What to expect from a/c?

[AZPopper]

Hello,
 
I have a new '05 Fleetwood Colonial CP with 13,500 btu a/c. My question is what exactly should I expect from the a/c as far as cooling capabilities? We took the camper out for a weekend when the temp was about 100 degrees and our site had some shade, but not all. We had the a/c running full tilt, but it was still warm in the camper. I was sitting at the dinette w/sweat on me (no, I'm sure it had nothing to do with my age, really.....LOL!).
 
I don't know if I'm expecting too much, but I figured in a space that small, it should be freezing us out when running on high. Can anyone tell me what I can realistically expect?
 
We're going out on another trip Labor Day weekend, so will give it another try. If it doesn't perform any better, I'm thinking I should have the dealer check it out?
 
Thanks for any and all input!

[mike4947]

Well it's designed to remove 13.5K btu's from the inside area. If this is exceeded by the thermal input from the outside air temp and sun the trailer won't cool and the AC will run continuously.

A good thing is the bunk end covers. They reduce the thermal load on both bunk ends' which if you crawl up in there when the sun is on them can be horrendous.
You can DIY them from thermal blankets or purchase commercial ones from http://www.popupgizmos.com/
 
JMHO, but I wouldn't have an AC without them.

[Old Goat]

Last year my Wife made new curtains and valances for our 01 Niagara.. They are longer than the originals and are made of a heavier material with a white sun blocker on the outsides...Camper is definitely much cooler in summer and warmer in cold weather...The door and it's aluminum frame are a great source of heat and  cool loss so she is now making a cover for the inside of the door which will be held in place with snaps. It should make a noticable difference also....The new curtains and their valances are much prettier than the originals...........

[hoppy]

If the outside temperature was over 100 degrees F, I can almost guarantee the inside of that PU would be up in the 120 degree F without the AC. Just the sun beating down on the roof components will turn it into an oven in there. So since you were able to stay inside the PU is evidence enough that the AC is doing some good. A properly operating AC unit will cool down the incoming air in to it by approx. 20 degrees. So the idea is to keep the air inside the PU as cool as possible, so it is cooling "cooler" air at the intake. Using reflective bunk end roof covers work great at  reflecting the heat transfer into the PU.

 Keeping the filter in the AC will also improve the cooling capacity of the unit.

 One other thing the AC is doing is removing the humidity out of the PU. Was there a lot of water coming off the roof while the AC was running? If so, that's the humidity that was inside the PU.

 But like I mentioned earlier, can you imagine just how hot the inside of that PU would have been without one?

[mikewilley]

-Bunk end reflective covers help alot.  
-Also helps to close the privacy curtains on the bunk ends if you are not using them during the day.
- We found that in AZ (where the humidity is very low) that after we lost the radiant heating of the sun (night

[GeorgiaBoy]

I have an '05 Fleetwood Resolute and the A/C freezes us out!  We camp down here in Georgia, sometimes with no shade, with temps in the 90's coupled with major humidity and the heat index of 105+.  We have to actually turn the A/C down.  And we don't have end covers or special curtains, either.

As long as you're not cooking in there, your new A/C should keep things cool. I, personally, would have the A/C checked.

[zamboni]

Our first campout in our Niagara (after we got it from my parents), we tried the AC - and were very disappointed.

I took it in to the dealer to have it checked out, and it worked excellently there.  I then found out a couple of things from the tech, who spent a lot of time going over the unit with me.

1) AC's are very sensitive to voltage
2) Many campgrounds have wildly fluctuating voltage from all the people turning on and off appliances
3) The AC's compressor will shut down (blower still on, no indication to you it shut down) when the voltage drops.  Cool air will still come out, but not cold, for a while, since the coils are still cold.  Then, they compressor may kick back on for a while, etc... so the net result is "coolish" air and not "cold" air.

He recommended we travel with a volt meter and check the voltage if we feel the AC is not cooling.

On future campouts, on MUCH HOTTER days (easily 100), our AC was so effective that we had to turn it to low!

[AZPopper]

Thanks to all for your responses! What a great group of helpful folks.
 
I do have the bunk end covers from popupgizmos.com now. I'd read about them on this forum and decided they sounded like a great idea. It just so happened that they had a promo a few weeks ago when I ordered where they gave away a free set to someone chosen from the first 10 orders. My order was chosen, so I got them free. Woo Hoo! :# Thank you popupgizmos! I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but will try them out over Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, we won't have hook-ups, so won't be able to see how they affect the a/c this trip. I'm hoping to see a big difference in the a/c performance with them, but if not, I think the camper's going off to the dealer for an a/c check-up.
 
I agree that keeping the privacy curtains closed at the bunk ends would probably help, too, but unfortunately the weekend I wrote about, my SO was trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep, so that wasn't an option.
 
As far as water run off from the a/c, I didn't think to look for that, so don't know how much there was. I'm also thinking I should get a thermometer to keep inside the camper so I can see what the temp actually is.
 
Here's to cooler camping!:D

[AZPopper]

Our first campout in our Niagara (after we got it from my parents), we tried the AC - and were very disappointed.
 
I took it in to the dealer to have it checked out, and it worked excellently there. I then found out a couple of things from the tech, who spent a lot of time going over the unit with me.
 
1) AC's are very sensitive to voltage
2) Many campgrounds have wildly fluctuating voltage from all the people turning on and off appliances
3) The AC's compressor will shut down (blower still on, no indication to you it shut down) when the voltage drops. Cool air will still come out, but not cold, for a while, since the coils are still cold. Then, they compressor may kick back on for a while, etc... so the net result is "coolish" air and not "cold" air.
 
He recommended we travel with a volt meter and check the voltage if we feel the AC is not cooling.
 
On future campouts, on MUCH HOTTER days (easily 100), our AC was so effective that we had to turn it to low!

Hmmm, that sounds like something to definitely take into consideration. Thanks for the information! I do know that they had a problem with the electricity at the campground where we were -- it actually went out for a short time, threw a breaker or something. From what you've said, it sounds like we could very well have had a low voltage problem. A volt meter sounds like a good idea. Are they very expensive?
 
I think one of the reasons I'm immediately suspicious of the a/c is that when they went over the camper with me when I picked it up, the a/c wasn't cooling very well, either. They said it was because the power source in their parking lot was over-stressed and didn't work very well...

[AZPopper]

...The door and it's aluminum frame are a great source of heat and cool loss so she is now making a cover for the inside of the door which will be held in place with snaps. It should make a noticable difference also...

That sounds like a good idea. I'd be interested to know how your wife is constructing the cover if she's willing to share.