Mini Split A.C. in their fiver

StirCrazy wrote:
I always get a chuckel at this statment. if your doing it yourself it is to save paying the money out to some one else. you don't pay that money to yourself when you do a job, so you are saving money. when I change the oil in my car I don't go well, at work I make 48 bucks an hour so I better not change this myself and make sure its done right as it will cost me more... it doesnt cost me one red cent more to do it myself, what it does is keep money in my bank account that other wise I would have had to pay out so yes I save money doing stuff myself.

Yup, and the time spent with children teaching them how to do these things. I finished both bathrooms in my house and my kitchen, just my wife and I. I built a barn in the backyard, built my deck, installed new exterior doors in the house, built a workshop in the carport and refinished our basement after it flooded.

I didn't remotely consider the "cost" of doing it myself, I simply looked at the project and determined if I could complete the project myself, and how much time it would take. I have great pride in the projects that my wife and I were able to complete!

valhalla360 wrote:
If you treat your labor as $1/hr, sure, you can rebuild the entire RV to make it work and it will be cheaper. But put a reasonable price on your labor and it's going to be significantly more than simply dropping a new RV unit in it's place.

I always get a chuckel at this statment. if your doing it yourself it is to save paying the money out to some one else. you don't pay that money to yourself when you do a job, so you are saving money. when I change the oil in my car I don't go well, at work I make 48 bucks an hour so I better not change this myself and make sure its done right as it will cost me more... it doesnt cost me one red cent more to do it myself, what it does is keep money in my bank account that other wise I would have had to pay out so yes I save money doing stuff myself.

We have one in our 5th wheel and it's the best thing EVER! It cools infinitely more efficient than a roof top unit. You can run it on a 2k watt Generator. It's dead silent(I always hated how loud the rooftop units are), so you don't even know it's running. We took 2 different trips to Las Vegas in August at 106 degree weather outside, but it's in the 60's inside (so cold I use a blanket). It took my husband and our son in law about 3 hours to install and within 30 minutes of setup at the campsite the RV is at a comfortable temperature. The only thing we do extra is use a fan to move the air around more evenly.

And most Hew Horizons require a Sport Chassis or F550/5500 series TV because they are HEAVY

Travlingman wrote:
New Horizons is doing the mini splits on their Majestics.

New Horizons is up there with your DRV Mobile Suites... way out of my price range!

New Horizons is doing the mini splits on their Majestics.

Average RV AC has an EER of 6, 120V mini-splits are 12-13 so yes, they're about twice as efficient. They also can be had in models that work as heat pumps well below freezing which does not exist as an RV unit.

I was at the Hershey RV show earlier in the week and talked to a manufacturing rep for Columbus. I was asking him about minisplits. He told me that they are in talks with a manufacturer and may move towards those in the next couple of years. We had been chatting about some other things for a while before I asked about the minisplits, and other people were in the camper and wanted to ask questions, so I didn't push it any further.

I would MUCH rather have a minisplit with 2 heads (I'll take the traditional cassette heads, it was a 5th wheel we were looking at) over 2 or 3 rooftop units. Cheaper, less invasive on the roof, heating and cooling, quieter and less power draw. I'll be anxiously awaiting...

In order to use ceiling cassettes you would have to cut the whole in your roof 2+ times bigger to get them to fit. I would love to find a ducted mini that would fit as I have ducting in the living room and bedroom.

If you treat your labor as $1/hr, sure, you can rebuild the entire RV to make it work and it will be cheaper. But put a reasonable price on your labor and it's going to be significantly more than simply dropping a new RV unit in it's place.

I've used mini-splits overseas a lot. They work fine but I don't see where they provide significantly better temperature control but if it makes you happy, go for it.