Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I've been reading up on installing an air conditioner, learning from problems that others have had, and I think I have a plan. I want to mount the AC in the upper galley wall and build both intake and exhaust ducting for air flow to the "outdoors" side of the AC. I plan to build a box of sorts for the ducting and I'd like to have the intake and exhaust vents on the upper part of my hatch, I'd hate to have to cut through the side walls. I'm finding a lot of different vent types but I don't find much information on what design keeps water out but allows good air flow.

Any suggestions on the best vent type to use and an online supplier?

Thanks again.

Dunno about online suppliers but I'd suggest you slant your tray (use one of Ira's sinks, perhaps, with a cutout for a drain and a sturdy hose or some of that gray plastic line as a drain) so that the front -- or air outlet into your TD -- is at least 3/8'' higher than the back. The "back" is of course the "outdoor" side where you have your exhaust. I'd put my drain in a corner and run the line to drip condensate away from my door and galley.

Thanks for the tip on the slant. I hadn't thought about that.

There have been some recent threads about venting A/Cs. I would have been able to save space had I thought of mounting a fan to help move the air in the "ducting". As it was the threads came too late.

I vented through the floor so as to fully hide the A/C from outside view. It works well and I wake to condensation (where there is wood fame and no insulation in my walls) on the aluminum outside in the early morning. My wife and I keep it cold when we sleep.

We have no problem with road splash through the holes in the bottom, but I built my tear with 2x4 floor joists due to building on a boat trailer and they tend to be a barrier to road splash.

There are many ways to put A/C in a tear. Check the other builds. I wish mine was up high in the galley bulkhead but I decided that the ducting would require too much space. Campinn has a nifty A/C system.

Anyway click my bild pic link below and look for the tear build file. There are some recently posted camping pics in the my album button a little further down.

I just reread your post and found that I misread it.

For your A/C roof vents (I hadn't seen it done the way you suggest, but I imagine it would look REALLY cool) I would check marine suppliers.

The vents would likely be too small to allow your A/C to breath with its' internal fan, but some 4" inline blowers would do the trick and minimize duct size.

I will definately keep your thoughts in mind for the next build.

I just completed my A/C install using a hatch and a slide out. My thoughts were that this would be much easier and I would not have to do any duct work or drain work. I was concerned that even with duct work, there would be a lot of heat transfer through the ducts and into the trailer.
I was also concerned with freeze up as most A/C units are much too large for a TD and with the open venting of a slide out, I would eliminate this possibility.
The unit is mounted on the front wall, and high. When the unit is slide out, it gives me a nice shelf and when it is slide in, it is secure from and road debris.
I have a recent post on this installation.
I used a door wiper/seal from Lowe's to seal to the sides of the A/C unit when it is extended.
There are may ways and many ideas. The deciding factor is only your preference.
Good luck and enjoy your build!

Because I decided late in my build to add the AC, 4 days tent camping changed my mind, I'm limited on where to add it. The tongue box would be the best place in my opinion but I don't want to rebuild it. Here's what I've done so far.




All the mounting angles used existing holes on the AC unit and I added in the slant when I attached the angles.

For the venting I'm thinking about a group of clam shell vents but I'm still exploring different ideas.

That looks like another version of the same a/c unit I have. If you look at the back there is a rubber plug on the lower drip tray. Mine came with a grommet and barbed fitting that goes in that hole. I ran a drain tube from that hole, to a tube that drained outside the tear.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page in my build log to see how I vented and drained my a/c unit.

http://asianflava.journalspace.com/?m=6&y=2005

I thought about all that ducting /blowers, etc, and decided to go the simple way and just mount it in the wall out of the way ... works fine , no problems , and all the ac units we've seen mounted in vans over the years, I don't think debris damage is significant under "normal" road conditions ... I tried to post the pics but just couldn't get it ...?????

GPW wrote:I tried to post the pics but just couldn't get it ...?????

I'll type again for those that need help.

Just open another browser window CTRL-N and pull up the pic you want.

With the picture you want showing in the browser window highlight the address at the top and copy it. Either CTRL-C or Right click on it and select copy in the drop down.

Go to the original window with the message entry or you can close the other window. You're done with it now.

Click on the box where you enter the text and paste the address. Either CTRL-V or Right click and select paste. It will out the picture's address in the text box.

Now highlight the address again and click "Img" at the top. Make shure there are no spaces between the address and the tags.