Quote:
Originally Posted by dr.koolwanda
Well, that has answered just about most of my questions about the 2009 except one, since we are in A/C business, do you like the A/C's in the bay or would you prefer them on the roof?
Wanda
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I hope you don't mind me jumping in as a "non winny" owner, but having owned a Winnebago Journey with basement air for 4 years, I'd like to present another viewpoint.
When we had our Journey, I liked the combination heatpump/AC basement unit when comparing it to the rooftop AC units I had on previous motorhomes. It had several advantages compared to the older rooftop units such as I could used a high quality residential filter on the unit, and the fact that it was also a heatpump. It also provides the smoother look to the roofline and possibly a lower overall profile if you do not have satellite dome or vent covers already on the roof.
There's also were a couple of downsides to the unit though to consider. The noise under the bed is noticible, but you will get used to it after a few nights. To us, the noise outside was more objectionable. When sitting around under the awning or at a campfire near the rear of the rig, the noise of the basement unit is sometimes annoying because it is right at ear level. Having that noise on the roof seemed better. It's not a huge deal, but just be aware of it.
The other disadvantage is one that is just inherent to any central air system. Basically it is "central" which means it distributes the heated or cooled air throughout the coach. Usually that's a positive, but can sometimes be a disadvantage if you only want to heat or cool a portion of the rig. For instance, if the sun is shining in the front of the rig and it is warm there, being able to run a front A/C may better suit your climate needs inside the coach. Winnebago does a good job of mitigating that effect through by having a non-ducted return air scheme which forces the return air to the system to all be drawn in through the bedroom. This return path causes the air to be circulated throughout the coach which compensates for the unit only having a single location thermostat and single A/C unit. In other words, as long as the air is circulating, from the front and being pulled to the back, the mid-coach location of the thermostat gets an average temperature and works OK, but keep in mind that is an average temperature.
Speaking about rooftop units now, my opinion of the new ones has changed quite a bit to the positive when compared to the older units. In past motorhomes with roof airs, they were noisy, dumped water on the roof which always dripped off the awning, and generally didnt' distribute the conditioned air very well, but those things have changed. WIth our current rig, the three rooftop A/C units can hardly be heard either inside or outside the motorhome when running. No longer do rooftop units drain water over the side of the coach, as many newer ones actually eject the water through condensate drains that exit under the coach. With ducted supply as well as return paths, air is distributed very well throughout the rig.
Since rooftop A/C's are are individual units, you can selectively heat or cool various areas of the coach depending on requirements. In our rig, the thermostat has 3 separate zones of heating or cooling each which can have a separate setpoint for temperature on the centrally located thermostat since each zone is monitored individually. Two zone units with two rooftop A/C's also provide that capabiltiy which can be nice if you like keeping one area of the coach warmer or cooler than another. The multi-zone heating or cooling is also handy when camped with only 20 or 30 amp service as you may not have enough power available to cool the entire rig, so you can be selective.
The zoned temperature control is really nice if you prefer to keep a sleeping area cooler perhaps than the living area.
My point is that both systems work very well so you don't want to eliminate a motorhome from your consideration based solely on the type of climate control it uses.