Full time 5th Wheel living in Phoenix in the summer

[sparky60]

It seems as though all of the so-called Four-Seasons 5th Wheel manufacturers focus on the cold weather. I would like to know how any of them would fare in an extremely hot environment, like Phoenix, AZ during the summer (120 degrees)
If you've got some experience with living full time in your Fifth Wheel in the Phoenix and Mesa, AZ area, I would sure like to hear from you about what rig you have and how you coped with the extreme heat.
Thanks very much!

[Me_Again]

larry barnhart wrote:
Wow that makes a good story but not the deal. best part of 93 is you go from 7400 feet down to Vegas. Going down 15 to 215 and stop at the pony express rv resort to go around Salt Lake city . Doing the new boulder bridge route.

chevman

Well from Yakima, I would do Farewell Bend SP, then Heyburn Riverside RV Park(City Park), then your SLC park. Chris

[larry_barnhart]

Wow that makes a good story but not the deal. best part of 93 is you go from 7400 feet down to Vegas. Going down 15 to 215 and stop at the pony express rv resort to go around Salt Lake city . Doing the new boulder bridge route.

chevman

[Cummins12V98]

larry barnhart wrote:

Me Again wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
We have been in Casa Grande for 15 winters starting in early oct and a couple time in very late sept. Never had any reason to use the AC after maybe 9:30PM. One Ac only. Hope this doesn't change as we hit the road the 1st of Oct.
chevman

Larry, do you go down 93? We are leaving the 2nd of Oct and thinking about the inland route this year. Chris

We have towed on 93 many times and always coming home in april. but we are going a different route this time . 93 is a great smooth drive a few miles south of twin falls.
chevman

Let's make this clear, are you going a different route because of the route Chris has publicly said he would travel???

[laknox]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Are you relocating to Phoenix Area due to work..........retirement 5-7 yrs away?

You have another RV to travel in.....so rent an apartment until you retire.

Full Timing in an RV is NOT necessarily cheaper than an APT
especially in Phoenix in the summer

x2!

Lyle
3rd Generation Arizonan

[larry_barnhart]

Me Again wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
We have been in Casa Grande for 15 winters starting in early oct and a couple time in very late sept. Never had any reason to use the AC after maybe 9:30PM. One Ac only. Hope this doesn't change as we hit the road the 1st of Oct.
chevman

Larry, do you go down 93? We are leaving the 2nd of Oct and thinking about the inland route this year. Chris

We have towed on 93 many times and always coming home in april. but we are going a different route this time . 93 is a great smooth drive a few miles south of twin falls.
chevman

[Me_Again]

larry barnhart wrote:
We have been in Casa Grande for 15 winters starting in early oct and a couple time in very late sept. Never had any reason to use the AC after maybe 9:30PM. One Ac only. Hope this doesn't change as we hit the road the 1st of Oct.
chevman

Larry, do you go down 93? We are leaving the 2nd of Oct and thinking about the inland route this year. Chris

[Cummins12V98]

sparky60 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Recently spent two weeks in Desert Hot Springs, CA with temps up to 122. Had zero issues keeping the RV in the low 70's with 3 AC units. RV in sig.

Once again, it sounds like a Mobile Suites is the way to go. Did you run all three AC's at the same time?

All three on 50a.

[Old-Biscuit]

Are you relocating to Phoenix Area due to work..........retirement 5-7 yrs away?

You have another RV to travel in.....so rent an apartment until you retire.

Full Timing in an RV is NOT necessarily cheaper than an APT
especially in Phoenix in the summer

[sparky60]

jshupe wrote:
Op, you should be fine if you pair your included dual ACs with a 12K mini-split. Or throw in a larger mini-split and you can turn one of your factory units off. I ran the calculations for our rig (in my sig) a while back and figured that we'd need around 42K BTU to keep it comfortable in the AZ summers. That means I'll be adding a 12K BTU mini-split at some point in our rig's life to the 2x 15K RV units we already have.

This is an example of one having been retrofitted.

Dometic doesn't advertise SEER ratings, but I read they're somewhere around 9. By comparison, home AC units might be around 13-16, and mini-split units can be 18 to OVER 30! Higher is better.

I've never heard of a mini-split until your post. After researching further, I'm surprised these things aren't installed on more RV's. IN fact, if one of the big RV manufacturers would put these in their units as a nice clean factory install, I've got to believe that would make a huge splash in the industry! They seem like a terrific way to cool things down! Thanks so much for the great info - exactly what I'm looking for!

[Us_out_West]

sparky60 wrote:
UsOutWest - The 5th Wheel will be our home. We may travel some, and for that we have a 2015 Coachmen Freelander Class c Motorhome.

Quoting a couple of posts;

sparky wrote:
We've still got a few years left to work.

I always associated 'few' with 3.

Now from your other thread on the same subject;

sparky wrote:
We want to buy a 5th Wheel and make Mesa, AZ our full time home until we retire and can snowbird (in about 5-7 years).

Well I have to say again I would buy a park model now and the 5th wheel when you are really going to retire...I assume in 5-7 years.

You'll be a lot more comfortable all the way around.

In any event safe travels when you do.

[sparky60]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Recently spent two weeks in Desert Hot Springs, CA with temps up to 122. Had zero issues keeping the RV in the low 70's with 3 AC units. RV in sig.

Once again, it sounds like a Mobile Suites is the way to go. Did you run all three AC's at the same time?

[sparky60]

Us out West wrote:

Me Again wrote:
Buy a park model with a real AC unit! Chris

Thats where I was going.

One can buy (don't rent) a park model at a variety of RV parks for half the cost (or less) of a new 5th wheel like maybe the OP is considering.

So....after a "few years" in Mesa sell the park model, there are always buyers. You'll have been a lot more comfortable than living in any RV in the Phoenix area or any place in AZ in the Summer....and that would be 3 Summers if you stick to your plan.

Just get into the right Park and don't worry about having to move.

Either way, RV space or Park Model space, you still have to pay a space rent. An RV space is about $250, and a Park Model space is about $500. Which park do you recommend?

[n0arp]

sparky60 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
Buy a park model with a real AC unit! Chris

Park model space rent is over $1100/month. An RV site is about $230/month. And if I want to go to another park at some point, I don't have to sell a tiny home. I just hitch and drive. I really need to hear from those that have "been there, done that", and what rig they had.

Seriously, a mini-split is going to be the most cost effective and versatile route for you to go. Fairly easy to install and very efficient. You can calculate how many BTU you need based on the size of your trailer using online calculators and it will move with you, unlike a carport.

[sparky60]

soos wrote:
We spent an entire summer in Lake Havasu City, which is actually warmer than Phoenix.
We were in our Mobile Suites. We were able to maintain an interior temperature of 76-78* all summer, even though the exterior temperature rarely went below 100- at night.
We were careful which site we picked so our patio did not face west.
We set up sunshades on both sides of the rig, making sure the refrigerator was protected from the sun- we used a gray tarp for that section. None of it was pretty but it worked.
We kept all shades closed most of the time, and put insulating material in the windows that we really never cared about opening.
We have 2 air conditioners and from mid June to the end of August, neither one of them ever shut off, but as I said, we were able to keep it cool enough to feel very comfy. My bigger complait was that even using straight cold water, the water was too warm to take a shower.

We were lucky, we also have a truck camper so we took it on weekends and went to Flagstaff where it was significantly cooler.
One of my worries was the cat. I wouldn't go too far because if we had left him home and lost power, I don't think he would have survived long. he always came in the camper with us.

So, we did it, but it did have the feel of cave dwelling.

Great info, Thanks , Sue! It sounds like a Mobile Suites is the way to do this.