2013 Kodiak AC

[kelly94942]

Hi all - we were out this weekend in our new Kodiak (300 BHSL) and we used the AC. It was only about 80 degrees out, so not super hot, but it took FOREVER to get cool in the trailer. The bathroom cooled down quickly and got quite chilly, but the bedrooms and especially the main room were warm for quite a while. We had some young kids with us so the doors were open and closed a bit more than they normally would be (in and out, in and out, etc.) but it just felt like the AC couldn't keep up. We haven't had this issue on our previous RVs, they got cold fast and stayed cold! We are taking a long road trip this summer and I'm thinking if it had a hard time in Oregon in the spring it's really going to have a hard time in Georgia or Texas in August!

Any tips or suggestions? Should we upgrade our AC? Add a second unit? Add a portable unit?

[westend]

There was a fairly recent thread in the "DIY and Modifications" section of the Forum where a member went through the ducting and air handling section of his AC system. Briefly, he was able to get his AC working very well with just minor tweaking and attention to the haphazard factory installation.

[NLPRacing]

bcsslc wrote:
This may be a bit late but I was experiencing a similar situation in my 276bhl 2013. I spent one afternoon and opened up all the the vent and traced the ducting from the supply. I notice that there was some random spaces that were being used with no vents. Also when I opened the access from the ceiling there seemed to be lots of cross flow from the return air and the cool supply. So any way I went through and blocked off any unnecessary ductwork and installed foam at the end just past the last vent. Also spent about an hour using duct board and ul listed Tinfoil tape and seal off the return air and supply. It does seem like a lot of work but it truly was not bad and I really got to know the workings of my trailer. Anyway by in blocking and sealing my a/c works great. 90* out and I'm 75* ish (depending on kids in and out) in about an hour. I also carry an small 6"to 8" vornado fan that I help move the air around.

Thanks for the info. I got to looking over the duct work in mine too and was surprised how shoddy everything looks. I think I will be doing the same to mine this weekend to see if it helps. The motor on my AC has been making a weird noise for a while now, so I ma just waiting for it to go out so I can replace it with an Atwood Air Command 15K. Between that and sealing up the ducts, it should be able to stay a little cooler.

[bcsslc]

This may be a bit late but I was experiencing a similar situation in my 276bhl 2013. I spent one afternoon and opened up all the the vent and traced the ducting from the supply. I notice that there was some random spaces that were being used with no vents. Also when I opened the access from the ceiling there seemed to be lots of cross flow from the return air and the cool supply. So any way I went through and blocked off any unnecessary ductwork and installed foam at the end just past the last vent. Also spent about an hour using duct board and ul listed Tinfoil tape and seal off the return air and supply. It does seem like a lot of work but it truly was not bad and I really got to know the workings of my trailer. Anyway by in blocking and sealing my a/c works great. 90* out and I'm 75* ish (depending on kids in and out) in about an hour. I also carry an small 6"to 8" vornado fan that I help move the air around.

[NLPRacing]

kelly94942 wrote:
Hi all - we were out this weekend in our new Kodiak (300 BHSL) and we used the AC. It was only about 80 degrees out, so not super hot, but it took FOREVER to get cool in the trailer. The bathroom cooled down quickly and got quite chilly, but the bedrooms and especially the main room were warm for quite a while. We had some young kids with us so the doors were open and closed a bit more than they normally would be (in and out, in and out, etc.) but it just felt like the AC couldn't keep up. We haven't had this issue on our previous RVs, they got cold fast and stayed cold! We are taking a long road trip this summer and I'm thinking if it had a hard time in Oregon in the spring it's really going to have a hard time in Georgia or Texas in August!

Any tips or suggestions? Should we upgrade our AC? Add a second unit? Add a portable unit?

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I was wondering if you found a solution to make your Kodiak cool better? It's gotten to the point where we hardly use ours anymore during the summer. I am thinking of replacing the Advent AC with an Atwood Air Command 15K.

[CarterKraft]

Thanks for all the info on the Kodiaks but I go cold feet and switched my order to a TQ290 Torque, I hope all goes well for you guys.

[CavemanCharlie]

My brother has a newer 5th wheel with a "brisk air" AC unit in it. Boy is that thing a piece of junk. It makes hardly any cold at all. I checked it out and the first thing I discovered is that there is no easy way to clean the evaporator (Although I know on your new unit that's not the problem) The biggest design problem I found was that the fan draws, not blows , air across the condenser on the top of the RV. Then that hot air has to exit the AC unit through small slits on the side of the AC unit. This also means that the hot air is getting drawn right past the compressor unit which is stupid. Most of the older AC units drew the air in through the slits in the slide and then blew the air across the condenser. The stupidly, stupidly, designed thing is never going to work well. You might as well buy a second one. Your 5th wheel was probably a few year older back when the engineers of theses things were not high school drop outs like apparently they are now.

