aircon (1 Viewer)

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Hugh Jardon

Deleted User
i have been tempted by those aircon units that fit on the roof, i do not want a load of stuff in the van or under the floor.

has anyone installed a roof only unit and are they much use?

with the weather this year i would love to have the need to use an aircon but i am not sure it will happen

however i am wondering if there will be some good sales of them due to not many folks buying cos of the weather

any advise would be great
 

Jim

Ringleader
Jul 19, 2007
36,191
128,631
Sutton on Sea, UK
Funster No
1
MH
Adria Panel Van.
Exp
Since 1988
Some people that have them never use them, others swear by them. The weight,(so high up) cost, noise and juice-use always put me off them. I lived in Hong Kong for two years, always turned the aircon off and the fans on, much better.A couple of small fans in a van cool you down great. I think aircons are one of those things that you can very easily do without until you buy one, and then you will wonder how you managed without it:eek:
 
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H

Hugh Jardon

Deleted User
Some people that have them never use them, others swear by them. The weight,(so high up) cost, noise and juice-use always put me off them. I lived in Hong Kong for two years, always turned the aircon off and the fans on, much better.A couple of small fans in a van cool you down great. I think aircons are one of those things that you can very easily do without until you buy one, and then you will wonder how you managed without it:eek:

that is so true in the car

the mrs complained it got a bit hot in the back on a journey when we had sun!!!! she would love to complain now i think

if i could get a good deal then it would be good to have for those one off times when one is needed.........hopeful i know!

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camcondor

Free Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,034
480
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A Class
From the other side, (those who can't live without) perspective: our old van, a small Autosleeper Ravenna, had no cab or habitation aircon, and it was dire - we used an electric fan in the living area, just about bearable, but hot humid nights were just awful. The cab fans (and windows) worked ok, but we both missed our aircon terribly, as our cars have had aircon for years and years now (cannot live without!)

When I ordered the Adria Vision, I specified a roof mount aircon - theory goes that cool air drops down below hot air, thereby cooling more effectively if in the roof. We have a 2kw Waeco Easy Cool - just the 240v version. There is a 12v / 240v version which is hugely expensive, difficult to wire up and massively battery hungry (about 10 minutes on a 110 leisure!!) The 240v version is simple to fit - fits in a heki rooflight space - and just needs neat and careful sealing and a good electrical connection, no funny gas release procedures etc.

Our unit was Dead On Arrival, sadly, the dealer was shocking and the fitment of the unit was actually dreadful, despite it being a simple thing to do, so luckily in a way it was Dead - warranty swop out done expertly by Conrad Andersen in Birmingham, highly recommended, very professional. Now delighted with new unit, it is an aircon or a heater, and very effective. Cost around £1200 I think.

I would never willingly have another M/H or car without an aircon!!::Smile::Smile:

Laurie
 
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H

Hugh Jardon

Deleted User
From the other side, (those who can't live without) perspective: our old van, a small Autosleeper Ravenna, had no cab or habitation aircon, and it was dire - we used an electric fan in the living area, just about bearable, but hot humid nights were just awful. The cab fans (and windows) worked ok, but we both missed our aircon terribly, as our cars have had aircon for years and years now (cannot live without!)

When I ordered the Adria Vision, I specified a roof mount aircon - theory goes that cool air drops down below hot air, thereby cooling more effectively if in the roof. We have a 2kw Waeco Easy Cool - just the 240v version. There is a 12v / 240v version which is hugely expensive, difficult to wire up and massively battery hungry (about 10 minutes on a 110 leisure!!) The 240v version is simple to fit - fits in a heki rooflight space - and just needs neat and careful sealing and a good electrical connection, no funny gas release procedures etc.

Our unit was Dead On Arrival, sadly, the dealer was shocking and the fitment of the unit was actually dreadful, despite it being a simple thing to do, so luckily in a way it was Dead - warranty swop out done expertly by Conrad Andersen in Birmingham, highly recommended, very professional. Now delighted with new unit, it is an aircon or a heater, and very effective. Cost around £1200 I think.

