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06-03-2010, 08:58 AM
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#1
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Skiatook, OK
Posts: 1,460
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Basement A/C going away
No basement A/C on 2011 models. The government has mandated a Freon change and RVP didn't have the volume necessary to justify doing this on the A/C unit Winnebago uses. Winnebago has redesigned the roof to delivery the air better and reduce the noise typically seen on roof mounted A/C.
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Grant & Pat
2014 Adventurer 35P
2021 Rapid Red 4dr Bronco OBX
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06-03-2010, 10:06 AM
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#2
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Glen Allen, VA
Posts: 2,169
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Probably for the best overall. Roof top AC's are certainly more common and likely more easy to service. Also, space will be gained under the rig for storage. We like our basement unit OK...it is very effective at producing heat during cooler weather.
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'07 Country Coach Allure 470 Siskiyou Summit #31578, Cummins ISL 425; 2014 Ford F150 toad; Air Force One Toad Brake.
Glen Allen, VA; Smith Mountain Lake, VA.
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06-03-2010, 04:05 PM
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#3
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Crossville, Tennessee
Posts: 417
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Grant,
Is this true for all models? We knew they switched to three roof units on the 45 footer but I had also heard they were no longer making the "old" basement air units. But, I also heard they were coming out with a new bigger basement air unit that did comply with the new regulations. Are you saying they have dropped the production of this new unit?
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Dennis & Trish (and Sparky Doodle)
2013 Meridian 42E
2011 Ford Explorer
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06-03-2010, 05:08 PM
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#4
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Skiatook, OK
Posts: 1,460
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My understanding is 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.
Lichtsinn's as a 2011 Adventurer 32H on there web site and it has roof air.
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Grant & Pat
2014 Adventurer 35P
2021 Rapid Red 4dr Bronco OBX
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06-03-2010, 06:03 PM
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#5
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Clermont, Fl
Posts: 176
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Also, on the diesel pushers, they are having to upgrade the engines to meet the 2010 EPA emission standards. This means the basement air area will be taken up by the UREA tank.
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Ron & Susan, Shihpoos Sandy & TooPoo
2011 Winnebago Journey 40U
2012 Fiat 500
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06-04-2010, 04:13 AM
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#6
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: North East Indiana
Posts: 762
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Geeeeze this is bad news. I really like the basement air, albeit they are hard to find any one that will service them. Not because they are any harder to service, but because of tech ignorance. I have a top air again after having basement A/C for 10 years and while it does a great job, it is noisy. The heat pump is not as efficient and it has to overcome a lot of sun heat to cool the inside.
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06-14-2010, 07:00 AM
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#7
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 43
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This is super news. I had eliminated Winnebago as a replacement for my current Adventurer because of the problematic basement air and the ineffective cooling.
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Steve, Gail and "Shadow" (Black Cocker Spaniel)
2005 Winnebago Adventurer 38J
06 Subaru Forester toad; 67 MGB - Alternate toad
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06-14-2010, 07:10 AM
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#8
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Homer
Geeeeze this is bad news. I really like the basement air, albeit they are hard to find any one that will service them. Not because they are any harder to service, but because of tech ignorance. I have a top air again after having basement A/C for 10 years and while it does a great job, it is noisy. The heat pump is not as efficient and it has to overcome a lot of sun heat to cool the inside.
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I too prefer the basement air for the reasons your state. Bummer!
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2012 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42e Cummins Freightliner; 2009 Honda Fit
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06-14-2010, 07:22 AM
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#9
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Weyauwega, WI US
Posts: 1,486
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Homer
Geeeeze this is bad news. I really like the basement air, albeit they are hard to find any one that will service them. Not because they are any harder to service, but because of tech ignorance. I have a top air again after having basement A/C for 10 years and while it does a great job, it is noisy. The heat pump is not as efficient and it has to overcome a lot of sun heat to cool the inside.
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I feel the same way. We like our basement air. It is very quiet.
Don
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Don & Bev Morgan Weyauwega WI, 05 Itasca Horizon 40KD, 400 HP Cummins, Delorme GPS LT 40, Toad 07 Saturn Vue AWD, Air Force One, TST 510 TPMS, Mayor of Weyauwega 2007 - 2013, Waupaca Co Board Supervisor 2010 - 2014
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06-14-2010, 07:57 AM
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#10
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 277
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One of the reasons that I stay with Winnebago is the basement air. Hate to see it go. Joe
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2008 Itasca Latitude 39W. Cummins ISB 6.7 Turbo 340HP. Allison 6 Speed. Freightliner XCS. Michelin XRV 255/80R 22.5 LRG. SuperSteer MCU. Safe-T-Plus.
