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Old 04-17-2013, 09:51 AM   #1
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A/C under the coach, not on the roof

hello, we are looking to buy a2002 winnebago adventurer, but this is the first time i ever saw the a/c unit under the coach. Does any one have any input or thoughts on this and give us some advise on how this is. thanks
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Old 04-17-2013, 09:55 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum. That a/c is called residential. I'll move this to the Winnebago Forum where you'll get a lot of opinions on this.
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Old 04-17-2013, 10:12 AM   #3
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:welcome:Also refered to as basement air, usually a single large unit too heavy to be mounted on the roof. Biggest dis-advantage, is the space it takes away from storage in the basement.
Usually quieter than roof air because of the way it is mounted and insulated.
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Old 04-17-2013, 10:19 AM   #4
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We have an 05 National Dolphin (35' MH) that has "basement air" that is really a heat-pump HVAC made by AIRXCEL's RV Products Division "Coleman-Mach RV Comfort":
Airxcel | RV Products | Off-Roof Units

It has beena great unit even though it is now 8 years old. I also like the "house-like" vents that distrubute the cool/heated air throughout the coach

in addition we have a gas furnace back-up for really cold temps that the thermostat kicks in when needed or can be manually selected.

Enjoy and happy trails to you.
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Old 04-17-2013, 11:01 AM   #5
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I am very pleased with the underneath air conditioner in our Meridian, although there are some on this site that feel otherwise. The only downside that I have experienced is the loss of storage space because of the unit being under the floor.
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Old 04-17-2013, 02:33 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by tomkat50 View Post
hello, we are looking to buy a2002 winnebago adventurer, but this is the first time i ever saw the a/c unit under the coach. Does any one have any input or thoughts on this and give us some advise on how this is. thanks
It was foreign to me when I started looking almost 2 years ago as well. The basement air works great and looks great. You will be happy with that machine for sure!
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Old 04-17-2013, 03:28 PM   #7
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Basement air setup is more efficient because it is drawing outside air across coils that is cooler than the air on your rooftop in direct sun, quieter,uses less amp energy overall.

Down side to basement air is loss of storage , and annoying to work on.


Thanks
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Old 04-17-2013, 05:47 PM   #8
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tomkat50...I have a 2003 Adventurer, 38ft, with basement air. Unit runs great with a couple of issues over the years. Like your home ac the return air filter must be checked and replaced for good air flow. On my M/H you can see the face of the expansion coil by pulling the access hatch in the rear closet..I always check to see if it needs to be vacuumed because of the relatively inefficient air filters used to maintain air flow in the basement air this coil can collect dust and reduce air flow. Also the original supply air fan located inside the a/c unit had the shaft hub "pressed" in to fan blade and tends to work loose over the years. If you hear a "rattle" at start up this could be the problem. The new replacement fans have hubs molded into the fan and fix the problem inexpensively. All being said We love our basement air and still carry more with us than we should !
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Old 04-17-2013, 06:29 PM   #9
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We had a 2000 Adventurer and now a 2007 Adventurer, both with basement air, we really love it, very quit and works great. we hated to see Winne go back to the roof
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Old 04-17-2013, 07:02 PM   #10
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We have had 8 Coachs . 6 top wart conditioners, 2 basement air. Built a garegWith a 12'4" door, Now Winnebago decided To stop using The basement air.. They insist it is because of the Polution Crap Our government Donogooders are imposing on us.. I personally think if the wanted to have basement air they could do it.. They can go to the moon, and can't Utelize a basement air. . Some of those engineers need to go back to school and find there brains again..Life is good .. would be better with so much control..
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Old 04-17-2013, 07:16 PM   #11
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I have basement air/heat pump in a Winnebago and like it a lot. Much quieter than roof air. Height of motorhome and shed doors is definitely an issue. I have a 13 ft. door that is reduced to about 12ft. 9in. due to finish work etc. Thought it would be plenty high but it is not high enough for the new Winnebago units with roof airs.
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Old 04-18-2013, 04:16 PM   #12
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Our new-to us Winnebago (Spartan chassis) has basement air and uses residential filters. I'll use the same Filtrette allergen filters as we use at home. Quiet_ you bet. I don't see much loss of basement storage space, about the same as carrying 2 box fans to circulate our present roof-air on our 5er.
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Old 04-18-2013, 06:46 PM   #13
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Winnebago on Spartan chassis?
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Old 04-18-2013, 11:20 PM   #14
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Winnebago on Spartan chassis?
I was pleasantly surprised too. Check out the Winnebago website, they use the Spartan chassis on the top-of-the-line models. Ours is the Spartan Mountain Master 31,000# GVW chassis W/ side radiator, independent front suspension.
Much newer models use K2,K3, or MM, frames.
EDIT: I just found this website, which contains a long list of helpful stuff: http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/ind...?topic=20624.0 including how to read the VIN to find what chassis.
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Old 04-19-2013, 04:40 AM   #15
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Another advantage not yet mentioned is the fact that you won't have condensate water running down the sides of your coach. That's a big problem with a lot of roof-top units.

