Francis
Lyman SC
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We need a small portable Air Conditioner for our old 11 foot TC after a sweltering camping week. Any recommendations? Researching online offers many choices but we cannot vent through the crank out windows and it needs to plug into an AC outlet. A reservoir would be OK to attach a drain hose if necessary for a bucket! THANKS!
Francis
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nickthehunter
Midwest
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Joined: 07/18/2005
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Put a hole through the wall for a dryer vent type outlet.
Clicky
* This post was
edited 07/16/23 07:12am by nickthehunter *
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dedmiston
Coast to Coast
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Hi Francis - Welcome to the forum.
I moved your thread from General RVing to the Truck Camper forum for better exposure.
2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. AISIN trans & 4.10 rear. B&W RVK3600 hitch • 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") • Hooligan #3
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adamis
Northern California
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This topic is bound to get a lot of comments. There are a lot of opinions on this subject and the good news is, the technology is changing pretty fast thanks in part to the Van Life world. I currently have a huge AC on my roof, it stands 17" tall, looks hideous and sucks power. I've been wanting to get rid of it for years now and I have researched what options are available.
My criteria was to eliminate the roof AC altogether and put it under the dinette seating. This would free up the real estate for more solar (have 200w, would like to expand to about 600w). I also wanted to go with something that was 12v to avoid having to run an inverter. A variable speed compressor to help with efficiency and the desire to run off a battery bank for 2 to 4 hours at a time.
What I have found is, there currently is no single solution available. You can get roof mounted AC units that are 12v, low profile and pretty efficient but my wanting to eliminate the AC from the roof entirely rules out those. There are a couple of options for under dinette applications from the van world but the size, vent orientation and drain requirements don't show any clear winners. The one thing I do have my eye on right now that I think is a potential winner is this:
https://velitcamping.com/products/velit-........00u-under-bench-air-conditioner-12v-24v
This will require some modification to work but I think it is a close enough starting point to work with. This will be replacing the furnace entirely (which will be replaced with a small diesel heater in it's place). This project is still a long way out to coming to fruition but if I can pull it off, I'm hoping to take 100+ lbs of weight off my roof and overall reduce the camper weight by ~150lbs with the elimination of the roof AC and furnace.
1999 F350 Dually with 7.3 Diesel
2000 Bigfoot 10.6 Camper
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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For a "portable" aircon (a unit that is meant to stand in a room with hoses lead to a window), your biggest problem is space in a small truck camper. We used one on the boat when the built in unit went out but the boat had a much bigger space to put it...it was still in the way.
Yes, it needs to vent but that could be accomplished thru the screens, just a question of how much work you want to put into making it look decent....at the low end, you could duct tape it in place with a piece of cardboard for next to nothing. If you want it to look better, you could make a plywood cover that holds in place with clips over the open screen window.
If you do go with a "portable", look for one with twin hoses. the single hose models, use already cooled interior air to cool the condensor and then dump it outside, along with all the cooled air. This drastically reduces the effective cooling power (regardless of the btu listed). The twin hose style pulls in outside air to cool the condesor and then sends it out the other hose making it far more effective.
If you are talking about a window unit, mostly an issue of getting one that fits the hole in the wall.
Tammy & Mike
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notsobigjoe
southeast
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valhalla360 wrote:For a "portable" aircon (a unit that is meant to stand in a room with hoses lead to a window), your biggest problem is space in a small truck camper. We used one on the boat when the built in unit went out but the boat had a much bigger space to put it...it was still in the way.
Yes, it needs to vent but that could be accomplished thru the screens, just a question of how much work you want to put into making it look decent....at the low end, you could duct tape it in place with a piece of cardboard for next to nothing. If you want it to look better, you could make a plywood cover that holds in place with clips over the open screen window.
If you do go with a "portable", look for one with twin hoses. the single hose models, use already cooled interior air to cool the condensor and then dump it outside, along with all the cooled air. This drastically reduces the effective cooling power (regardless of the btu listed). The twin hose style pulls in outside air to cool the condesor and then sends it out the other hose making it far more effective.
If you are talking about a window unit, mostly an issue of getting one that fits the hole in the wall.
I have considered a window AC in my 1181 for many years now. I have the perfect place, rite where the microwave is over the cooktop. We never use the microwave and that 747 on the roof as long since worn out it's welcome. I would love to have an extra hatch up there as well. Ive seen many conversions for this job and have considered it.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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For the units themselves, it's six of one, half dozen of the other.
The beauty of a portable type is you can vent it anywhere. Why can't you use a window? Make up a cover for the nearest window and attach the vent hose to it. You don't HAVE to use what comes with the unit.
I ran an 8000BTU portable unit in my Palomino pop-up for a couple of summers. Bought it from BJ's Wholesale Club for $279, late summer clearance price. Sure, it took up a square foot of floor space, but it beats heatstroke any day of the week.
My camper has sliding windows. To vent, I cut a piece of plexiglass to fit in the space made by the partially-open window. It slips into the slots and the window closes against it to hold it in place. The vent tube from the AC plugs into the plexiglass.
Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.
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c.traveler2
Moreno Valley,Ca.
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There are a number of mimi split project on YouTube one can check out on truck campers.
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StirCrazy
Kamloops, BC, Canada
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THIS is a neat unit that I have been looking at. It's 12V and it's a heat pump so it replaces both your furnace and gives you an ac and draws just over 11 amps on full load. Best of all compared to other 12V AC's it's a little more affordable, but it would take a bit of work to install.
Steve
2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100
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Francis
Lyman SC
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It looks like many others have great ideas, but as our truck camper is 45 years old, there aren't many options for installations. Many factors need to be considered upon reading the suggestions for us. We do have a dead gas furnace that could be taken out for a small unit, and it has the exterior panel to reach it. We are rethinking this, will stick to our table fan as it's daunting to press on for A/C. We heard about placing a fan over a bucket of ice water to blow cooler air and we may try that! THANKS FOR HELP, and will check in for more ideas.
1978 NuWa TC on 03 Chevy Silverado Duramax, with Airlifts, Tork Lifts and Fast Guns. No TV, no pets, semi-retired for a road trip with DW to Alaska 09. DW does all the writing and both of us are learning to play banjo!
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