Opinions on mini split outside unit mounting from those who have done it already!

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

mine will be going on the back door as of now?
if you have a link to that specific install it would be appreciated.
i suck at computer stuff.
my kids have to help me sometimes and look at me wierd when they have to?

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

this was to give the OP ideas ?
what i do is on me.
aint done the install yet but that is looking like my best option

[Oldyeller]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

mine will be going on the back door as of now?
if you have a link to that specific install it would be appreciated.
i suck at computer stuff.
my kids have to help me sometimes and look at me wierd when they have to?

I'll see if I can find it tonight. I've stumbled across it several times.

It caught my attention because it solved a couple problems I've felt were inherent in other mounting locations I'd seen.

[somewhereinusa]

I have two. Front one is between frame rails in front of front axel. The rear is in the original place the factory air condenser, just behind the left side rear wheels.
Been there about 9 years with no problems.

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I have two. Front one is between frame rails in front of front axel. The rear is in the original place the factory air condenser, just behind the left side rear wheels.
Been there about 9 years with no problems.

I have an Amtrak RE and was thinking of putting mine there too.

9 years with no problems !

I’m sold !

Would you mind posting some pics ?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I have two. Front one is between frame rails in front of front axel. The rear is in the original place the factory air condenser, just behind the left side rear wheels.
Been there about 9 years with no problems.

I like how yours are installed

[bridg73988]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I have two. Front one is between frame rails in front of front axel. The rear is in the original place the factory air condenser, just behind the left side rear wheels.
Been there about 9 years with no problems.

Hey somewhereinusa, if the rear is where the original condenser was I take it you removed the original bus AC. If that assumption is true then I have questions, starting with do you run your mini split airs while driving? Do they cool well?

Mike

[mmoore6856]

Originally Posted by DeMac

------------------------------------

fhwa.dot.gov freight publications size regs

- I sourced the information below from the Federal Highway Administration. (Link above)

In 1982, Congress established minimum length standards for most commercial truck tractor-semitrailers. There is no Federal vehicle height requirement for CMVs.

States may set their own height restrictions. Most height limits range from 13 feet, 6 inches to 14 feet, with exceptions granted for lower clearance on particular roads.

The 12'6" is the legal height for that bridge not a state or federal law for everything. So your federal laws don't matter in this case. Not sure what your quote about the minimum length has to do with this or wtf thats about maybe you should ask someone who drives a truck

[Oldyeller]

This is the video I saw where the guy mounted a pedestal to his bumper to support his mini-split. The relevant part starts at abut 4:20. He said he waited for a year before he made this video to see if he had any problems with his decision. Whether there is enough room on the rear of a bus to do this on one side of the door or the other is unknow and would be impacted by the size of the unit.

I liked that he used off the shelf parts to build the pedestal, no custom steel fabrication, my kind of solution.

I've thought if I ever mount a mini split I'd rather not mount it under the bus because, if I end up doing what I want to do, I'll be on a lot of dirt and gravel roads which increases the chances of it taking a hit. I also don't want to mount anything under the bus that will drop the ground clearance though again, that would depend upon the unit.

https://youtu.be/OmOkQerIITk

[somewhereinusa]

Originally Posted by ewo1

I have an Amtrak RE and was thinking of putting mine there too.

9 years with no problems !

I’m sold !

Would you mind posting some pics ?

There are pictures here.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/s...a-6318-13.html

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

There are pictures here.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/s...a-6318-13.html

Thanks!,

Saw the pics in post #248 and got a couple of questions.

The front unit, does it cool at all when driving?

The mounting bracket under the bus, on the top brackets it looks like you sandwiched the bottom frame flange instead of drilling a new hole…or am I looking at the pic wrong?

Is that what is holding the entire unit up in place?

[somewhereinusa]

Originally Posted by ewo1

Thanks!,

Saw the pics in post #248 and got a couple of questions.

The front unit, does it cool at all when driving?

The mounting bracket under the bus, on the top brackets it looks like you sandwiched the bottom frame flange instead of drilling a new hole…or am I looking at the pic wrong?

Is that what is holding the entire unit up in place?

It does cool the driver area while driving, I don't use it that way much. In my original setup I had my house batteries in the engine compartment and they overheated and the inverter shut down. I now have LiPo batteries located somewhere else and haven't used it. I find that I really don't need AC while driving, I get enough air.

You are correct on the mounting. Everything that I have mounted to the frame uses this method. Some sit on top of the frame or, in this case, sit on the bottom of the "C" channel.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by ewo1

I have an Amtrak RE and was thinking of putting mine there too.

9 years with no problems !

I’m sold !

Would you mind posting some pics ?

DITTO for my AmTran RE


Ahead of the front axle between the rails in that big vacant space. Plan to mount mine with the fan facing side to side, build a "skid" plate under it sloping up to the bottom of the bumper and heavy expanded metal on each fan side to protect from road debris.


Rear probably behind the right rear wheels.


Pics would be appreciated.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

DITTO for my AmTran RE


Ahead of the front axle between the rails in that big vacant space. Plan to mount mine with the fan facing side to side, build a "skid" plate under it sloping up to the bottom of the bumper and heavy expanded metal on each fan side to protect from road debris.


Rear probably behind the right rear wheels.


Pics would be appreciated.

there was another member who mounted one of theirs in that upfront space.. I think he did it with a screen guard on the front and across the front in such a way he could run it while driving and had no issues with it (even using it on the highway)..

