First highway roadtrip with Atmos 4.4 => MI to TN

[rideadeuce]

1st Road test: spoiler alert, I am quite impressed after 1st night with the fan running and the first trip with the AC set on AUTO AC at 70 degrees F.

When we left my dad's house in SW MI the temp was 66 degrees.  Epoch batteries 99%

By Mid day temps had climbed to 84.

Pulling into our house south Nashville 8 hrs later it was 91 degrees outside and the Epoch batteries showed 75% with a 87.5 amperage draw on high AC output. 

I know it is a lot different than coming up from FL but still pretty happy with the results. Cabin temperature never got above 72. 

Experience so far inside has been pleasant. Slept a lot better the first night. Temps and humidity stayed more constant. I didn't wake up hot and have to turn down the temperature. The fan did stay on all night but relatively quiet and I actually really liked the circulating air without the worry of using up too much battery. Turned off my other fans I usually use. 

The FULL AUTO mode is still somewhat of a mystery to me as of yet. I intuitively feel like once I get some clear answers it will be positive. Everything else is thought out well. The Auto AC and heat work as expected. Still not enough experience with dehumidifying and sleep modes. The fan does not continuously bring in fresh non-conditioned, it re-circulates the cabin air. IF so, it is well designed. Sealed unit is the way it was explained to me. I am not sure how that works but it did feel that way during the night. We had a lot of rain a couple of days. 

Condensate dripping off the Oliver does not bother me. 

The highest amperage draw on high that I have seen is still under 90 amps

I like the way it has 3 different options to send air directly out to the cabin in both directions. I can feel it sitting at dinette while typing on the computer. It has a dump switch so that air comes straight down to the bed area. And the rotating vents mode actually changes up the air flow nicely. Thought I have kept it off mostly. I don't necessarily need the AC on all the time but I really like the air circulating quietly.

Happy with keeping the Suburban propane for back up heat. Also, glad to have 12k heat pump available to use on Auto mode. 

Took off the back plate for T-stat. Looks better. 

Plenty of head room. 

The remote is nice but still figuring it out. Comes with a mount. 

I forgot to mention earlier Kevin at SDG said it would be $1800 for install at his shop which includes Suburban thermostat wiring/placment. For the DIYer it is $1350 shipped without SoftStart, $1650 with the SoftStart. The SoftStart is basically $300 either way. You can get a little bit of a discount (-$20) on SoftStart website. 

All for now.

Best, 
Mike

Screen shots riding down the road at different times during the drive home.

 

 

Edited July 19 by rideadeuce

[Ronbrink]

No surprises in your report, in fact very encouraging; I think the Atmos 4.4 is a very good replacement choice. Of particular interest will be 1) if the humidity issues expressed by others having SOBs will eventually become a factor and 2) if the unit size (15,000 btu) proves to be too much for the OLElls and cause cycling concerns. Please keep us informed as your experience broadens, and good luck with all! 

[rideadeuce]

So after unloading from our trip I decided to play with the settings a bit. Remote is easy now that I dedicated some time to learning it. Also, so far the AUTO mode is starting to make sense. 

In FULL AUTO mode today, ambient outside temperature is 81 degrees F.  Time: 12PM

As soon as I put it in auto mode it showed AUTO cool with the number 77 showing. The inside ambient temperature was 72. The fan continued to run for a few minutes then the entire unit turned off including fan.

Then the display showed AUTO Heat 68 degrees F.

So I am assuming it will not turn on again unless the temperature drops below 68 or the Auto cool kicks in. But what temperature that is still unknown since you cannot set it manually. 

Strange that you can’t manually set temps, but the AUTO setting (68-77) may end up working great for certain situations like when the unit is plugged into shore power in my driveway. I will update as I follow how the unit reacts to outside ambient temperature throughout the day and night. 

Time: 1pm. Went into camper, AUTO mode display had switched from HEAT to COOL 77, Fan only running no compressor. Inside cabin temp 75 degrees. Ambient outside temp 83 degrees. 

TIme: 1:25pm. Unit off. AUTO mode heat 68 displayed again. Ambient inside temp 71.  Interesting, seems like this setting may be great for when the Ollie is parked plugged in at home. It would save the fan motor from constant use. But would never work for me in use because I am hot natured and would need lower settings. 

Time: 1:50pm. Once cabin temp reached 76 degrees fan only turned on. At least, I can’t hear compressor. Pulling around 300 watts. Again, I believe this mode will work great while stored/parked. I like to keep my camper plugged in and connected to WiFi.  

