AC Options

[Overland]

I've been looking at various AC options out there. There's some interesting stuff, though I don't know how practical they are. It seems to me that the units that Oliver uses are probably oversized, given how well insulated the campers are. Maybe some of those who have used their AC in the mid-summer heat, say 90 plus temps, can chime in to confirm that. I'm guessing that Oliver uses 13,500btu units only because that's really the smallest AC that the major providers offer (I don't know if they still use the Polar Cub in the Elite since we know they've switched to the Dometic on the Elite II - but it isn't that much smaller and the Coleman noise issue that others have complained about would keep me from getting that one in the Elite II). Regardless, it's unlikely that my wife and I are going to be camping anytime soon in the mid summer, so we see our AC needs as being fairly marginal to begin with - we're more fall/winter/spring travelers. So for us, I'm convinced that 13,500btu is oversized, even for the Elite II.

 

That opens up some intriguing options. For one, Indel B makes some true 12v systems that are geared towards truckers, and which are neat because they have a separate, integrated battery pack and switching to protect your main battery bank. That way you can use it at night, then recharge in the day with solar/alternator/generator. They have units up to 6000btu. Problem is that the higher btu units are bulky split systems. -

http://www.indelb.com/products/parking_air_cooler/sleeping_well

 

I've also looked at some small residential units. There's a cool new 5000btu window unit on Kickstarter right now from a company called Noria. It's small enough that it might be possible to find the wall space for it (can't be mounted on the roof). It's also highly portable for a window unit - you could keep it stowed while traveling, and just snap it in place when you need it. Or leave it at home when you know you won't need it. And it's more than a third lighter than the rooftop units. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kurt/noria-cool-redefined/description

 

One of the reasons a wall-mount appeals to me is that if you get the AC off the roof, then you could slide the fan back - and since we won't be adding any satellite system, we'd have enough space then to double the solar capacity.

 

Both Dometic and Truma make some smaller, ducted units for the European market that unfortunately they don't offer here. But they're nice to think about - one day, perhaps...

 

http://www.dometic.eu/products/air-conditioners/under-bench-air-conditioners/

 

http://www.truma.com/uk/en/air-conditioning/overview-storage-compartment-air-conditioning-systems.php

 

Of course, one obvious option is to forgo AC entirely.

 

I'm curious what the rest of you think about any of these ideas.

[dwbark]

I too would welcome quiet options, if or when, I order an Oliver.

[SeaDawg]

Interesting, as the few times in 8 years that we have camped in high temps with power, we used our dometic penguin 13.5 btu.  Certainly cooled the trailer quickly. Noisy. Yes. But I am sensitive to noise, so not the best judge.

 

And our older trailers aren't ducted, like the new ones. Are the new trailers ac ducted too?

 

Sherry

 

 

[SeaDawg]

And, truth of the matter is, our trailer is now past 8 years old. Everything changes, except the initial build quality.

 

My Ollie still looks new, started each day of the last week of camping at 96 or 97 per cent power, so lots of room to charge phones and tablets on solar.

 

I'm in for the long haul.

 

Sherry