Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

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Topic: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

Posted By: madtiger on 08/09/07 10:11am

eyeteeth wrote:

MasterBoondocker

New Question. Has anyone converted their Dash air to R134?

Good question. I see the conversion kits in the store for CHEAP and want to see if I can convert my '76

Posted By: eyeteeth on 08/09/07 01:24pm

I'm hoping, as the Dash air in my unit currently does not function.

Posted By: Leeann on 08/09/07 01:37pm

Hey, you're just lucky you have dash air. Ours doesn't [emoticon]

Seriously, retrofitting should be fine. Make sure you will want to replace all the seals/o-rings (old ones are not compatible with R-134a - and are probably dry and cracked anyway) and don't forget to change the oil in the compressor as the oil for R-12 isn't the same as the oil for R-134a.

Remove the compressor and turn it so you can pour the oil into a container. Then put the same amount of the right oil back in. Should be about 7 oz. or so.

'73 Concord 20' Class A w/Dodge 440 - see profile for photo

Posted By: mkpj1 on 08/09/07 04:05pm

Quote:

That's right on. You could just get the retro kit and put it in like my PO did but you risk creating an acidic situation in the system and it will eventually eat itself up. Old Yorks used mineral oil and you need to change to Ester oil in the compressor. It won't react with mineral oil and create acid. R-134 uses more pressure so it will stress the R-12 system so definetly change the O rings and make sure all your fittings are solid. it's not a bad idea to change the accumulator as well. the sad fact is that r-134 is les efficient and cools about 30% less than r-12.

the final thing is that you cannot just vent r-12 to the atmosphere as it is illegal. I have the conversion on mine but there is no offical sticker to show it was done professionally and I figure it was done on the cheap. So if you still have pressure and you don't have the r-134 fittings, take it to a profesional to vent the system of the r-12. It's really pretty straight foward.

Aw..Leeann, you know you can buy an aftermarket kit that isn't to bad to install.

Ken

Posted By: mkpj1 on 08/09/07 04:10pm

Ohh, Another thing,

the retro kit had fittings that go back to ,..i think 76?? My 68 truck which had factory air had a different fitting for the high side which had to get seperate. Read the label on those kits.

Ken

Posted By: Leeann on 08/09/07 07:35pm

Oh, and another thing: you'll probably want to replace the receiver/drier too.

And yes, I do....but we're going to replace the 10,000 BTU roof AC with a 15,000 BTU and run it on the genny running down the road instead.

The bf's a commercial AC master, btw [emoticon]

Posted By: Trish Davis on 08/09/07 07:47pm

What Ken Said.

You will have to replace all the hoses and fittings --make sure you go to an A/C shop that makes their own hoses and ends! Lots of independent shops do this.

Bob said to do it soon, freon is down from $235 2 years ago to $100 --his cost.
Also said he wouldn't do mine because it was too much aggravation.. Some friend, huh ....*g*

Eyeteeth, you might want to try to make the summer and wait to get the AC system switched over during the cold weather. It's amazing how slow and how much cheaper an AC shop can be in November.

One more thing: Make sure the shop checks your system for leaks. If they do not have purple-y injection dye that glows green under the light (and ask to see the equipment, it is your money), go elsewhere!

Posted By: mkpj1 on 08/09/07 08:24pm

Mine already has a 15000 BTU ceiling AC that i run with the Genny and....I have dash air [emoticon]

And...my wife can tie a cherry stem with her tongue. [emoticon]

Posted By: Leeann on 08/09/07 08:35pm

mkpj1 wrote:

Mine already has a 15000 BTU ceiling AC that i run with the Genny and....I have dash air [emoticon]

And...my wife can tie a cherry stem with her tongue. [emoticon]

Now you're just showing off! [emoticon]

Our ceiling AC is original - still works more than fine while sitting, but just not enough driving down the road.

I'd be more impressed if you could tie the cherry stem with your tongue [emoticon]

Posted By: mkpj1 on 08/09/07 08:43pm

Oh, and another thing. Leanne is right, as usual...., our rigs do have receivers/dryers, not accumulators. [emoticon]

Ken

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