Best Home Yet

[Accordion]

Here you can see one of the screens installed. There were two screens there, but now, I have a window air conditioner installed in one of the window openings.

[Accordion]

OK, here is my opinion. Roof air conditioners are NOT the best option. Yes, they are convenient and don't stick out the side of the bus. HOWEVER, they do not work all that well.

I realize this now after using the window unit that is rated at 10,000 BTU. The roof airs that I have are 13,000 BTU. I must say that the window unit keeps the bus MUCH cooler.

[Accordion]

It was surprisingly easy to remove the bus window. There are four screws and four oblong washers that hold the windows in. I unscrewed the washers and then pulled forward on the top of the window frame. I just had to cut the caulking at the bottom of the window frame.

Bingo bango, it then just came out of the opening.

Here are pics of the window frame.

[Accordion]

The cool thing is that, once the window frame was removed, there was a flange that I could put the window AC unit against. I put some wood on top of the window unit.

[Accordion]

NOW, let's look at a table/lamp combo that I got to get some more light into the bus at night. It was $40. It conveniently fit in the area next to the couch.

[Accordion]

Just a few artistic pics of the table. In the evenings, the sun shines in through the driver's rear view mirror and illuminates the table.

[Diesel Dan]

So Rudy, how much does the AC obstruct your view through your side-view mirror? Are you able to drive like that, or will you remove it before traveling? The lamp and knick-knacks under the table are a nice homey touch, but I assume those would also need to be secured before you drive off?

[Accordion]

Dan, it is funny to think of driving with the air conditioner sticking out of that window. I have not looked yet, but I bet I can't see much out of the passenger mirror.

So, yes I would remove the AC if I was to travel with the bus.

Most of the stuff inside my bus is in "drive mode". A few things get bungeed in. The new table would need to be secured somehow. You'd be surprised just how effective a few well placed L-brackets can be.

I can just imagine smacking a telephone pole with that AC sticking out the side window. It is at least 18 inches deep.

[bus-bro]

What I don't like about roof mounted AC's on a school bus, is that with the rounded roof the AC really, really sticks out, or up.

[Accordion]

Originally Posted by 89chevy8.2

Great job on the bus man. i have a question for who ever sees this but which a/c would best to use window or roof mount? Accordion i know you said it was better for you with the window unit but both of your roof unit had some age on them right? im just curious i want the best bang for the buck.

If you are traveling with your bus, You would be apt to mount a window air conditioner in the rear of the bus.

The one I have in my window is 10,000 BTU. The roof airs are 13,000 BTU. I find that the window air conditioner cools better that those roof mounts. The roof airs were old, but were still functioning. Price wise, there is no comparison. A 10,000 BTU window unit can be found for around 200 dollars. A new roof air can be as high as well over 500 dollars.

There are posts on this forum that show the window AC mounted above the back door as well as where the back windows once were.

I have my AC in the front room. I have a high velocity tower fan to move the air towards the rear of the bus. It is still way warmer in the back of the bus, but the front room is OK.

[Accordion]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

What I don't like about roof mounted AC's on a school bus, is that with the rounded roof the AC really, really sticks out, or up.

They do look kind of ugly up there.

[Tango]

RV A/C's are crap. Overpriced junk in my book. Never met a full-timer who was happy with any of them yet. For the same reason, I'm going with an 8-10K high efficiency window unit myself. They pull about half the amps and put out much more cold. Better warranties too.

[Stuff]

really wish i could put one in the back window of my bus but i have 2 small windows + one huge window so yeah.. id loose all out the back sight. thinking option #3 of a portable AC.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Tango

RV A/C's are crap. Overpriced junk in my book. Never met a full-timer who was happy with any of them yet.....

One day we will have to meet.


The old Coleman unit (13,500 BTU) in the Class C is from the 1980's ('84 I believe). We lived fulltime int he Class C from 2006 thru Dec 2012. My daughter is in the Class C now. The A/C unit is still going strong and will freeze you out. That said, I would not put one in our bus. Far too noisy. And I don't think the newer ones cool as well as our old one. They also seem to be very energy inefficient! I've heard that you do not renew the refrigerant in them. You pull the whole thing and replace.

