Cool coach while driving

The one suggestion I would make is to fire up the generator and the roof AC's BEFORE the coach starts to really heat up. It always seems easier to keep it cooler that way than to wait for it to heat up too much.

It also depends upon how hot it is outside. If your in the desert in the middle of the summer, start with everything on. Remember, your AC will only cool your coach down to about 20 degrees or so cooler than it is outside.

Good luck.

rockhillmanor wrote:
Here is what I do and it takes the temp down almost 20 degrees and I do NOT run the coach AC.

If your windows are not tinted put up removable limo tint for the summer time.

Covering all the roof vents with those RV roof vent pillows.

Pull Shades all down and slip van windshield sun shades under them.

Covering your skylight with removable limo tint.

Those plastic not air tight roof vents let in a ton of heat and I have three of them. Just putting the pillow covers in 'them' made a big difference. And second in line was covering that gaping skylight letting the heat in.

Do all of the above AND turn the coach AC on and your passengers will love you for it because now the AC can keep up and it really gets nice and cool.

I do all that except my tint is not removable. Generally speaking whole cabin stays quite comfortable.

Yesterday we were running through high 80's low 90's with just the engine AC. With two forward slideouts their forward walls close 2/3 of the space behind the driving area and seem to contain the AC just fine. Pity anyone riding further back in the coach without gen and roof AC. That is what they are for.

I saw the statement about engine AC costing more than roof air to operate, I have never seen it proven. Certainly on some of the hills we would have been better off with the engine AC off, but that was only going up hill.

Effy wrote:
You do realize that running the dash air uses far more fuel than the gen with AC on. That's one of the reasons we got a MH. So the family can relax in comfort. Central air, TV, cold drinks etc. Why wouldn't you run the AC? That’s what the gen is for. Are you trying to save fuel or something? It might be .5 mpg at the most.

It all depends WHERE you are RV'ing. When I only RV'd in the Midwest I never had a problem with being too warm in my MH in the dead of summer, ever.

Driving in the Southern states in summer is a whole 'nuther story. RV coaches turn into an oven and the coach AC can not keep up. You have to help stop the air from escaping thru the vents and stop some of the heat from coming in from windows.

WE need to start adding 'where' we are RV'ing when we post questions involving the weather so other forum members don't think we are crazy!!

Unless you have been in your RV in high temps with 110% humidity in a Southern state, under the blazing sun, you'll 'never' be able to wrap your brain around just how hot it gets inside WITH BOTH the dash air AND coach air on!

I STILL can't and I am here IN it! :B

Mckenzm wrote:
Any suggestions on keeping the coach cool for passengers during the summer other than keeping the engine A/C fan on high and running the generator to use the roof unit?

Buy a large block of ice and a portable fan. Position the fan so that it blows directly over the ice. That will provide cool air while the ice melts.

Now you have cool air without running the A/C!

You do realize that running the dash air uses far more fuel than the gen with AC on. That's one of the reasons we got a MH. So the family can relax in comfort. Central air, TV, cold drinks etc. Why wouldn't you run the AC? That’s what the gen is for. Are you trying to save fuel or something? It might be .5 mpg at the most.

Cold beer? :)

We have a Fantastic Fan in the center of our coach. I open the vent and run the fan on low. It seems to help in pulling the hot air out at the ceiling of the coach.

I know the OP asked about keeping passengers cold, but another poster talked about a curtain. Generally, it's just my wife and I when we travel. I took a spring loaded curtain rod and hung a clear plastic shower curtain on it. I install it just behind the front seats a few inches below the roof. It helps to keep the cab colder and has a center opening so my wife can get still get to the rear of the coach.

No matter what, we find that at about 3:00 pm during summer travel, we have to turn the roof A/C on. We try to turn it on about an hour before we stop so that the coach isn't unbearable as we pull into a campground to check in. We leave the gen and A/C running until we can hook to shore power.

Has anyone try to put up a curtain between cab and house We have one in our C Class and it makes a big difference Wonder if a similar thing could made for an A Class

A very long extension chord?