Forum Discussion

Gooselover's avatar
Gooselover
Explorer
Jun 14, 2022

AC on or off?

When your 5'ver is at your house parked and you are NOT IN IT for a while, do you leave your AC on auto or turn completely off? It is very hot here in Oklahoma, and right now the AC units are OFF completely. Should I be concerned with the unit heating up inside?
  • This is one of those "It all depends".
    If you're a weekender and not much of anything left inside, don't need AC on, remember there is no AC on in those units sitting all summer in RV Dealers across the country.
    Now if you're like us and keep the unit loaded and ready to leave on a few hours notice, I guess I would run the AC some for reasons already suggested.
  • Allworth wrote:
    He clearly said "at your house".



    I have several rental houses in Yuma that I rent out during the winter
    and I never leave the elect on during the summer. Every thing is turned off for 6 months
  • Allworth wrote:
    He clearly said "at your house".


    Yep, we get that. The answer is still the same. Just because you can doesn't mean you have to. The point being made is that there are way more RV's that don't run the air in hot climates that do and there are no real complaints about issues.
  • There are thousands of RVs parked in parks in the Yuma, AZ. area for the summer at whatever temps. Yesterday 113 and will escalate as summer nears. No one lets their AC on!
  • It depends on how high the humidity is where you are. Moisture and mold will do as much or more damage than heat. ACs are great dehumidifiers. If you have good power, I would leave them on set low enough that they run off and on to pull out the moisture. Otherwise I would run a dehumidifier. If the average relative humidity is below 45%, just set the ACs where you want them to not cook the interior woodwork.

    Rob

    Rob
  • Just curious what harm can come from not turning on the AC. Lots of RV's (mine included) are in storage or on dealer lots where there is no electric. It gets hot here in the summer. Today is close to 100 with heat indexes as high as 112. I've never had an issue as a result and don't recall reading complaints about issues from not running the AC. I keep the blinds closed when in storage mainly to prevent any fading on interior surfaces. Unless I am missing something, running the AC is a solution looking for a problem. Maybe I am missing something - although if I am, it's a moot point for me as I don't keep my RV at my house.
  • I do the same as Jerry. I leave toiletries and some canned and dry food in there all the time. I don't imagine extreme heat is good for the materials like plastic that RVs are made with. I've had some little rubber dots on the cabinet doors to melt.

    Also make sure a little water stays in your toilet bowl at all times to keep the seal moist. I've had to add some water every now and then due to evaporation.
  • If just parked, not going to use for a while, I set the stat to auto 88 degrees during extreme heat.

    Jerry