I would never willingly have another M/H or car without an aircon!!::Smile::Smile:

Laurie

is this the one?

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camcondor

Free Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,034
480
East Midlands
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23
MH
A Class
It is indeed!! I can't recommend them enough, BTW, - they didn't have to fix up the dealers mess, but they did and in fact also saved us a very long trip back to the dealer in Herne Bay (we live about 30 miles from Birmingham!). All at no cost to us at all. One bright spot in our nightmare new motorhome purchase!! :Smile::Smile:

Laurie

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Hugh Jardon

Deleted User
It is indeed!! I can't recommend them enough, BTW, - they didn't have to fix up the dealers mess, but they did and in fact also saved us a very long trip back to the dealer in Herne Bay (we live about 30 miles from Birmingham!). All at no cost to us at all. One bright spot in our nightmare new motorhome purchase!! :Smile::Smile:

Laurie

they look great but i guess i wont need one this year!!!

will see how the pennies go ready for next year

must admit we never needed aircon in the caravan so i am sure we can manage without, unless a bargain comes along......:winky:
 

camcondor

Free Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,034
480
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I suppose just like Jimjam said, no-one needs an aircon till they've had one.....then life becomes impossible without one!!
I looked about for used units when we had the old van, but never found one for sale - people either tend to sell the roofmounted units on with the van or arrange for it to be fitted onto a new van when they p/ex. Some people use a cheaper option - one of the household 240v floor standing units available for around £200 (and cheaper on ebay!), but they take up floor space which we certainly don't have to spare!

So with the Waeco we feel like this :Cool: but its quite a price to pay.

Laurie
 

Road Runner

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Jul 26, 2007
1,143
1,445
Europe
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16
MH
yes
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Since before Motorhomefun
On the plus side for AC we use it in the UK set to low if we leave our 2 Great Danes alone in the vehicle on a day where it looks like it could warm up.

We has 2 units but on a 34 footer though but in a very small unit (UK or EU unit) a roof mounted one may prove to much?

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C.L.S

Trader - Service & Repairs
Jul 22, 2007
438
60
Funster No
11
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
Not long enough
Have a Dometic roof mounted unit , only really use it when the weather is REALLY hot :eek: which is,nt that often :frowny: It was already installed on a van i brought , so i take it with me everytime i swap my van :eek:...... It,s being re-fitted in September to my next van . I personally wound,nt spend over £1000 for it when like Jim says a fan will keep you cool
 
Aug 16, 2007
457
3
Funster No
111
Dometic

We have a Dometic and are quite happy with it.
We recently aquired this unit when we changed our camper and we have used it to warm us up and to cool us down.
The only draw back is that it is mains only and therefore we can only use it when on a campsite.
Hope this helps, Graham:RollEyes:
 

Rapide561

Free Member
Aug 5, 2007
471
167
Leeds and Lake Garda
Funster No
64
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
8
Hi

I think it depends where and how you use the van - re the air con.

After driving from Italy to the UK late April this year, the journey through Switzerland and the biggest part of France was quite uncomfortable - so the next van HAD to have cab aircon.

As for the habitation side, and having slept in uncomfortable temperatures in Italy and in France, I decided on the same decision. I am having a Dometic B2200 fitted.

I have seen the unit in operation on a caravan and I very cheekily asked the owner to demonstrate it. My motorhome was parked next to his caravan and I could not hear his aircon whilst in my van. The noise levels within the caravan were minimal.

Russell

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Aug 16, 2007
457
3
Funster No
111
Quiet

Hi

I think it depends where and how you use the van - re the air con.

After driving from Italy to the UK late April this year, the journey through Switzerland and the biggest part of France was quite uncomfortable - so the next van HAD to have cab aircon.

As for the habitation side, and having slept in uncomfortable temperatures in Italy and in France, I decided on the same decision. I am having a Dometic B2200 fitted.

I have seen the unit in operation on a caravan and I very cheekily asked the owner to demonstrate it. My motorhome was parked next to his caravan and I could not hear his aircon whilst in my van. The noise levels within the caravan were minimal.

