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Old 07-12-2010, 02:40 PM   #1
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Sick and Tired of sweating...

When it is 105 here in AZ our basement air does not do the job. Now we are into our hot and humid part of the summer which lasts thru July and August before drying up again and cooling off. We decided to get an estimate on having a roof top air conditioner installed to supplement the basement air. We may have it put in place of the kitchen exhaust fan to save a little money. We rarely use the fan. There is a sale at Camping World for the air conditioner and the installation. The vent is the standard 14" X 14" and that is what is required for the roof top unit. I'm scheduled for an estimate in a couple days. DW says to go ahead unless the cost is outrages! Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 02:48 PM   #2
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Keep us posted.
If you go to RV. Forum and scroll down to the Winnebago site, John Canfield has done that. I believe he posts here also. He's currently at GNR and may not be reading anything.

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Old 07-12-2010, 02:49 PM   #3
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http://http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_fo...?topic=32847.0

Check this out, John Canfield did just that
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Old 07-12-2010, 03:22 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RCtime View Post
http://http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_fo...?topic=32847.0

Check this out, John Canfield did just that
I just read John's post. Very interesting and he sounds satisfied. That helps me make a decision. Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 03:49 PM   #5
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I'm surprised. Our basement AC in the Itasca Suncruiser 35L seems to cool her down in no time flat, and just a 5 minute boost every 15 minutes or so keeps it cool. Not 105 degrees, but a good 95 degrees with 70% humidity, direct sun.

Just saying -- I assume you had the unit fully inspected and topped off. In any event, I hope you keep us posted on how the roof air works out.
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Old 07-12-2010, 03:58 PM   #6
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It is really amazing how widely coach owner satisfaction varies when it comes to their ability to stay cool. In hot, direct sun (our grandkids are in Buckeye, Az) count us among those who have a hard time keeping the coach much below 86 degrees inside.
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Old 07-12-2010, 04:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
I'm surprised. Our basement AC in the Itasca Suncruiser 35L seems to cool her down in no time flat, and just a 5 minute boost every 15 minutes or so keeps it cool. Not 105 degrees, but a good 95 degrees with 70% humidity, direct sun.

Just saying -- I assume you had the unit fully inspected and topped off. In any event, I hope you keep us posted on how the roof air works out.
Yes, the unit has been checked and is fine. If you do a search in this forum you will find many dissatisfied owners. I know of two people who have added roof air and according to John canfield's post he knows of others who have done the same thing. We were out recently and it was 108 and sunny. It was not fun. At night it was fine. I noticed a lot of heat coming from the end walls of the slides. You could barely touch the black trim around the windows. I don't want to give up using the coach just because of our normal summer temperatures. We have two months of this heat, along with humidity, and the rest of the year is heaven. In my opinion we have no real off season. No winterizing. We just need a little more cool in the coach and we'll be fine through these two months. Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 04:57 PM   #8
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The more window and patio awnings you have out helps alot. Also a windshield cover or sunscreen really helps to keep the inside temps down. But I'm with you, if your HOT it's not fun. Adding a roof air unit would surely cool the coach down. The only problem I see is how they would run the electrical wiring up to the roof unit.

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Old 07-12-2010, 05:38 PM   #9
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Sammie: If you would hit the "clicky" by Rich in Tampa and read it, you could find many ways to "wire" it.
A 13,500 btu ac will NORMALLY be okay on a dedicated (or not) 15 amp circuit.

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Old 07-12-2010, 05:45 PM   #10
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We live in Chandler, AZ and I thought our roof air just was not doing the job. Seemed to be blowing cold air but not cooling down our small motorhome. This past Saturday I brought it home and took cover off roof air and blew dirt out from condensor, then used the water hose. Lots of dirt and dust came out. Now it is working great, doing a good job of cooling our 22ft. Safari Damara. Its is a Carrier 13,500 BTU.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:13 PM   #11
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Winnebago basement air threads...

I put in a search for "Winnebago Basement Air" and found 104 Starter Threads and each one has numerous posts. I now know that there are more than a few owners complaining about the unit in real hot weather. One post said that Winnebago put in a higher efficiency unit starting in 2009. I don't know the details about that. Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:23 PM   #12
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Larger compressors in 2009...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
I'm surprised. Our basement AC in the Itasca Suncruiser 35L seems to cool her down in no time flat, and just a 5 minute boost every 15 minutes or so keeps it cool. Not 105 degrees, but a good 95 degrees with 70% humidity, direct sun.

