How Well Does The House A/C Work On The Sprinters?

[flibmeister]

The subject says it all-- we had a bad experience the last time we owned a Class B (1998 Roadtrek 190 Popular), in that the residential-type house air conditioner was almost totally useless if the outside air temperature was over 85 degrees or so. We're now considering buying a Winnebago Era or something similar on a Sprinter chassis, and curious how well the a/c copes.

Since there's virtually no insulation in such units, we're not expecting miracles-- but if anybody has camped in 90 or 100 degree temps, I'm curious if the unit can be made livable with use of all the usual "tricks" (maximizing shade parking, covering windshield and windows with Refectix, etc.)

[Fastpaddler]

I might add that we used our generator while running the a/c by the side of the road in Edmonton. Seems to be some folks dont like them anymore. I can understand the negatives too.
Al

[Davydd]

Humidity was not a problem in Arizona. Last year in South Padre Island the heat and humidity did get so high that we ran the air conditioner for a few hours in the afternoon mainly just to dry out the van while we sat outside. Last fall in Kansas it hit 100F with some humidity but not excessive and we slept in the B with the back doors and side door open - screened of course.

[NCWriter]

We've also used our AC in 100+ temperatures and high humidity when necessary. Glad it's there when we need it - chills the van down very fast - though I prefer natural breeze too.

[Fastpaddler]

Like Davydd I have an 11000 btu ac in my PW Plateau TS, which kept the interior comfortable when it was 38-40C(whatever that is in Fahrenheit) while in downtown Edmonton--two hours running it and we were just fine. I would expect the 13000 or bigger units to be even better.
AL

[Davydd]

The ways we save is to plan our lengthy trips to coincide with temperate weather. So we have rarely encountered 100F temps. We also have a screen on our side sliding door and our double doors on the back. So, when in the campground we can open up the van to equalize with the outside temperature. With our previous B we would get the high build up of heat inside. It was over 90F this day boondocking in the Arizona desert. It cools off at night.

[topless]

There are several factors in how well the a/c works. My van has very good insulation, and fewer windows than most. The windows it does have are not glass. They are double layer plexiglas with about an inch of space between layers, making them pretty good at insulating. They also have built in reflective shades adding 1 more layer of insulation. We camped near the Grand Canyon in 114 degrees and were completely comfortable. While a full wrap around glass windows give the open, airy appearance, they are terrible at separating outside temperatures from inside. Even reflective window film only blocks ultraviolet heat, not radiant heat that comes through the glass.
Next time you are driving on a hot day, feel the inside of a window that is out of the sun, it will be the same as the outside temperate, the more surface area of glass that you have, the more a/c you will need to overcome it.

[flibmeister]

That's encouraging, folks, thanks.

The last trip we took before selling that Roadtrek was supposed to be a lengthy Colorado tour. We knew the a/c was inadequate for high temps, but figured Colorado would be a safe choice.

Didn't work out that way. There were record high temperatures all over the state that summer. When we got to Telluride and found we couldn't get the inside temp below 100 degrees, we threw in the towel and went home.

I know Roadtrek has upgraded to higher output RV a/c units since those days, and we'll be looking at RT's again. I just want to make sure that, whatever we end up with, it can handle triple digit temps (which we sometimes can't avoid) adequately, even if not altogether comfortably.

[Sebtown]

We have used the AC in our AI multiple times in temperatures over 110°, I actually think it can get too cold inside! I should add this usage is in low humidity states or as they like to say in the west "it's a dry heat"!

[gerrym51]

flibmeister wrote:
The subject says it all-- we had a bad experience the last time we owned a Class B (1998 Roadtrek 190 Popular), in that the residential-type house air conditioner was almost totally useless if the outside air temperature was over 85 degrees or so. We're now considering buying a Winnebago Era or something similar on a Sprinter chassis, and curious how well the a/c copes.

Since there's virtually no insulation in such units, we're not expecting miracles-- but if anybody has camped in 90 or 100 degree temps, I'm curious if the unit can be made livable with use of all the usual "tricks" (maximizing shade parking, covering windshield and windows with Refectix, etc.)

roadtrek 170,190,210,ranger doesn't use residential /ac anymore -they use dometic cool cats-10,200 btu

i think 98 roadtreks used 8000 btu fedders

[wincrasher65]

In theory, 11k BTU should be plenty, but reality is not the case.

13k should be fine. I also found that the new units have a softer start - drawing less amps on startup. I could start mine on a 2000 watt portable generator.

[Davydd]

We have an 11,000 BTU air conditioner in our 2011 Great West Van Legend and it did the job in 100 degree F. temperatures last fall for us. We have wall and ceiling insulation and the under chassis was sprayed with sound deadener.

We have ordered an Advanced RV Sprinter B extended van and it will be insulated throughout with blue denim insulation (R7) and covered with HushMat rubber and reflective foil on floors, walls and ceiling. We will also get a 15,000 BTU air conditioner. I don't anticipate any problems.