Running ac off of generator while driving.

[jfskeet]

Has anyone noticed much of a difference with running house air over chassis air while driving. Is the power gain noticeable with house air generator combo? . Around the campfire last weekend was a few different opinions. with fuel use and power gain/ loss.


We all had A gassers.
What did you see in the difference?

Jeff

[blownstang01]

We do, but only when the house gets uncomfortable. Maybe around 80-85 degrees, depends on humidity. Our Onan 4,000 manual says .7 gallons an hour under load, don't know how accurate that is but after a 6 or 7 hour drive we're only talking 5 gallons or so. It helps if you don't care about mileage, I used to, tracked every mile and gallon and finally made a conscious decision to not worry about it. Momma is happier when she doesn't get hot while she sleeps the whole drive , LOL.

[rgatijnet1]

On one Class A coach we had, it had close to a "cockpit" for the two captains seats. The dash air would keep that part of the coach comfortable but the rest of the coach got pretty warm.
We ran the generator to power the roof air so that the entire coach was comfortable when we stopped for lunch or when we got to the RV park to stay for the night.
The fuel usage for the generator was negligible for a coach that already got poor mileage. Our comfort when we parked was more important.
Some people install a "shower curtain" like structure behind the seats so that the dash air keeps them comfortable. I always thought that it was better to cool down the whole coach especially since we had a large dog that liked to wander to the back of the coach while we traveled and, like I said before, we wanted it cool when we stopped to fix lunch..

[msturtz]

We use it regularly if the dash AC can't keep up. This can happen if the coach is sitting in the sun for too long or the humidity is too high. It's a bummer I can't use both ACs while driving 😞 however, it is usually ok it just takes longer to cool down. Our QD6000 generator can't run both 13,500 BTU ACs. I'm thinking of installing an Easy Start unit to see if that helps. I do know both of my ACs won't run on a 30 AMP shore power connection the coach draws just a little to much power if you factor in other loads.

[MrWizard]

i use my generator and roof top A/C as needed
it does not affect engine motor directly
IF you dash a/c has too work less hard, then maybe there is a slight difference
in engine power

as far as gas milage for the drive engine
it has NO effect
but since it does use fuel for the genny
your next fill up means more fuel from the pump to the tank
but this is NOT engine fuel mileage, this is additional overhead fuel use by the genny for 'personal comfort'

we get people on here, saying i used my genny for the roof top A/C and mileage went down,
NO your engine mileage did not change

this is like saying the water bill to fill your swimming pool went up, because you has a pool party and all your friends drank too much beer and keep using the toilet

[rk911]

in our experience running the genny in order to use the coach AC has no effect on the MH engine power and negligible effect on MPG. we run the dash and house AC on hot days and it really helps keep the coach cool.

[rbonecrusher]

I use my gen. when running down the road. It is the best way to keep your coach cool in the summer. The amount of fuel you use is dependent on the gen size. I have a Dp 2002 Dutch star and it is more than reasonable for fuel on running air conditioner plus I run the fridge as well.
Ray