Any experiences with portable AC units?

Assuming you are going to be in a public location where the use of a generator is allowed. We camp alot off-grid and have found it is most often that generators use is really really restricted. Most of the time they are allowed in public places from 8AM to 10AM and then again from maybe 4:30PM to 8PM. Some public Natl Forest areas allows their use from 8AM to 8PM... We have never found a public place that allowed the use of Generators between 8PM and 8AM the next morning.

Have heard alot of motorhomes running all night long at public camp grounds. Somehow they all seem to get away with it. Maybe folks can't tell if it is the motor running or the generator running all night long??? Who knows - Who cares haha...

Private locations of course is a different situation and they are allowed whenever the camp ground owners allow them...

This would be my first problem to contend with... Where will I be able to use my generators...

I have used my 5K BTU small Window Type Air Conditioner Unit sitting on a shipping pallet on the ground just outside a Tent opening and also setting on a flat board just inside my POPUP trailer sitting in the unused tent bed in my OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer with the rear portion of the air conditioner sticking outside of the window flap area running from my 2KW Honda generator just fine. I then would tape up around the openings with duck tape to seal off the tent like fabric.

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The Portable low BTU air conditioner units are now starting to show up on the market sitting on the floor near a window and using exhaust vents to route hot air to the outside using a window vent panel. Much like what you can find on the internet like shown here...


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Perhaps one can find a spot on the trailer to actually cut a hole through wall or mount in a slide window and mount the small air conditioner unit that your small generator will run for these off-road places... these small air conditioners are not real heavy units..

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It has already been beat to death that the 2KW Honda type generators do not do well with the standard 13,500BTU Roof mounted Air Conditioners...

An Ice chest full of ice with a couple of small DC fans mounted in the lid work pretty darn good as well. But of course finding ICE off grid becomes a problem... Cold creek water does pretty if you are setup near the creek bank..

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I am only going through all of this because you are listed as a new member and it might be helpful for you ...

Roy Ken

Get the 2 pipe unit, otherwise you will be exhausting conditioned air to the outside.

hmmm, interesting, you could possibly get solar to come close to covering AC for at least half a 5 er. If you only needed AC for maybe 3 PM to 8 PM It may keep up.
I would think a panel cut to fit in a window opening would be all thats needed for venting. I dont know if a larger condensate drain pan will be needed or not because of the smaller, low ceiling type of space.

I remembered a remote jobsite, we had a small AC unit that worked well. So I looked up Ductless mini-split type units can be as small as 7000 BTU didnt spend a lot of time but saw those and thought they could work better, compressor would be outside cooling unit only inside, higher SEER ratings but the ones I saw were all 230 volts, but It could be worth exploring.