Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Am thinking of mounting my window air outside and venting it inside. Checked out some at ITG. Still have afew questions. Do i mount the entire switch box inside, including the can like thing(sorry about the technical terms)or just the switchs? On the temp control switch their is a copper tube coming off that is clipped to the interior coil, what is it and what do I do with it? Do I need to add some ducting to draw the interior air into the air conditioner? Am thinking of mounting it underneath, this would mean taking it off for travel and putting it back on at campsite, but I would then gain storage space in galley and could finish galley with cabinets(then I could hide my mess).
Thanks
Aaron Coffee

that copper tube you are looking at is part of the therma stat it needs to stay are you can not regulate your air. window units like house unit they need a return duck as well as supply duck. if you have a roof vent then i would look at the roof airs for rv. they fit right on the 14 x14 hole. sure save you alot of trouble.

The problem I see is that the thermostat won't be correct unless it gets the air from inside the tear recirculating over it. It if gets fresh air from outside, it will never think that it has cooled the tear.

Not only will you have to run ducts from the vents to the interior of the tear, you should run them from the tear to the a/c unit. I say "should" because you can definitely get away with not doing it. It's just that your a/c unit will be constantly running.

I had gone round and round on this, mentally, before hard mounting the a/c unit..... bottom line for me was I was going to have to haul a 40 pound unit around every time I thought I would need a/c..... the thought of having it in place, or moving it each time I traveled was the deciding factor.

I don't like moving a cooler or tent all the time. I just couldn't see moving an a/c unit in addition to all the other crap... I mean 'stuff'.

And being that heavy, it would have to go in the van, not the tear. I wouldn't want an a/c unit bouncing around there. and the van is already packed with 'stuff'.... so, I cut a hole in the tear and built an a/c box and moved the axle to rebalance the whole thing.... and now I won't have to worry about it.

Daryl Engle http://home.alltel.net/engled/td/may23.html piped air from a window unit into his teardrop and didn't have a return. He said it worked well.But, I agree that outside entering the unit will cause the thermocouple to sense hot air keep cooling regardless of the temp seting inside.

I am designing a camper trailer http://home.tampabay.rr.com/wdsummers/camper.html based on the Widget and will install a window unit directly in the cabin, high at the rear. The Fedders 5000 BTU is small (about 12"Hx15"Wx19D") and weighs 52 lbs.

Dale

I'm still wondering about airconditioning myself. I noticed at the Minden gathering, all the units I saw were piped with flexible pressure side and return air. All but the PetCool on Kai's trailer were just the smallest window units you see at WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc., etc. I did talk with Kai and he mentioned he liked the PetCool because it never froze up..............unlike the small window units he'd used in the past. Reason is the tonnage is lower on the PetCool. A teardrop is so small that a window unit freezes up...................that's why I've heard some people just duct the pressure side and get their intake air from outside. For me personally, the "jury" is still out!

I really don't think a unit with a self-regulating thermostat will freeze up. For like 30 bucks more than the cheapest thing out there, it's well worth it.

But then again, I live in Florida.

I'm more worried about the thing cycling on and off so often to maintain the temp. In a TD, I would guess it will do this every minute and a half.

So you are saying I can buy a $99 window unit and put a self-regulating thermostat on it and have essentially the same thing as Kia's $400 PetCool? Where would I go to buy a self-regulating thermostat?

Chris C wrote:So you are saying I can buy a $99 window unit and put a self-regulating thermostat on it and have essentially the same thing as Kia's $400 PetCool? Where would I go to buy a self-regulating thermostat?

I was redundant--a thermostat IS self-regulating. You buy an AC with a thermostat.

I think I paid $120 for mine, don't remember, but not more than that. You set the thermostat and it cycles on and off as needed.

Oh! Airconditioning is an area I know absolutely nothing about! Okay then. A/C is on the list of "someday" accessories!

I installed a Maytag 5200 btu window unit in mine. The concern of "icing" is a valid one. The unit needs to "breathe" ( front and back) correctly to prevent this condition from occuring. For the money it is still a viable option to keep expenses low for use and replacement. From what I have seen and experienced on the install of them is the lack of fore thought in the function of the unit "Breathing". Granted they are over kill with BTU"S, however, if done correctly you should not have the "PROBLEMS" so many have had. Plenty of cooling air for the exhuast intake (rear coil) and hot air exhuast flow not impeded by small openings to the outside. Fresh air exchange for the cabin while unit is cooling cabin allows unit to run a little longer and dehumidify. I have not had any problems so far with mine. And the best part , I can sleep like a baby, 'cause the wife is happy. Just my opinion, hope this helps

Chris C wrote:So you are saying I can buy a $99 window unit and put a self-regulating thermostat on it and have essentially the same thing as Kia's $400 PetCool? Where would I go to buy a self-regulating thermostat?

I figure, for $78 it would be a much cheaper "Experiment". Just imagine plunking down $400 and it not working that well.

I'm not sure what the circumstances Kai had when it froze up but the thermostat should prevent that. Units do freeze up though, I'm not saying that it doesn't happen.

And by the way, BUY a unit with a digital thermostat with remote. once you set the temp it maintains it regardless of the outside temp varing

Okay, about how much does one of those 5200btu units weigh? Kai's PetCool was very small and portable. (see it in my pictures from Minden) http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chrischri ... /my_photos

98% of my traveling is in the Fall, Winter, and early Spring. I don't "do" heat if I can help it, so A/C isn't the most important thing on my list, but I do want to learn about it.

Woody wrote:And by the way, BUY a unit with a digital thermostat with remote. once you set the temp it maintains it regardless of the outside temp varing

Great tip, Woody. I'll remember that.