Not Affiliated: ClimateRight a/c for teardrops and small rv's

[milkmania]

Might be ideal for our short bus friends....

Teardrop Trailer Air Conditioner and Heater | Climate Right Air

Be careful though.... That looks like the same hose coupler for the black water tank!

[cadillackid]

iveseen these units advertised before and thiunk esp if they are inverter compressors they might be a good fit for a bus... the Only change i would make would be to insulate the 2 ducts going into the Bus from the unit as to not lose heat or cool from condensation or heat exchange to the outside...

at 16" high you could get alot of it up into the skirting of a bus and not have too much hang-down...

the 10,000 BTU unit is heat / cool and a good setup if you are camping in mild climates where outsdie temperatures dont go much lower than 25 degrees..

-Christopher

[BusFiend]

So do you think something like this (<1Ton) is a better choice than the 1 Ton Mini-Splits for $100 less? Exterior ducting would have to be very well insulated to maintain efficiency. The entire air handler is exterior to the bus. Unless well insulated, that would also lower efficiency. Do I really want to run ductwork and returns?

The 10,000 BTU heat pump and 1 Ton Mini Splits are both rated at approximately 1200W consumption. The Mini Split is rated at approximately 6A running current. The mini split's numbers aren't adding up in my head.

Ugh... Maybe I'll finish electric and water systems before I start thinking about heating and cooling.

[cadillackid]

I like this only because of size.. the 1 ton mini splits are extremely efficient but the outdoor units must be set upright and have a taller stance than they do wider making them tougher to put under a bus and get good airflow...

you also have no cubersome indoor unit to hang and pass freon / electric / water lines to.

this unit is shorter and could be hung pretty easily... I have no idea how well the cabinet on this is insulated.. but you are right you would want to seriously insulate the ducts.. something that can withstand outdoor weather.. 6 inch flex duct could be used to slip this pipe inside of however my convern is sealing the insulation off from the weather so it doesnt get destroyed...

if you have a bus with a lot of basement space or plan to mount the mini split outdoor unit on the back of the bus I would totally go mini split vs this...

however you cannot turn a minisplit condenser on its side so it may hang down quite a bit creating ground clearance concerns esp if mounted behind the rear tires...

no one makes a truly efficient roof-topper yet.. space is tight in them and their coils are undersized thus one reaosn they are inefficient...

ive been successful in building my own indoor units for mini-splits from scratch
but
havent attempted a compact outdoor unit with the condensers skirt mounted out of the way for a bus... if I felt there were a volume market for it i might do a mockup design.. but right now I think bus conversions are too niche to make it worthwhile...

the internals of an nverter minisplit other than the outdoor coil can be made pretty low -profile and put into a cabinet.. the coil could be frame mounted with its fan and mounted diagonal under a bus and do pretty well... thats how my ProAir Bus system is..well the condenser anyway.. a similar design splitting apart the components could be achieved with mini splits..

I built my own indoor units for home as when i installed my inverter splits, ducted models werent available and I didnt want ugly wall-units.. I wanted them ducted tgrough my existing central ductwork.. that was 8 years ago.. and they still work great..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

It looks much bulkier than the mini split I'm gonna run.

[cadillackid]

its much shorter height wise than a minisplit so it can be tucked up nicely... the grilles on it look much more favorable for being in a mobile environment.. if you dont mind a mini split condensor hanging down below the skirting quite a bit they work great.. and i believe will be more efficient since the indoor heat exchanger is inside the bus.. but if space is a constraint i think this unit is better..

-Christopher

[Schoolhouse mama]

Hey y'all I am looking at installing the DC solar air conditioning unit from hot spot energy in va. Have any of you read about, thought about, or installed it. They have one that works without batteries or inverter. They have another one that is a complete set. The only thing I am thinking is that while it sounds promising I would have 3 solar panels to operate just the DC A/C, which would be fine, I then wouldn't have to worry about a generator. I would rather put my money into solar even if the price rage is a bit higher. Please I would love to hear your thoughts.

Secondly, for heating, I am looking at installing a mini wood stove, with a cook top. Now that fall is upon us and winter is approaching, I am going to need heat before too long. I have seen lots of pics on the internet that it can be done, have y'all done it and I just missed that feed on here, I am really wanting something non propane, any advice or brands to check out? Please let me know.

Other than that, the bus is coming along and looking sharp, I put sheet metal over the old window housings, purchased a few new rev windows to install after spray insulation in two weeks, flooring has a rust oleum coat on it and is ready for thermal paper and bamboo hardwoods. We are still well under budget, as most things we have picked up for free or built ourselves. Our wheelchair accessible Skokie is coming together and looking great. (98 bluebird).

Also, I know there was talk about a Skoolie meet up in the spring. I would just like to throw out that FORT PICKENS PARK in Pensecola would be an awesome place to meet up its beautiful year round and has plenty of RV parking, trails, and of course the fort.