RV A/C Question

3ringer · Jun 17, 2017

We will be camping next week on a Florida beach. We will be beachfront in direct sun. My question is will it harm the ac if it is turned to its coldest setting and it can't cycle on and off. Is it best to turn back a little so it can cycle on and off. I have never used it in direct sun before and am unsure if it can keep up. My wife said if it doesn't work well , we are packing up and headed to a hotel lol

pjciii · Jun 17, 2017

i don't know how old your A/C unit is but it should not be a problem. instead of the coldest setting try something a little less that is comfortable. it will take a while(hours) to cool the unit down. pulling humidity out of the unit and then it will try to regulate temperature somewhere around 20 degrees below the outside air temp. i usually try it on low cool to start out with to see if that works and then crank it up to high cool the second day during the heat of the day and then back down to low at night.

T-N-T · Jun 17, 2017

I camp down this way a lot.
It will take a while to cool it down like stated. But then it will keep up "ok". During the heat of the day, the temp might rise a little. But just keep the door closed.

The compressor should cycle on and off? The blower will blow, but the compressor should cycle on and off as it needs a rest

TimBray · Jun 17, 2017

As long as it's not a pop-up, you'll be fine.

Bob Shaw · Jun 18, 2017

I would put the fan on high to help keep the evaporator from icing-up. Other than that, it should be fine. Personally, if it has a thermostat, set the temperature you want and let it go at that. Turning it down lower will have no effect, other than making it colder when it catches-up. Turning an A/C lower does not make it cool quicker. Remember and A/C compressor is only on or off, it does not work harder if you turn it to a lower temperature.

3ringer · Jun 19, 2017

Thanks for the information. I was worried that if my camper wasn't insulated well enough, the compressor may not kick off. Sounds like I just need to set it and forget about it. I will also use an extra fan inside to help circulate the air. We have never beach camped before and wasn't sure if our ac was up to the task.

Artfuldodger · Jun 19, 2017

We just stayed in one while visiting family. It was sitting in the direct sun all day in South Georgia. It is an older 90's model. It would get up to about 78 degrees inside in the middle of the day and drop down to 72 at night.

Oldstick · Jun 19, 2017

Agree, you will probably need to run it wide open, highest fan and maximum cool settings during the day in the direct sun. I have thought of trying an experiment though on our camper during mid day. Rigging up some kind of reflective shade, like a silver car sun shield to block the direct sun off of the rooftop AC unit without blocking the hot exhaust airflow.

I know if you shade or cool the hot outside fins of your house AC (spraying with a water hose for example), it will greatly improve the cooling efficiency inside.

I know the Trailmanor you have is much, much, much better sealed and insulated than the typical canvass sided pop-up. So am am thinking you will be fine.

3ringer · Jun 20, 2017

Oldstick said:
Agree, you will probably need to run it wide open, highest fan and maximum cool settings during the day in the direct sun. I have thought of trying an experiment though on our camper during mid day. Rigging up some kind of reflective shade, like a silver car sun shield to block the direct sun off of the rooftop AC unit without blocking the hot exhaust airflow.

I know if you shade or cool the hot outside fins of your house AC (spraying with a water hose for example), it will greatly improve the cooling efficiency inside.
I know the Trailmanor you have is much, much, much better sealed and insulated than the typical canvass sided pop-up. So am am thinking you will be fine.

If these tropical storms don't hurry up and get out of here, we won't have to worry about the direct sun.

Oldstick · Jun 20, 2017

3ringer said:
If these tropical storms don't hurry up and get out of here, we won't have to worry about the direct sun.

I agree. If you have it running while it is raining and cloudy, it will probably freeze you out of there.

One major difference I have noticed between our pop-up and the Trailmanor is, during the night, the extra humidity buildup with us sleeping inside. Running with "fan only" helps as long as the outside temp is not too warm and humid. Otherwise, you have to cover up and accept the inside colder than normal in order to keep the humidity levels down. At least that is the case with us.

Artfuldodger · Jun 21, 2017

Oldstick said:
I agree. If you have it running while it is raining and cloudy, it will probably freeze you out of there.

One major difference I have noticed between our pop-up and the Trailmanor is, during the night, the extra humidity buildup with us sleeping inside. Running with "fan only" helps as long as the outside temp is not too warm and humid. Otherwise, you have to cover up and accept the inside colder than normal in order to keep the humidity levels down. At least that is the case with us.

I wonder if you could run the AC for humidity control and a small ceramic heater to bring the temp up a bit.

MudDucker · Jun 21, 2017

I took my motorhome to the keys. Had I tried to turn the AC up, my wife and kids would have feed me to the fishes. Like was suggested, keep fan on high and look for icing. I had mine serviced before I left and they never missed a beat.

660griz · Jun 22, 2017

One thing that will help in full sun, turn the a/c way down at night. Sleep with a blanket and get the RV as cold as possible. This will help the A/C keep the RV cool during the heat of the day.

RV A/C Question

3ringer

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pjciii

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T-N-T

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TimBray

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Bob Shaw

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3ringer

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Artfuldodger

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Oldstick

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3ringer

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Oldstick

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