30 amp and one air conditioner

[travelingcat]

We are considering buying a Forest River Forester 3051S or 3011DS with a 15000 BTU air conditioner. It would be used for extended trips (2 to 3 months) to visit family between Florida and Houston, Texas. The fact that 30 amp limits us to only one air conditioner has us concerned. Is there anyone out there owning one of these or a similar size Class C and using it in this climate? If so, does the one air conditioner keep you comfortable? Thanks for any help you can give.

[TyroneandGladys]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

Mich F wrote:
I've had my 31K (32 1/2' long) with a 15,000 BTU ducted air conditioner for 2 years, and have done all my "camping" in Florida, and have never had a problem with the one unit not being able to cool the MH. It has never run constantly and cycles on and off like my house AC.

X2, I live in Florida and have owned several Class C rig, 15K AC and heat pump was all I ever needed. Unless you are talking about a super C I see no need for a second AC. Largest heat loss thru windshield, a windsheild blanket with some insulation/reflection capabilities would go a long way if your parked in the sun. And yes at times the AC will continue to crank depending on the insulation capabilities of the rig but that should be fine.

X3

I did 4 summers in Florida in a 31 ft.
One AC works just fine.

YOU just have to learn HOW to RV/camp in hot weather states to assist your AC. You could add 2 more AC's and if you don't to the following it will still be hot inside your RV! It's not a house. It is a big uninsulated box sitting in the sun. :B

When possible:
1.Find shade parking space

2.Face the side your awning is on to the west. so you can put your awning down to the lowest position to shade that side of the RV during the hottest part of the day.

Items to buy:
3. Pillow covers in all vent openings. Cover skylight in shower if you have once. AC cold goes right out the vents they are not air tight.

4. If the RV has white vent covers? Replace them with smoke colored ones.

5. MH's cover those windshields with sunshades. TT's cover the windows. On the east side in the morning and on the west side in the afternoon.

6. I bought removable limo tint and did all my windows. Looks professional and cut down the sun and I can still see out. REAL hot days I add van windshield sun shades under the day night shades. Makes a BIG difference.

And lastly the first summer I did in Florida the Mobile Repair Guy told me to get a de-humidifier. THAT made a REAL BIG difference on how cold the AC could get the inside.

Well stated
If you do not have window awnings on the drivers side this helps a bunch. Sunscreen
We close off the bathroom the overhead and the cab area during the hottest parts of the day.

[RobertL0]

Buy an 5K btu AC and make a cheap flimsily bracket and put it in the emergency escape window. (5000 btu are the smallest and lightest they make, as a window unit). Run the power cord out the same window, connect to the pedestal, duct tape any openings.

Turn on additional 5K btu

Emergency escape? Push on the AC, it will fall to ground, bail out

AC about $125

Don't make a solution more complicated and expensive than they need to be

travelingcat wrote:
We are considering buying a Forest River Forester 3051S or 3011DS with a 15000 BTU air conditioner. It would be used for extended trips (2 to 3 months) to visit family between Florida and Houston, Texas. The fact that 30 amp limits us to only one air conditioner has us concerned. Is there anyone out there owning one of these or a similar size Class C and using it in this climate? If so, does the one air conditioner keep you comfortable? Thanks for any help you can give.

[johnnyrv]

we have 24 foot class c with a 13500 btu ac that we use in fl and ga year round. we always run the ac on the low cool setting and even that easily handles the need for ac. ours is non ducted.

[wbwood]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

Mich F wrote:
I've had my 31K (32 1/2' long) with a 15,000 BTU ducted air conditioner for 2 years, and have done all my "camping" in Florida, and have never had a problem with the one unit not being able to cool the MH. It has never run constantly and cycles on and off like my house AC.

X2, I live in Florida and have owned several Class C rig, 15K AC and heat pump was all I ever needed. Unless you are talking about a super C I see no need for a second AC. Largest heat loss thru windshield, a windsheild blanket with some insulation/reflection capabilities would go a long way if your parked in the sun. And yes at times the AC will continue to crank depending on the insulation capabilities of the rig but that should be fine.

