Warm weather traveling

[wjschill]

After traveling in a 35 foot fiver for many years, we have now started looking at class A gassers. We like to travel out west and southern locations.

My question...Do you need to run the roof a/c's while driving to keep the rv cool? If so, doesn't this mean running the genny and killing an already challenged gas mileage?

May sound like a dumb question...

Thanks

[Bill_Satellite]

TCmart wrote:
On our old gasser and our newer to us diesel pusher we use the roof top air almost always. It gives us a nice comfortable trip and when we arrive at our campsite, its a quick plug in and the rig stays cool and comfortable. I found the extra fuel use negligible.

Yep!

[TCmart]

On our old gasser and our newer to us diesel pusher we use the roof top air almost always. It gives us a nice comfortable trip and when we arrive at our campsite, its a quick plug in and the rig stays cool and comfortable. I found the extra fuel use negligible.

[Bill_Satellite]

If I was worried about the slight loss of fuel mileage I would know that it's time to get out of RVing. The additional fuel usage compared to the comfort received and the total cost of ownership makes this a non-issue. Do the calculations for how much fuel you would use driving an RV that gets 9 MPG and one that gets 8.5 MPG and see if that's enough reason for you to drive your RV and sweat your butt off while in uncomfortable high temperatures. 10,000 miles or less is the average RV annual mileage. YMMV!

[MrWizard]

Yes some time it is needed, chassis Air will cool the cockpit not the whole RV,
Yes you are burning gas
No it does not change "Actual" fuel mileage of the drive engine, it just LOOKS that way because of using gas for another purpose
Yes you use more gas , but that was used by the generator not the drive engine, if anything drive engine load was very slightly reduced , because the chassis AIR did not have to work as hard at cooling,
Very slightly equals maybe a few tenths of percent less load
If I got worried about the extra fuel use,
I would turn off the chassis Air, and use the generator & rooftop air , it would be warmer up front, but the MH would be cooler

[way2roll]

Really doesn't need to be any more complicated than it is. It comes down to your comfort level. Are you hot and the dash air isn't cutting it? Then turn the rooftop air on. The use in fuel of the genset is negligible compared to wind, terrain, dash AC compressor and a million other variables. If you are hot, turn the air on. Simple.

[PastorCharlie]

Comfort depends upon the quality of construction. Our first MH was a Coachmen and we did have to run the house A/C during summer heat. Our current MH is a Newmar and we have never had to run the house A/C during summer. We traveled coast to coast with both. The current MH dash A/C keeps the interior comfortable while traveling.

When we built our home I had excessive amount of insulation installed, 18" in attic. With a total electric home and three bay shop with woodworking and welding shop included our electric bill is $140 a month. When one cheap out on insulation they will pay for it in increased heating and cooling bills.

Little to no insulation is one way that motorhome manufacturers cut corners due to no one being able to verify until it is too late. We discovered that the Coachmen we owned had no insulation behind many of the cabinets.

[JoeH]

gbopp wrote:
Hang a temporary curtain behind the driver/passenger seat.
The chassis A/C will keep you cool.

That's what we used to do-- now I just run the genset

[Gjac]

To give you actual numbers if I run two roof top AC's off my genset it will burn about 1 gal an hr, if you travel 60 mph and get 8 mpg it will reduce your mpg to 7 mpg. Having said that my dash AC is sufficient to keep the front cool for driving during the heat of the day. I have a curtain that I used probably twice in 15 years for really hot days. Out west once stopped for the night the temps drop pretty quickly because of the higher elevations and never use the AC. I don't go south in the summer only winter. The TV, AC's and Genset are the three things that rarely get used.

[way2roll]

wjschill wrote:
OP here.

Thanks for all the feedback. The DW was asking if she would be comfortable sleeping on the bed or sofa during our travels.

I figure, bouncing around while trying to sleep will be more of an issue than temperature.

Thanks again.

DW would Nap occasionally while travelling without issue. A few times I pulled out while wife and son were still asleep.

[olfarmer]

If the weather is in the 75 to 80 degree zone, our dash air does pretty good. I usually point the air ducts at me just so it doesn't hit me in the eyes. If it is uncomfortable I run the generator and the roof air. I don't notice a big difference in the gas bill. What if it costs a little more to be comfortable, it costs money to run the AC at home too.

[Stim]

I have had numerous motorhomes and I always used the generator with roof air and NO dash AC.
The dash AC will use more fuel than the generator plus dash AC equals more heat for the engine to dissipate and motorhomes are notorious for engine heat problems.

[Branson_N_Tucso]

The old saying, if your worrying about fuel, then maybe you need to stay on short trips.

[doxiemom11]

You wife may want to reconsider sleeping/ being unsecured during travel. Had a friend who was standing at kitchen counter making sandwiches and husband had to make a panic stop when someone pulled out in front of him. She flew forward and was wedged under the dash with a broken back. You cannot stay on your feet if something like this happens, and you will fly around even from a laying down position. Make your own decisions, but be aware it does happen.

[jeromep]

wjschill wrote:
After traveling in a 35 foot fiver for many years, we have now started looking at class A gassers. We like to travel out west and southern locations.

My question...Do you need to run the roof a/c's while driving to keep the rv cool? If so, doesn't this mean running the genny and killing an already challenged gas mileage?

May sound like a dumb question...

Thanks

I find the impact of running the generator to run the roof A/Cs while cruising pretty minimal. Gas class As are not known for their efficiency, so running the genset while underway isn't going to make or break you at the pump.

I'm fortunate, the dash air on my rig is very good and will keep the front two passengers pretty comfortable even without the roof air running, and maybe two folks sitting on the couch or the captain's chair just behind the front passenger pretty comfortable.

I find that running one or both of my two MaxxAirs in exhaust mode while underway keeps warm air from building up in the rear of my rig. My bathroom door tends to close while we are going, so keeping the MaxxAir going in the bathroom and the MaxxAir in the kitchen running pulls sufficient air through the rig that nothing really gets too hot, even without the roof airs going.