All,just picked up a 2016 Thor Outlaw 37RB. So far it's pretty slick. Been dig'n it on our first trip this weekend. We had a 2000 Class-A previously and sold it about a year ago. It was a really low-end, short DP, but we loved it. Anywho.. My question is regarding the AC.This unit has dual 13.5K BTU AC units. One just behind the drivers/passenger seats, then one just aft of the kitchen. There is a window-style AC unit in the garage part that works pretty well, but we've kept that all closed off for the most part. We're camping at Lake Mead in 105+ temps, no shade and it seems our AC units can't keep up. I'm not sure if they are not working 100% or if this is just simply too extreme for them. We're getting cold-ish air out of them, but set on full-blast (60 deg) we can't get the coach down below 80. It's just brutal in here. We have all the blackout shades pulled, the toyhauler is closed up, and all 3 ACs running on full blast. We're not cooking or doing much of anything inside. In fact we left for about 4 hours this morning, and came back and it was still 83-84 inside. My question is, should a coach like this be able to get cool (into the 70's) under these conditions? I don't recall our old RV struggling this hard, but I might be mis-remembering. What do yall think?

Did you turn on the AC before everything in the RV got hot? If not then that is part of the problem. Turn it on in the morning and try to keep it at the set point.It really depends on how the rig is insulated and leakage but in full sun at those temps, that may be all it can do.

ScottG wrote:Did you turn on the AC before everything in the RV got hot? If not then that is part of the problem. Turn it on in the morning and try to keep it at the set point.It really depends on how the rig is insulated and leakage but in full sun at those temps, that may be all it can do.Thanks, yeah, we fired it up on the generator before we left the house early Saturday morning. It's been running full blast since on the generator and now on the 50AMP CG power. It cools off enough at night where they will shut off, but as soon as the sun comes up they can't keep up anymore.It's possible, they are just too light for this climate. Fall is coming! :)Thanks,

I think that's all two 13.5 A/Cs can deliver.Pull in your slides for less roof space in the sun and less cubic feet to cool.Check the air in your wheels and drive to a higher elevation.Bill

Eighty, a twenty degree reduction from the outside, isn’t brutal in the desert this time of year and, yes, depends on your RVs insulation. Heck, it was 105 this March at Furnace Creek and there’s no lake to jump in.

Your a/c's seem to be working fine. Your a/c's only cool down about 20 degrees from the outside air temperature. Your RV has zip for insulation (it's only Styrofoam in the walls); you have about as much insulation as a Coleman cooler. I'll bet you don't have dual-pane windows, either. I've got 3 a/c's and the mid to low 80's is about all I get when it's triple digits outside.

Fellow desert dwellers AC question | Good Sam Community

48 Replies

2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 11, 2018
time2roll wrote:
With 3 to 5 kW solar and a Powerwall battery I will be running the air 24/7 off solar

I run air with my Li 48v pack, and was surprised to find that with just one positive cable, the connector on the ceiling of that box was getting very hot. There are bolts that go through and connect to busbars.

So I doubled it up. You wouldn't think that just 22 amps would heat things up like that! Perhaps the bolts and connectors up top are undersized, not the cable itself, because the cable is plenty big.
prepilot_3ck
Explorer
Sep 09, 2018
time2roll wrote:
prepilot_3ck wrote:
I'm thinking maybe I'll just cover the roof in solar panels, that will deflect the heat and give me power!
I keep thinking on these lines when retirement comes. I want my panels to not just cover the roof but slide out maybe four feet on each side to give shade. With 3 to 5 kW solar and a Powerwall battery I will be running the air 24/7 off solar :B

I keep looking at those Tesla home solar batteries. I keep thinking, why not?

Brian
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 07, 2018
prepilot_3ck wrote:
I'm thinking maybe I'll just cover the roof in solar panels, that will deflect the heat and give me power!
I keep thinking on these lines when retirement comes. I want my panels to not just cover the roof but slide out maybe four feet on each side to give shade. With 3 to 5 kW solar and a Powerwall battery I will be running the air 24/7 off solar :B
Groover
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2018
I have been trying to figure out a way of using the dash AC to supplement the roof units without running the main engine. Either put an electric compressor in parallel with the engine driven on or just replace the engine driven one altogether. The dash AC seems to work as well as the roof units and is much more pleasant to run. Has anyone figured out a way to do this?
prepilot_3ck
Explorer
Sep 05, 2018
theoldwizard1 wrote:
I have never camped in the desert BUT, ...

