We enjoy listening to nature when we travel. I especially like hearing the birds outside when I wake up in the morning.
Our Thor 22Z rooftop combination wind tunnel and air conditioner made that impossible. It was noisy (over 75 db), drafty and annoying. We had previously installed a Rec Pro rooftop air conditioner in our small boat and, contrary to Rec Pro’s promises, it was nearly as noisy, even more drafty and required a larger than advertised generator to start.
Several years ago we had a 12,000 BTY/HR GREE mini split installed in our travel trailer we traded for our present Class C. Click here to see the results of that installaton. We set out to duplicate that experience with our new Thor Class C. Our choice, recommended by the installer, is a AUX 9kBtu/hr unit.
The Aux 9kBtu/hr unit cools fine, even on the very hottest days. Unfortunately, it is not really a variable speed unit as advertised. The condenser has several speeds and when it reaches the set temperature rather than slowing to match the need, the Aux unit hunts annoyingly, sometimes too hot and sometimes too cool. Not a big issue, but the Gree was better.
Our 22′ motor home had no wall space available for the new air conditioner. It did have a seldom used TV located in the storage area above the passenger seat. The RV also had an open area designed for a TV in the bedroom. There is limited space in a small RV and the bedroom seemed ideal when one of us wants to watch TV while the other relaxes. We moved the TV to the bedroom where there was an existing antenna connection and power.
The TV works just as well in the “bedroom” as the living/dining/kitchen/driving room It is nicer for those rare times when one person wants to read whiile the other is sleeping in front or the TV.
The original installers bolted the evaporator (what you might think of as the air conditioner) bolted to the TV bracket with an added support (the black thing below) to keep it from swing around if I stopped suddenly. There is a factory curtain we use to cover our storage area when we have visitors. The curtain can also cover the evaporator if desired.
This position pointed the air directly to the dining table and made eating, writing or computer stuff drafty and hard to do.
Miguel and I remounted the unit on a set of wall mount brackets fro Amazon.
We used the same wall bracket for the inside and outside units. The original installer used a lightweight bracket that failed almost immediately and failed again after repair.
I selected a much stronger bracket rated at 600 pounds to easily support the bouncing that comes with an RV. Viewed from the centerline of the RV, you can see where we screwed the bracket to the storage area floor above the passenger seatl;
The condensor was originally mounted on a “standard” wall mount holder that is thru-bolted to the rear wall of the RV. The bolts start on the inside of the shower. The thru wall bolt heads are not intrusive. We replaced this bracket with the same bracket used for the evaporator. The bracket was thru-bolted to the rear wall of the shower. It barely shows, is strong, quiet, and doesn’t leak.
Background
Mini Splits and most all inverter air conditioners have variable speed motors in their fans and compressors. This has three benefits.
- There is no starting inrush or sudden current to challenge your generator or inverter if you are boon docking. The units starts slowly, under 100 Watts, and slowly speeds up to about 700 Watts maximum while it is cooling.
- When the set point is approached (this is if you set to 78 degrees and the unit detects 77.5, for example) the compressor and fan slows down and eventually runs just enough to hold the 78 degree (whatever you set). We detect no temperature change through out the day and only a very slight rise for a few seconds when the door is opened.
- Dehumidification is excellent.
The mini split was originally installed by Air Cooling Concepts: Info@acccooling.com. They are located in the Boynton Beach/Lake Worth Florida area. I am pleased with the installation, it was done in one day, neat, and no unexpected charges. The price was fair as was their advice to install a somewhat smaller unit than I used in my previous trailer.
If you happen to be in the area and want to enjoy your air conditoning, drop Michael and Carlos a note or call at 877-262-2901.