Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I got a text from a friend this morning at 6:57. She'd awakened to a warm house. Central A/C bit the dust. Not that something like that can ever happen at a good time, but a holiday weekend has to be just about the worst time. I have two portable A/Cs. One I had sitting in my 7 X 16 trailer but not tied down, hoses weren't fastened yet, etc. The other was still in the box. I've been waiting for cooler weather to tackle insulating the trailers. I loaded up the two portables and took them to said friends house and hooked them up. She now has A/C. Couldn't have done that with roof mounted units.

Granted, it would have been a little more work had I already had them mounted in my trailers but I plan on mounting them so that they are fairly easily removable for just such events.

One thing I found on my TT roof mount AC ... it does NOT cycle on and off ... Just runs continuously and the Thermostat cycles on/off ... Fan Noise all the time ... Don't much care for that !!! The much less expensive window unit goes on/off completely , No noise , and some even have a remote ...

Depending on how you set it up... Our unit is wired so that when it is on the fans (includes bilge blower) runs continuously and only the compressor cycles on and off. It is very quiet and if I need to replace it it is at most $100 for the guts as apposed to $600+

I am using a portable a/c in my 14 foot trailer. I want to have a clean look on the outside and be able to put the trailer in the garage.

I too have a portable in the "Topside Inn" but don't intend to use it all that much but have it and can take it with if necessary. Mine also runs continuously but with very little noise. I have a little fan running in the trailer for circulation so any sound from the AC just mixes in and I can sleep that much better!




Bismarck didn't seem to care about any fan noise as long as he was COOL!

I can't do the roof mount as I plan to carry a boat on top at various times.

I started with a window unit.. but don't like it a whole lot as well as It really screws up my "front porch". ( until I put in another window or a slide unit <which I really don't care to do> )

I'm going to get a portable unit and duct it out the floor.
I think that's best. And.. If I really need it in the house, should be simple enough to unhook it and move it.

I am very disapointed in my portable AC I have a 12000 btu the largest I could buy and it takes several hours to cool my 7x16 and it really does not starts to cool down until after dark.
It will get down to 60 degrees in the morning after running all night but by lunch time it's back in the 80's,the only way it is cool enough for me to stay inside during the day is laying on the couch and the AC blowing right on me.?
My trailer has 2 layers = 1inch thick of insulation and when I am standing up I can feel the heat coming through the roof.
Unless you want an AC that only works at night I would not buy a portable AC.
I want to be able to go in my trailer any time of day and be cool so I am going to buy a Coleman cub.

I'm pretty happy with my roof mount. If your fan never shuts off, is the fan wired right? Mine has an "Auto" and "On" function on the thermostat. My girl likes the fan blowing the entire time. We're a noisy bunch, and the fan drowns out the noise. Once things quiet down and I come to bed, I put it back on Auto and the fan doesn't run unless the compressor's on.

I've had a portable. Fine in a pinch to cut the edge off, but it wouldn't keep up with our Florida heat.

YMMMV

jwhite wrote:I am very disapointed in my portable AC I have a 12000 btu the largest I could buy and it takes several hours to cool my 7x16 and it really does not starts to cool down until after dark.
It will get down to 60 degrees in the morning after running all night but by lunch time it's back in the 80's,the only way it is cool enough for me to stay inside during the day is laying on the couch and the AC blowing right on me.?
My trailer has 2 layers = 1inch thick of insulation and when I am standing up I can feel the heat coming through the roof.
Unless you want an AC that only works at night I would not buy a portable AC.
I want to be able to go in my trailer any time of day and be cool so I am going to buy a Coleman cub.

A couple of thoughts that might help. If your roof is a dark color consider painting it white or silver to reflect light and reduce the conversion of sunlight to heat inside your trailer.

If you could get your roof into shade (a couple of EZ up awnings or similar) and/or block the sun from hitting the sides of your trailer it would also reduce your heat gain and make your a/c unit more effective.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

jwhite wrote:I am very disapointed in my portable AC I have a 12000 btu the largest I could buy and it takes several hours to cool my 7x16 and it really does not starts to cool down until after dark.

Is yours single hose or dual hose? Reason for asking is that so far everyone I've seen mention that they are disappointed in their portable has had a single hose unit. To date I've not seen anything negative posted by anyone with a dual hose unit.

David_L6 wrote:

jwhite wrote:I am very disapointed in my portable AC I have a 12000 btu the largest I could buy and it takes several hours to cool my 7x16 and it really does not starts to cool down until after dark.

Is yours single hose or dual hose? Reason for asking is that so far everyone I've seen mention that they are disappointed in their portable has had a single hose unit. To date I've not seen anything negative posted by anyone with a dual hose unit.

The Coleman Cub is only 9,200 btu which is less than your current unit. I think your money might be better spent optimizing your current setup. Perhaps more/better insulation, recycling your interior air if you're not already doing so, a sun shade, dual concentric hoses if possible. I have to think going from 12,000 btu to 9,200 btu isn't the solution.

Cheers,

Gus

There are formula for figuring out cooling needs based on cubic feet and longitude. We are cooling 400 CF with 5000 btu and cooling to spare, it is a two hose system and could be made more efficient by insulating the AC unit and hoses better. The trailer is white.
What sort of portable unit are you using, window shaker? Are the side vents and fins fully exposed?

This is the AC labeled as such in your album. Is this the AC we are talking about?



I will be the first to say that I don't know anything about these so I can't add any experience but have wondered if they added heat inside. I know mine sure does outside.

I hope you get it figured out and when you do please let us know.

Jeff good catch. We tried one of these in our bed room and it was more btu and did not work at all well. Our 8000 btu replacement works great.

Shadow Catcher wrote:Jeff good catch. We tried one of these in our bed room and it was more btu and did not work at all well. Our 8000 btu replacement works great.

My unit is a 5,900 BTU (for the trailer) and it is an old one. It was a FREEBEEEEE so I had to give it a try. We spoke at the CRA and I was trying it out but it seems to be working out well. I don't need a 60 degree temp (not to take away from the posters wants or needs) but the humidity is what I really hate. If I can knock that down I am good. At the CRA I was at 74 degrees with 45 percent humidity (with a non insulated ceiling) and I am good with that. Mind you, it was hot down there...

SC knows!