Dash air vs generator

[racechaser]

I'm sure this has been beat to death but, is it more efficient to run the dash air or to run the generator and one roof air.This is on a gas Ford v-10 and a 7000w Onan. Thanks for any input.

[rgatijnet1]

In warm weather, we ALWAYS start the generator and run the rooftop AC to cool the ENTIRE coach before we park for the day. It makes no sense to be uncomfortable after we have parked for the night waiting for the coach to cool off.

[mc_cc]

JC2 wrote:
Agreed. :B

Effy wrote:
I bought a motorhome for the comfort and convenience while travelling. That means running the gen and ducted AC if needed. I never really understood the school of thought for curtains and what not to avoid running the gen which may impact about 1/2 MPG. Frankly I don't even monitor MPG. It's smiles to the gallon for us. If you are concerned about using fuel and partition off most of the coach to use dash air (which actually uses more fuel) then why not get a TT. I mean what's the point of a MH and all it's travelling conveniences if you aren't going to actually use them? But to each his own.

Effy is a wise soul.

[10forty2]

Yep...in the summer, I fire up the genset before leaving...crank up both rooftop A/C units and use the dash air. I have been known to set a fan in the middle of the coach blowing towards the driver's area to help the cool air circulate too. Worst I've lost in fuel mileage is about .5MPG.

[JC2]

Agreed. :B

Effy wrote:
I bought a motorhome for the comfort and convenience while travelling. That means running the gen and ducted AC if needed. I never really understood the school of thought for curtains and what not to avoid running the gen which may impact about 1/2 MPG. Frankly I don't even monitor MPG. It's smiles to the gallon for us. If you are concerned about using fuel and partition off most of the coach to use dash air (which actually uses more fuel) then why not get a TT. I mean what's the point of a MH and all it's travelling conveniences if you aren't going to actually use them? But to each his own.

[Mile_High]

mc.cc wrote:

Mile High wrote:
So....does the fuel mileage indicator on the dash account for the gen running if it's drawing from the same tank? I don't know enough about it.

Yes. Unless you are one of the very few who have their gen set configured to run on propane.

Thanks, I was curious. It is diesel.

[Rick_Jay]

I doubt if you could really measure any appreciable difference, so we do what we need to do to be comfortable.

Many people don't give their generators the "exercise" specified by the manufacturer anyway, so running the generator to power the AC is a good side benefit if you don't use the generator too often. Too few hours on the generator is probably worse than too many.

~Rick

[Effy]

I bought a motorhome for the comfort and convenience while travelling. That means running the gen and ducted AC if needed. I never really understood the school of thought for curtains and what not to avoid running the gen which may impact about 1/2 MPG. Frankly I don't even monitor MPG. It's smiles to the gallon for us. If you are concerned about using fuel and partition off most of the coach to use dash air (which actually uses more fuel) then why not get a TT. I mean what's the point of a MH and all it's travelling conveniences if you aren't going to actually use them? But to each his own.

[mc_cc]

Mile High wrote:
So....does the fuel mileage indicator on the dash account for the gen running if it's drawing from the same tank? I don't know enough about it.

Yes. Unless you are one of the very few who have their gen set configured to run on propane.

[Mile_High]

So....does the fuel mileage indicator on the dash account for the gen running if it's drawing from the same tank? I don't know enough about it.

[NeverHome2]

jk31668 wrote:
If that hot I put up the curtain behind the seats and the dash does a great job with just the cab area to cool

We do the same. We had some curtains that were not being used and just bought a curtain rod for under $2. Cheaper than a gallon of gas!

[Peralko]

I think you would have a difficult time telling the impact on mileage from roof AC or dash AC. Factors like speed and direction of wind, hilly terrain, and time of year will have much bigger impact. We like to keep the whole coach cool, so if someone goes to the back, they will still be comfortable. If you are heading into the sun in summer, dash AC is usually required to keep cool. Climbing step hills in the heat may require turning off the dash AC if the engine gets too hot.

[billsenick]

Hateful comments ??? :h

[racechaser]

Thanks for the replies , well most of them ! I am amazed at some of the hateful comments from SENIOR members when a logical question is asked. It isn't " penny pinching " if you are trying to be as efficient as possible . I thought that was the purpose of these forums .

[Two_Jayhawks]

Oh it may have been talked about but who cares. If we nixed every topic that has been discussed there would be no forum. We have been camping a lot this spring and summer and it has been way hotter than it should be. We have to run the genny and 1-2 roof AC's or we wouldn't be traveling. In our case it's more efficient to fire up the genny otherwise coach sits depreciating unused.

[Horsedoc]

We just finished a multi-thousand trip around the central and western states. It got HOT, especially in a MH with the majority of the paint black. That said, we ran max dash A/C and the genset to run the roof air on the front unit. It worked but was not as comfortable as I wish we had been. Fuel mileage was satisfactory with an average of 7.5 mpg. I found out the mileage gets better if I let the cruise control work while on the open road. Sweet spot seems to be around 58-62 mph. I was pleased with this.