Jayco Eagle 284BHBE - second AC?

[ecksdude]

Hello all, another newb question:

I'm looking at purchasing a Jayco Eagle 284BHBE. This trailer is ~34 feet long and comes with a 13.5K A/C.

What I want to know is this: I assume the stock 13.5K BTU A/C is not optimal, and therefore am getting it upgraded to 15K BTU. That said, there is a factory option for 50A service and a second ducted A/C in the bedroom.

Anyone with experience with Eagle trailers, is it worth it to wait the 3 months for the build and get a trailer with 50A and the second A/C, or will the 15K BTU A/C be enough for the whole trailer?

I expect we will be spending some very hot days inside the trailer and I'm the type of person who's very picky about the indoor temp being 73 or below.

I just don't know how effective the 15K BTU is going to be to cool the whole trailer on, say a 110 degree day?

Opinions? My previous experience has been in a 25 foot trailer with a 13.5K unit that we lived in for 6 weeks a couple of years ago... I thought that was alright (if noisy) even in the Oklahoma heat, but it was a MUCH smaller trailer.

[jaycocamprs]

Get the 50-amp and the 2nd ducted AC. You run the front AC while watching TV or whatever, and then switch to the rear when you go to bed. Keeps the noise level down, as the running AC is not in the room with you. If you do go south or inland you may need both AC's if you camp somewhere that does have shade. We run both of ours quite often just cooling the trailer off, then only run the 15K rear unit. Also run the 2nd if we use the oven. It’s better to have and not need, than to need and not have.

[allen8106]

I had a 32 footer with just one ac and it could't keep up on the hotter summer days. My 5vr has two and I'll never go back to a single.

[campigloo]

Our Outback has a 15000 a and does an adequate job. The real nuisance is having to turn it off to use the microwave. Good call on the 50amp order. Wish mine had it.

[BruteForceNewYo]

Ive got a 314TSBH with 50A, 2nd A/C prep and 15K. Single A/C cools the unit good but our rear bunk room doesn't get as cold as I would like.

[ecksdude]

blacktop wrote:
If I parked in a hot environment like Arizona, a second A/C unit would definitely be viable. You being in Oregon, (Unless you camp in the desert) I would think the one A/C your trailer came with will be enough.

Yeah, at long last I've decided to get the 50A and prep for the 2nd AC, which I will only install if I determine I need it.

We are planning an extended trip in a few years when I get a sabbatical. We haven't figured out yet whether we're heading north to Alaska, or South to visit the southern states. It could go either way at this point.

😛

[blacktop]

If I parked in a hot environment like Arizona, a second A/C unit would definitely be viable. You being in Oregon, (Unless you camp in the desert) I would think the one A/C your trailer came with will be enough.

[blacktop]

If I parked in a hot environment like Arizona, a second A/C unit would definitely be viable. You being in Oregon, (Unless you camp in the desert) I would think the one A/C your trailer came with will be enough.

[gcloss]

CampingN.C. wrote:

gcloss wrote:
I have a 2015 Eagle 284BHBE ..... my only regret is NOT getting the second A/C and 50 amps. I have the 15k upgrade and while camping this past June in Nashville where temps were in the high 90's, the A/C struggled to keep my TT cool in the low 80's inside the trailer.

If it's truly struggling you may want to have it check out. With the same AC and a good bit more square footage to cool, ours does fine. Granted, it didn't cut off much at the beach with a real heat wave in effect, but it kept it cool. We kept it at around 75 inside. ZERO shade outside.

I've used the TT many times since Nashville in the shade with temps in the 90's with no problem keeping the trailer at 70 degrees. I attribute the problem being in full sun with outside temp one day at 104. I will say that the inside walls of my slide were very hot to the touch from the sun. I also found that the side walls of the TT around the slide were hot as well, telling me that insulation was probably left out when the TT was built.

[CampingN_C_]

gcloss wrote:
I have a 2015 Eagle 284BHBE ..... my only regret is NOT getting the second A/C and 50 amps. I have the 15k upgrade and while camping this past June in Nashville where temps were in the high 90's, the A/C struggled to keep my TT cool in the low 80's inside the trailer.

If it's truly struggling you may want to have it check out. With the same AC and a good bit more square footage to cool, ours does fine. Granted, it didn't cut off much at the beach with a real heat wave in effect, but it kept it cool. We kept it at around 75 inside. ZERO shade outside.

[bqcooker]

We have a 2015 w/ 30 Amp and upgraded to the 15K a/c unit and it worked great in Fla this summer. We also got the insulated package, so that helped a lot. And we kept the temps in the 70s inside and it was close to 100 outside.

[gcloss]

I have a 2015 Eagle 284BHBE ..... my only regret is NOT getting the second A/C and 50 amps. I have the 15k upgrade and while camping this past June in Nashville where temps were in the high 90's, the A/C struggled to keep my TT cool in the low 80's inside the trailer.

[CampingN_C_]

Keep in mind too, and I could be wrong. The second AC will NOT be ducted. It will just blow directly off the unit itself, in the bedroom.

[CampingN_C_]

15K AC does just fine for ours, even in hot Myrtle Beach sun. We had several days around 100 degrees. Ours is also 30 amp.

[myredracer]

Keep in mind that you will have trouble finding 50 amp pedestals sometimes. The current NEC only requires a min. of 20% of an RV park to be 50 amps. That up from only 5% in 2002. There's not only a lot of MHs with 50 amps, a lot more people are buying other RVs with 50 amp services.

If it were me, I'd be looking at running a 2nd AC off the 20 amp recept. in a pedestal by adding a 20 amp power inlet on the side of the unit and wiring as necessary. Or you could get fancy and have a switch to flip the 2nd AC from the 20 amp power inlet to the 50 amp service.