X3

I did 4 summers in Florida in a 31 ft.
One AC works just fine.

YOU just have to learn HOW to RV/camp in hot weather states to assist your AC. You could add 2 more AC's and if you don't to the following it will still be hot inside your RV! It's not a house. It is a big uninsulated box sitting in the sun. :B

When possible:
1.Find shade parking space

2.Face the side your awning is on to the west. so you can put your awning down to the lowest position to shade that side of the RV during the hottest part of the day.

Items to buy:
3. Pillow covers in all vent openings. Cover skylight in shower if you have once. AC cold goes right out the vents they are not air tight.

4. If the RV has white vent covers? Replace them with smoke colored ones.

5. MH's cover those windshields with sunshades. TT's cover the windows. On the east side in the morning and on the west side in the afternoon.

6. I bought removable limo tint and did all my windows. Looks professional and cut down the sun and I can still see out. REAL hot days I add van windshield sun shades under the day night shades. Makes a BIG difference.

And lastly the first summer I did in Florida the Mobile Repair Guy told me to get a de-humidifier. THAT made a REAL BIG difference on how cold the AC could get the inside.

Great points!

Also, you can go buy a fan or two to help out if you think you need it.

[wbwood]

Mich F wrote:
I've had my 31K (32 1/2' long) with a 15,000 BTU ducted air conditioner for 2 years, and have done all my "camping" in Florida, and have never had a problem with the one unit not being able to cool the MH. It has never run constantly and cycles on and off like my house AC.

Agreed... we had a 31' TT before and now a 31' Class C. Both 30 amp with one A/C. We have camped in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina (amongst other places) in the summer. We never had an issue, even in direct sun. We are originally from Georgia and know about heat and humidity.

But if you are concerned, then nothing will make you feel better unless you go to a 2 a/c 50 amp unit...

[travelingcat]

We've eliminated the 3051S due to worries about the Schwintek slide mechanism with such a large slide. We're planning to look at a Winnebago Aspect 27K. I have decided to wait until a nice, hot summer day in Florida and tell the salesman to turn on the ac and see if it cools the coach. That should help with our decision. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Will let you know if we ever make a decision.

[k9-keno]

Do a lot of Camping in our single A/C 2001 Georgie boy 31ft C in Florida. Orlando area and we have not had any problems cooling the coach. Our A/C is ducted but also can rapid cool by opening a vent on the unit. Hope that helps!!

[amxpress]

We had a 34' fiver with a single 15K A/C. We spent time in St. Augustine during July & August. On hot days, the A/C was kickin hard to keep it cool, but we used a 12" floor fan to move the air which made a big difference, especially at the far end of the fiver. Good luck.

[pnichols]

rockhillmanor wrote:
And lastly the first summer I did in Florida the Mobile Repair Guy told me to get a de-humidifier.

That's an outstanding recommendation ... probably one of the most important pieces of equipment to have in an RV in Florida humidity.

A 30 amp RV may not be able to handle two air conditioners well. However definitely make sure it has a 15,000 BTU air conditioner, instead of only a 13,500 BTU air conditioner. A 30 amp RV should be able to handle both a 15,000 BTU air conditioner and a dehumidifier. Note that you should get one of the good dehumidifiers that you'll have to pay a bit more for - one with a compressor in it.

For what it's worth, I believe in a bit of "overkill" in RV equipment so that should the need or desire ever arise, one has the flexibility in their RV to camp anywhere anytime without a whole bunch of limitations.

[rockhillmanor]

Coach-man wrote:

Mich F wrote:
I've had my 31K (32 1/2' long) with a 15,000 BTU ducted air conditioner for 2 years, and have done all my "camping" in Florida, and have never had a problem with the one unit not being able to cool the MH. It has never run constantly and cycles on and off like my house AC.

