Portable air conditioner

[Katdaddy]

We are considering buying a portable ac unit for our camper to assist the rooftop ac. We have a 13,500 BTU unit that came with the camper. It has always struggled in the south Mississippi heat. Has anyone else tried this and what were your results?

[austinjenna]

We use one occasionally in our fifth wheel when the temps are really high outside to help cool. We have a 30 amp unit with a 15K ac. We have the single hose unit although I heard the 2 hose ones are better, I got a great deal on clearance for this one so purchased it. I fashioned some wood to be the same contour as one of the side windows that the hose goes into. I also run a heavy duty extension cord through the slide seal from the portable unit to the pedestal.

It does help out quite a bit

[stickdog]

We have the rig in sig. Two AC's the living room one crapped out after warranty expired. Unable to find replacement do to supply issues. We had spent the previous summer in high desert location, daliy temps in the mid ninties but low humidity.
Purchased a room AC for 20 x20 room this is one where you have an exhaust hose.
We run it on low fan and set point of 75 degrees. It works better than the roof top unit that failed and 1/3 the price.

[joebedford]

I've been thinking about getting a portable to cool the garage in our toy hauler. The two ACs just can't cool the garage / office (when we're parked). None of the windows is double-hung style - they have a 8" crank open at the bottom. A windows shaker wouldn't work - no place to put it.

[valhalla360]

The biggest issue is power supply. If you are on 30amp, running the roof mounted and the portable is likely overloading the system. Don't be surprised when your power cord has burnt ends. If you have 50amp, it shouldn't be a problem or if you run a separate powerline from the pedestal (but then you need a way to get it inside.

The dual hose units cost more but are more effective than the single hose units. The single hose units use cooled interior air to cool the condenser and then pump it outside. This means it pulls hot outside air into the RV to replace the air pumped out. Yes, it still cools but not as efficiently. The dual hose units pull outside air in to cool the condenser.

[jaycocreek]

We used a 5k window unit in a 30ft trailer in the bedroom which made a huge difference in the whole trailer,maybe a little cold in the bedroom,but a nice place to cool off..I used it in the escape Hatch....

I now use it in my truck camper sliding window and it cools the whole TC nicely and at 330 watts with the compressor running..I have used it with a 1000 watt psw inverter and it works well to cool things off... Now with 400 watts of solar I'm going to run it or try to,all off the battery when it gets warm enough..We will see how that goes..

At 39lbs it's easy to put in and out but a mounting system as mentioned above would be nice..

[Gulfcoast]

I use a 5000 btu window unit with an rv compartment door mounted down low near the floor on my cargo trailer, and it works perfect for me. Looks like the prices have gone sky high lately but here's an example of the door I used:

Door

[Skibane]

What the world needs is an easy-to-install-and-remove RV window mounting kit for the typical 5000 BTU window air conditioner.

Most 5000 BTU window units are sufficiently compact and lightweight to install or remove at a moment's notice. However, there isn't any way of holding them securely in RV windows.

[jdc1]

Skibane wrote:
The fact that the entire unit is in the same room with you makes them noisy and bulky.

The need to run hoses to the outdoors makes them inefficient, due to heat losses through the hose.

Typically, a window unit will do a better job of cooling, even if it has a lower BTU output rating. It'll also cost less.

The portables that sit in the same room as you create as much heat as they cool. Get a widow unit like Skibane says.

[C_Schomer]

I’ve worked places that used a lot of portables and I’d rather use a window banger than a portable bcuz of the loss of floor space, the hose issues and the drain pan vigil. I’d much rather rig a window and have a removable window unit than for those flex hoses. Storage and setup would also be better. I’ve done enough AC service in the south to know how brutal the latent load is… just getting the wet bulb down is heavenly.
They’re a thing of the past but I put in Cold Wave water cooled refrigerated spot coolers in the 70s. They cooled GREAT bcuz they used one-pass water, super net output, but wasting water like that would get you in trouble, now. Craig

[bgum]

You can buy a portable AC for $270 with 9000 btu performance and it has a dehumidifier. We have a portable AC with the single exhaust and it works fine. Not saying the one with dual exhaust doesn't work better. We use it when city power is out due to storms. Our generator is not big enough to run the 5 ton house AC. We are in south Louisiana so we understand your needs. Go for it.

[wanderingaimles]

The other option is a small mini split heat pump. But with a fifth wheel, I imagine your current unit is in the living area, and the best place to mount a mini split comp unit is on the rear.
mini splits
The only one I know of under 9000 btu is a Mitsubishi 6000, Mitsu
But its pricey.

[Skibane]

The fact that the entire unit is in the same room with you makes them noisy and bulky.

The need to run hoses to the outdoors makes them inefficient, due to heat losses through the hose.

Typically, a window unit will do a better job of cooling, even if it has a lower BTU output rating. It'll also cost less.

[Lantley]

How long is your RV? Is there a roof vent that could be replaced with a 2nd rooftop A/C

[prichardson]

The ones with two hoses (air in and out) on the condenser side are the only ones that are any good. Adding A/C capacity will help; but don't overdo it as you need run time to keep the humidity in check.