I have a KZ Spree 240bhs, about 24' long box that has 1 13500btu AC unit on top. Any time it gets over 85 degrees, this unit essentially fails to cool the camper to an acceptable, comfortable temperature. This problem makes us extremely weary about summer camping in the South or anytime temps are expected to climb. A couple years ago we were returning from Yellowstone and stopped 2 nights in a row where it was 100+ - we were miserable.What are my options? -Can/Should I add a unit? -Should I upgrade to 15k BTU and will that make a big enough difference? -What are the costs of upgrading to 15k or adding a second unit? -If a second unit is added, can the RV run both with shore power connected? Thanks!

My advice would be to determine what's wrong with the unit you have. My 13.5k cools my 32' trailer quite well and I camp during the summer in Florida. Some shady camping spots will aid in cooling but 85 degrees should not be an issue with a 13.5k unit. A 15k unit will be better no doubt on initial cooling, but somethings not right with your current unit.

I would add another unit. Going from 13.5 to 15 will not help that much.

there would have to be a reason why that cannot keep a 24' trailer cool... We had several RV's over the 30' with 1 13.5 AC for years and it worked.. Not the best at all times , but manageable.. Each of those spent 2 weeks in July/August on the beach at Myrtle Beach with no shade..As far as a second ac goes , Your trailer would have to be wired for 50 amp in order to do this. UNLESS-- you create a separate plug for that second AC to plug directly into the pedestal ..I would have that AC looked at before spending a ton of money adding AC's and wire.....

Good advice, thanks all! Guess I'll have to start some troubleshooting this weekend! Could just be a crappy unit, doesn't have many hours on it and I am not the original owner.

Our trailer is over 30 feet and we do ok, we are not south but it can get warm. I can see an issue is you turn it on and do not have time to let it work for awhile. When it is hot, we let ours bring the temp way down at night and just let it maintain the temp during the day. The second day/night is always better than the first.

RV AC units - Questions | Good Sam Community

CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Jun 04, 2015
ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
CavemanCharlie wrote:
ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
:) Hi, different animal, but my 25'er only has an 11,000 BTU air conditioner and works great. Air coming out of the ducts is about 40 degrees. This picture is higher than usual.

Yup, that's what I see too. I could take the same picture. And, it only takes about 3 minutes to get down to those temps.

What brand name of AC do you have???

:) Hi, it's called a Penguin.

Thanks :)
ROBERTSUNRUS
Explorer
Jun 03, 2015
CavemanCharlie wrote:
ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
:) Hi, different animal, but my 25'er only has an 11,000 BTU air conditioner and works great. Air coming out of the ducts is about 40 degrees. This picture is higher than usual.

Yup, that's what I see too. I could take the same picture. And, it only takes about 3 minutes to get down to those temps.

What brand name of AC do you have???

:) Hi, it's called a Penguin.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Jun 02, 2015
ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
:) Hi, different animal, but my 25'er only has an 11,000 BTU air conditioner and works great. Air coming out of the ducts is about 40 degrees. This picture is higher than usual.

Yup, that's what I see too. I could take the same picture. And, it only takes about 3 minutes to get down to those temps.

What brand name of AC do you have???
ROBERTSUNRUS
Explorer
Jun 02, 2015
:)Hi, recent pictures taken during my new generator inlet test.
ROBERTSUNRUS
Explorer
Jun 02, 2015
:) Hi, different animal, but my 25'er only has an 11,000 BTU air conditioner and works great. Air coming out of the ducts is about 40 degrees. This picture is higher than usual.
marcsbigfoot20b
Explorer
Jun 02, 2015
I have to laugh every time I see a post with someone saying that an RV ac unit should see 15-20 degree delta.

That delta will be after hours of running when it has reached its max heat it can remove.

I could run out to my trailer with 90 F inside and in 3 minutes it will be blowing 40ish.

Auto ac, which I have worked on for 1/4 century also sees huge deltas in temps. Limiting factor is the low side cut out cycling switch, usually set to a psi setting that correlates to about 38F depending on which refrigerant used.
Plus a car ac is about 5 hp or 4000 watts. That is nearly 3x 13,500 units.

I installed an adjustable switch in my Tahoe (cuts out at a lower psi) and it will blow 26 F while cruising down the freeway. Just have to be careful during humid months or adjust a few psi higher to avoid freeze ups.
biggrigg
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
I have a 30' TT that came with a 15 btu. On hot days (90+) with no shade it just couldn't keep up. The factory install was horrible. It was blowing cold air so I just sealed it from leaking into the ceiling with little improvement. I added a second 15 btu in the bedroom and now everything is great. Once I get the TT cooled down I can just run the bedroom a/c so it is quiet in the living room. Good luck with yours.
Rangerman40
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
I'd say you have a problem with your unit. I have a 23' trailer and we went to Florida in the middle of August last year and it had no problem at all keeping it cool on a site that had no shade whatsoever.
My_Roadtrek
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
Many people think more BTU"s will cool better, but you need to be carefull and size the AC to the sq. footage.
13,500 BTU 400 sq. ft min. 500 sq ft max.

"Do not buy an air conditioner which is oversized (too many BTUh) for the area you need to cool. You may think that bigger is better, but not in the case of air conditioning.

To make a room comfortable the air conditioner needs to both cool the room air AND dehumidify the room air.

If the air conditioner is too large for the space to be cooled, the temperature will drop quickly and the A/C unit will shut off before the air has become adequately dry.

The room will be either too cold or too humid for comfort."
thomasmnile
Explorer
Jun 01, 2015
Like others have posted a 20 degree 'split' between room air and temp in the discharge at the unit is about what you should see. Just had my stick n' brick's 3 ton Trane heat pump serviced, 56 degrees at the air handler discharge plenum, 76 degrees room air. Reality is, despite all the marketing hype, an RV isn't well insulated, period. Agree with the suggestion to try for shaded campsites in summer whenever possible, would likely help more than a bigger AC.