Basement AC Removal Dilemma (photo included)

[cbeierl]

Attached are (fuzzy, sorry!) pics from my coach showing the four mounting bolts and a pic of the underside of the unit taken from the rear looking forward with the muffler on the left.

[Animalangel]

Wow, Chris it looks like you were under MY vehicle!!! I didn't expect anybody to get under their vehicle to look but THANK YOU!

I was wondering why there were holes in the muffler heat shield and you certainly answered that question!

Ok.... so.. now that we know how to remove the unit I have one more question.

Before removing the steel beam at the front and all the bolts on the back of the frame I guess you have to have like a jack or something with wheels for it to land on? I mean.... I don't want to be under there unscrewing stuff and have it "fall" on top of me (or my HVAC guy).....so what is the process?

I'm picturing something like the flat carts you use at Home Depot to put under it so when it drops down you can just wheel it out or doesn't it drop down that far? Then how do you get it back up there so you can put all the bolts in place?

I wish there was a video of the actual removal and reinstallation process..... Oh well.

[al1florida]

I think the idea is to loosen the bolts just far enough so the unit drops down far enough to pull it out, NOT to remove the bolts all the way.

Whoever is doing the loosening of the bolts needs to look at or feel for the top side of the bolt to be sure it is not coming all the way out of the nut.

[Animalangel]

Ooooooh... hmm.... ok.... makes sense.... but then.... do we still need to remove that front piece of steel at the bottom front of the unit or are the two bolts holding that in place long bolts that allow you to drop that beam down far enough to slide it out? (which also makes sense). I didn't get to look at how long those bolts were.

[neub]

And it is FOUR bolts...there are two bolts of the back side also. Loosen all four evenly and the whole unit drops down

[Animalangel]

Aren't there 6 bolts total? 4 on the frame at the back of the unit and the two holding up that front metal beam it's sitting on?

If that front beam doesn't drop, that unit isn't dropping at all.

[neub]

The front metal beam doesnt come off..it is part of the ac frame that lowers down. Should only be the two bolts that are inside that oval cutout and two bolts as Chris shows in one of his photos on the oposite side of the ac frame. You are not going to be removing any metal beam...it is part of the ac frame that lowers

[Animalangel]

Ok. So four bolts, then. When it warms up a bit and the sand lot I'm on dries up some, I'll have to see if I can get under there and get a better look at those bolts. Thanks everybody!

[2cyber71]

I had a 2007 Ellipse 40FD.
I needed to service the basement AC because it wasn’t getting cool back in 2015.
I scheduled an appointment with a Winnie dealer and the same time scheduled a residential Ac repairman to work at the dealership. The dealer took out the AC unit and it was a closed system. He added a valve and added Freon or what ever it needed, then the dealer put the AC back in. During the repair, the exhaust was damaged and I had to get that fixed at a diesel shop. The cost was about $2000 for the AC total and about another $600 for the exhaust repair. Make sure they repair the exhaust exactly like it was with the heat wrap.
Otherwise you might just have a fire. Worked great after the service.
One thing. that AC weighs a lot, 2 guys struggled with it to take it out. I’m glad they knew how to do it. They said they did a few before.
The dealer was Wilkins RV in Hornell, NY.
They don’t sell Winnies anymore but the techs worked on them when they did. They keep their employees a long time. I bought my first Rv there, my old 1999 Storm 22 yrs ago. They sell the Winnies at thier other store.

Used it until April 2020 when I traded it for my Horizon 42 Q

I still love my old Ellipse 40 FD, I had 13 great trouble free RV years with it.

[CharlesMoore]

Call Leon Hershberger in Shipshewana. This guy is good. The website is https://fixyourfridge.com/ or Google National RV Refridgeration Shipshewana, IN. There is a 90% chance he will not answer the phone so be prepared to leave a detailed message - He will call you back.


There are two RV Parks close to his farm shop (plenty of room for big RV;s). A nicely kept shop on a real Amish farm with full capabilities to fix the basement airconditioner'


I had mine there 2 years ago because the 2nd stage would not work. He game me an appointment time and when I arrived he had the unit out in 3 hours (with great difficulty) with troubleshooting the issue. There was 3 hours of labor to fix the unit (a cracked copper line and reinstall/ Total bill was $600. It has worked famously every since.


Leon is soft spoken and honest and fair. I had to leave the RV for 1 day and rent a hotel spot in Shipshewana. If you bring you bikes you can ride into Shipsy to and from the hotel. Plenty fo things to do for a several day stay. Hope this helps.

[boatdesigner]

I spent thousands on this type of ac with poor results. They are barely adequate when working properly. You lower them a few inches then slide out horizontally. If i had to do it over again I would add roof air. Basically they are a pos. Big waste of money.

