It's Getting HOT!! RV Air Conditioners??

[paul iossi]

have you thought about mounting a window shaker A/C unit under the bus and ducting the cold air up into the bus, some of the high end r/v's used a heat pump setup under the floor.

[baadpuppy]

Cutting the hole should be doable with your favorite cutting tool (I would probably use a jigsaw myself). I would probably reinforce the hole itself, either with wood or steel. The rooftop units clamp around your roof, and without reinforcement, you'd end up crushing the two layers together. I believe several of the conversions listed here document that process, including gone camping's bus.

Most stick-and-staple RVs of that size have 2 or 3 rooftop A/C units of at least 12,000 BTU. My supposedly 30' (really 27.5') motorhome has 2 13,500 units which I'm trying to get rid of.

In my conversion, I plan to install at least 1, perhaps 2 12,000 BTU mini split air conditioner systems. This unit here is what I want: http://www.ac-world.com/proddetail.p...12000BTU&cat=9

The disadvantages I see to rooftop units is that the controls steal head clearance, and the intake and return for the unit are really close together unless you find a ducted unit. In really hot days, 2 units running full tilt in the 30' motorhome would keep the temperature in the mid 70s when it was over 90 outside. They seemed to really struggle to keep up. When I was living in a 27' travel trailer for a summer, the single rooftop A/C kept it down in the mid 70s in the shade. It wasn't a pleasant summer. The electric bill was unreal.

In any case, you need to decide what is best for you. I hope this helps.

Good luck!
jim

[elkoskoolie]

I put a 13.5K in my 35' Gillig last summer. A Skillsaw w/ a metal cutting blade makes nice, straight cuts. A jig saw, or grinder w/ cutoff wheels would work. 2x lumber fit between the skins perfectly to re-inforce the roof. I would make a thin spacer inside- flat on one side, curved to match the inside roof on the other. The inside A/C panel is made to mount to a flat surface, and will distort when you tighten it down to the curve. Mine works O.K., but the rotary switches bind a bit. At Burningman, Nevada dry lake bed latest August, upper 90's to 100 out with no shade, one 13.5K would take the edge off if I pulled the curtains mid-way to help isolate the front area.

For a 40 footer, you'll want 2 roof airs, unless you can always count on parking in the shade. Probably take a 6.5K genny to reliably run both. In theory, a 3500W genny will run 2 13.5's , but I doubt it would start both.

[baadpuppy]

Originally Posted by elkoskoolie

For a 40 footer, you'll want 2 roof airs, unless you can always count on parking in the shade. Probably take a 6.5K genny to reliably run both. In theory, a 3500W genny will run 2 13.5's , but I doubt it would start both.

A 5500W genny will run 2 13,500 A/C units and a microwave without struggling.

or, you could probably get away with 2 eu2000i generators, 1 per A/C.

hth,
jim

[lornaschinske]

The RV roof top airs are also very, very noisy.

Try http://www.ronthebusnut.com (look under "Conversion Products" >"Heating & Cooling" > "Air Conditioning"

Ron carries a lot of "scratch & dents" and some that aren't. Check out the Central Air units.

[GoneCamping]

I used the 4 1/2" angle grinder....

[GoneCamping]

I cut the hole so that the aft side of the hole was right beside a ceiling cross member, as the heaviest part of the A/C was to the rear of the unit, so most of the weight is centered over that cross member. Leave yourself at least a half inch so you got just a little room for error. Don't crank down on the bolts, you can tightened them nice & firm but don't torque them as the roof can bend a little and you'll get run-off leakage/seepage.

Ceiling control panel will stick down about 2" or so. I'm only 5' 7" so even with a 6' ceiling I could deal with that. But I also installed a drop ceiling that took away 2" in the center also. I tried the control panel at first when I installed it in the rear of the bus...






I didn't care for the way I had to run the ceiling material around it, and decided I wanted the unit up front. you can see above the ceiling control was about the same depth as my drop ceiling. So I removed the a/c from the rear and installed a standard RV roof vent in that hole, made a new hole up front and tried it again, this time I created my own intake and outflow vents (square is the intake, narrow one is the outflow).

[swinada]

Is there such a thing as an LP GAS AC unit? google does not produce much may be one of you has come across something like that?

[baadpuppy]

http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/acservice.pdf

That appears to be a duo therm ac service manual. It says 14.25"x14.25" for the opening. It includes other information such as how you should insulate the opening and other such things.

hope this helps,
jim

[baadpuppy]

cut one layer, then use a small square to make sure you stay square with your hole and put a mark at each corner. Then, drill a small pilot hole at each corner where that mark is, and you'll find it easily on the other side.

Good luck,
jim

[TygerCub]

How did you install your insulation? Any photos? If so, could you post a link to your gallery or the thread where it's shown?
I'm always looking for new ideas in insulating an old bus.

[nearhomeless]

That's a nice looking install...

Are the metal boxes mounted to the frame or the bus body or what? I'd think hundreds of pounds of steel box plus a genset is going to put a fair bit of a load on... something, especially when banging over a few speed bumps or potholes. How are they mounted so you don't leave them behind you on the highway? :P

[nearhomeless]

Originally Posted by vanguy67

I don't think shocks would last long on the box lids....way too heavy I think.

I'm not sure what it would look like but maybe a set of springs from a car or pickup hood? A car hood weighs alot more than even a 3/16th steel lid because it's way larger. Or maybe the shock absorber-like mounts from a Dodge Caravan or any other flip up (as opposed to side opening door) lid? The entire rear section of a caravan ain't exactly any lighter than a hood and the leverage of both hood and rear door are way worse than your small lids.

I'd think a snapping cable and 3/16" lid severing fingers or dropping on your head could be really bad. :P Maybe want to round those corners a bit too, and if needed put some kind of rounded insert in the bottom half so it still seals tightly. There's a reason nearly all modern utility bodies have rounded edges on all those external doors, bang your head on a half open one sometime. :P