A/C under the coach, not on the roof

[Jimooo]

Basement /residential air has worked well for me , I like the practicality of it.

Sometimes the duct work behind the back wall splits or becomes un-taped due to closing too many air vents and causing back pressure on duct work, manufacture suggestion recommend leaving all the air vents open, if it is not cooling well enough change air filter and use fiberglass not heppa filter, have someone clean evaporator and condenser coils with proper coil cleaners, other suggestions are leave t-stat on hi- cool fan on high , put slides in to get desired temp. Then extend back out, park in the shade, put thermal foil on windows, if your cooling will not keep up in 101-108 temps I recommend a stand alone unit at least 5000 BTU to supplement cooling.

Basement air t-stat are more voltage surge sensitive which causes circuit board to burn out or not work properly during the hottest part of summer because the electric grid voltage is just below optimum voltage.


Gook luck,

James

[edgray]

Originally Posted by rgiesler21

I have a 2005 adventurer with basement air. I am sorry but that is the only thing that I hate on my coach. It works ok in 80 degree weather but if it is in the 90s or 100s it will be 90 to 95 inside. I have spent almost 4000.00 on it to make it better but no success. I have talk to winnebago tech support and they say the unit is working correctly. I am now in the process to trying to figure how to put a roof unit on it for backup. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas. Thank you

Your experience mirrors mine, except I have not yet spent that much on mine.

There are multiple posts on the subject here on iRV2.com, and while I hate sending you "elsewhere", the most comprehensive reports are here: Adding a roof air as an adjuct to basement air BOTH of these guys are respected members who did their own installs and provide excellent descriptions in detail.
Ed

[HD4Mark]

Let me also add. If you have to replace the blower motor the new one and the carrier bearing on the end of the shaft can be replaced with ball bearings instead of the cheap bushings. The new motor does not have the lube points to oil the bushings since it should never (knock wood) need it. The carrier bearing can be replaced with one from Graybar with ball bearings.

I have a great write up courtesy of Duner on repairing a Coleman basement air if anyone needs it.

[f14av8r]

Originally Posted by rgiesler21

I have a 2005 adventurer with basement air. I am sorry but that is the only thing that I hate on my coach. It works ok in 80 degree weather but if it is in the 90s or 100s it will be 90 to 95 inside. I have spent almost 4000.00 on it to make it better but no success. I have talk to winnebago tech support and they say the unit is working correctly. I am now in the process to trying to figure how to put a roof unit on it for backup. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas. Thank you

There are a lot of other factors that come into play when trying to cool a RV. I submit that if you take any coach on the market and put it in the open, facing south west, with the shades up you will not be able to cool it adequately on a sunny mid-summer day with temps past the mid-90s.

Motorhome's vary greatly in the adequacy of their insulation but none of them approach the level of insulation of even the most poorly insulated stick home. For one thing, you don't have any free air space (attic) to help insulate the home.

Another poster provides may of the tips I use to keep my coach cool in the mid-summer Florida heat. Window shades, parking orientation, window awnings, front windshield screens and using natural shade when possible are all part of my toolkit.

My basement air does just fine when I give it a chance. It all comes down to BTUs though. The sun adds thermal units. Your AC system removes thermal units. If you add more BTUs than your AC system is capable of removing, it doesn't matter if it is located on the roof or in the basement, the conditioned environment is going to be warmer than you might like.

If you've done all you can to help the AC do it's job and you still aren't getting adequate cooling you may have to resort to adding more thermal removal equipment - an additional or larger AC unit. One thing we can't do with our basement systems is increase its capacity. Using a roof mounted AC unit to add capacity is a reasonable solution but should only be required in the most extreme of environments.

I'm sorry to hear your Adventurer AC isn't keeping you cool. My Journey has performed well over the course of three years, 40,000 miles, 30 States, and in temperatures from 15 to 105 degrees. I'll freely admit that I have to do my part in extremely hot (or cold) environments but I assert that is the case with most RVs.

Good luck with the add on roof AC project! Let us hear how you like it when your done.

[md95119]

I have a 2003 32' Itasca Suncruiser with basement air. It's the only thing I don't like about my RV. We do a lot of summer RVing and travel with friends who all have RV's of similar sizes. When it's 90+ my RV is 5 to 10 degrees warmer inside than my friends who are parked right next to me. When it's 90+ we always keep the shades closed, awning down, etc. I have even inserted that aluminum insulation material in to some of the larger, sun facing windows.

I have had it in the shop a few times to have it checked out and am always told it's functioning as expected. Given the choice I would not buy another basement air configuration.

[AFChap]

Winnebago on Spartan chassis?

Several years of the Ultimate series had a modified Spartan MM chassis. Winnebago got the front and rear members, and added the custom center section for what was called a "semi-monoque" chassis.

We like the basement ac/heatpump very much ...spent over 7 years fulltiming with it. It performed great ...never felt there was any problem with "noise" when it ran at night although we would like it if the fan could be turned to constant on in heat mode as it can in cool mode. I have retaped the bottom end of the rear duct twice over the years. We have had it pulled out several times, twice to replace blower motors and last year for a compressor (and twice by idiots who claimed to know what they were doing but didn't ...I have learned NOT to use someone who is not listed on the RVP website site as certified AND who can carry on an intelligent conversation about the repair process before I allow them to work on it). Since that compressor was replaced last year it has not performed up to the previous level ...no sure yet why.

[hondaman]

we just baught a 2003 winnebago with basement air.will let u know how it does in a week or so when we get it on the road.

[Jimooo]

AFChap, sounds like you need your freon charge checked if your compressor change has not cooled it down the way it did before the changeout .

