RE: A/C On back end vs Roof

[Joe Gleason]

 
Saw this on an old star Craft... Looks like they put in a standard window A/C and cut it right into the back of the PU... Personally, I like it better then the roof!
 
 Anyone heard any results from this?  I was going to ask them but they have moved on...
 
 

[mike4947]

 Joe Gleason
They work, but there s a couple of disadvantages to using a window unit near the floor. 1) Cold air settles, so if it starts near the floor it tends to stay near the floor. You could have frost bitten ankles and still have sweat on your forehead. 2) Most window units are 5000-8000 BTU s. Roof mounts are typically 13,500 BTU s. So you ve got half the cooling and the air in the wrong place. 3) They aren t light, and with a lot of PU s it s hard enough to get the correct weight on the tongue without adding 70-100 pounds on the back.
 The only reason IMHO to consider one is having a PU of the age where the roof wasn t constructed to hold one so you don t really have a choice.

[tlhdoc]

 Joe Gleason
I second what Mike says.

[Turn Key]

 Joe Gleason
Researched this for a long time with the idea of doing it to our last PU.  Though you can do it, for the reasons given by " mike4947" , it really isn t the best way to go.

[Gone-Camping]

 Joe Gleason
I ll agree with the above sentiments as well. However, there are a couple of other alternatives out there. However, if the unit is new enough and can support the weight on the roof, then that s the best method to use. If you have an older unit and the roof won t support the weight, then like Mike said, there isn t much of a way around that. But rear mount is probably the worst method of all the alternatives, as it will add a lot weight to the rear of the trailer, and that could produce sway, lots of it...
 
 Front mount would work better, as it helps keep the tongue weight, and perhaps maybe even too much. The idea location would be somewhere near/above the axles, but you can t have it prodruding out the sides, which means you d have to get real inventive on how to box it in.
 
 Another method is to carry a loose unit, and some insulated soft ducting and just set that puppy on the ground! The best method I ve seen so far, is one that set s the unit on the side of the camper AFTER it s popped up, either blowing in through the screen window, or a modification to the window/canvas to accomplish the task.
 
 I have a few pictures posted on website that may provide some visual help with these idea s. Good luck!
 http://www.gonecamping.net/pages/windowunit.html
 
 

[Jeffrey]

 Joe Gleason
I agree with the weight considerations, you need to be careful where you add weight.
 
 Cold air does settle but hot air also rises.
 If you leave a roof vent open the heat will escape and it ll work just fine.
 It will cool down inside the PU no matter where the a/c is.
 
 Plus turn the louvers to blow upward as much as possible.
 
 A PU roof a/c blows mainly down, so what is the big difference?
 
 So in my opinion I wouldn t worry about it on th floor, it ll be just as effective.

[brainpause]

 Joe Gleason
You gotta be gutsy to cut a hole in the side of your popup. Which is why I didn t. Check out my mods page for what I did:
 
 http://www.larryandhollycrockett.com/modifications.html
 
 HTH!
 
 Larry