Brand of Mini Split

[NebrRuss1]

Looking to add two mini split systems to my bus. We will be running it as we travel, so I'm thinking a 12K front and 12K rear so that I can stay 110Volt.

After looking up several units online, I'm getting tons of popup ads for systems, some mfgs I've heard of, some I've not heard of. Spec's seem similar, so I wanted to ask you folks what brand of mini splits you've used, which ones are best, and which ones to avoid. Thanks very much!

[fo4imtippin]

Most of them are made in the same Chinese factory and rebranded. I bought a Daikin for my house that looks a whole lot like the innards of my pioneer. Fujitsu and Mitsubishi are the best, everyone else is on the same level in my book. I like pioneer for a budget choice..

[cadillackid]

many of the innards are similar.. Personally I like fujitsu and mitsubishi the best but they are all 240 volt units.. I dont think either makes a 120 volt mini.. they are also pricey..


Daikin has good support in the USA finally.. they are a japanese brand that it seems like the consumer 12k and below units are chinese like any of the others however they are partners with Goodman which is out of texas so if a daikin breaks you can have a half a chance of getting parts..


ive used LG units and they work great but getting parts was a bit pf a pain..


the 2 remaining chinese units in my house from 2009 are impossible to get parts for.. and have been since they were about 3 years old... these things unfortunately seem to be more or less throwaway unless you can repair the boards..


pioneer is as good as any.. I run across them quite a bit..



a relatively new player to the market is Mr. cool which claims to be the easiest for a DIYer to install and is probably the most DIY focused in support and probably parts too.. I dont have any experience with them as far as how well they work..



at my house my Fujitsu units far outperform the 2 china units.. however the fujitsu are 2022 and the china are 2009 (2008 tech) so theres been a lot of innovation in the years between the 2.. fujitsu is definitely more pro focused though you can buy them online like most others..

[NebrRuss1]

Thanks! I was thinking many were perhaps the same, just private labeled. I appreciate your insight!

[NebrRuss1]

Let me ask you this, would I be better off to replace my generator with a 220 Volt unit so that I can get a larger a/c, perhaps Mitsubishi or Fujitsu? It's a big bus, and we want it cool.

[jimmythomas]

Here's my experience with Bus A/C -- I have a 31 foot Thomas HDX with a 120k btu Carrier A/C system running off of the Cat C7 engine.
Last summer we drove across western Nebraska in 105 degree ambient temp conditions, and the A/C system kept the inside of the bus nice and cool with a 58 degree vent temp at the front of the bus, the large evaporator is in the back.
I don't think two 12k btu mini-splits could cool a bus with a few people in it driving down the road. It might be enough when parked, but moving down the road is quite different.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

not in a bus but i have also installed Lenox brand units with no call back during the warranty period.
bought a pioneer for my bus because of the price but if i had the budget it would be trane/mitsubishi all the way.
i hate LG and they are very hard to get parts for and decent tech support.

[NebrRuss1]

Thanks for the responses and feedback! I appreciate it!

[cadillackid]

with a bus parked a unit in front and one in back will cool it fine if you are insulating well.. ie insulating the floors and ceilings and walls.. if you plan to leave the ceiling and floors stock and park in the sun then you'll likely have issues keeping the whole bus cool on a hot day..


driving.. Busses have enormous amounts of A/C to cool them while driving (stock).. people here can and do run their minisplits and a hyper insulated bus with the front cab portioned off from the rest of the bus will do OK unless its really hot and you drive into the sun.. then youll be sweating.. minisplit or not.. esp in a front engine bus..



a lot of how you A/C your bus is determined by your Use case.. a couple friends of mine travel only in the summer time and tend to end up in hot places like the south and southwest.. so for them we made sure they bought a bus with factory A/C in it for the road and they went with rooftop units for being parked and a big generator.. (they are not off-gridders).. yet another couple I know mainly uses their bus in the winter to go south.. leaving michigan and driving to savannah or into florida in dec-march means they didnt need much A/C for the road and have a minisplit in the back of the bus to cool it while they sleep.. its a front engine bus so we put a dashboard unit in to blow some cool air on the warmer days on the road but really their bus stays parked in the warm months while they are at home.. they own a concrete company so their busy work months are when its warm at home and their vacation time is winter when the concrete plants shut down..



your A/C should match your use plan really...

[NebrRuss1]

Thanks Cadillackid! I appreciate your thoughts for sure. I'm rethinking it a bit, still not sure what direction I'll go. We'll not likely be driving in the middle of summer, however sometimes fall/springtime can be warm as well. The advantage of powering an A/C with a generator, is for the pets, I can leave the genny and a/c running, without having to leave the bus engine running while we're away.
Thanks again!

[cadillackid]

no doubt you want A/C for being parked to run off of solar, shore or genny.. one of those..


I only brought up road A/C as some expect their minisplits to cool them on the road as well


the people that I mentioned who have full road A/C are also running completely separate units to use while they are parked.. using road A/C while parked isnt really a good option at all unless you are say a party bus service where the bus just runs all the time.. definitely not good for camping or living