I have been seeing lots of newer fifth wheels moving to what are called either "Whisper Quiet" or "Dual-Ducted" Air Conditioning. A Whisper Quiet system is essentially being marketed as the result of a Dual-Ducted AC system. The difference appears to be that the RETURN air to the AC unit is through a second set of air ducts, compared to the traditional AC units where the return air is directly into the ceiling mounted AC unit. This allows the AC compressor and blower to be mounted more outside of the RV living area reducing the noise somewhat.Here is Heartland RVs diagrams and explanation of how they do it:Heartland "Whisper Quiet" detailsHere is a picture with a traditional AC unit mounted in the ceiling:And here is a Dual Ducted system picture (notice the 2 large return vents in the ceiling):Personally, I "think" the dual-ducted system should be much quieter but I haven't been able to test it out myself yet.Does anyone have real-world feedback on the benefit of having a "dual-ducted" or "Whisper Quiet" system?If so, did you notice any noise improvements?Are there other (good or bad) consequences from the change to a dual-ducted AC system?Thanks,Ed

My Excel has separately ducted return air like the second picture. There are no exposed parts of the ac. My dealer suggested it as an option along with the padded ceiling to reduce noise, and it does. It is much quieter than the standard system we had on the motorhomes and other fivers we have owned. It is not something I would have even thought about had he not suggested it. As far as any down side, I can't see any. The system still works the same way. Both our living and bedrooms a/c's are mounted this way. One thing we have noticed is the cooling and heating (we have 2 heat pumps) is more evenly distributed. It is nice for sleeping as the air is not being dumped directly on you.

It's nice to know they've finally made some progress in this area. Do they make them any stronger? Like perhaps 18K BTU?

I'm wondering if the 'Whisper Quiet' A\C units ride any taller on the roof than the traditional type. I'm at 13'4" now any any more height would certainly NOT be welcomed.

We have the whisper system on our 5er and both front and rear units seem to work great and as previously mentioned about even air distribution. You do lose the capability to open up the vent and get that strong cool downward blast though.I don't beleive they rider any higher than the conventional systems and not sure if they have larger BTU units.

We have the whisper quiet system in out Jayco. Has not been warm enough to fully test it. I did run it last Saturday and fell asleep on the bed...woke up freezing ...so it has me hopeful that it cools very well. It was closer to a home Ac unit than the ducted Ac system. So far I love it.

"Whisper Quiet" or "Dual-Ducted" Air Conditioning - reviews?

Mile_High
Explorer
Mar 21, 2015
But..split units aren't available on rigs in the US so its not really relevant. At least I haven't seen them as an option.
RobertRyan
Explorer
Mar 21, 2015
C Schomer wrote:
There are a bunch of mfgrs. of mini-splits now and they are silent... I've installed a few. I put in a Mitsubishi and I was leaning over the condensing unit reading the manual on how to work the remote and the unit came on while I was reading. I wouldn't have known it was running but my pant legs were blowing. Some mfgr. just needs to build them to work in an RV now. I'd love to see 450 cfm/net ton so it works on the sensible load more. Craig

Same here, you would not know it is running
Learjet
Explorer
Mar 20, 2015
I can say now that I been running my AC for a few days, it is less noise with the Quite Cool dual ducts :B
C_Schomer
Explorer
Mar 17, 2015
There are a bunch of mfgrs. of mini-splits now and they are silent... I've installed a few. I put in a Mitsubishi and I was leaning over the condensing unit reading the manual on how to work the remote and the unit came on while I was reading. I wouldn't have known it was running but my pant legs were blowing. Some mfgr. just needs to build them to work in an RV now. I'd love to see 450 cfm/net ton so it works on the sensible load more. Craig
eb145
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2015
OP here.

Thank you for all the great replies. It seems unanimous so far that the "Whisper Quiet" or "Dual Ducted" air conditioning systems really are quieter than the traditional style.

Ed
Slownsy
Explorer
Mar 15, 2015
The compresser sits outside on TT maybe on drawbar or on rear inside unit on wall inside wherever op high on wall, can have more than one inside unit, usually 2-3 hp unit.
Frank
Mile_High
Explorer
Mar 15, 2015
One thing to watch on the ducted returns, where they meet under the AC unit, our manufacturer installed a foam type insert in the truss to separate the supply and return, and some have shifted causing a breach between the two. This really reduces efficiency and you can actually feel supply air coming from the nearest returns. Aluminum tape cures the issue - you have to access from the top by removing the cowling.
RobertRyan
Explorer
Mar 15, 2015
Mile High wrote:
The whisper quiet are heaven! You can actually have a normal conversation in the trailer while they are running - barely hear them except for a hum coming from the roof.

Ours are also heat pumps. I used to think the furnace was the quieter of the two when we had our older unit with the return air in the center of the roof, but now we prefer the heat pumps for heat when we can over the noisy ol furnace :)

Aussies - there is no way your split units are quester than these unless you are ducting the supply from a remote location. There is nothing quiet about a split unit.

Do not have a problem talking to people at all. Yes they are ducted from a different location
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Mar 15, 2015
Our 07.5 Mobile Suites is a fully ducted system and is very nice! 15K in living area and 13K in bedroom both low profile Dometic units.

Our new 39TKSB3 MS on order will have three 15K Low Pro fully ducted units. One in bedroom and two in living area. A bit extreme but will be very appreciated in 100+ weather.

Be sure to keep the filters clean!
Mile_High
Explorer
Mar 15, 2015
The whisper quiet are heaven! You can actually have a normal conversation in the trailer while they are running - barely hear them except for a hum coming from the roof.

Ours are also heat pumps. I used to think the furnace was the quieter of the two when we had our older unit with the return air in the center of the roof, but now we prefer the heat pumps for heat when we can over the noisy ol furnace :)

Aussies - there is no way your split units are quester than these unless you are ducting the supply from a remote location. There is nothing quiet about a split unit.