So hotttt

[fallonator22]

So we have the 2016 sandpiper, it came with 2 ac units, 15000btu. One in the front living area which is over the truck bed, and one in the back master bedroom.

We are currently in corpus christi, TX where it is humid hot hell. the norm temps so far have been 90's. Prior to this when we first got the sandpiper about 3 weeks ago, we had been parked in magnolia, texas, more north and we had a few cool days, so it wasn't as brutal.

Either way - we first got down here and our A/C (i've posted about this before) was not cooling properly after like the 2nd day. We like to keep it at 67/68 when we sleep, and try for 70-72 during the day. What i've noticed is that the AC's in RV's run a little hotter than, an apartment AC, per say.

After the 2nd day in corpus, the air was coming out of the vents in the living area, it was cool air, but the temp in that zone was a constant 83 when set to low to mid 70's. Had the guy come out yesterday and he said he could tell a repair or something had been done to it, and that he had to redirect the intake of the air to inside the RV because it was pointed to pull air from in between the RV roof and some paneling underneath. He said other than that, it is working as it should, has plenty of freon, and should be good. After he left, it still never got down to the temp we wanted it, and overnight it still could not get down to the temp we wanted it. Right now it is set to 69 and it is at 73, which is what it's been all night, but it is also overcast and has been raining all night. Just worries me that when it is hot and dry again that it will struggle.

As far as AC's go for RV's - is this normal? Esp for the bigger AC unit? I mean, if that is normal then I guess leaving all the shades shut so it's darker in here trying to cool it down will just be a norm. Also, would it be worth purchasing a stronger unit for the front living? The back bedroom does fine and we have no issues with that one, but it is also cooling a smaller space.

[fallonator22]

Well, the guy that came yesterday to fix the AC and some other things, had to come back today. Asked him if 'this is just how it is' with the AC only cooling to 10 degrees below outside temp even tho it's set to 70 all day. He said yes. Lol. So, great. Hope it doesn't get to be 95 again. We are going to get one of those tower fans for the corner I guess!

[Butch50]

People that are stating that an AC will only cool to 20* lower than outside are not correct. The output of an AC should be 20* lower than incoming air to the AC measured at the AC. Otherwise you would never be able to cool the air less than outside air.

I had an very insulated 5er that was 35' in southern Oregon near Roseburg which can get very hot and the 5er had one 15K unit and it woud cool our trailer to a very comfy level. I'm not thin but in +90* temps our trailer would be in a 72* range and at night we had to shut the AC down a bunch to keep from freezing us out. The one AC was recommended by the President of the company who built out unit. He had the vent in the bedroom all wired for a second but he wanted us to try it first. This was a factory ordered unit.

Here is an article regarding the difference of air temps from incoming and outgoing air.

For some reason it won't let me post a direct link but it is from Motley RV Repair

Here is the link

http://www.motleyrvrepair.com/rv_air_conditioners_made_simple.htm

[2oldman]

DallasSteve wrote:
I keep my home at about 78 and sometimes that feels cool. But then my wife and I are thin. That seems to make a difference

My elderly father, RIP, kept his about 80. He was thin. It was stifling to me, and I am also thin. I think age has something to do with it.

[fallonator22]

SidecarFlip wrote:

Dennis12 wrote:
How long will you be where you are parked. You may want to consider planting a couple trees for shade.

......:B

I don't even have air conditioning in my unit. Never needed it. In fact, out house don't have ac either other than the bedroom (window unit) and it gets turned on for a couple hours before bed and then turned off. AC ruins my sinus.

What s swimming pool, creek or river is for.

Man up.

Ever lived in south Texas? Pretty sure if you tried to 'man up' down here like you say you do up in Michigan you would die.

[fallonator22]

time2roll wrote:

ScottG wrote:
There is no reason why an RV AC can't cool to more than 25 degrees lower than the outside temp. I think what get cofused is the the temperature drop through the AC is about 16~21 degrees. The more the same air circulates through the AC the cooler it gets. The rest is up to the insulation and overall heat load of the RV. The AC has no idea what the outside temp is.

Exactly. No air is drawn in from outside like a commercial unit.

Yes, and that is what he fixed yesterday, he re directed the intake to the panels that are inside the RV instead of the space in between the ceiling and the roof. It started out about 83F this morning outside, and is now at 86F, which is cooler than it has been. The front AC has been able to be 10F lower than outside temp, so started at 73F this morning, now at 76F, even though the whole time it has been set to 70F. The back AC in the bedroom and bath is keeping up no prob.
I had the awning open for a bit, but the wind was too strong and I felt uncomfortable having it shake out there. We have one big awning over the kitchen dinette slide and both entry doors. Wish we had some over each slide with windows, that would be nice. We do have a lot of windows though, so that may be part of the issue. It is not terrible in here as it has been (was 83F yesterday) but my worry is that if it gets to be 95F again that it will only cool 10F below the temp outside as it is doing now.

[fallonator22]

DutchmenSport wrote:
This is one of the reasons why we opted for a TT over a 5er. 5ers have taller ceilings than most TT and even the slide outs have taller ceilings. The more "space" you have, the harder it is to heat and cool.

