ClimateRight recommendations

[Tom Horn]

I have been doing my research on air conditioners for the camper and I have decided on the Climateright. I don't care for the idea of building the ac into the main cabin of the camper. I plan on building a box on the front to fit the ac in so I don't have to bolt down the ac and void the warranty. Probably set it on a rubber pad to help with bouncing during transport and run a strap over to keep it in place. My question is which model would everyone recommend. My camper will be big enough for a full size mattress and just under 5 foot tall walls. Me being a big boy I just want a little more headroom and a bigger door. Anyways would you recommend the 2500 btu unit or the 5000 btu unit? Thank you.

[Philip]

Here is my build thread.

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=67073


I went with the 5k climate right in my build. I felt the 2.5k model might be border line for the inside area I had.

[Tom Horn]

Thanks for the info Philip and I like your build. That's why I was curious, trying to calculate it in my head just made me think the 2500 btu could be on the small side but 5000 btu might be a tad much. With that said generally 5000 btu is the smallest you can find in any kind of ac unit or the smallest I have found anyways.

[Socal Tom]

I did some rough calculations a while back, and for a 30F degree drop, my 5x8 needed over 3000 BTU. Couple that with the experience of some others I've seen on here that tried the 2500 BTU and it lacked the capacity to keep them cool. A trailer doesn't have an attic, and it doesn't rest on the ground that is a natural insulator, so it needs much more cooling than most people expect.
I run a DIY Hacked 5K BTU unit that is intended to work like the climateright. 5K seems to be the perfect size.
Tom

[HarryL]

When I was looking at the ClimateRight, I went by their formula for size. It said that a 2500 BTU would work. I found that it was to small and took a very long time to cool down my Standie. I would compensate by turning the temperature way down to get enough cold air. I wish I had gotten the 5000 BTU model.

When using the heat pump feature, the 2500 BTU model was adequate.

Hope that my real world experience helps.

[Tom Horn]

Thanks for the replies that answers my questions. I will order the 5000 btu when I am ready for it.

[working on it]

... I don't care for the idea of building the ac into the main cabin of the camper. I plan on building a box on the front to fit the ac in so I don't have to bolt down the ac and void the warranty. Probably set it on a rubber pad to help with bouncing during transport and run a strap over to keep it in place....

• I chose a built-in installation, to always have my 5k window unit on hand. I mounted it solidly thru the 3/4" plywood bulkhead wall, between cabin & galley, with zero cushioning. It has survived 6 years of harsh roads and a flying leap over a pothole, and still works as good as ever. These little windowshakers can tolerate a lot of movement, obviously, and the manufacturers surely know the rough treatment the units take when being moved around in a retail store environment, and during the installation by mostly unskilled homeowners. Most units I have seen are installed with incorrect angling, and insufficient weight support, yet they seem to last for at least a season or two, beyond the warranty period.
• I've had two fail (both 10k btu units) that I carefully installed. One had a freon leak (not due to vibration, but a bad solder job at the factory), and the other from a rusted fan bearing (I failed to cover the unit properly, and the winter's rains got into the bearing). One was repaired under warranty, and the other was replaced at my expense, out of warranty. The warranty-repaired unit is in our shed (along with the 8k from my wife's office-8 years old-, and the newest 10k from our old bedroom-6 years old-, both stored after the house demolition), since I never re-installed it, and we have central air again.
• My little 5k LG unit in the trailer, probably will outlast me, and easily cools my 4x8 without icing up, or constant cycling...I just have to switch it on, without hooking up hoses, or storing it/moving it/hooking it up again every year. For $125 (my elaborate ducting not included), I wouldn't care if the warranty wasn't honored on it, even if It had only lasted a few trips...It was the best choice for my TTT, and I basically designed the rest of the trailer around it and the on-board generator, Only my right-angle ducting was not thought-through beforehand, but it now works perfectly, too. Besides, the Climate-Right dog-coolers (at that time, in 2011-2013), were too small (2500 btu), and too expensive for inclusion in my build.

[Philip]

Tom on our recent 12 day trip. We used the climate right one night. It took about 45 minutes for the 5k model to drop the heat sink on the back of the truck down to a set temp of 74 degrees. Then it would cycle about every 15 minutes after that. When you can set on/off timer and inside temps with the climate right. Being oversize isn't a issue. All it looks at is your settings.

[Shadow Catcher]

Or make your own http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=44561

[crttaz]

You mean the ClimateWrong 5k unit? The ones that keep having the boards fail?

[DWT77]

Here is how this guy fixed his board condensation problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVnaXUepf-I

Also someone in the comments said Climateright fixed the problem in 2017 not sure if that is true or not.