Good luck,

James

[Obiwan35]

Got a 2001 Ultimate Adventure 40J with RV Products 6535-871 basement air. Can't seem to find anybody in the Atlanta area that knows how to service them. My particular unit has apparantly lost it's R-22 charge. Sombody installed a charge port on the low side only. The unit comes sealed from the factory. I've also got relay/thermostat problems. Unit turns itself on with the switch in the off position and the inside fan runs on after the cooling cycle is complete. (Common problem) Anyway, it's over twelve years old and the rest of the coach is in great shape, so we're replacing it with a 46515-811 and new thermostat. Mine's already wired up with the three wire plug, so it should be a simple R & R. Keeping my fingers crossed. The unit arrives on Friday 05/03.

[AFChap]

You need to go to post #4 in this thread and click on the link there. Then click on the SERVICE tab, and enter a city and state to find trained service locations in your area. I have learned the hard way NEVER to use a place that is not listed on the website ...and even if they are on the list I talk with them first, and sometimes find that in spite of the fact that they are listed "off the roof" service centers they have never worked on one, and sometimes WILL NOT work on one.

[Obiwan35]

Originally Posted by AFChap

You need to go to post #4 in this thread and click on the link there. Then click on the SERVICE tab, and enter a city and state to find trained service locations in your area. I have learned the hard way NEVER to use a place that is not listed on the website ...and even if they are on the list I talk with them first, and sometimes find that in spite of the fact that they are listed "off the roof" service centers they have never worked on one, and sometimes WILL NOT work on one.

Thanks. Actually been there and spent a lot of time on the phone with them. I contacted all the "Certified" service facilities in my area and did not find a single one that was familiar with my unit. So, being a pretty competant mechanic myself, I've downloaded the install manual and it's not rocket science. I've got another skilled mechanic coming over this weekend and I believe between the two of us, we can get this done. I've had my OEM unit in and out a few times myself, troubleshooting and being a 12 year old system, we feel, "It's time." Keep you posted.

[Jim Estes]

A friend of mine is in the AC and R business...has told me on many occasions that about the best any unit can do is 20 degrees below outside temps...as other posters have said...window shades, positioning the coach orientation certainly helps...as well.

[Hubert]

Apalchee Rv in Auburn Ga did a great job on my basement A/C. They do all my rv work. 2004 Meridian 39, 330 Cat. They are on Hwy 316.

[Obiwan35]

Originally Posted by Hubert

Apalchee Rv in Auburn Ga did a great job on my basement A/C. They do all my rv work. 2004 Meridian 39, 330 Cat. They are on Hwy 316.

Thanks for that info. I'll look them up. I've actually gotten pretty good at working on this thing, myself. Was able to haul out the old unit and replace it with a new, updated replacement (46515-811) and a new thermostat. R & R went well. Air Excel tech personel were very helpful with the conversion. Happy camper, now.

[TSM35]

[moderator edit]

I'd love to hear your experiences removing the old one. I've been staring at it for the past hour and believe I know what to do but would appreciate advice from someone who just did it.

[JohnRR]

:welcome:

[Obiwan35]

Originally Posted by TSM35

[moderator edit]

I'd love to hear your experiences removing the old one. I've been staring at it for the past hour and believe I know what to do but would appreciate advice from someone who just did it.

It's really quite easy on the 2001 Winnebago 40J we have. Access the unit by removing 5 screws on the forward edge of the louvered door and one bolt under the rear edge. Raise the door at tie it up. I used my awning support to hold it up. Use a right angled phillips to remove 8 screws holding the aft cooling duct. It's tight quarters. A good tool goes a long way. I've got a super slim 90 ratchet from MAC Tools. Works great. Once the duct is loose, bungee it aft out of harm's way. Lower the unit support frame down with the fore and aft 3/4 inch jack screws. Come all the way down leaving 3 or 4 threads engaged. The unit will remain in the up position. I used a pry bar to move the top inboard to drop it down to the frame. Be careful with where you place your fingers. It will drop rather suddenly. Having a helper with a 2 x 4 under the unit will help ease the decent. When you have it down on the support frame, remove the styro insulation on the top. Go under the unit and cut any zip ties supporting the electrical harnesses. I used a couple of 5 gal paint buckets with 2 x 4's on top to support the unit once it's slid out. I've done this R & R by myself but with two, it's a piece of cake. You can now gain access to the inner workings. My old unit lost it's charge and was 12 years old. That's why I replaced it. The new one is working fine. Plenty cool. Good luck. Saved myself a ton of money doing it myself.

[dunkonu23]

My Advernturer 35U's basement air works great. We've been out in the 90's and the coach was cool--I set it at 72 and it cut off just like it should. We've been out when the temps fell to the 40's and the heat pump worked great. That's not to say there aren't problems, I'm just sharing my own experience so far.

Scott

[rebelcarm]

I had basement air in the coach i traded for the one i have now [it is a Monaco dp].It was a 1997 Winnebago Vectra diesel pusher. Air was mounted on driver side below cupboards it was a dual unit, worked real good, filter easy to change when needed, storage was no problem. My thoughts only, it drained water on ground below RV when operating, not down the sides from roof like my Monaco now. Was quiet when operating.
rebel

[HerbnBarb]

We have an 08' Journey with basement air and love it. We just went thru some 100-105 days here in Texas with pretty high humidity. We did get a little uncomfortable on the hottest days so we fired up a box fan placed at the bedroom doorway facing toward the front and that seemed to help move he cool air around. We too keep the nite shades down on the hottest days and we have front sun screens and we pull the drapes closed over the front windshield. I know there are some who have problems with their basement air but we aren't one of those (knock on wood).

HerbnBarb