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06-14-2010, 12:24 PM
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#11
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Butler, PA
Posts: 283
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I have mixed feelings on the basement A/C. Having owned a Journey for 6+ years, I liked the quietness offered by the basement A/C compared to the previous roof mounted A/C's that I had on another motorhome. On the other hand though, on our 36' Journey, the cooling capability of the basement unit was marginally acceptable. In most conditions (< 90 ) the unit worked well, but if temperatures got higher than 90, the unit lacked the BTU capacity to keep the coach cool.
Friends of ours who currently own a dark brown Vectra complain about the cooling on their 40' coach when the ambient temperature exceeds 85 or so. Frankly, I think the 27,000 basement unit is just a little undersized for a large dark painted coach. Even if Winnebago only offered two rooftop units, if they were to use the 15K BTU sized roof units, I think owners in hot climates would appreciate the additional 10% cooling capacity. Any motorhomes with 3 A/C's will cool very well. I'm not sure if Winnebago is using 13.5 or 15K BTU, on their 42 Tour, but I know with our current three 15K BTU, you can use the motorhome as a refridgerator
Regarding the noise issues, with ducted roof A/C's, with larger, lower velocity, upward blowing condensor fans, and thicker roof insulation, I don't hear much noise difference between our current roof mounted units and the previous basement unit. You don't hear much unit noise, and the air noise through the vents is about the same.
One final benefit regarding separate zoned roof A/C's is that if you are in a campground with limited power, you have the option of running just one roof unit to cool a portion of the coach at a time rather than using the limited power to run the basement area and try to cool the entire coach. The selective area cooling has come in handy several times for us. As an example, we occassionaly camp in a state park with only 20 or 30 amp hookup. I can run one or two roof airs in the front of the coach during the day to keep that area cool, then at night run a rear unit to keep the bedroom cool.
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Joe & Shelly, Justin, Tyler, Alyssa | Butler PA 2008 Tiffin Allegro Bus 43QRP|Cummins 425|Honda CRV
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06-14-2010, 03:15 PM
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#12
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Forest City, IA,
Posts: 24
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Good afternoon!
There are a couple of caveats to this that make this more appealing...
1. We were over 12' in most applications to begin with, and with most doors being 12' or 14' we are somewhat in "no man's land" so height may not be an issue
2. Winnebago has done a tremendous job in the 2011 lineup that replaced the basement air models by making the cold air return in a separate run of vents, thereby not having the cold air returns exposing the noise. In essence, if you looked down the ceiling line inside, you would only see ducts. The ceiling is insulating the bottom of the roof airs and not exposing them or the noise. They actually are very quiet.
3. Storage is improved, obviously.
4. Cooling capacity is greatinly increased.
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Best Regards,
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06-14-2010, 04:33 PM
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#13
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Baraboo, Wisconsin
Posts: 237
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I've always thought roof air was the way to go. More storage space in the basement, still having some air even if 1 roof unit breaks down, easier to work on roof units if needed and to replace them if needed.
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Steve & Nancy
2005 Itasca Sunrise 33', W20 Chassis, Ultrapower, Henderson Trac Bar
2012 Chevy Captiva Sport AWD, ReadyBrute Elite Tow Bar, Blue Ox Base Plate, Protect-A-Tow
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06-14-2010, 06:04 PM
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#14
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oh.
Posts: 317
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Having had both on two separate Winny products, I vote for basement air by a long shot. While each has its advantages, my purchase of my Meridian over some other brand had a great deal to do with the basement air. I guess, when it comes to another coach, I will look at other brands now.
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06-19-2010, 04:16 PM
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#15
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: at exit 308 on I-65 between Huntsville and Birmingham
Posts: 47
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Basement AC
If RVP isn't going to make them and the ones they made were too small for the larger motorhomes anyway, maybe we should be happy. Does anyone else, in our price ranges, use basement air nowadays? I like my basement air, but on hot days 27K wasn't enough to handle the heat load. Seems that 2-15K or 3-13.5 on bigger units with better air circulation may be the right way to go and we should be happy that Winnie engineers and designers can incorporate these changes to help improve our comfort. I also like the idea of having more than 1 AC unit to rely on.
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2005 Itasca Meridian 39F, 2005 Grand Cherokee, Blue Ox Adventa tow bar, US Gear Brake system
2 Boxers, "Gidget" & "Butch"
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