[CharlesMoore]

Truthfully, I love my basement air and would not replace it for the roof vibrators unless it was a very last resort. It has no more service issues than my sailboat airconditioners and are about the same price to replace new. A properly running basement air with both stages running will keep it cool to 75°F in direct sun at an OAT 95+. That is about the same as our stick n brick.

[Animalangel]

2cyber71 - Thanks for the heads up on the cost involved and also with the info about the muffler heat shield. I'll definitely keep an eye on that. I also looked up Wilkins RV in Hornell and, unfortunately, that's way, way too far south and west of where I'm going to be for the summer otherwise I would have considered letting them do it.

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CharlesMoore - I have bookmarked Leon's website under my "RV Repairs" folder for future reference. I am considering spending next winter somewhere in Arizona and I expect to make appts in the fall (mid to late October) out in his direction for further repairs that I can't do myself. Waiting over the summer will give me a bit of time to prepare for those costs. So, thank you for the reference.

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For what it's worth to anybody, I lived in a travel trailer with roof air and this rig has basement air (obviously). I have to say I didn't have a problem with the roof air (except for when I had to replace the capacitors and a new fan which were both very easily accessible). I didn't really experience any noise with it, myself. I do like the basement air but I must say, I am not entirely thrilled with the process required to service it. When I comes down to it, I'm fine with both depending on the RV it's installed in. (I would not want roof air on my Class A).

AND.. after much consideration I've decided to wait to get the heating system serviced BECAUSE of the removal process. My thought is that with my luck, we'd get it out, he'd service it and then we wouldn't be able to get it back in for some unknown reason and then what?

Here I am in a campground I'm not entirely thrilled to be in, sand lot (and sinking further with every downpour) and the last thing I want to do is be stuck here indefinitely because I can't get the thing put back together, not to mention I have medical appointments already lined up in NY (to schedule a very necessary surgery) and I can't afford to miss those. So... I'm going to wait until the fall and get it done at a dealership somewhere along the way after I leave NY in mid-October.

My HVAC guy was able to reassure me that the noise I hear is not a problem with the unit itself but likely a vibration against the frame or something so I don't think it's an emergent situation. I've just got to go with my gut on this one.... it's going to have to wait.

I certainly do appreciate ALL the help you've all given me on this whole process though. At least I understand the process now. Thank you all very much again!

[pobstlmo]

1. The electric heat does not not work below 40 degrees, you need to use the gas furnace or space heaters.
2. Your tying to take the cover off before you remove the unit from the coach. The Entire A/C box needs to be removed and set on a bench or milk crates to hold it. It won’t go far if still connected to electric. The rear duct needs to be disconnected. The large bolts need to be removed and the entire box is lowered a few inches to clear the frame. I personally would wait till spring. Once you do remove it, it should be throughly cleaned, ie the fins and plastic return air duct, along with new gasket to seal it back up when you put it together, otherwise you’ll be air conditioning the outside, and bringing out side in.

[misterclean2]

Replace with two roof mounted heat pumps!

[Journey39n]

My A/C unit had a blower fan quit last summer in AZ, yes and it was over 110 for the 2 weeks it took to get it fixed. The tech used a portable motorcycle lift to slide the unit onto. I remember that once he removed all the mounting bolts, top and bottom, although a tight fit, it slid right out, resting on the frame member at the bottom of the flip up panel.

I would suspect there is a top metal piece that needs to be removed that you aren't seeing. Or there is a bottom support that can be dropped. If the previous owner replaced it, it had to have been slid into place, which means it can be removed for servicing. If it is original, it still was installed, which means it can be removed. You just aren't quite there yet, ready to slide it out.

At least you aren't having 118 degree days like we had a couple of times during our service and living in it. Find the right tech, and it will go well. Good Luck.

[Animalangel]

pobstlmo - Thank you for letting me know the electric heat doesn't work below 40 degrees. I thought there was something wrong with the settings or the thermostat or something.

I never got a walk through when I finally went to pick up the RV from the dealer because of a problem earlier in the day that led to all events after that snowballing. I actually had to pick it up after his closing time and he was in a hurry to get home and we still had to figure out how to hook the car up to the towing apparatus and everything. It was a nightmare. I'm sure there are a host of other things about it that I still haven't figured out as well. (EX: I went for 3 weeks with no hot water because I didn't know the water heater also ran on electricity.)

I know that all the electric and ductwork and all need to be detached before the unit can be removed but it's a moot point now. I'm going to wait and have it done at a dealership (or somewhere experienced) in early fall. I can live with the noise it makes for a few more weeks since I know now that it's not going to cause any damage to the system.

[Animalangel]

Journey39n - That summer in AZ with no blower fan must have been awful! How did you manage that 2 weeks?

[gabbyh]

try AZ experts you tube channel,I think he takes one out of a Winnebago , he is very informed . good luck and let us know what you find ,as I may be doing this soon on our unit.

[cbeierl]

For the OP, in case you don't have a copy, here is the Operator Manual for your coach. It's worth reading through completely--lots of good info.