A/C Location

[Myates]

Hello All

I have finally decided to go the route of the Window Unit A/C. I am planning on using and access door installed on the side of the trailer and slide the ac in and out. I bought a 5,000 btu today at lowes for $99. I plan on ordering the door soon. Any good places to order a access door??

Which height would be best to install the ac. My thinking was to install it lower to the floor. This will allow it to be more out of the way. Would higher up be better???

[Bkcreation34]

Hot air rises I would think install at highest height. Because the cool air will stay on the floor and hot air will be above. How big is your CT?

[Myates]

Sorry. I should have put that in my post. My cargo trailer is 6x12 with a ceiling height of 6'6".

[Shadow Catcher]

Or do not attach it at all,

[working on it]

Look at rooftop A/C units on factory built large RV's, refrigeration units inside frozen-food transport trailers, and even the new home ductless split A/C units (Mitsubishi Mr.Slim, for one)...all are mounted high up. Another thought, since hot air rises and cooled air sinks, ceiling fans are made reversible to send the air in the correct direction ...since you have a cargo trailer, mount your A/C anywhere, but put a fan on or near the ceiling to manage the airflow.

[b.bodemer]

Cool air drops. But I found counter height to work just fine. So mine is added to a base cabinet with a slider. The cargo door was already installed for me at that height at the time I ordered trailer. And my ceiling is 6'6".
Barb

[Glenlivet]

Since you already have the 5000 BTU window shaker and you have a 6 foot wide CT like mine, what about simplifying things and just solid mount your shaker? You already don't mind making the hole in the side of your cargo anyway so what the heck! You can save all the work of making that sliding mechanism and have a stronger mount to boot. If you had an 8 or 8.5 foot wide CT or even maybe a 7 I can see it being a bit risky having an A/C box projecting further out to the side than anything else, but for a 6 footer, why not? I figured that my wheels stick out to the sides 11.5 inches already and the shaker projects out just 7 inches, so it's inboard of the furthest part projecting out to the side already. It uses just 3.5 inches to the inside too, making it pretty unobtrusive.





I think a side mount for a wall A/C make more sense. Bugs don't get mashed into the condenser nor rain pelt through when you drive. (I have a ramp door for my ATV, so a rear mount A/C in a false wall was not an option)

b.bodemer's slider is nice, very well done, but you need something like a cabinet on the inside immediately below the A/C's access door so that it can bear the weight of the A/C when it is retracted. You could build some bracing inside to hold the retracted A/C up but then that bracing would be intruding into the interior space all the time. A cabinet like b.bodemers would be the answer. Two birds and all that.
ps. Since this photo I found that a pet flea comb makes a perfect A/C condenser fin straightner.



Whoops, I just saw your other A/C thread where I already uploaded pics.

[lrrowe]

Glenlivet,

Your logic seems sound to me when you talk about mounting the wall AC unit and leaving it as shown in your last picture post. While I am still gathering all the info I can get and am still looking for that trailer I feel comfortable with, I find comments like yours and others very helpful.

If I get a 6x12, I might look at doing what you did. What about mounting it low so it comes right out above the fender? I know cool air settles and all that, but that position is used in motels and the like (even thought they tend to blow the cool air upward)? When I get my trailer I will do the blue tape thing and see if it could be done that way and not be in the way of anything including my feet.

[WildTexan]

I built mine into the cabinet and vented it through the floor. I have a 6x10 and it seems to work great so far.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1372126586.219355.jpg (50.52 KiB) Viewed 1756 times

Inside is mounted right inside the cabinet. I sealed the floor and cracks under the cabinet with that rubber sealer in a spray can.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1372126686.334267.jpg (41.48 KiB) Viewed 1756 times

Not a great pic, but this is looking up underneath the trailer at the exhaust from the unit.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1372126730.400988.jpg (37.97 KiB) Viewed 1756 times

These are the intake holes on each side of the trailer. I just need to put some sort of mesh o keep the bugs from building a home up there.