I am amazed that someone has not figured out some kind of sun shade that would cover major portions of the roof. Fabric or even screening to the wind can blow through. Get the A/C units in the shade make a BIG difference.

Come on out! :) The desert heat/sun will laugh at any sort of screen. It's just simply a hard time to camp out here. Really nice at night, but the days are brutal. I'm thinking maybe I'll just cover the roof in solar panels, that will deflect the heat and give me power!

Come to the desert and camp, but do it Oct-April. You'll love it. No bugs. No moisture. It's the cleanest camping you'll every do.

When live gives you lemons...

Brian
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2018
It was rare...that was the first year I had the Vogue....so that would have been 2002 or 2003. I had always wanted to go to Terrible's Lakeside Casino/RV Park....Loved it even with the heat. I think they have gone downhill a bit in recent years...
2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2018
Acampingwewillgo wrote:
I was in Pahrump, Nv in late March early April, the temp reached 117 degrees and I can guarantee that if it was 97 inside the MH I would have given up
That's rare for that early. What year was that?
kenbert
Explorer
Sep 04, 2018
Acampingwewillgo wrote:
There are so many options to help with cooling...interior shades, exterior shades, parking in shade, dual pane windows, tinted windows, awnings all around on every window, larger AC units 15,000 BTU vs 13,500 BTU, 3 or 4 air conditioners, I've even wet the roof down on some occasions when dealing with only 30 amps.

With all this being said, just to debunk the 20 degree lower that "outside" temp again(as others have tried), when I first got my present MH(a Vogue well insulated), I had 2 13.5 BTU airs, full awning and not much shade but they did have grass instead of concrete all around. I was in Pahrump, Nv in late March early April, the temp reached 117 degree's and I can guarantee that if it was 97 inside the MH I would have given up RV'ing right than and there. I've been called a liar many times so have at it, but my temp in the MH was in the mid 60'ies!!! My wife and I were wearing sweatshirts.

I've repeated this on a few occasions and other times had difficulty in maintaining mid to high 70'ies but I'm talking 100 + conditions. I couldn't travel with my dogs if I couldn't keep them at least somewhat cool. I've talked long enough!!! :-)

I too have camped many times in 95-100 degree weather, I have two 15,000 BTU ac units and have never had a problem keeping the coach cool, maybee it has to do with our Year Coach, they don't build them like that anymore.
Tinstar
Explorer
Sep 04, 2018
Acampingwewillgo wrote:
I was in Pahrump, Nv in late March early April, the temp reached 117 degree's and I can guarantee that if it was 97 inside the MH I would have given up RV'ing right than and there. I've been called a liar many times so have at it, but my temp in the MH was in the mid 60'ies!!! My wife and I were wearing sweatshirts.

I don't have any doubts. I use the foil bubble insulation on all windows (especially on the windshield), have blackout curtains, have awnings on all windows, keep the coils on the A/C clean, keep a fan circulating the air, etc, etc, etc. I live in Texas and extreme heat is the norm but we most always stay cool in the m/h. Yeah, it's dark inside but when choosing between 70 degrees dark and 90 degrees and a nice view, I decided I could walk outside and get the view.
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2018
There are so many options to help with cooling...interior shades, exterior shades, parking in shade, dual pane windows, tinted windows, awnings all around on every window, larger AC units 15,000 BTU vs 13,500 BTU, 3 or 4 air conditioners, I've even wet the roof down on some occasions when dealing with only 30 amps.

With all this being said, just to debunk the 20 degree lower that "outside" temp again(as others have tried), when I first got my present MH(a Vogue well insulated), I had 2 13.5 BTU airs, full awning and not much shade but they did have grass instead of concrete all around. I was in Pahrump, Nv in late March early April, the temp reached 117 degree's and I can guarantee that if it was 97 inside the MH I would have given up RV'ing right than and there. I've been called a liar many times so have at it, but my temp in the MH was in the mid 60'ies!!! My wife and I were wearing sweatshirts.

I've repeated this on a few occasions and other times had difficulty in maintaining mid to high 70'ies but I'm talking 100 + conditions. I couldn't travel with my dogs if I couldn't keep them at least somewhat cool. I've talked long enough!!! :-)