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

there was another member who mounted one of theirs in that upfront space.. I think he did it with a screen guard on the front and across the front in such a way he could run it while driving and had no issues with it (even using it on the highway)..

The plane of the fan blade in our forward mini will be the same as the plane of travel. It will have a heavy steel skid and debris blocker leading the way and heavy expanded metal on the sides. All shields will be bolted to a tube framework in the even repair or maintenance is needed.
This should leave plenty of room for another item up in that massive space but I havn't decide whether I should go with storage space, tankage, etc. Part of which will be decided based on axle weights and remaining capacities as we begin installing things.

[dbsoundman]

Here's a few pictures of how I mounted mine. It's between the front and rear axles; specifically between the engine battery box and the exhaust which comes out just in front of the driver's side rear axle. It's about 4" from the side wall, as that was the easiest way to line up my angle iron frame to the subfloor of the bus. The frame is just bolted together with grade 8 bolts, no cross braces needed as it's bolted to the skirt of the bus as well through two pieces of 2" tube steel which act as spacers (hence the 4").

I plan to add some expanded metal to the forward-facing side of the mini split frame to protect the condenser fins a bit more, and I'll make an expanded metal removable grille to the open side of the skirt too.

Due to geometric issues the fan isn't totally aligned with the hole I cut in the skirt, but it's open enough for plenty of ventilation so I'm calling it good. I've driven it probably about 120 miles in two separate trips so far, no issues. I wasn't able to use nylon stop nuts but I did use loctite on all the fittings.

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by dbsoundman

Here's a few pictures of how I mounted mine. It's between the front and rear axles; specifically between the engine battery box and the exhaust which comes out just in front of the driver's side rear axle. It's about 4" from the side wall, as that was the easiest way to line up my angle iron frame to the subfloor of the bus. The frame is just bolted together with grade 8 bolts, no cross braces needed as it's bolted to the skirt of the bus as well through two pieces of 2" tube steel which act as spacers (hence the 4").

I plan to add some expanded metal to the forward-facing side of the mini split frame to protect the condenser fins a bit more, and I'll make an expanded metal removable grille to the open side of the skirt too.

Due to geometric issues the fan isn't totally aligned with the hole I cut in the skirt, but it's open enough for plenty of ventilation so I'm calling it good. I've driven it probably about 120 miles in two separate trips so far, no issues. I wasn't able to use nylon stop nuts but I did use loctite on all the fittings.

I want to see more... Do you have that in a build thread? Builders wanna copy something that looks great, like yours. Especially in the center picture.
In the other two pics, how did you get your bus to stand up so straight against that concrete wall?

[dbsoundman]

Originally Posted by DeMac

Do you have that in a build thread? Builders wanna copy something that looks great, like yours. Especially in the center picture.
In the other two pics, how did you get your bus to stand up so straight against that concrete wall?

I plan to document in my build thread with more detail. I took some pictures during the process as well, just need to get some more now that it’s installed.

Today, it’s 90 and muggy outside. With the unit set to 78 and sun hitting the windshield (shades up), it’s showing a little over 80 in the front of the bus, and 31% humidity.

[firebuild]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

my option is to put it on the lower portion of the back door.

I've concluded this is the logical place for it on my 20 foot 4 window. The only video I've seen that does anything like that is this 24v one, on a van. He put his inside unit and exterior unit both on the back door, and ideally I'd prefer to put my inside unit closer to the front. I also don't have a clue how different the installation is on this type of system vs the usual AC version. I have no in-dash AC and driving sometimes is unbearable between the doghouse heat and the windshield so I'd want to run it while moving at times. I'm curious what obstacles I would face running the line from the openable door to nearly the front of the bus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5xsWx7Y198

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by firebuild

I've concluded this is the logical place for it on my 20 foot 4 window. The only video I've seen that does anything like that is this 24v one, on a van. He put his inside unit and exterior unit both on the back door, and ideally I'd prefer to put my inside unit closer to the front. I also don't have a clue how different the installation is on this type of system vs the usual AC version. I have no in-dash AC and driving sometimes is unbearable between the doghouse heat and the windshield so I'd want to run it while moving at times. I'm curious what obstacles I would face running the line from the openable door to nearly the front of the bus.

install the dashboard A/C for driving.. a minisplit in the back wont help much if any with doghouse heat.. yes when you are stopped you can start out with a nice cold bus and that will last for a short while.. but a van front without A/C always pulls in a lot of fresh air because of how the van's flow-through system works.. then the doghouse and windshield heat.. you might feel some cool air on your neck but thats it.. mounting the indoor unit up front would be the only way you'll get good cooling.. (a 12k minisplit is about the same BTU as the dashboard Van A/C would be.



I would not install a split in a place where the line is expected to flex.. copper line like that is not made to flex constantly.. the linesets sold for minisplits are designed for fixed installs.. so opening and closing the door would require at a minimum a large ugle service loop.. R410A runs at much higher pressures than 134a so automotive / mobile A/C hose is not a solution.. you MIGHT be able to fashion up hydraulic hose and JIC fittings to fasten it for something flexible.. hydraulic hoses used in heavy equipment and excavating equipment are designed to flex alot and can definitely take the pressures (up to 500 PSI) you are likely to see with R410A..



if the DC split you choose has 134A in it then you could use regular reduced barrier hose like goodyear 4890 which is flexible ...