Coleman 13.5K to 15K upgrade?

Keep the fan speed on hi. The increase in cooling is about 10%. Not good value for the money, and a 15k BTU unit may be problematic to run on a 15 amp shore power supply. There may be greater voltage drop using the 15K and start up surge is larger.

Switched ours after 1 year. Trailer is 30 amp. Air conditioner ran just fine. However I do need to watch the amp draw so often run our water heater on propane rather than Electric and that takes care of the problem. Big difference in the cooling Factor and our camper is 35 ft long. The unit is all one piece and the wiring will need to match because it will be a plug that simply plugs into existing wire in your camper so that has to match. You may have to do some minor adjustments to get the ductwork to match. Getting it on the roof is the hardest part. Good luck.

We have found that even with the 15,000 unit we still run the central blast from the air conditioner in the main part of the coach and shut the bedroom off and bathroom off. Only once has it been so hot for us that we pulled the slides in to reduce the space. When we did that the air conditioner did just fine. There was only one occasion when we had to do that in the last 3 years.

I might clarify that we use the central blast only after we've traveled and the trailer is extremely hot on the inside. This cools the main living area much faster than the ductwork. Also when returning after a very busy day and we are extremely hot if we flip on the blast and stand directly underneath it it cools us wonderfully.

I have the fan on full, don't use auto mode and the front of the unit stays warm, where I sleep of course! If they had installed it about 1 foot further forward it would have worked much better. There are 3 ducts, on in the bath, one mid forward and one in the front, the bath is closed, the mid forward has a slit and the front is full open. Not worried about amp draw since we camp with minimum 30 amp.

Also running a 30 Amp circuit at my house for when we are not using it so that the AC can be run during the really hot humid days to keep it dry inside.

Of course I can just see if I can find a shorter cover for it too. It just clears the doorway and trusses with the cover off, and if I can find a cover that is less than an inch above the unit now, then I can do that for now and replace the AC down the road if I decide that the current one is just not cutting it.

Sounds like you need the Mach 8 Plus Ultra Low at 8.25" high on the roof.

The Mach 10 is 11.8" high on the roof.
Mach 3?

Hi,

I often have to use an autoformer when running my roof air at campgrounds with 30 amp shore power. Voltage drop from everyone under the sun using power.

The icing is because of restricting the air flow. Open the door to the bathroom and open the vents fully.

Acdii wrote:
Not worried about amp draw since we camp with minimum 30 amp.

Also running a 30 Amp circuit at my house for when we are not using it so that the AC can be run during the really hot humid days to keep it dry inside.

I think the 15K AC is a great upgrade, especially in warmer or more humid climates. Ours works great in a 31' long with a large slide out... but remember that AC's can really only produce about 20-30 degrees colder air than outside air. If its 110 outside, a properly working AC unit might only make it 80 degrees inside...

If your unit is icing up, even on high setting, something may be wrong with your unit. I would suggest you get it looked at. It could be dirty and restricting airflow, it could have a problem with the capacitor or even be low on refrigerant.

If you are trying to save some money, check into those first. If you want a new AC unit with a lower profile, I say GO FOR IT! We camp with friends with a smaller trailer and a 13.5K unit and they struggle to maintain comfy temps. Our bigger camper with a slide and 15K cools faster and more consistently.

Funny thing it only iced up in Utah, maybe altitude played a part in it, we were at 6800' elevation and it was dry. I have had it running on hot 90*+ very humid days with no icing. My Refer had conked out a few times on the way through Utah and CO, and only above 5000', found out it was due to altitude, worked fine once I was onsite though.

I was looking at the Dometic Penguin II, but couldnt make out what the interior was supposed to be, just looked like a panel. I will check out the Mach, looks to be just the height I need.

If I had ordered my Jayco 23RB, I would have optioned up to the 15k model. But I just have the 13.5k model, which works ok.

If it failed under warranty I'd try to get the 15k and just pay the difference in cost.

If it failed out of warranty, I'd probably just bite the bullet and replace with a 15k model.

I figure a 15k model will cool better, and maybe not work as hard to keep the TT cool.

Adcii - I am surprised that you are not having more icing problems since you are closing registers. On an A/C ALL registers must be open for proper airflow thru the unit. More capacity will not solve the warm front problem. The only real solution is an additional duct and register there.