 

@Ronbrink I believe the 15k BTU unit will be great for the Ollie because for one it is more efficient than other 13.5 BTU units and second the mode settings and unit design allow for the better management of humidity. But agree, more actual use is needed to confirm. 

Best, 
Mike

Edited July 20 by rideadeuce

[Ronbrink]

18 hours ago, rideadeuce said:

I believe the 15k BTU unit will be great for the Ollie because for one it is more efficient than other 13.5 BTU units

I was really disappointed that Oliver began installing 11,000 btu units in my model year. However, it has been okay other than the inherent noise of these Dometics. Additionally, there have been a few times when the inside humidity seemed apparent, but an issue seldom discussed for a Penguin ll. 

[jd1923]

Love the look of the Atmos installed! Now we need an updated Oliver design, also with a squared rearend, affording a 36x80" (half King) bed without the rear radius. Just a pipedream, as we could never afford another Oliver, camping and working on this old hull forever! 🤣

[jd1923]

On 7/19/2024 at 10:22 AM, rideadeuce said:

As soon as I put it in auto mode it showed AUTO cool with the number 77 showing. The inside ambient temperature was 72. The fan continued to run for a few minutes then the entire unit turned off including fan.

Then the display showed AUTO Heat 68 degrees F.

So I am assuming it will not turn on again unless the temperature drops below 68 or the Auto cool kicks in. But what temperature that is still unknown since you cannot set it manually. 

Strange that you can’t manually set temps, but the AUTO setting (68-77) may end up working great for certain situations like when the unit is plugged into shore power in my driveway. I will update as I follow how the unit reacts to outside ambient temperature throughout the day and night.

Good to know and better than advertised functionality! Thanks for sharing.

[MAX Burner]

@rideadeuce: Looks great, Mike!   OBTW:  we love your ship's clock and humidity(?)/barometric(?) gauges on the rear bulkhead - nice touch!

[Geronimo John]

 

On 7/19/2024 at 4:17 AM, Ronbrink said:

No surprises in your report, in fact very encouraging; I think the Atmos 4.4 is a very good replacement choice. Of particular interest will be 1) if the humidity issues expressed by others having SOBs will eventually become a factor and 2) if the unit size (15,000 btu) proves to be too much for the OLElls and cause cycling concerns. Please keep us informed as your experience broadens, and good luck with all! 

Agree.  I wonder how much this tall unit and base adds to the standard height of the trailer.  For some this could be an issue as well.

[Ronbrink]

21 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

 

Agree.  I wonder how much this tall unit and base adds to the standard height of the trailer.  For some this could be an issue as well.

Perhaps @rideadeuce captured that information and can provide a measurement.

 

EDIT:

@Geronimo John, the Atmos 4.4 unit height measures 11.14” and 12.17” installed, if I’m interpreting the Technical Details correctly.

Edited July 27 by Ronbrink

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

I wonder how much this tall unit and base adds to the standard height of the trailer.

This was asked and answered in another thread titled, "AC upgrade conundrum." At that time, I checked and the Atmos is spec'd at 0.9" taller than the OEM Dometic Penguin.

Given OTT specs the EII as "Outside Height To Top Of A/C: 9' 8" call it 9' 9" with an Atmos which should not make any real difference, even for a 10' garage door. 

[Geronimo John]

On 7/26/2024 at 9:55 AM, jd1923 said:

Given OTT specs the EII as "Outside Height To Top Of A/C: 9' 8" call it 9' 9" with an Atmos which should not make any real difference, even for a 10' garage door. 

Maybe.  What about the taller ALCAN spring height added?  Getting closer to that 10 foot number?

GJ

[jd1923]

17 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

Maybe.  What about the taller ALCAN spring height added?  Getting closer to that 10 foot number?

GJ

Should not matter to you or me. You already purchased a Houghton and I my Oliver sits outdoors! 

[Geronimo John]

2 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Should not matter to you or me. You already purchased a Houghton and I my Oliver sits outdoors! 

But to the other 1,000+ owners, it may make a difference to a few of them......  🙂

 

[MAX Burner]

Our Alcan "before and after" height measurement raised the Casablanca by 1/2"-ish, FYI...  However, we've got a 12-foot door so we've got a way to go before height becomes an issue - maybe re-mount the axles in the "sprung over" mode?  HA!

Edited July 30 by MAX Burner