Newbie ac question

[Coroda]

Hi all,
Please excuse the complete newbie question. First motorhome on order delivery April 2018, we have specified a Truma Aventa Comfort AC unit.
What’s everyone opinions on AC?
Is it required ? Money well spent? Just a noisy waste of cash?
As newbies we plan to visit campsites throughout Europe in the summer months so very keen on feedback before we actually spend, especially on the specific model in question.
Thanks in advance

 

[tacr2man]

AC is well worth it when its hot and you want a goods nights sleep
when you expect to be having a long drive the next day . The caveat is that the EHU in a fair few especially European sites not of enough ampage to run larger units. I have one US unit which needs quite a lot of power and a smaller euro Waeco unit that needs less to cover all bases. You should be OK with the Truma as it only needs about 6 amps max on start up .

 

[Reallyretired]

Frequently travel Europe in the summer months and have never felt the need for AC. Its drawbacks are that it needs EHU so no good on aires, its noisy so may disturb sleep rather than aiding it. Its also heavy so eats into payload.

A good fan type roof vent and intelligent use of sunblinds seems sufficient in most cases. Cab aircon is a big plus though.

 

[Coroda]

Thanks for the thoughts so far......only problem now is it’s a 50-50 split!

 

[MikeD]

We put one on our Autotrail FB.

We travel for around six months of the year, mostly Spain. Usually April - June and September to December

In four years of ownership I think we used it about 10 times.

They are heavy so eat into the payload and a bit noisy at night.

But if you travel in southern Spain etc in July and August it would be a necessity. We saw 38c at midnight in central Spain in August a few years ago.

 

[Richard n Ann]

We avoid Spain in mid summer, far too hot, and expensive. We go in the spring and autumn.

I've recently finished a 12v ceiling fan board with PWM speed control. With 4 x 120mm axial fans It fits in the skylight, uses little power (less than the endless breeze), almost silent when slowed down, weighs bugger all and cost less than 50 quid to make. Yet to be used in anger but it sucks in plenty of cooler outside air just like the previous mains one I adapted. Great at night running slow or turned up in the daytime.

 

[TerryL]

When the weather is hot hot hot and you need to cool down habitation aircon is almost worth killing for.

BUT

It is very heavy on energy useage and you can forget your batteries running it. You will need a hookup of at least 6 amps and as has already been said that's usually the max you get anywhere in Europe, so you'll be limited to the bigger and more expensive sites if you want to use it.

We've used ours in anger about 4 times in nearly 9 years of owning the van and personally I wouldn't bother having it on any future replacement (it came with the van). Instead a good reversible 12v fan in one of the skylights in my opinion is much more useful (as per post above). And a lot lighter! Recently bought an Endless Breeze but not had chance to try it out in anger yet.

 

[RandallC]

Hi Coroda & Welcome

We have AC but have only ever used a couple of times, largely in what we'd consider extreme temps. 34'C+ and only then for a few hours prior to settling down for the night. Ahh just remembered using it a few times as well to soak up excess moisture due to very wet walking in the UK.

On balance its noisy, if its fitted on the van you buy then ok if its not you really need to give a fair bit of thought to justifying the expenditure.

will be interesting to see other views.

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[Coroda]

Thanks for everyone’s input, we are starting to lean towards vent fans and saving some money to boot......next question would be can anyone recommend the best vent fan system?
Regards

 

[TerryL]

Sure I read a mention on here about fitting an Endless Breeze in a skylight aperture, but of course I can't find it. Anybody else know?