Russell

Yes, I can agree with that.
They are very quiet.
Graham
 

camcondor

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Jul 27, 2007
1,034
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Arguably, fans certainly do not keep you as cool as an aircon!! Oterwise fans wouldn't cost 20 quid and roof top aircons around £1500 - £2000!!! Fans just move hot air around quickly! :Smile:

Its like everything else, pay your money / take your choice. Those who don't have them probably never miss them, some of us couldn't live without them. On the plus side , the Waeco unit also doubles as a heater when its frezzing, but with Webasto diesel heating as well as Truma ducted hot air, it is probably overkill in our van.
I think we'll certainly move ours with a move to a new van as its a big outlay to make on every occasion which could be better spent on new and interesting toys :roflmto:

Ours is pretty quiet and we have used it on UK sites with no problem. May be different if squashed up with barely space between vans as I believe some euro sites can be, but I guess we wouldn't hang about long in such conditions. Having just the Mains version is no drawback at all if you have a cab aircon - ours cools quite a lot of the van down and the seating area is all up front, so if we had passengers the cab aircon would reach them too.

Laurie
 
Last edited:
Aug 16, 2007
457
3
Funster No
111
Very little noise polution

Our Dometic makes no more noise than a fan heater, therefore no trouble with neighbour's when on a campsite!::bigsmile:

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F

fordy

Deleted User
Hi all i think here in the UK we are still in the stone age with regards to air-con i have it in my cars and home, but that is only because once you have it in your car and you get home on a hot day:rofl: get out of a cold car and walk in to a hot house that made me go for a\con at home. as for the RV i use it on low even if its cold out as it dehumidifies the air and stops the condensation, i would go for it if you are keeping the van money well spent:Cool:

FORDY:Smile:
 

johnsandywhite

Free Member
Jul 29, 2007
1,720
19
Doncaster/Spain
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31
MH
'A' Class RV &
Exp
11
:RollEyes: I have had Air Con in all our RV's. I have only ever used them once on our last RV the Newmar when parked in Florida. I prefer to acclimatise to the conditions and just open windows when necessary. I think people go to FAR when it comes to COOLING and HEATING. Just my H&HO. :roflmto::roflmto::roflmto:
 
Aug 14, 2007
526
104
Devizes
Funster No
101
MH
Mobilvetta K-Yacht 80
Exp
Since 2005
Really interesting to see varying responses to this question. I always thought everyone would want aircon. Obviously I was wrong!

For me I have had car aircon for years and also have it at home, but only in our main room which has a 12ft patio door, which even with an outside automatic awning still gets very hot.

The RV like most has cab aircon which is on all the time and roof aircon which is used rarely but is godsend when required.

A couple of years ago I bought a heavily kitted out Landrover for survey work that did not have aircon and after a long day and 500 miles I fell asleep for no more than a second, but it was enough to frighten me and make me replace the vehicle.

I know a lot of people who have aircon in vehicles and do not use it, but for me as mentioned previously the dehumidifying makes me less tired at the end of day.

Personally I would not be without it and if as mentioned you can get it installed for £1200, go for it.

Regards

Chris

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oldun

Free Member
Mar 23, 2008
747
162
St Neots
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1,917
MH
VW Campervan
Exp
Since 2001
The rate at which heat is lost depends upon the speed of the air flow over the object (Reynolds number if you wish to be technical) so by moving the air around you can increase the cooling effect. We all know that we feel colder on the windy side of a building. (This statement is true if the main source of heat loss is by convection which is normally true).

Another way of thinking about the cooling effect of moving air is to use the wind chill factor. If there is a wind chill factor of 6 degrees then we will feel as cold as if the air was stationary but at a temperature of 6 degrees lower.

However fans can do nothing to help with the humidity, only aircon can help here.

It's strange that people will pay thousands to watch the usual diet of trashy TV programmes but seem amazed at others paying similar amounts for aircon.

Fortunately. given the necessary resources, we are all free to make the choice that suits us.
 

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