Removing those top mounted ACs...

[GPW]

Gentlemen (and Ladies too) ,
I've become very un happy with the top mounted AC on my Jayco feather Sport... Doesn't work very well, NOISY, fan is either off or on , no thermostatic fan control... and the fan wants to keep freezing up from lack of use ... after a month or so , I have to remove the grill and manually spin the cage to get it to start... I think they use this design/unit to help support RV dealers....
Since I'm considering some changes on the trailer design , i'd really like to remove the unit, plug the hole (Schmaybe' a skylight?) and put a cheap window shaker in the spot occupied by the overly large refrigerator soon to be removed... there is a nice vent to outside at that spot , suitable for an AC install... and if the unit goes out it would be easily replaced, unlike the Top unit which the RV dealers charge a small FORTUNE to work on .... Grrrrr!!!!

Plus the overall height of the TT is increased. making a bigger storage building necessary , not to mention the aerodynamic Drag of the unit on the highway... Replacement would save drag and weight .... and EXPENSE.... The more I get to know RV dealers , the more I hate them ....

Any opinions would be appreciated... I just need to hear the pros and the cons....

[Larwyn]

The roof top AC on the 5th wheel trailer that I had was mounted over a standard 14" opening, same as a roof vent or Fantastic Vent. The size of the roof top unit and of the grill/inside trim might disguise that fact but when removed the opening is probably easily filled with a simple crank open vent. I never had enough trouble with the AC unit to actually want to remove it but I did seem to have to fix something on it every year that I owned it.

[madjack]

Larwyn is right...at least most of the roof mounts I have seen...remove the interior garnish/trim and you should expose all of this...take off the shroud around the top and removal should be fairly straight forward.........
madjack

[GPW]

Thanks Guys, That's GREAT NEWS!!!!!! Sounds like an easy project and I could probably easily re-wire for a power fan /vent...
I hate to have to re-design this trailer, but after building a TD and going through everybody else's experiences, the current factory layout just ain't workin for me ....Huge waste of space , lots of appliances we're Never gonna' use...(from experience), and heavy....

My friendly RV dealer told me it would be 1500 USD to remove the AC and fill in the hole .... What a Jerk !!!!!! He went on and on about the "special membrane" on the roof, which looks for all the world to me like a thin vinyl tablecloth... I won't even discuss the ridiculous price he wanted to do all the changes I wanted... I could have bought a new TT or built about 3 really nice TDs...Really Nice TDs!!! Love those guys huh??? We're gonna' miss em'.... NOT!!!

[Roly Nelson]

GPW, if you have a 'cage' that is spinning, you probably have a swamp cooler, not an air conditioning unit. I guess it doesn't matter, you still have a hole in the roof. Good luck on your efforts.
Roly

[madjack]

Roly, believe me when I say, down where GP lives, a swamp cooler is something that happens out on the back 40...not something on the roof of your RV
madjack

[GPW]

Roly ...Big Thanks !!!!

MJ.Hot enough for ya'???? I don't think a swamp cooler would even work in our Humidity...98 forecast today Big tub of Ice to lay in might work ..

Anybody need a propane furnace ....???? hahahaha

[madjack]

...yep GP, we are working on our 3rd solid week of 100+ temps...been setting or matching records...the only saving grace has been lower than normal humidity in the afternoons...only around 30-40% instead of the 90%+ we have been having in the mornings...a swamp cooler around here would probably have a NET GAIN of water after running all day
madjack

[GPW]

MJ , I have a ridiculous question... (Yes, another one ) ...
If Heat can power a refrigerator , why can't it power an air conditioner... thinking of a solar collector focused on an element (same as those propane powered refrigerators) ... Got plenty of Sun/heat... (too much in fact) Oughta' be a way huh???

[madjack]

GP, you can...somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I remember seeing a solar powered ice plant in the 3rd world...made ice in huge batches...this was distributed to the villagers for refrigeration instead of trying to put a fridge in every hut and hovel...the problem you would run into with house/camper cooling would be the cyclic nature of it...you would need some way to turn the sun off and on...that would take a MIGHTY large switch
madjack

[GPW]

MJ , How about a BIG umbrella ??? Seriously been I've been studying ways to cool down ... Seems relevant right now ...

[madjack]

GP, I googled "solar powered refrigeration" and "solar powered air conditioning" and came up with LOTSSA hits...most AC systems, seemed to be all about a large bank of solar cells to produce a comparable amt of electricity to what the unit uses in a day...there were some others, which use solar to heat water and used the hot water as an energy source to produce the AC....lotssa other stuff I didn't look at as well..........
madjack

[GPW]

MJ, Thanks !!!! I'm really interested in "the road less travelled"... Been solar cooking for over a year now ... this time of year is SUPER ... doesn't take long , and doesn't heat up the house... Solar water heating is easy and very effective during certain hours ...9-9...
Seems like solar AC would be IDEAL for our (Southern)conditions .... Wonder if we can get an SE grant /tax break for mobile installations... That would be COOL , huh??? :cool: