interior AC alternative

[Matencio]

For the interior, we are planning to use a portable AC unit. It worked great in a house with 13' high ceilings and big rooms and reduced the humidity a lot so I think when we get the bus, that's the plan. Has anyone had experience with this?

 

[TheHubbardBus]

mini-splits are pretty much the most energy efficient option for cooling. We didn't go that route and it's one (minor) regret due to the reduced current draw we won't be enjoying. I know nothing about portable units, but I'm assuming there has to be some way to vent the heat generated outside? Seems like that could be problematic in a bus? Just spit-balling.

Regardless, the performance you see in a well-insulated house might be drastically different than in a not-so-well insulated bus, especially if your windows are all stock & not otherwise insulated. How well is your bus insulated? Is it insulated at all?

 

[Matencio]

Portable AC

I'm in the planning stages of building. Better to make changes before buying and then making changes. The portable we used in our old house vented to outside through a window. The room it was in most of the time was a sun porch with windows on two sides. No insulation at all. it worked great until temps exceeded 100F. That was in Louisiana. That being said, it reduced humidity significantly. The bus is going to be insulated well. Floors, walls, and ceiling front to back. The windows will be painted black on the inside and metal framing is going to hold the insulation on all walls. I'll have a couple of window exposed but very few. and they'll have tint on them.

I like the idea of the split system you mentioned so if you have the name brand, I'll look into that for sure. IMHO good insulation is the money saver.

 

[TheHubbardBus]

Other people more familiar w/ mini-splits than I am. I'm sure they'll chime in. All I know is I probably should have considered them more thoroughly :wink1:

If you're trying to use what you've got, I'm sure you can figure out a way to duct this to the outside as well in an elegant manner. Guess it doesn't necessarily have to be elegant if you're stationary most of the time. If it were me and I needed to start with a portable unit, I'd be leaning towards figuring out a ducting solution that allowed me to upgrade to a static unit later with ease. Like maybe using the same penetration to be used eventually for the hoses/wiring to the mini-split's external unit? I dunno.

Don't know how big of a unit you're talking about, but it seems like even small it would be easy to get in the way. Hence the emphasis on at least planning for the option to go with something more permanent later.

 

[Meathead]

A little off subject, but I advise that you buy a bus with engine driven A/C. Of course that won’t do you any good at night unless you want to run your diesel.

The consensus here is that roof tops and mini splits don’t produce the kind of cooling needed on the road.

[emoji3522]Dave

 

[turf]

if your looking at one of the room sized portable ac units with a tube that vents the heat, i'd pass and wait until mid summer.

seems its a common choice with people looking for cheap solutions, and a common disappointment as well. people get them now and in few months beg someone to take it off their hands.

i can name 2 bus owners that have been down that path.

 

[Matencio]

Reply

if your looking at one of the room-sized portable ac units with a tube that vents the heat, I'd pass and wait until mid-summer.

seems it's a common choice with people looking for cheap solutions, and a common disappointment as well. people get them now and in a few months beg someone to take it off their hands.

I can name 2 bus owners that have been down that path.

I have one from a few years ago. It works great inside a house but haven't seen any in a bus so it's a Twilight Zone thing until someone can share experiences. That's why I'm planning now instead of after buying a bus and making a bad choice. This helps a little even though not what I wanted to hear. Insulation may be the trick to that though. I'm certainly going to use the built-in AC when on the road. It stays attached. I can route it out the back easy enough.

 

[cadillackid]

my 12000 BTU portable A/C (2 hose) will cool my stock 7 window bus AT NIGHT.
it wont even touch the heat during the daytime.



thats a 32 year old stock 7 window high headroom with factory insulation and factory windows.



on the road that same bus spins 2 engine-driven Compressors to keep it 74 on a 104 degree sunny texas / florida day..


dont even bother with a single hose portable... they arent worth the chinese plastic they are made of.