Basement air reality?

[4cole_man2]

Hi everyone, I'm looking at a 2003 Ultimate Freedom 40KD. I previously owned a 2000 Ultimate Advantage 36C. When we owned the 2000 UA we went through the basement AC nightmare that some on this forum have experienced.
I fought a freezing up problem the entire time we owned the coach. I tried everything I could find online, spent a lot of time on the phone with the tech help people, all with limited results. At best, the ac system was still nowhere close to as effective as a couple of roof airs.
My question is, was that the exception or the norm for basement air? We do most of our camping in 100 degree weather. Will the basement ac keep a 40' triple slide coach cool (70ish) in 100 degree weather if everything is working correctly?
We love the UF that we are looking at, but I refuse to fight the basement air again.
Just looking for opinions based on personal experience. There are too many Winnebagos running down the road for all of the basement air systems to be so marginal.
Thanks

[1ciderdog]

Your question: Will the basement ac keep a 40' triple slide coach cool (70ish) in 100 degree weather if everything is working correctly?

My guess and answer is: NO!

I've added a roof AC on mine and that appears to have resolved the problem of the basement AC not being able to cool the interior of the RV. The roof AC combined with the basement is very efficient.

[Mr_D]

On our DSDP one roof mounted 13.5K heat pump running in 90°+ weather in Yuma is sufficient, hotter might require turning the second one on though.

Are the basement mounted units really that inefficient?

[photomax]

We have the a 2003 Ultimate Freedom 40KD.. It's a great coach.. but if you woant to be in the 70's in 100 weather .. its not for you.. That said, we drive it all over the countury and have no problems.. If I had it to do over I would buy another, and do as we do now.. look for a shady parking spot.. and besides its not 100 all the time.. PM me if you woant more info..

[Davdeb1]

Since cool air falls, I would imagine basement air would not be as efficient as roof mounted. I avoided the Winnys with it for just that reason. I also understand Winnebago went back to roof air.

[FleetMan]

I understand Winnebago went back to roof units for both cost and availability reasons. On the plus side, our basement air kept us comfortable in 105 plus degree weather in San Antonio the last time we were there. Basement air was a critical factor for me because of the 12 foot high door opening in my big garage. Anything with roof air was too tall to fit.

[Wizard]

Originally Posted by Davdeb1

Since cool air falls, I would imagine basement air would not be as efficient as roof mounted. I avoided the Winnys with it for just that reason. I also understand Winnebago went back to roof air.

The basement air blows out of vents in the ceiling

It cools really good in our 36' motorhome even in 100deg weather. Little noisy at night though as its located under the bedroom.

[Doug Sage]

The cooling rating of a basement A/C is more than two standard roof air conditioners so it should cool better. I have a 39' motorhome with three slides and the issues are whether or not you are in the full sun, which direction your rig faces (it seems that the rear end toward the sun is best) and whether or not you let the heat build up before turning on the A/C. I had a problem with my heat pump this summer and the final answer was that the internal radiator was dirty and needed to be cleaned. That made it work just fine again. We have found that we can set the thermostat in the 75 to 78 range and it will hold it all day in the full sun. We try to put out the awning and even an awning drape to keep most of the sun off the side and this helps. We also find that it feels cooler inside when we have the cold air blowing on us. In other words, we feel cooler than the actual temperature reads inside because of the moving cool air. My biggest complaint with the heat pump is that there are not a lot of service people out there that can really diagnose and fix problems. With a roof A/C this doesn't seem to be a problem and you can replace one unit if it comes to that.

[zippo]

We are 36' with basement air. We are good set at 76 into the high 90's outside as long as we make sure we leave the AC on so when it reaches 76 inside the AC runs and never gets behind. I think the basement air is a problem because of the poor insulating of the Winnebago units. I know my wife learned real quick not to put candy in a cabinet on the sunny side, it gets hot in there. We also have a slide out pantry and things melt in there if the sun is on that side.

