Repair of Airxcel 8333B676 AC roof unit

Our Coleman Mac roof top unit died at about nine years old. Had been used a lot with rig sitting in the driveway while our house was being remodeled. I suppose longevity has something to do with hours of use and local temperature conditions. Our mobile repair guy and his assistant changed out the roof unit and charged us some $900 parts and labor. Our dometic Fridge died the previous year. It had also been run a lot. Replacement with a nicer Norcold unit cost us $1400 parts and labor, same repair guy.

Actually a small RV dealer - a mom and pop shop type business told me that it was about an hour job and anywhere from 100 to 170 bucks to install. But that same dealer wanted about 750 bucks for the AC unit.

But the huge multi store national dealer was the one that quoted me 4 hours to install and around 500-600 bucks for install plus 800 for the AC unit. I was getting a very wide price range for installation. All over the map - for the same AC unit and same RV.

Sometimes I think they come up with these prices just off the top of their head, what ever way the wind blows LOL.

nadsab wrote:

Some of these RV dealers really gouge people. THey said it was a four hour job to install it and that it would cost at least 500 bucks to install it. Once I got the hoist built though, I had it up on the RV and completely bolted in and wiring connected in less than an hour so I know that I was fed a line of baloney from the RV dealer.

Wow, that is incredible. I just had my a/c unit replaced at a local RV dealer and the labor was only 1.5 hours. It would've taken me a lot longer and they had a forklift so I figured it was worth it.

Congrats on your a/c unit. Sounds like a job well done. And now you have a block & tackle to add to your toolkit!

Chinese-Made-Compressor...

The Wave of the Future is Here. The Japanese proved that they could produce quality if that's what we wanted and were willing to pay for. The Chinese can do it also, human rights issues notwithstanding.

Ya Done Good on this project! Congratulations, Enjoy!

Hi,

Actually yes I knew that the inside panel costs extra.

By the way I purchased and installed the Airxcel 48203C966 unit myself over the holiday weekend works great. Paid $542.00 plus tax for it. Bought it at a local dealer here about a half hour away from where I live. They wanted 619.00 for it but I asked them if they would be willing to match an out of state internet price and they said no problem. I could have bought it for 458 plus around 85 bucks for shipping from an out of state dealer, but I always give the local dealers a chance before I order out of state. All the other RV parts dealers near where I live were greedy and wanted 800 or more bucks for the AC unit.

One thing I noticed though, that compressor was made in China. Maybe that is what the C stands for.

I got it up on the RV roof myself - went to Harbor Freight and bought a 7 dollar block and tackle, 500 lb capacity, put some eyebolts in the palette it came on, and built an overhead hoist out of a 12' long 2 x 8 - used 2x4'as as legs. Spanned it between my sunroom roof and the roof of the rv, built a little trolley to attach the pulleys to, waxed down the top edge of the 2 x 8 and it worked great. The entire hoist cost me 35 bucks including wood and hardware.

It was a PIA to do, but compared to what the big local RV dealer wanted to charge us for the AC unit - 800 bucks - plus another 600 bucks to install it, we saved some serious dough. We saved close to 800 bucks!

Some of these RV dealers really gouge people. THey said it was a four hour job to install it and that it would cost at least 500 bucks to install it. Once I got the hoist built though, I had it up on the RV and completely bolted in and wiring connected in less than an hour so I know that I was fed a line of baloney from the RV dealer.

Best and easiest way to get it up on the roof, pull a pickup truck along side the RV - a pickup with the bed high off the ground and get two guys on the pickup to hand off the unit to someone on the roof. I did not have help though so I had to figure out something else. It's really easy to install, just four bolts to bolt it on the roof and a connector and hot ground and neutral and that's it.

I even checked their price for an electrode for our Furnace - same dealer wanted something like 30 bucks, but I bought it on line for 9.25 including shipping shipped to my door. They were charging 18 dollars above list price. The actual list price for the electrode is about 10 bucks but the dealer was selling the part for nearly three times manufacturers list. I think this is because the very large RV dealers are like the new car dealers. They make most of their profits from the parts and service business which is why they jack up their prices. So if you have repairs to do it is always worth your time to shop around with the mom and pop shops or better yet a dealer that is not in the RV business but still sells RV parts. I think that is where you will get the best parts prices. Also check the internet out of state prices great deals there as well.

I strongly recommend that before you buy any RV parts, check with the manufacturer first to see what their list price is, and don't ever pay above list.

Have you searched the RVP website for the info on those model numbers?

I'm sure you noticed, but the A/C units are now sold as Upper and Lower portions. If yours is new enough to have been designed to sell that way, you only need the Upper portion. That may be why some of the prices vary so widely. You might find the lowest price is for the Upper only and the highest price is for Upper + Lower.

Interesting.

Since B means revision, I wonder what A and C stand for.

I would be curious to know if my (original) AC unit was an OEM install or added later. Since we bought ours two years old I am wondering if it was ever in an accident LOL.

Anyone know the two recent (new) model numbers I posted, who made the compressors?

This is part of a chart Chris Bryant posted.

8 - 8000 series
3 - standard model
3 - non-exhaust
5 - 15000 btu
B - B revision
8 - Tecumseh compressor
9 - relay/capacitor start kit
1 - colonial white
4 - shipped on returnable skid (likely oem install)


Wish I had access to the whole chart.

I was wondering if anyone knows what the difference is between the Airxcel 48203C966 and the Airxcel 48203A876 in terms of cooling ability and noise (both are Coleman Mach 3 plus). Is one better than the other in this area? Also in terms of compressor quality between the two units, is one better than the other?

bsinmich posted about Elkhart last year - can anyone recommend an RV place in or near there where we could pick up either of these units for around 450 bucks? It would be worth the drive we live only around 3 hours from there and could camp in Amish country!

Update on the repair - well after talking to the repair guy he said if the freon line is punctured it could cost including parts anywhere from 350 to 400 bucks to fix, so I guess it's a new one. To me for an extra 150 bucks we can get a brand new unit with a 2 year warranty compared to a repaired 400 dollar 11 year old unit it's pretty much a no brainer there.

OK thanks on that j-d. I am guessing that a reason why these rooftop units might last longer is that because they are sealed - there are no valves in the circuit that the freon could leak out of. Also I am thinking that since you live in Florida, you don't have the huge temperature swings we have up here in Michigan - maybe they tend to last longer in warmer climates due to less expansion and contraction of joints in the refrigerant lines.

I am waiting to talk to one more repair shop on repairing the unit. The coil replacement part and the fan blade would cost 170 bucks for the parts. If he can not do it for maybe under 350 bucks including the parts and labor, I guess I am kind of leaning toward spending an extra 200 or so and buying a new unit and installing it myself. Up here in Michigan I am finding that the big RV dealers want around $750.00 to 900 bucks for a new 13,500 BTU unit but after spending a day shopping around on line, I found many for 450 bucks, and I was able to find a few local dealers here willing to sell at a reasonable price of around 500 bucks which is a fair price. One local RV dealer here, a national chain, wanted 900 dollars for a coleman 13,500 btu mach 3 plus AC roof unit plus another 500 bucks to install it and said it was a four hour job LOL. After I told the gal who does the scheduling at the service department that I thought that was a "bit too high", they were kind of rude to me on the phone. A local mom and pop shop said it only takes an hour. It's sad to see these big dealers wanting to gouge the customer. I guess they think that since this is a few days before memorial day weekend the can gouge the customer. Now I am kind of laughing at that 1,400 dollar price since I have a mid 500 dollar option.