New to pup owner, question on air conditioner

[dropthepop]

I tried out our new Fleetwood Niagra this weekend and noticed the air conditioner condensation runs over one of the bunk ends.

Is there suppose to be a run off like that or do I need to add something so the condensation will not run on the bunk tent?

I want to add the reflective sheet for the hot Texas coast weekends and the water will get trapped between the two.

Any advice will be appreciated.

[campdaddy]

I tried out our new Fleetwood Niagra this weekend and noticed the air conditioner condensation runs over one of the bunk ends.

Is there suppose to be a run off like that or do I need to add something so the condensation will not run on the bunk tent?

I want to add the reflective sheet for the hot Texas coast weekends and the water will get trapped between the two.

Any advice will be appreciated.

I had the same problem when I first started using ours. What I ended up doing was take the top off the AC unit and I found that there were internal provisions for channeling the condensate out of the unit on one side but it didn't go anywhere. Just dumped the water on the top where it ran all over the roof and the rear bunk canvas. So I went to Lowes and bought about 10' of clear 1/2 in tubing and a couple of bulkhead fittings and some RTV and fabricated a drainage tube. It works well, the only thing is I have to "level" the pup slightly off level to get it to drain properly. Very slightly down on the left rear of the pup. I just  velcro it into a coil and leave it laying on top of the roof when traveling.

Another idea I recently heard of doing -probably from somewhere on this forum- that I'd would have tried first had I seen it before I modified my A/C unit, is to take some 3/4" PVC pipe that is long enough to go completely across the width of the pup plus a few inches. You then cut the pipe in half lengthwise. You only use one half. Then you tuck this half tube up under the hard top where the fabric meets the top before popping it up. The fabric will hold your "rain gutter" in place while it popped up. The condensate would still run over the hard top but it would be channeled to the side, where you could drain it with a tube -or not- if you wanted before it ran onto the canvas bunk end. You might have to do some additional cutting of your pipe to clear the hard top where it exits on either side but that would be easy enough to do. You would still probably need to  "off" level pup to control the direction of water flow. When you let the top down, you would remove the "gutter" for transport. The big advantage to this that you do not have to modify your A/C housing.  Hope this helps.

[dropthepop]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will try to put  them to good use.

[tknick]

I made the PVC gutter, but would recommend the first option of attaching some tubing to the drain lines in the A/C unit.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who use the gutter without any problems.  Mine is a bit tricky to get in place. if the camper is level like you want it, the gutter doesn't work well.  It also sometimes leaks and water ends up dripping down the bunkend canvas defeating the purpose.  If you attach the tubing to the drain line, you can simply drape the line over the edge and ensure it will drain on the ground and not on the bunkends.

just my two cents
travis

[campdaddy]

I made the PVC gutter, but would recommend the first option of attaching some tubing to the drain lines in the A/C unit.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who use the gutter without any problems.  Mine is a bit tricky to get in place. if the camper is level like you want it, the gutter doesn't work well.  It also sometimes leaks and water ends up dripping down the bunkend canvas defeating the purpose.  If you attach the tubing to the drain line, you can simply drape the line over the edge and ensure it will drain on the ground and not on the bunkends.

just my two cents
travis

The problem with doing it the way I did is that it might void your warrenty on the A/C unit. If you purchased a used, no strike that, previously enjoyed pup,;)  that wouldn't be and issue. The required mods are not really too extensive -I had to drill a 3/4' hole into the metal shrowd, plug the end of one of the internal water channels to force the water to flow in only one direction, and RTV a small PVC pipe to the end of the main channel to attach the tube to- it still might have voided the warrenty. We bought ours new in '04 and even though the A/C was under warrenty I made the necessary mods to it anyway. We've not had to have it surviced but it could have been an issue. Anyway, just something to think about. If I had seen the "gutter" thing first I would have tried that, at least until the warrenty had expired. Good Luck!

[tlhdoc]

To use the rain gutter idea, you don't have to have it run the whole length of the PU.  It only needs to be about 2 feet long.  Put about 1 foot under the edge of the roof in the corner where you want it to drain.  Make sure that corner is a bit lower.  The other foot of the gutter will stick out past the edge of the PU keeping the tenting dry.  One of the reasons I like my Carrier Air V AC unit is that it has minimal run off.  It throws the water back onto the compressor and a lot of it gets evaporated.

[dropthepop]

I have decided, thanks to campdaddy's comment on warranty (it is a 2007), to try and keep the pup at an angle that will allow minimum run off on the tent covers.

My husband and I are looking forward to getting our new pup out of the shop, I had it one day, then into the shop for over a week now, stupid pop up trick (for those who have read that link).

The grandkids are looking forward to just seeing it, I dread trying to park it as our house is on a double yellow line street/a through street. I have to get to an angle and back it into the drive way or our back yard that is fully fenced, double gate tho'. DREAD IT, DREAD IT, DREAD IT. I can hear the cars honking now................

Thank you all so much and if the water becomes too big of a problem, back to Crestview for a request to either hook a line or give us a gutter.

[SPXTrader]

Here's what we do.  It's simple cheap, and VERY effective.  Take a length of regular old cotton string, enough to loop around the base of your AC unit and reach within about a foot from the ground, get it soaking wet, and then place the downward length (coming off your roof) where you want the condensation to drain to.

Remember H2O follows the path of least resistance.  Our "string drain" has never failed to work properly, and others at the CG are amazed at how well it works!  You can actually see the drops of condensation running down the string!  It is the hot ticket and you can get your condensation to "drain" anywhere you want it to...

[campdaddy]

Here's what we do.  It's simple cheap, and VERY effective.  Take a length of regular old cotton string, enough to loop around the base of your AC unit and reach within about a foot from the ground, get it soaking wet, and then place the downward length (coming off your roof) where you want the condensation to drain to.

Remember H2O follows the path of least resistance.  Our "string drain" has never failed to work properly, and others at the CG are amazed at how well it works!  You can actually see the drops of condensation running down the string!  It is the hot ticket and you can get your condensation to "drain" anywhere you want it to...

That's a great idea SPXTrader and I can see how it would work. Where were you before I modified my A/C! LOL :banghead:

[SPXTrader]

campdaddy, been right here the whole time!  

It's funny now, as we usually camp with 5 others that have AC on their pups, and you look around and all of them have a piece of string coming off the roof!