Hello Fellow Cargo Campers,
Just returned from a 3 day camping trip to a nearby location. It was really HOT!! We were by a river with locks letting boats up and down so we did get some nice breezes under a large tree nearby. This will be our last trip until it cools down in the Fall. I wanted to mention a few things about our use of the 10K BTU portable SINGLE HOSE A/C that we used to keep cool. We bought this as an emergency back-up unit in case our home unit went out. It will cool a bedroom until the repair person can get to us, we figured. We did NOT know the difference between a single hose and a dual hose unit. We do now LOL. I put it in the trailer on our last trip about a month ago, sending the hot exhaust air down the vent in the floor. I turned it on and this shrieking noise came in through the roof vent and I could barely open the door! I had to open a window several inches to get enough air in to stop the negative pressure. I was pulling in 85 degree air in through the window, then asking the unit to cool it down! This trip however, I "converted" the single hose to a dual hose by attaching a Tupperware type storage container to the back with a metal A/C duct all taped over the air inlet. Then I attached a length of hose to it and sent it down the hatch in the floor to draw in fresh air from under the trailer. I them had to send the hot air out through the window. The hose was longer and got really hot so I wrapped it in a Mylar type of material and that helped a bit. For the next time we use the A/C, I am adding an additional hatch in the floor (a 6"boat hatch with a screw on lid), and I will send the heat out that original one on the back side, and draw fresh air in through the opposite side. I might need to deflect it with a 90 degree duct to avoid pulling in the hot air, I will see how it does. So...word to the wise here, if you plan on using this type of A/C this summer, try to find a dual hose unit. The one I have is new and I got it second hand for about half price, so I am not complaining. I even thought of maybe putting in a RV hatch in one of the back doors and using a 5KBTU window unit, but that is a lot of work and more $$. So, for now we will keep using this setup and try to improve the efficiency. One thing on the air inlet...I did end up taping over a small inlet vent in the lower side of the A/C unit. I noticed that it wasn't cycling on and off like it should, so I did end up undoing just that one (about 6"X7"). It seemed to work better and kept the trailer about 78 degrees in direct sun with 92 degree outside temp. It got pretty chilly inside at night as the outside air dropped to 75 degrees. I also directed the top water drip hose into a container and it filled up almost half full!! About 1.5 gallon! I am going to put a small floor drain plug in to direct the water outside. Our next trip won't be until October and by then it will hopefully have cooled down some here in SW Fla. I will say that painting the roof white helped a lot since the sun beats down and heats up the interior. But, the white paint and the 1" foam keeps the ceiling almost cool to the touch. Happy Cool Camping!!
LOL! Later...Happy Trails To You All!!
