AC Question

MrWizard wrote:
you can keep the cab cool if,

IF..................

Well like most things, everybody has an opinion and seemingly different experiences even with similar equipment.

Try it and see what YOU think. It all depends on your threshold for discomfort.

If the interior is already HOT, cracking a rear window or roof vent and running the dash unit NOT on recirc for the first half hour or so can help a lot.....by expelling some of the overheated air.

Our cab air is OK until 100F+ and then we may use the gen and the roof A/Cs.

Yes you can run fans on the inverter, but consider 12V DC fans. We have one standalone 120V AC fan that gets little usage. The roof vent fans (12V DC) get used a lot.

you can keep the cab cool if,

IF

you hang a drape behind the seats and block off the cab from the RV

you need the roof top a/c to cool the RV section

yes you can run fans from an inverter, but the cab/dash a/c is not strong enough to keep the RV cool in summer temps

Floridastorm wrote:
When traveling down the road in the daytime can the cab AC keep the MH cool enough so that you don't die of the heat?

NO WAY !

My E150 Club Wagon has rear A/C. With both running full blast it is "tolerable" in the summer sun.

Hi,

I find it helps cool air distribution to run the roof air with the fan only. That is an easy load for the inverter. About 60 minutes before I stop, I do start the generator and run the roof air.

If I know I'll have shore power, I have sometimes run the roof air from the inverter.

The biggest problem is after stopping the transmission and engine radiate heat into the cab. If I open the hood that helps to let the heat out.

I'm planning a massive solar upgrade, and if it comes to pass I should be able to run the roof air more or less totally on energy from the sun. It may also keep the RV cooler by shading the roof.

lj2654 wrote:
With a 24' C you should be ok as long as the dash air works good.

My 29' cools OK....in about the front 1/3 IF you get a jump on it in the morning.

IF I let it sit out in the sun so that the whole thing heats up to 80 or more......then I have a problem. But even then the two cab seats are bearable.

Yes it will keep the cab cold for two people and cool for someone sitting right behind the front seats but not the rest of the MH. If only two people you can put up a curtain behind the front seats to make it really cold up front.

My dash air keeps us cool until it gets above 95 outside but we do not have the heat of a engine working against it. Often poor AC on any vehicle is often caused by a bad hot-water shut off valve keeping the heater coil warm all the time. Easiest fix is a manual shutoff valve in the heater hose that you close in the summer.

Run the generator and roof air.
Some RVers don't bother getting the dash air fixed when it quits.

Peobably not. The dash air is really inadequate even for a standard passanger van, let alone a MH. Stsrt the generator, run the roof air and go knowingmits going to cost you about a half MPG.

We live in Florida also. I had the dash a/c system gone over a year ago and most of it needed replacement. At the tune of $1700 for the overhaul it still doesn't cool very well. I run the generator and the roof air all the time now instead. But we have a 40' diesel pusher with a huge windshield. With a 24' C you should be ok as long as the dash air works good.