Basically, with the outside temperatures so hot and the amount of space the air conditioners are attempting to cool is to much, and probably the insulation and windows are not rated very good at all, your air conditioner just cannot keep up with the heat. You're trying to cool too much space.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I'M AN ADVOCATE FOR CHECKING OUT A CAMPER WITH SLIDES 'IN' BEFORE PURCHASING TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN ACTUALLY LIVE IN IT (WITH SLIDES IN).

There-in is about your only option to get the camper cooler (especially at night). Retract the slides and make the inside space smaller. The air conditioners don't have as much square footage to deal with, and you'll feel the difference, almost immediately. In the day time, open them back up. If it's still too hot, close the bed room slide during the day and leave the living room open. Any way to make the space smaller will help tremendously.

This is the same technique I use after traveling all day in high heat. The inside of the camper may be nearly 100 degrees. We plug in shore power, and then the (15,000 BTU ... only 1) air conditioner and within a few minutes, the entire camper is cooling down. By the time I get the camper stablized, jack down, unhitched, and everything set up, then we open one slide at a time so the air conditioner can keep up. This works.

So, a simple solution to your problem, make your space smaller if you have slides. Slide in the areas you are not using at that time of day or night and it WILL make a big difference on the inside temperature.

That is a good suggestion - thanks!!

[2oldman]

SidecarFlip wrote:
AC ruins my sinus.What s swimming pool, creek or river is for.Man up.

If AC ruined my sinuses I might man up, but for now I'll use AC.

[fallonator22]

Dennis12 wrote:
How long will you be where you are parked. You may want to consider planting a couple trees for shade.

We have been here a little over a week. We put in for a month, but not sure if we will even stay that long - it is just a work dependent situation (post hurricane adjustment work)

[SidecarFlip]

Dennis12 wrote:
How long will you be where you are parked. You may want to consider planting a couple trees for shade.

......:B

I don't even have air conditioning in my unit. Never needed it. In fact, out house don't have ac either other than the bedroom (window unit) and it gets turned on for a couple hours before bed and then turned off. AC ruins my sinus.

What s swimming pool, creek or river is for.

Man up.

[2oldman]

time2roll wrote:

ScottG wrote:
There is no reason why an RV AC can't cool to more than 25 degrees lower than the outside temp. I think what get cofused is the the temperature drop through the AC is about 16~21 degrees. The more the same air circulates through the AC the cooler it gets. The rest is up to the insulation and overall heat load of the RV. The AC has no idea what the outside temp is.

Exactly. No air is drawn in from outside like a commercial unit.

I've heard this before, even from an HVAC tech, but I sure had a hard time believing it since the air ducts fins feel very cold even in a hot trailer.

The cooled air coming from my ducts is a constant 55°. If the cooled air were only 20° cooler than ambient, it would take all day to cool down a 90° coach.

You don't have to believe me. Just get a couple thermometers and do it for yourself.

[DallasSteve]

70 degrees! I'd have to put on a coat. Seriously. I keep my home at about 78 and sometimes that feels cool. But then my wife and I are thin. That seems to make a difference

[Gearitis]

Allworth wrote:
When traveling in the Southwest in Summer we have quilted aluminum foil panels cut to fit in the larger windows (rear, dining room, etc) that we carry with us and install when the sun really starts heating up the unit.

Foil is available at CW; Lowes; HD.

The other couple that we RV with have a 2015 SandPiper with lots of windows. They took our suggestion and went to Home Depot and bought a big roll of Reflectix and cut it to form to all the windows. After doing that, especially on the big Picture window in the back, the temp steadily fell to where it was 70 or less all day long from being 78-82. We had several days, in middle July of 100 plus and it kept it cool as they wanted. The one day it reached 106, heat index was 114, they actually laid some reflectix on the outside over the big slide. Wow, cooled it down 6 degrees in a matter of a few minutes on the inside. Just for Reference, we are in central Texas so I understand heat, humidity and gnats and flies when it gets unbearable with humidity and heat.

[time2roll]

ScottG wrote:
There is no reason why an RV AC can't cool to more than 25 degrees lower than the outside temp. I think what get cofused is the the temperature drop through the AC is about 16~21 degrees. The more the same air circulates through the AC the cooler it gets. The rest is up to the insulation and overall heat load of the RV. The AC has no idea what the outside temp is.

Exactly. No air is drawn in from outside like a commercial unit.

[time2roll]

Very common to have the freeze sensor fall away from the evaporator and the compressor does not cycle as designed. Remove all interior trim and check the sensor. Or did the service person show you it was in the right spot? And check his work on those ducts too... it sounds fishy but odd things do happen.

While in the check the plenum divider. This separates the air-in from the air-out and they are often poorly installed allowing air to re-circulate in the unit instead of cooling the RV. Get some tape and seal it up.

Humidity is bad but 90 is just the start of getting hot. Shade always helps.

[the_bear_II]

Our 364 sq ft 5th wheel has one 15,000 btu A/C unit. In 90 degree heat we can keep the inside at 70 degrees. We have the patio awning deployed as well as awning on each window. Inside we have our mini blinds down and turned so that the sun does not come in through the window. Our door stays closed as much as possible. We set the thermostat at 55 degrees.

We use fans to direct cold air to hot spots within our RV.

The A/C unit stays on 24/7 as long as the heat outside is over 80 degrees during the day. If we get cold we put on jackets rather than turn off the A/C. My goal is to keep everything inside the RV cold (cabinets, walls, counters, furniture...etc) to keep the A/C unit from having to work harder at maintaining a comfortable temperature.