When we first came out to NM, the daughter who was living here told us that A/C's didn't work very well because of the low humidity. That's why everyone in town (including businesses) had swamp coolers (which doesn't work when the humidity gets much into low double digits). Our little old A/C unit kept the 22 ft Class C at 65°F even when it was 100°F and up.


But I do agree about the prices. VERY over priced. If we were putting an A/C unit in the bus, I would rig a window A/C unit into a ducted basement. Better priced, more efficient and you can buy a replacement unit just about anywhere.

[browncrown]

Could not agree more. My rooftop unit just does not cut it...have to come up with an alternative plan. What Lorna is suggesting sounds like a great idea.

[Tango]

I'm planning building in a high efficiency window unit installed near the roof at the rear and ducted into the center. I only have about 112 sf so a 6-8000 btu should chill it off very well. As Lorna noted, they are cheap going in, easily replaced and have much higher efficiencies than "RV" units. And...no cheapo plastic cover to blow off going down the road (just saw yet another beside the road on my recent trip north).

[Accordion]

I once had one of those portable AC units. I was not impressed with them. You also had to cut a hole to vent the 4 inch tube.

I like the idea of mounting a window AC under the bus and using duct work to bring the cool air into the bus.

I have also seen AC units mounted into the back door windows of buses. It is also very common to see camping trailers that have had an opening cut out to house the air conditioner. I have seen many trailers with the AC unit sitting on the tongue and a hole to let it enter.

Diesel Dan did some duct work for his AC. His was on the ceiling though.

Ducts can be made from wood or metal. When I worked on coach interiors, we made ducts from 1/2 plywood, and glued Formica laminate on the inside surfaces.

[Accordion]

Originally Posted by 89chevy8.2

How would you mount one under the bus? Seems to me that it would get beaten with road debree, because you cant fully enclose them.

I would think that if you do not have any storage bays under the bus that you would have to make a box out of either wood or metal. Metal would be preferable. You would have to vent it so that the hot air coming off the evaporator (the outside radiator part) would have a place to go.

Then you would have to make duct work for the cool air to come in, most likely with a hole in the floor. It does sound like a lot of work to do that. Also, you would need to have access to the controls, perhaps a remote control for the AC. There are ways to split the condenser and evaporator. They actually make those kind of units. I bet they are expensive though.

However, if you are not traveling with the bus very much, stick an AC in one of your windows, and remove it when you drive.

Your best bet would be to find a place on the rear of the bus to put it in. Check out TygerCub's install. I don't know if you have a rear engine bus. Even if you do, I would think that the smaller windows would be big enough for a small window unit. You could even put one 5000BTU unit in each of the small windows.

There are lots of posts about air conditioners on this forum. Spend some time reading them, and I am sure you will find your answer.

I know that roof airs are very common. You can see, however, how many of us feel about them.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by 89chevy8.2

How would you mount one under the bus? Seems to me that it would get beaten with road debree, because you cant fully enclose them.

Expanded mesh would keep the road debris off the A/C unit.

Available at various places in varying thicknesses. Also used in homemade BBQ grills. You could set the unit close to the sidewall of the bus and place the mesh in the access door on the sidewall. That's how we built in the window air conditioner on our pop-up. Leave about 4" air space on each side of the a/c unit (back... the part that "hangs out of the window") for good air flow. We only left 2" on each side. We burned up two window units in 18 years of heavy use. I think the units would have lasted longer if we had been able to allow more air space on the sides. We used an ordinary louvered air return vent as the access panel. A DIY fiberglass window screen kit was placed behind the air return vent to prevent bugs from making a home. The screen cuts the air flow down a little. Being excessive when it comes to venting an A/C unit is a good idea. We used the same screened vent setup to vent the backside of our refrigerator and freezer.

[Diesel Dan]

Hey Rudy, I was just looking through your thread again, and have to say once more how much I like your bus! The front room is my favorite part. I wish I could have a little "office/lounge" in my bus, but alas, the demands of housing 5 people in a 3/4 size bus precludes such a luxury for me. I don't remember seeing any pictures of the kitchen though - it's in the back, right? I'm curious to see how it is laid out. And I also don't remember seeing a shower - is that in the same room as the toilet and bathroom sink?

Originally Posted by Accordion