[two-niner]

My best guess is it depends on where you live and travel. Humidity.

Here in the great Southwest, I personally never had a problem with basement (08 Tour). It cooled well and was relatively quiet.

Traded for a 2012 Tour and the three A/C units were somewhat annoying as far as being louder( I am tall), but I perceive them as producing faster cooling.

Kerry

[Wayne M]

We have the basement air in the 2008 Winni. In 100 degree weather you can figure it will keep you about 20 degrees cooler in normal operation - at least in our experiences.

However, you can assist it by, parking in shade, shading the windows with covers (Magne Shade), and putting the aluminum space foil on the inside windows. That last part considerably reduced the temperature inside. Outside window awnings may act like the foil shade if no direct sunlight hitting the window.

JMHO

[AFChap]

Our basement air worked great in temps up to 105 or so until we had the #1 compressor replaced last summer ...now it can barely manage 85 degrees. We are still trying to figure out what changed. The service tech says the new compressor was properly charged, there are no obvious large duct leaks, but it simply does not work as well as it originally did...

[wagonmaster2]

Isn't that frustrating when something is repaired it should work better than before instead of worse. I had all the belts and pump replaced on the front of my '91 Honda Accord a couple years ago and it's never run as smooth since as it used to.

[dc8cappie]

Ditto 1ciderdog, I added a third Coleman 15000PS to my roof.

Not having the equipment or place to do the work, I paid a shop to do the install. The install included a separate 30amp transfer relay so I can plug the unit into the 20amp pedestal outlet an remove it from the coach system. Unplugged it runs from the coach system.

I supplied the parts and labor was $800. Not cheap but safer then me getting hurt or dropping the AC from the roof!

[SVTotem]

Earl,

Where was the wiring routed to power the new ceiling unit. Also for the thermostat. Just curious how they would get power up there without making a mess of things.

[firesafety55]

We have a 33 ft Adventurer with the basement air...I will be frank: I will never own another one with basement air...we smother in 100 degree weather..have had it checked and they claim everything is working correctly..both compressors are running...we carry a portable air conditioner to supplement the thing...just my thoughts..

[bachler]

We Own an Ultimate, The air is the best Part of the outstanding coach. The most inportant thing to remember i Everything has its limites; Just because the spedo reads 110 MPH does not mean it is to be driven that speed.... OK then someone says Well it was only 92 degrees outside and we had the air turned down to a comfortable 72 degrees And it would not take it that cool.. .. Well friend IT AIN'T gonna happen;; If you want it to get that cool. On a 40 foot dark paint, Exterior. You will need 3or5 Coleman Airs/worts on the roof.. Then you have a noise issue in the coach. We have been there. In our 7 coaches; Basement air is The best units built. It's to bad they are going away; Which had nothing to do with there performance;;; I have also encountered some IDIOTS that Think they could heat there coach with the Basement air.. Why don't they just turn on there furnace, IT is made to heat the coach;;, I am allways amazed, how Few people use there Brains.. Life is good. But to short;

[ernieh]

Originally Posted by AFChap

Our basement air worked great in temps up to 105 or so until we had the #1 compressor replaced last summer ...now it can barely manage 85 degrees. We are still trying to figure out what changed. The service tech says the new compressor was properly charged, there are no obvious large duct leaks, but it simply does not work as well as it originally did...

I assume that you have verified that they didn't do something that affected the #2 compressor.

[KIX]

We also have an Ultimate with basement A/C. We've never had a cooling issue either here in the Southeast or in the Southwest Outside temps have been as high as 103*. You just have to be a little smarter than what you'r working with. When it's real hot find shade, if no shade park facing North, set the A/C temp lower in the AM to get a "head start" when it's really hot. Change filters often and keep the evaporator coil clean.

[UFO Pilot]

I have basement air and have used the electric heat for 5 years and now I find out that I am an idiot?