Excessive Heat in Fifth Wheel
This is a 4 part question. I have a Columbus Palamino 5th wheel and went camping this week in Texas. The temperature was only 91, but I was in full sun. I have 2 A/C units. A 15,000 btu Ducted Air Co...
Forum Discussion
Two ac units should handle 91°. Here's what we did to our trailer to help:
1) I added 20% ceramic window film to all our windows. I applied a double layer of film to the biggest window over the dinette in the kitchen. I did all of this myself using Concord ceramic automobile film from Windowfilm.com
2) On our Coleman ac units, there is a divider bar that separates the exhaust air from the return air. This divider bar was improperly positioned, allowing the cooled conditioned air to mix with the return air, greatly decreasing the efficiency of the ac unit. I moved the divider bar to the correct position and used hvac foil tape to secure it in place.
3) I pulled all the vent covers off and felt inside around the ducting. I found that some of the vents were improperly taped to the ducting system that runs around the trailer. This allowed cooled air to vent into the space between the duct and the ceiling material instead of into the room. So I used that same foil tape to make sure all the vents were sealed to the ducting with no obstructions.
Making these 3 changes has greatly improved the performance of our ac system. We were in Las Vegas where it was 100° plus, and we had no problem keeping the trailer in the mid-70° range.
Mid-bunk designs typically have but one small vent into that room with pitiful airflow. One person took apart the wall in which the vent was run only to find that there was only framing with no ducting at all. At the very least, I would investigate adding a duct booster fan. This will massively boost the flow of conditioned air into that mid-bunk room.
Oh and last thing. If your trailer door/s have any kind of window, get some ReflectX insulated foil to cover the window. That was another source of heat entry into our RV.
One more thing. If you don't have a foam insert for the roof vents, get one. They really help to block out the heat from entering through the roof vents.
1) I added 20% ceramic window film to all our windows. I applied a double layer of film to the biggest window over the dinette in the kitchen. I did all of this myself using Concord ceramic automobile film from Windowfilm.com
2) On our Coleman ac units, there is a divider bar that separates the exhaust air from the return air. This divider bar was improperly positioned, allowing the cooled conditioned air to mix with the return air, greatly decreasing the efficiency of the ac unit. I moved the divider bar to the correct position and used hvac foil tape to secure it in place.
3) I pulled all the vent covers off and felt inside around the ducting. I found that some of the vents were improperly taped to the ducting system that runs around the trailer. This allowed cooled air to vent into the space between the duct and the ceiling material instead of into the room. So I used that same foil tape to make sure all the vents were sealed to the ducting with no obstructions.
Making these 3 changes has greatly improved the performance of our ac system. We were in Las Vegas where it was 100° plus, and we had no problem keeping the trailer in the mid-70° range.
Mid-bunk designs typically have but one small vent into that room with pitiful airflow. One person took apart the wall in which the vent was run only to find that there was only framing with no ducting at all. At the very least, I would investigate adding a duct booster fan. This will massively boost the flow of conditioned air into that mid-bunk room.
Oh and last thing. If your trailer door/s have any kind of window, get some ReflectX insulated foil to cover the window. That was another source of heat entry into our RV.
One more thing. If you don't have a foam insert for the roof vents, get one. They really help to block out the heat from entering through the roof vents.
jsteward1976 wrote:
This is a 4 part question. I have a Columbus Palamino 5th wheel and went camping this week in Texas. The temperature was only 91, but I was in full sun. I have 2 A/C units. A 15,000 btu Ducted Air Conditioning - Living Room and a 13,500 btu Ducted Air Conditioning - Bedroom, but my trailer got up to 88 degrees inside. I even had the fan on and window shades down.
1.) Is this normal being in full sun?
2.) If I tinted the windows would it help alleviate the heat coming in?
3.) I’ve seen the awnings that go over the slides. Are those worth it to help keep the heat out?
4.) The trailer is a mid bunk. The 2nd bedroom got up to 95 degrees. There was barely any air coming out of the air vent. I took the cover off and felt around but did not feel any obstruction. Is this normal for a 2nd bedroom to not get good airflow?
Thanks - Jeff
