how effective is a/c in a pop up

[rocknroll]

I just picked up a 2005 Yuma. I had A/C added, mach3 plus. And went on my first trip. Outside temp was 79 deg. And the air was worthless. I did notice the evaparator coil froze so I took it back to where I bought it. Also to fix the read bed
which was low on one side. All that being said, when the air is fixed would I be comfortable on a 100 deg day or is that asking to much of an A/C unit on a pop-up.

Just checking to see if I can go east or just keep my travels west of the Inland Empire. Ca.

thanks
rocky
1995 Ford Explorer
2005 Fleetwood yuma
1980 Starcraft 1908 (for sale 650.00)

[Metro]

I am in San Diego and have been researching the Victory and I am thinking about AC. I was told that you can expect it to be about 20 degrees cooler than the outside. I only plan on higher elevation camping in the summer, in the mountains east of SD the mid 80's to low 90's would be just fine with AC cranking and nighttime for sure would be cool enough to sleep. I'm sure others more experienced will chime in on other tricks like the space blankets over the bunk ends for insulation etc...

[mike4947]

Well the outlet temp is cooler by 20 degrees than the inlet temp, BUT you have to remember that as the outlet cools off the trailer air the inlet air temp will drecrease which will decrease the outlet temp. We've had RV's at 45 degrees inside with 85 degrees outside when we forgot and left everything on high and went shopping.
Also Bunk end covers help a lot by keeping the radiant heat out of the bunk ends.
As for the freezing up. It's common with high humidity and the AC on high cool and low fan. Not enough air moving to keep the unit from freezing.
What most folks do is set everything to high till it cycles off then try lower settings.

[tlhdoc]

Yes the air will help. You might also consider getting a set of solar bunkend covers from www.popupgizmos.com to help keep the PU cooler, and so your AC will not need to work so hard.

[rocknroll]

Well it's good to know I did'nt buy the A/C in vain. As far as freezing coil I'm pretty sure the unit was low on charge as other the freezing the coil, it would'nt  cool my PU at all. I can see by the crimped high and low side connectors there not made to service easily. You would have to braze on fittings. So if it is low I'm wondering what the service dept. will do add fittings or repalce whole unit.  I really looking forward to my next trip. I'm thinking Big Bear or Silverwood lake. The later would put the air to a test.

Thanks for the feedback so far.
As I'm new to this forum..

[maromeo]

We stayed at Sorreno in Big Bear. It was a nice campground with modern facilities. The hookup loop is towards the back of the campground. We were there in July and never had to use the A/C. You will have to cross the road to get to the lake.
Enjoy.
Mary Romeo

[hoppy]

I would be very surprised that a new AC unit would be low on coolant, since they are a sealed unit. But stranger things have happned.

 On a number of occassions, it's restricted warmer air flow acrossed the coils.  Either set the thermostat for reducing the compressor time, (listen for the compressor hum frequency) or use the unit on the HIGH fan setting. The greater volume of air passing acrossed the coils, the better for reducing freeze up. The easiest way to freeze the coil is using the fan in the low speed setting, and the thermostat pegged at the maximum setting. Keeping the intake filters clean is also a good preventitive measure, but doubt this is your problem since it's so new.

 I have used my Coleman 15 K BTU unit for three years down here in GA and have yet to freeze the coil, and my unit is almost six years old.    

 But none the less, you will enjoy the AC once you get it running properly. For one thing, they not only cool the output air by 20 F, they remove a lot of humidity from the PU making it a much more enjoyable environment.

[rocknroll]

I was running on high fan/cool. And spun the control to check to see if I could hear ther compressor kicking in and it was. At the time I had no way to check temp split. But I could tell if the was and it was not more than 5 deg. F.
But hay I only picked it up last Thursday. So I let the dealer figure it out. Along with the uneven bunk. Just a bummer to get a new unit and have to bring it back so soon. The bigger bummer is I live in Lake Elsinore and the selling dealer is in Bakersfield.

thanks

This forum is pretty cool.
Rocky

[MtnCamper]

Of course you could always cut reflectix bunk end window inserts and use them along with your AC. They would add insulation, thus keeping the Cool in and the hot out. They would insulate ~80% of your bunkends.

Here is a picture of them installed on my back bunk. I use them for keeping heat in, but you could use them for cool too.

[tlhdoc]

Of course you could always cut reflectix bunk end window inserts and use them along with your AC. They would add insulation, thus keeping the Cool in and the hot out. They would insulate ~80% of your bunkends.
 
Here is a picture of them installed on my back bunk. I use them for keeping heat in, but you could use them for cool too.
 

