Ceiling AC: Keep or Eliminate?

[Sraycwb]

When viewing most tours, I cant help but notice that the factory AC units (ceiling mount) have been removed, and or, the busses never had them to begin with.

The AC units are so large they consume a ton of space, on a standard bus, and even more on mid size to shorts.

My initial plan was to keep 1 if not both units. I had planned to place a unit under our sofa, build ducts to blow up directly behind the sofa, and to do the same with the rear unit, by mounting it under bed and having it blow forward.

Of course, these would only operate while driving.

My bus, tip to toe, is just shy of 29 foot, with inside build out from drivers seat being a smidge over 20 ft, so all available space is valuable space.

If I kept the units, as planned, I'd lose most all under sofa storage as well as a large portion of under bed storage.

If I elect to not keep the AC units, my plan will be either a mini split and or a roof top unit, which would be powered by generator while underway, and of course while boondocked or hooked to shore juice.

I'm torn. A bit of a conundrum.

Did you do away with your factory AC and are you satisfied with having done so?

 

[Mountain Gnome]

I voted to keep both of mine, not relocating them.


They are the most "out of the way" up there. My layout builds around them. Storage on the floor is premium (better handling). I have hanging cabinets, also, but the space lost for them is less usable, and I have plenty space up there already.


motor-driven compressors are more efficient than electric powered ones that need a generator.


I had a friend with a wall unit in her stationary bus, powered by a genny. it really did not "cool" the inside. The factory units have a lot of BTUs.


Someone else was just asking about this, and others had more to say.

 

[cadillackid]

if you want to be comfortably cool while driving in hot weather you will want at least one of those units.. and yes if you know what you are doing you can move or alter them.. a minisplit is an excellent way to cool a bus parked.. but not so much while its moving into the sun on a hot day like 95% of the country is seeing (and will see the rest of july and august and into september this year)..


if you insulate your bus fully.. removing ceiling, walls, floor, and are spray foaming and deleting a good portion of your windows. . and located a minisplit right above the driver seat you might kind of stay cool going down the road.. anyone riding in the rest of the bus would be duking it out over the cold cloths to put on their faces..



2 minisplits or rooftops and a fully insulated bus would give you a better shot.. of course you need a pretty large generator and fuel to run it if you go that route..



I dont know hoe much you plan to insulate..



you could also build custom dash air like i did for one of mine.. I get about 20,000 BTU out of that unit which is enough with the vents blowing on me I feel it.. i also have a mid-ship unit that is 40-45k and with that on im comfortably cool except on the really hot humid days.. which is why im in the process of adding a 2nd compressor and a 50k unit.. which will take me up to what most busses have, 100,000 BTU of A/C.. and you want to cool it with a 13,500 camper A/C or mini split.. parked and insulated? yeah the 13.5 will cool you adequetely.. at night you'll be nice N cold while parked..



if it were My bus? and I was travelling by myself.. I would relocate the front unit to under the couch and duct it out.. then I would gut the driver heater box, install a Jegs or summit heater for a dedicated defroster.. and then a custom 20k heat / cool evaporator and make it into good dash air / driver heat


remove the rear system completely. the rear system's compressor and underneath condensor would be used for your custom dash air system..



if you have a family that needs / wants to be comfortable? then id keep both units and relocate them as needed.. (or buy new bulkhead evaporators that mount in the spaces above the front and rear windshields and can be directed / ducted where needed.. the front one would just free-blow.. the rear one you could duct a couple vents into the middle of the bus..



I say this from a perspective of doing a lot of summer travelling.. and at times that summer travelling is on the freeways.. where its noisy and dusty and lots of heat.. I dont want to be that poor sap wiping the sweat off the face all day

 

[Sraycwb]

if you want to be comfortably cool while driving in hot weather you will want at least one of those units.. and yes if you know what you are doing you can move or alter them.. a minisplit is an excellent way to cool a bus parked.. but not so much while its moving into the sun on a hot day like 95% of the country is seeing (and will see the rest of july and august and into september this year)..


if you insulate your bus fully.. removing ceiling, walls, floor, and are spray foaming and deleting a good portion of your windows. . and located a minisplit right above the driver seat you might kind of stay cool going down the road.. anyone riding in the rest of the bus would be duking it out over the cold cloths to put on their faces..



2 minisplits or rooftops and a fully insulated bus would give you a better shot.. of course you need a pretty large generator and fuel to run it if you go that route..



I dont know hoe much you plan to insulate..



you could also build custom dash air like i did for one of mine.. I get about 20,000 BTU out of that unit which is enough with the vents blowing on me I feel it.. i also have a mid-ship unit that is 40-45k and with that on im comfortably cool except on the really hot humid days.. which is why im in the process of adding a 2nd compressor and a 50k unit.. which will take me up to what most busses have, 100,000 BTU of A/C.. and you want to cool it with a 13,500 camper A/C or mini split.. parked and insulated? yeah the 13.5 will cool you adequetely.. at night you'll be nice N cold while parked..



if it were My bus? and I was travelling by myself.. I would relocate the front unit to under the couch and duct it out.. then I would gut the driver heater box, install a Jegs or summit heater for a dedicated defroster.. and then a custom 20k heat / cool evaporator and make it into good dash air / driver heat


remove the rear system completely. the rear system's compressor and underneath condensor would be used for your custom dash air system..



if you have a family that needs / wants to be comfortable? then id keep both units and relocate them as needed.. (or buy new bulkhead evaporators that mount in the spaces above the front and rear windshields and can be directed / ducted where needed.. the front one would just free-blow.. the rear one you could duct a couple vents into the middle of the bus..



I say this from a perspective of doing a lot of summer travelling.. and at times that summer travelling is on the freeways.. where its noisy and dusty and lots of heat.. I dont want to be that poor sap wiping the sweat off the face all day

Thanks Chris, some solid insight there.

I've ripped and stripped all ceiling, wall panels, and am entering floor removal stage. Absolutely. I cringe everytime I see someone else having left them in, remembering what I personally found on mine, lol.

Bus will be fully insulated. I initially was thinking of foam board style but have been leaning more towards spray foam. I reside in Biloxi, and if you know the area, you're familiar with the humidity and scorching death heat we have. To add to that, our primary function of the bus are just visits to the Florida beaches, also scorching, lol.

In hindsight, if I were to do this again, I'd wait and do it all during the winter months. Course, the pro to building in a Sauna, is the 30lbs of water weight I've shed.

 

[Meathead]

You are going to want every BTU you can get. Mini splits and rooftop units don’t cool like an engine driven systems.
I was going to say “ depends on where you live”. Then I saw Biloxi! Dude, Tarzan can’t take that kinda hot!

Hey, you asked for opinions. Christopher started a thread called Think Before You Remove Your A/C. As you can probably tell he’s the AC expert around here. He had a rash of sweaty people contacting him about adding or reinstalling A/C, so he started the thread.

I’m in New Orleans.[emoji3062]118 heat index today. Both of my A/C units blow 42 degrees[emoji106]. Unfortunately, my bus didn’t move today so they did me no good.

Peace