Just saying -- I assume you had the unit fully inspected and topped off. In any event, I hope you keep us posted on how the roof air works out.
One of the posts in "Winnebago Basement Air" said that starting in 2009 the compressors were made larger. Each compressor went from 13500 to 15000. You lucked out! Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:38 PM   #13
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Keep us in the satisfied with basement air group. We have an 07 Vectra and our basement unit cools very well. We keep it at 78 degrees and sometimes we are downright cold. Last summer we thought we would hang out in Tucson during the inferno season (June, July and August) and found that the a/c kept the coach at about 80 degrees with the outside temps averaging 105-112 degrees. We have a dark coach with dark awnings. We did keep the awnings out and the night shades down on the sunny side of the coach and used our windshield cover.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David and Fran View Post
Keep us in the satisfied with basement air group. We have an 07 Vectra and our basement unit cools very well. We keep it at 78 degrees and sometimes we are downright cold. Last summer we thought we would hang out in Tucson during the inferno season (June, July and August) and found that the a/c kept the coach at about 80 degrees with the outside temps averaging 105-112 degrees. We have a dark coach with dark awnings. We did keep the awnings out and the night shades down on the sunny side of the coach and used our windshield cover.
One thing that is different in the 2008 Latitude...There are no day/night shades. There is one shade and I would describe it as being somewhere between a day and a night shade as far as opacity. Joe
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Old 07-12-2010, 07:18 PM   #15
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azloafer.....we live in Florida and regularly have humidity over 60%.....sometimes as high as 90%. Temps in the summer are normally in the mid 90's and higher. We're parked in the full sun. We can maintain no more than 80* or lower at mid day. A couple of suggestions you may consider before adding the roof air.
RVP (Coleman) has a plastic squirrel cage to replace the metal one. We've done that and had a difference in cooling. Not a huge diff. but a difference.
And, consider a dehumidifier inside the coach. That will make a difference when humidity is high too. And it's cheaper than adding another A/C unit.
Are you sure your second compressor is running? If you have it set for 76* and it drops to the set temp........when it comes back on I am thinking only the first compressor starts. I don't know what the trigger is for the 2nd compressor to restart.
Just some random A/C thoughts that may be of help to you.

I have a friend that just added a roof air in the same vent where you are planning on adding one. He's satisfied with the result.
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Old 07-13-2010, 12:30 AM   #16
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Quote:
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azloafer.....we live in Florida and regularly have humidity over 60%.....sometimes as high as 90%. Temps in the summer are normally in the mid 90's and higher. We're parked in the full sun. We can maintain no more than 80* or lower at mid day. A couple of suggestions you may consider before adding the roof air.
RVP (Coleman) has a plastic squirrel cage to replace the metal one. We've done that and had a difference in cooling. Not a huge diff. but a difference.
And, consider a dehumidifier inside the coach. That will make a difference when humidity is high too. And it's cheaper than adding another A/C unit.
Are you sure your second compressor is running? If you have it set for 76* and it drops to the set temp........when it comes back on I am thinking only the first compressor starts. I don't know what the trigger is for the 2nd compressor to restart.
Just some random A/C thoughts that may be of help to you.

I have a friend that just added a roof air in the same vent where you are planning on adding one. He's satisfied with the result.
It's easy to see the second compressor come on by watching the amp draw at the ONE PLACE panel. You can also here it click on if it's real quiet. The second compressor is always on when it is over 100, until the sun goes down. We could use the coach as a meat locker in the evening. The sun seems to be the problem. My coach is not white or real dark. It is a blend of various gray colors, but the sun is intense here. My DW still works so we are limited to weekends. When she retires we will be able to drive further and get into the higher altitude and cooler country. Right now there is not enough time for anything but short trips. Retirement is discussed each week, but she loves her job. Joe
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Old 07-13-2010, 12:59 AM   #17
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It is interesting to note that with the 2009 models Winnebago made the compressors more powerful. Also the basement air is no longer available in 2011 models. Winnebago is going to roof air. We really like the basement air when it is in the 80's or low 90's. It is very quiet and works very well then. I'll bet the '09's work much better. I was told that the 2009 model compressors each went from 13500 to 15000. That in itself should have made a difference. I'm sure Winnebago would not have made the 2009 change if there were no complaints. Joe
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Old 07-13-2010, 02:47 AM   #18
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We have had a 2003 Itasca Horizon 32' with the basement air. Never had a problem with cooling. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, in July, lots of humidity and heat.

Now we just picked up a new 2010 Journey Express 39n, not much time in it yet. (should be very similar to yours) But on our shake down cruise, it was in the high 80's, we had a picnic, door was open, people in and out all afternoon, a/c cycled on and off, but coach was cool all day.

Last week, I went in to do some work, interior temp was 99, coach was in full sun all day. I started the generator, turned on the a/c, lots of cool air was blowing in a few minutes. I was only there for about 20 minutes, but temps were down below 90 when I shut it all down.

I don't know about the differences between your model and ours, but in glancing at the underside of the a/c - heatpump unit, the new one seems much smaller than the old one on our 2003 Horizon.
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Old 07-13-2010, 01:38 PM   #19
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KIX: You do realize here in the southwest, the humidity is often 6 - 8%.
It was predicted to be 114 degrees here on Friday, but a cold front is coming through so the Weather Bureau lowered it to 111 degrees. It's too hot for the swimming pool during the day.
Basement air is great, but azloafer is about to get cooler and more comfortable.

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Old 07-13-2010, 07:12 PM   #20
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KIX: You do realize here in the southwest, the humidity is often 6 - 8%.
It was predicted to be 114 degrees here on Friday, but a cold front is coming through so the Weather Bureau lowered it to 111 degrees. It's too hot for the swimming pool during the day.
Basement air is great, but azloafer is about to get cooler and more comfortable.

Kerry
KERRY:

If he wants to install a roof A/C or even attach a 5 ton A/C unit to a trailer and tow it around to stay cool then I think he should do just that And if he wants to ignore any suggestions that is also his business.
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