I did the same type of insulation mod, but used folding windshield sun shades.  I got the idea from Surfcal.

[The Tree Top Inn II]

We have a 15,000 BTU Coleman Mach (Panasonic makes the guts, I believe) on a 12 foot box pop up with two king bunk ends.  We use Solar Bunk End Covers from Popupgizmos.  Memorial Day weekend, we camped in full sun (last ones to get to the State Park on a Friday evening--duh--and no shady sites left), 90 degree, South Georgia heat and humidity, and we didn't run the unit on high cool--just low cool.  We did use the bunk end fans on low speed during the day to help pull the cool, conditioned air out to the ends of the bunks.  We have Reflectix stapled and seam taped under the bunk ends' mattresses.  Our inside temps on a little digital themometer were 70-74 degrees.  We use Reflectix in the bunk end windows in cool to cold weather when we use the furnace, but we didn't think to take the precut pieces o' Reflectix along on this most recent trip.  Solar bunk end covers work well.  
 
 
 

I just picked up a 2005 Yuma. I had A/C added, mach3 plus. And went on my first trip. Outside temp was 79 deg. And the air was worthless. I did notice the evaparator coil froze so I took it back to where I bought it. Also to fix the read bed
which was low on one side. All that being said, when the air is fixed would I be comfortable on a 100 deg day or is that asking to much of an A/C unit on a pop-up.
 
Just checking to see if I can go east or just keep my travels west of the Inland Empire. Ca.
 
thanks
rocky
1995 Ford Explorer
2005 Fleetwood yuma
1980 Starcraft 1908 (for sale 650.00)

[mach8274]

We have a 2004 Jayco 12A with a/c. We took a trip to Memphis last year in July, and the a/c was running almost the whole time. It never skipped a beat! I bet the inside of our pu was 20-25 degrees cooler. I wouldn't buy a pu without it!

Dave  
2002 F-150
2004 Jayco 12A

[zamboni]

Well it's good to know I did'nt buy the A/C in vain. As far as freezing coil I'm pretty sure the unit was low on charge as other the freezing the coil, it would'nt  cool my PU at all.

It probably has nothing to do with your camper at all...

Last year, my parents shifted their 2002 Coleman Niagara to us (took my simpler Starcraft to give to my brother, etc).  They'd only used it 6 times - but twice had the A/C serviced because it did not cool.  Each time, they replaced some "thermostat bar" (forgot exactly what it was named).

The first time we used it, the A/C was not effective, and we were disappointed.  I took it in for servicing, and they found no issue with it at all.  It worked awesomely in their parking lot.  The serviceman was quite talkative, and explained a lot about how the sealed Coleman Mack A/C's work.  In short, he was convinced my parents were led on both times.  He said the part (I'd told him what it was) was working 100% - yet I'd experienced the exact issues my parents had with it.

He said he'd bet his last dollar that the problem was the campground VOLTAGE.  He said these A/C units are sensitive to low voltage, and many campgrounds do not have the best power regulators (especially if it is hot and many rigs are running their A/C) -- so if the unit is not cooling properly (and locking up, as if it was freezing the coils), then most likely, it is not getting enough voltage to engage the compressor properly.  He strongly recommended I travel with a volt-meter.

The couple times we've used it since then (California is not always that hot!), it worked perfectly -- I had to switch it to LOW because our 12-foot Coleman was getting too cold!

I still carry my volt-meter, but have not had to check the voltage since we rarely use the A/C.  I urge you to do the same... it is not likely it is your A/C unit (it cost me $85 to learn this).

I have the Popup Gizmo covers, but even without them, the A/C was quite sufficient.

[cyclone]

I wouldn't be without it camping in TN summers.  Haven't really had a chance to use the a/c much this year, but it cooled the pu down when we did have it on.  I suspect that for the next several trips the a/c will be turned on all the time!  It was 90 and humid today here.  (ugh)

[rocknroll]

Well I got my PU back on Saturday. Stiers replaced the t-stat and leveled the rear bunk by shorting a brace. But since I live in the inland empire and my dad lives near Stiers. i decided to pop it up in his driveway. After setting it up and turning on the air I checked the return and supply temps. And found a 20+ deg. split which is good. But i did learn that in direct sunlight I could only maintain a 15 deg. inside to outside temp. difference. I would like to know if the is typical or not. I orderd the popupgizmos covers in hopes of doing a little better. I also bid on 10 yards by 60" of a interwoven relective material that looks promising  for cutting window incerts.
I'm looking to get a 30+ inside to outside temp split.. Wish me luck.

anyway thanks to all who posted. I find myself here reading almost daily.

Rocky
1995 Ford Explorer
2005 Fleetwood yuma