X2, I live in Florida and have owned several Class C rig, 15K AC and heat pump was all I ever needed. Unless you are talking about a super C I see no need for a second AC. Largest heat loss thru windshield, a windsheild blanket with some insulation/reflection capabilities would go a long way if your parked in the sun. And yes at times the AC will continue to crank depending on the insulation capabilities of the rig but that should be fine.

X3

I did 4 summers in Florida in a 31 ft.
One AC works just fine.

YOU just have to learn HOW to RV/camp in hot weather states to assist your AC. You could add 2 more AC's and if you don't to the following it will still be hot inside your RV! It's not a house. It is a big uninsulated box sitting in the sun. :B

When possible:
1.Find shade parking space

2.Face the side your awning is on to the west. so you can put your awning down to the lowest position to shade that side of the RV during the hottest part of the day.

Items to buy:
3. Pillow covers in all vent openings. Cover skylight in shower if you have once. AC cold goes right out the vents they are not air tight.

4. If the RV has white vent covers? Replace them with smoke colored ones.

5. MH's cover those windshields with sunshades. TT's cover the windows. On the east side in the morning and on the west side in the afternoon.

6. I bought removable limo tint and did all my windows. Looks professional and cut down the sun and I can still see out. REAL hot days I add van windshield sun shades under the day night shades. Makes a BIG difference.

And lastly the first summer I did in Florida the Mobile Repair Guy told me to get a de-humidifier. THAT made a REAL BIG difference on how cold the AC could get the inside.

[Kidsgone]

We live in FL and have a 30' Winnebago Aspect. We camp a lot in FL...especially in Jacksonville and Tallahassee. We have one 15,000btu a/c and have travelled west several times. We did hit 108 degrees outside several times (Nevada) and our a/c just wouldn't cool the rig below about 82 degrees. We detoured from our original route because of the heat...not so sure a second a/c would help all that much in those conditions.
We have found two things help: 1) about 30 minutes from our destination for the night, we turn on the generator and set the a/c down so its already cooled in the house compartment and 2) we purchased inside window sunblock shields...not the thin ones, the thicker ones, to deflect heat from inside and either use the curtain if just for one night or the exterior window shades for longer than one or two nights.
Remember, if you are traveling to FL, if you stay close to beaches, you will get constant sea breeze (east coast anyway) starting in late day/evening.
That all said...if you are buying new, I would negotiate the second a/c...wouldn't hurt thats for sure.
As far as ducted vs non ducted....ducted a/c is much much quieter!! We've have both and much prefer ducted.
Check manufacturer for insulation as that, too, is a key. And it wouldn't hurt to put the sunblock shields in all the windows, including skylights, during the day when the heat starts heading north! We store our rig with all windows with heavy sunblock and it really helps.
Keep us informed as to what you purchase....and pictures please!!
Safe travels in your future.
Andi

[j-d]

Our entry level 31-ft Class C has a single non-ducted 15K A/C. We camp in FL on sites with no shade in summer. The A/C gets it done but works hard all day. On a 30A pedestal, we can get by with loads like A/C, Converter/Charger, and TV. We have to shed load to use Microwave, and we use the Water Heater on LP on demand. I also park close enough to the Pedestal to not need an extension cable on the shore tie.

[Coach-man]

Do not listen to the salesmen, check out manufacturers specs, things like dual pane windows, and the R factors not only for the roof but the sides as well! All the rigs I have owned were Coachmen products the latest was a Prism, which was pretty good!

[travelingcat]

Thanks for the answers. The question about ducted or not ducted sounds like a good one. Will this make a difference? Also, since only two of you mentioned living in Florida, does anyone else have personal experience with this climate? Does anyone own a Forester? Are they well insulated? A factor rep we talked to said that they are tested up to 110 degrees and the air conditioner can cool the rig. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who believes that salesmen are not the best references about their own product.