[CasHo]

NLPRacing wrote:

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:
We have a Kodiak 300BHSL also, and we notice that it has a hard time cooling down and staying cool. Did you ever find anything that helped? We're thinking about adding a second AC.

Do you have the 15k a/c upgrade? I have a 292 TQB on order and I am worried one will not be enough in the heat.

It has an Advent brand 15K AC. It just can't keep up with the Texas heat. We plan on adding a second 15K AC before next summer.

I hate to hear that, I was really hoping one unit would do it. You might want to look at the vents and there construction as I hear there are many complaints with the execution of them. I have found some similar complaints with Voltage trailers and several 300BhSL owners on the dutchmanowners forum. I have seen the same issue on the Heartland forum regarding ducted units and there is a "tent in the vent" mod by a member there named TimK that has seemed to solve there problems.

Would you say the airflow from the vents is adequate?

The airflow is okay, but could be better. The problem is, a trailer this big needs two AC's. I should of known better before I bought it.

I did my research on the a/c issue since I have also the same problem with my kodiak 300 bhsl and what I found out is that number one , the duct system is inadequate in size an has no metalized insulation just tracts carved out of the foam in the roof .these tracts are too small in diameter to allow proper airflow to the main and bunk room. And two the air flow from the a/c tents to flow towards one section of the trailer mainly the front room and shower. My solution to the issue is to install a" tent in a vent " system to redirect the air flow towards the back of the trailer or add a damper in the cover to allow for alternate duct air flow with non ducted air flow in the main area which needs the most cooling. I'll keep you guys posted on the outcome of these self fix

[NLPRacing]

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:
We have a Kodiak 300BHSL also, and we notice that it has a hard time cooling down and staying cool. Did you ever find anything that helped? We're thinking about adding a second AC.

Do you have the 15k a/c upgrade? I have a 292 TQB on order and I am worried one will not be enough in the heat.

It has an Advent brand 15K AC. It just can't keep up with the Texas heat. We plan on adding a second 15K AC before next summer.

I hate to hear that, I was really hoping one unit would do it. You might want to look at the vents and there construction as I hear there are many complaints with the execution of them. I have found some similar complaints with Voltage trailers and several 300BhSL owners on the dutchmanowners forum. I have seen the same issue on the Heartland forum regarding ducted units and there is a "tent in the vent" mod by a member there named TimK that has seemed to solve there problems.

Would you say the airflow from the vents is adequate?

The airflow is okay, but could be better. The problem is, a trailer this big needs two AC's. I should of known better before I bought it.

[CarterKraft]

NLPRacing wrote:

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:
We have a Kodiak 300BHSL also, and we notice that it has a hard time cooling down and staying cool. Did you ever find anything that helped? We're thinking about adding a second AC.

Do you have the 15k a/c upgrade? I have a 292 TQB on order and I am worried one will not be enough in the heat.

It has an Advent brand 15K AC. It just can't keep up with the Texas heat. We plan on adding a second 15K AC before next summer.

I hate to hear that, I was really hoping one unit would do it. You might want to look at the vents and there construction as I hear there are many complaints with the execution of them. I have found some similar complaints with Voltage trailers and several 300BhSL owners on the dutchmanowners forum. I have seen the same issue on the Heartland forum regarding ducted units and there is a "tent in the vent" mod by a member there named TimK that has seemed to solve there problems.

Would you say the airflow from the vents is adequate?

[thomasmnile]

JJBIRISH wrote:
Measured out about 2 feet from the AC there should be a 16* to 20* temp drop between the incoming air and that outlet air… if you have that the AC is doing it’s part…

Agree, and if the AC is ducted throughout the trailer and the cooling is uneven as you describe, I would definitely schedule a trip to the dealer service department and ask them to check the ductwork for obstructions.

[NLPRacing]

CarterKraft wrote:

NLPRacing wrote:
We have a Kodiak 300BHSL also, and we notice that it has a hard time cooling down and staying cool. Did you ever find anything that helped? We're thinking about adding a second AC.

Do you have the 15k a/c upgrade? I have a 292 TQB on order and I am worried one will not be enough in the heat.

It has an Advent brand 15K AC. It just can't keep up with the Texas heat. We plan on adding a second 15K AC before next summer.

[JJBIRISH]

Measured out about 2 feet from the AC there should be a 16* to 20* temp drop between the incoming air and that outlet air… if you have that the AC is doing it’s part…

[CarterKraft]

NLPRacing wrote:
We have a Kodiak 300BHSL also, and we notice that it has a hard time cooling down and staying cool. Did you ever find anything that helped? We're thinking about adding a second AC.

Do you have the 15k a/c upgrade? I have a 292 TQB on order and I am worried one will not be enough in the heat.

[star_2008]

We also keep our max air open in storage to let the RV breathe