Raise door, or install low profile A/C? Freelander 19CB

[bglz42]

Hi!

I just took deliver of a '14 Freelander 19CB. Loving it so far, BTW...

It came with a Dometic Brisk II 13,500BTU a/c unit. It puts me at 10'10" tall as the highest part of my MH. My 30x50 pole barn has a door height of 10'6". Once clear of the door, the rafters are 11'.

I am trying to decide which to do, modify the door or replace the unit? Would consider the Dometic Penguin or the Coleman Mach 8.

Modding the door would consist of lifting the door off the tracks, (it's a 12' slider), cutting the header then bracing it and replacing the tracks.

The existing A/C seems like a good one, and the low profile replacement would be more expensive. Are the ones listed good units?

Thanks in advance!

Jim in Texas

[Bordercollie]

I thought of erecting a slightly taller shelter tent structure for the rig and saving the garage for storage or work space. But your solution is probably more practical and better looking.

[ron_dittmer]

If you decide to change out the a/c unit, I hear the Coleman Mach 8 runs notably more quiet compared to the Dometic.

Our motor home is low profile, ductless to achieve the 9'-10" tippy-top height to the a/c unit. Our low profile Dometic fan is noisy. Some PC owners special order the Mach 8 for less noise. I don't know the cost penalty for it, nor have I personally compared the two. I assume what I read to be true.

Oh, I just now seen that you bought the Mach 8 🙂 and all is well.

[bglz42]

LOL! Love it!

Actually, where I come from we would have said, "Hold my beer and watch this!"... and got a runnin' start!!

I decided to be a kinder, gentler Texan! LOL!

Jim

[tboss]

Glad you solved the problem but where I come from we wld have took the unit off the camper,sold it ,put a big sheet of 3/8 plywood over the hole and installed a window unit, and there problem solved..just my opinion..where am I from Oakdale Ga.

[bglz42]

Well, I bought the Coleman Mach 8 and had it installed. It bought me 5 inches, works like a champ and fits in the barn!

[Bordercollie]

Raise the whole barn and add some to the door??. Park outside like most us and watch stickers fade.

[pnichols]

If you do decide to change to a low profile A/C, you may want to also consider one of the high efficiency ones that are low profile.

The 13,500 BTU high efficiency units require less current to both start up and run - so they may run fine on only a Honda 2000i potable generator. Your stock high profile standard efficiency 13,500 BTU A/C probably can't be run on a Honda 2000i.

[DaHose]

You don't have airbags, do you?

Jose

[bglz42]

Thanks for the advice, Teachers Pet! But an 8" reduction in my floor would be a pond! I am on the coastal plain at about 7' elevation. My house is raised but the barn is at grade. first rain and it would flood. I am very close now I think...

Oh and no sweat on the header. It would be sandwiched on the backside with a 2 by 12...

[bglz42]

LOL! The thought crossed my mind!

I scraped the approach down a bit with my loader... now I am lacking an inch or two! Where there is a will...

[Teacher_s_Pet]

Cut the floor down 8" and taper 20' back to original floor level with a 2" "C" channel in the sides of the cut down at the door opening, to drop in a panel under the door to keep vermin out. I have seen this done about a half dozen times. I would really be concerned about cutting any header "Unless" in the gable end. If that is the case the header is basically a mounting surface and might be able to be raised to the height of the bottom cord of the rafter. Check with the builder for any loading on the header. Plus you will have to rebuild the slider if you raise the header to give the 10'10" or 11' opening you need. This from a guy that sold garage doors to pole builders & pole building distributors, 1st as a garage door dealer and a factory sales rep for 25 years,

[hotbyte]

Bummer...recall reading your excitement over the new rig. I'm in the raise the door camp unless dealer can work good deal for trading in current ac.

I have one of those aluminum carport shed things for boat. When we got the bay boat in signature, discovered the windshield/grab bar were too tall. Luckily, the boat has optional quick removal windshield/grab bar so I remove it before backing in. A pain but doable.

bglz42 wrote:
Mich, I actually drove it in right up to the ac unit...

If you approach with enough speed, the ac won't be an issue any longer 🙂

[Mich_F]

bglz42 wrote:
Mich, I actually drove it in right up to the ac unit...

Oh well, at least now you're definitely sure of how high it is. I wonder if you could you let enough air out of the tires to make it through the opening, although 4" is quite a difference. You might also be able to gain a little by removing the AC shroud/cover.

[bglz42]

Mich, I actually drove it in right up to the ac unit...