A/C

[nuyork212]

Hello All

As I look around I notice a lot of tear drops with out A/C.... Is this just a personal choice or is one not necessary?

I know it will just depend on your location....

[rowerwet]

I put one in but mostly only use it for the fan, depends on the humidiy where you camp mostly.

[Jiminsav]

anywhere below the Mason-Dixon line, you might want to design a A/C into your tear...hard to sleep when your sweating bullets.

[GerryS]

For me, it's a necessity. Old fat boy here doesn't deal well with humidity and heat!

Keep in mind though that AC in a TD doesn't work as well as you would think. It tends to ether over cool the drop, making it feel like a damp cave, or just not cool with any degree of efficiency. It's a bit counter intuitive, but opening the window and having the AC running works best. But here in Indiana, within High humidity, fans will only get you so far...

[Shadow Catcher]

Ours is not permanently mounted. Take it when you need it leave it home when you don't, i.e. we will not need it North of Lake Superior

[working on it]

A/C definitely needed in Texas, from April-November (I've seen 80's in both months). Very needed in the summer. I've two windows, two vents, a powerful standard 10" fan, and just one 5000 btu A/C. If I had the room (4x8 trailer), I'd like to have two of those also (ha, ha).Only have a 300 watt heater though, and 20 degree sleeping bags. You see which way I am leaning here.

[Roly Nelson]

Years ago, I installed a small AC unit in my tongue box and cut a hole for supply and return air through the front wall of the tear. I've used it a total of two times, so I have found that here in So Calif, it is not needed unless you do a lot of desert camping. Now it cools my wood lathe room and will never be installed in the tear again.
Roly

[jstrubberg]

Different climates, different needs. Here in muggy Missouri, I wouldn't camp between May and September without an AC unit along. Nights at 80 degrees with 80% humidity are miserable.

[Shadow Catcher]

I will second jstrubberg. Roly we used our AC only once last summer out west, it cooled off at night and little humidity. Here you may have 90% humidity with 80 degrees all night. That is one reason for the efforts in making sure the AC does not short cycle and dehumidifies well.

[bdosborn]

Our very first trip in the teardrop was to the first ITG in Minden, NE. I chose not to add A/C since I figured we would camp in the mountains most of the time so we wouldn't need it. Boy was I wrong and we were miserable for 3 days. 90F and 90% humidity at 11PM. We were so jealous of the people around us that were sleeping peacefully in their A/C cooled trailer. I bought a used Pet Cool off eBay when we got back. A/C was designed as an integral part of the Boxcar that replaced the teardrop.

You may not need A/C very often but boy when you do, it's the best.

Bruce

[nuyork212]

Sounds like its better to have then to have not!

[Todah Tear]

Here' s a mount that I used so that the AC doesn't have to be carried when not in use:



Click on the pics to enlarge.








Todah

[planovet]

An AC is pretty much required here in Texas

[rowerwet]

up here in New England you bring A/C AND a HEATER, and expect to use them both... all summer long, the farther north, the more the heater is a must. Camping in a tent in the Adirondacks in August, I've found ice from my breath on the inside of the tent.
40 and 50 degree nights are comon in July/August in southern Maine, comfortable to sleep, but the heater makes it nice to crawl out of the covers even inside the TD.