Food for thought;;

bachler · 09-06-2012, 02:48 PM

I am having a hard time accepting the reason the Winnebago dropped the Basement air in there Motorhome line up;;; I keep hearing some thing about the air tanks for clean air; Having to put them where the air is located. , I can except that. BUT will someone please explain to me why the early Vectra had the unit located in MID coach and it worked Real good. Now for some reason it can't be put there... I am a loyal Winnebago coach owner (have had 3 basement airs and loved them) however Now we are looking at other Manufactures, coaches, Basement air was our deal maker in the past. Plus We could put it in our garage ;;; Comeon Winnebago Bring it back::: show us you can do it.. Life is good;

wa8yxm · 09-06-2012, 04:19 PM

There are several things that change over the years, One is federal law however I do not see how this would affect this issue.. Another is engineers. One man retires, a new hire takes his place and over time that new hire (As others retire) moves up to "Senior Design Engineer"

Perhaps the former "New kid" that was hired 20 years ago and is now senior knows that air conditioners work better mounted on the roof.

And now that I think of it.. There is a federal law that changed too. It requires appliances to be more efficient, See "on the roof works better". and now you have two reasons.

Tom N · 09-06-2012, 04:26 PM

IMHO, 2 roof AC units cost less than 1/3 what a basement unit cost.

-Tom

fun time · 09-06-2012, 05:21 PM

I could not agree more with the OP. Funny thing you bring up the clearance of your garage as I have the same thing. With roof tops, mine would have to sit outside which is a no no for me. Love my basement air!

DancinCampers · 09-06-2012, 05:25 PM

I think it was a case of having to support the basement air over a diminishing population. Larger DP's required more cooling, class C and the smaller class A gassers were already with roof air, it was easy to add the DEF in the space occupied by the basement air.

grtharris · 09-06-2012, 08:42 PM

bachler, this is what I got from a inside source.
RVP didn’t have the volume necessary to justify doing the necessary Freon change on the A/C unit Winnebago uses. The issue is no one can manufacture an A/C unit that uses R-22 after Jan. 1, 2010. The new Freon is R-410A which runs at a much higher pressure than R-22 and requires a complete new compressor and piping design.

dengraham · 09-06-2012, 08:53 PM

grtharris,
My understanding was RVP does make the basement unit with the new freon but it will not work on only 30 Amps because of the higher compression. With the diesel units they needed the basement air space for the required particulate filters to meet the new EPA emission requirements for the engines. So, that forced them to go back to the ceiling units. But, the good news, the new units are low profile and really should not be a problem for the height requirements in most cases.

bachler · 09-07-2012, 12:58 AM

Some interesting posts;; However I am baseing My reasoning on the fact that every home has an Refrigerator. And they are quite the same in design. Evaperator.. Cooler coils,, Compressor. Altho they are different they work on ths same princeapel... My point is. I will Probely be saying good be to the winnebago Motorhome line up. It is a sad moment time in our lives.. Life is good. However I must ask.. Is A step back words ???

Outbumn · 09-07-2012, 06:33 AM

You must have another reason for leaving the Winnebago family. I am not aware of another comparable line of motor homes with basement air. I will end with saying we had basement air on our last coach, this one has roof air, and the new configuration IMO works better. Cools the coach down faster and keeps it cooler. I also don't have to worry about fixing the duct in the rear cap as I had to do more that once on the old coach.

Jimooo · 09-07-2012, 06:58 AM

I just want to add , that almost all new high rise buildings that used to put 100 ton to 150 ton rooftop A/C units. are no longer because these rooftop A/C units are not efficient due to the high temps on the rooftops during the summer, so to be more efficient they are not putting them on rooftops anymore.

I like the superheat factor on the basement air that Winnebago has, the air temp going across those evaporator coils is much cooler below the motorhome that on your rooftop.

Happy RVing, James

bachler · 09-07-2012, 08:20 AM

My OP. was to direct the thought line to the fact ,We can put a man on the moon Send an air ship to mars, Yet we can not make an efficiant Basement Air cooling system.... I must ask are the engineers earning there Pay ????. Or did buyers of the BA coaches Go to the factery and say PLEASE STOP MAKING BA. !!! I don't think so;;

Jimooo · 09-07-2012, 09:27 AM

If you are sitting still or camping during the summer in your camper or MH in direct sun and 100 degrees and you are trying to maintain 76 degrees inside , your rooftop unit is struggling due to hot temps most likely 120 - 130 degrees on your roof outside in direct sun, this is not efficient at all.

The same situation for the Winnebago basement unit, it is circulating outside air that is under your MH which is cooler than air on your outside roof.

With a basement air A/C your are more energy efficient than rooftop air, not only that basement air unit is not struggling to maintain 76 degrees inside with 100 degrees outside in direct sun because of where the coils are located under the MH.

The only con that I can see with basement air is working on it and getting to it under your MH can be a bit challenging , but a good tech will know all the tricks how to get under there.

Happy RVing, James

bachler · 09-07-2012, 10:07 AM

In the past I Owned American Radeiator and Air ; what I found from working on them The main components Evap. comp; Cooler; Do not have to be placed in any spacific area. There are exculant Lines that can transfer the coolent From the compressor to the Cooler rad;; I am just asking WHY: don't do it? Instead Of making excuses WHY not to do it

Olive · 09-08-2012, 08:36 AM

We were told at GNR a few years ago by the former president that there is now only one supplier of the basement air units and if a problem arose they would be left without a supplier. There are other factors also but that was the main one in deciding to go back to roof air. One was the fact that the new DEF stuff takes the location of the basement air on the diesels but the main reson was lack of supploers.

wanderso · 09-08-2012, 08:50 AM

I'm curious why the RV industry can't adopt a dual split ductless system like are put in homes today that don't have ducted furnaces. Seems there are many options where the "outdoor" unit can be located. http://www.goductless.com/Ductless-A...pumps-s/49.htm

wanderso · 09-08-2012, 08:57 AM

Several of the examples on that site are 230 volt but there are also 120v versions available. You get the idea.

bachler · 09-09-2012, 10:13 AM

Lets take a new angle/look at the issue; Back a fue years ago when gas was going Up I manufactured Oil coolers for air cooled Motrocycles. Harley Davidson; And it worked the demand was there waiting to be Filled. I did the Menu; When the Fireplace Insert Was In demand ; I was there Manufacturing them Like crazy; Samon Net reels were in demand ; Guess what I manufactured Net reels;; The List goes ON and on. Now I see a demand for a product and NO one steps up to fill the Demand/void. This is the oppertunity of a lifetime; Were I 60 years younger I would start biulding/manufacturing them In a heartbeat;; Someone needs to fill the demand... I Feel it would be a better Investmant on your money then the stock/Bonds market. Think about it, If there was A good Basement air unit avalable, How many Manufacturing Companys would be interested. Look at a coach With those 2 to 5 Worts Sticking out of the top of the coach. Then look at the one with a streemlined roofline. Now Be honest which looks better ???? enough Said..