Basement Air

I have had the same trouble with the duct that runs up under the back, it has split apart a couple of times.

Those would be SCS units.

They can be repaired, or some just exchange for a rebuilt unit.

The only inherent weakness I know of is the original control boards had a problem with one circuit that is easily jumpered with a small wire and soldering iron.

Do a search on newellgurus.com and read all about the SCS units.

Thanks for all the replies.

The MH I'm looking at is a 43' Beaver Marquis and, from what I understand, uses a unit built by SCM or something like that. Anyway it's the same unit used by earlier Newall and can be serviced by Newall dealers.

I've also been told that rebuilt units are readily available for moderate cost but labor to R&R is a bit high. On the upside, AC units are pretty reliable so figure 10 years or so between issues.

Yes, it does lose one bay that is in the slide but still lot's of bay storage available so that isn't to troublesome.

I will apologize in advance for any inconvenience to my potential neighbors but.......

Again, thanks for you comments.

You asked for pros and cons. Here they are as I see them.

Basement air
Pros
Quiet inside, noisy outside.
Even temperature distribution
Cons
Loss of basement space
Can be difficult to get RV tech to work on them, a house AC tech will easily know what to do, but they have to be told its a house style unit

Roof Air
Pros
Easy to replace by most any tech
Add as many as you need for cooling
Quiet outside
Cons
Noisy inside

Nothing that wasn't said above.

There are two different schools of thought with repair. On the roof air, if the failure is anything but a control board, the entire unit will be replaced. RV techs will not replace compressors, or refrigerant on a roof unit. So, if a unit fails you are looking at a 1400 to 2000 bill including labor.
Basement airs are treated more like home units with individual components replaced if they fail. However, a lot of RV techs will not touch them. It takes an AC tech to repair them.

This is the end of the 14th summer for our Winnebago Journey which has basement air. The only problem we had was last year. A reset button needed to be bypassed which we did ourselves after talking to an authorized repair facility in Michigan. I think that this was an early model and later models didn't have that button. Also a couple of contacts needed replacing last fall and that was done by our local RV repair shop in Florida. When ours turns on, if there is a need for more than 1 degree change in temperature, first compressor #1 turns on, then 30 seconds later, compressor #2 turns on. We like to have 50 amp to use it, or 30 amp with good voltage. With 30 amp, when compressor #2 turns on, the power manager sees that too many amps are being used and turns it back off. We don't miss the storage loss because this is the only motorhome we've had. We don't even notice the sound which is under the bed - must have gotten used to it. I think I read somewhere that Winnebago doesn't use them anymore because the new diesel engine requirements needed the space used by the basement air.

I'm sure that basement air conditioning works great. I have no thought really one way or the other. We have roof air and I like it.

Once, we were parked next a fairly new Winnebago that had basement air. Even though the outside temp was very pleasant they were running their basement air. It was so loud that it was hard for us to keep our windows open for fresh air. Our roof airs are certainly not that loud. I was disappointed that we were stuck next to that basement air unit running.

Our roof airs are connected by continuous ducting so we can run the front and middle air to keep the bedroom cool at night and not have the noise in the bedroom. If it's really hot, we could run the third air (2008 Monaco Dynasty).

MM.

Good question, depends?

I have one that gave me lots of problems until I personally replaced the electronic board, the new board model replaces at least five previous models, it works fine now.

I tried to get someone to work on it that wasn't a MH dealer, couldn't find anyone close to home.

I'm thinking of installing a roof air where the kitchen vent is for evening sleep, the basement air is load, and a single roof air will work for me in my MH in the driveway man cave.

It needs more than 30 amps to start so I think if there is only 30 amp your SOL?

Winnebago doesn't install them anymore, why is that?

On another forum they discussed how generally a 40' MH or larger has trouble keeping up in real hot weather.

BUT it's like my home A/C that has run for 30 years without a problem. I believe my basement air can easily work for the life of my MH.

Given a choice I would go with a basement A/C system again.

We have basement air in our 21 year old HR coach and it has always worked flawlessly. We had roof air on our previous rig and, although it worked satisfactorily, we prefer the basement air. Roof air is far more common since it is cheaper. With basement air, you do loose one compartment.

Our A/C is located up near the front, so it doesn't interfere with our sleeping. It is also quiet enough so it also doesn't bother us while visiting or watching TV.

Before purchasing the coach, obtain the make and model number of the basement unit, and then call different RV repair centers to see if you can find anyone to work on it. Discussing parts availability with a repair center who will work on it is equally wise. Doing this research will tell you if you are comfortable owning such a unit.

I have one. Prior coach had roof. I find the basement can keep inside cool even in triple digits. Only dislike when running 24/7 is the compressor is under the bed and can hear it cycle sometimes.