We love our basement air and hate that Winnebago eliminated it across their line in 2011. Don't listen to people who tell you that Winnebago did this because of problems with the basement air units. They did so because they needed the room in the diesel coaches for the new emissions piping. That left on the gas engine Adventurer model with basement air and they decided that for logistics / support issues they didn't want to have basement air on only one model.

The ONLY downside of our basement air unit is that it creates a little more noise around the outside of the coach than do ceiling mounted units. The unit is on the curb (passenger) side and you can hear it while sitting around outside.
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Old 04-19-2013, 05:23 AM   #16
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We have had a few problems with ours. That does not mean it is the norm of course. Here is what we have done. Repaired duct work inside rear cap, replaced thermostat (not cheap like a household stat), lubricated outside blower motor unit then replaced it and upgraded the squirrel cage fan on it the next year.

I don't want to scare you away from buying an RV only due to the basement a/c. It really does improve the lines of it without the one or two giant lumps on the roof. Reduces the height slightly also. Ours now works pretty good and we trust it after those repairs/improvements. All of the above mentioned were done by us with the help of people right here at iRV2 so in the event you have a problem and are handy with tools we can help.
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Old 04-19-2013, 07:13 AM   #17
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We have had a few problems with ours. That does not mean it is the norm of course......

I don't want to scare you away from buying an RV only due to the basement a/c.
And neither do I. However, because almost every post in this thread is so positive in favor of basement A/C, I feel compelled to add a little "balance".

Simply stated, these units are not ALL trouble free, and if you have a problem they are more expensive to work on. For some repairs the entire unit must be removed from the coach and many repair facilities will then call a residential HVAC tech to come make needed repairs. Additionally, many of us have complained about inadequate cooling ability, and a search will turn up many posts from members who have resorted to adding a roof-top A/C in place of the kitchen fan to augment their basement unit. I have not done that.........yet, but I'm told it can be done for around $1500.00 by a local RV shop I trust. They claim to have done "several" of these additions for other basement A/C coaches.

MY experience with our unit has been both problematic and frustrating to the point that I've previously posted I will never own another coach with basement A/C. After WBGO paid to R & R mine shortly after purchase, it failed again after the WBGO warranty was up and the maker (RVP) refused to honor their two year warranty claiming that I voided their warranty by allowing the WBGO dealer to "tap into" their system to perform the first repair.

OBTW, if complete replacement of an older unit is necessary, the new units REQUIRE a coach be wired for 50 AMP service. We were told the EPA-mandated change to a new "Freon" caused RVP to use new larger compressors which require higher power supply.
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Old 04-19-2013, 09:17 AM   #18
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The basement air has its advantages & disadvantages, as noted in the responses above. I can only add that my shop wants me to get the unit serviced regularly because the fan and another motor in there use bushings rather than bearings, and if they dry up, the shafts bind up and the repair bill is daunting. So I need to bring it in every 6 months or so for a "lube job"on the A/C unit. Hope this helps.
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Old 04-19-2013, 09:45 AM   #19
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The only other drawback that I see is that if you set the HEAT feature of the heatpump during relatively warm nights, the noise in the bedroom will wake you every time it comes on.
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Old 04-19-2013, 10:15 AM   #20
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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
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