing not mentioned on basement air is the condenser discharges blows under the RV, the hot air goes all around and out the side where you will be resting under the awning. I redirected mine to the other side but now it will blow on the neighboring camper. Oh well.

You have redundancy with the roof top units, one goes bad you still have enough cooling on the remaining unit to make by. My basement goes down hopefully it does not affect both compressors. If so I have to head to the house.
 

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