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Old 07-15-2018, 03:33 PM   #1
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Unhappy AC seems worthless???

Have a 2012 Sunset Trails Reserve 20 ft. trailer. No slides. There is a 13500 BTU AC in middle of trailer. This is a Dometic AC. When running this AC on high it is so noisy that we cannot carry on a conversation in the trailer. This is one of the reasons we do not use the AC very much. There have been times when it is very warm and an AC is needed. We used the AC the other day. The temp outside was 90 and inside was 89. We were parked in the shade. The AC ran for 3 hours and was only able to bring the temp down to 79 inside the trailer. We kept the bathroom door shut and shut off other electrical items so as to give the AC maximum amperage. It would certainly seem that a 13500 BTU AC should be able to handle a trailer with less than 20 feet of living space.
Question - Has anyone else had this same problem or is is unique to our AC?
Thanks.
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Old 07-15-2018, 06:20 PM   #2
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Have you done any investigating? Here are a couple links. Maybe you can get some ideas there.
http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...ner-14010.html


http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...her-13933.html
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Old 07-15-2018, 08:42 PM   #3
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Angry AC seems worthless???

Thanks for sending the other threads. I did read them.
The trailer inside with the bathroom door shut is only 15 feet long and has no slides. If a 13500 can't cool that space than saying that the unit has air conditioning was false advertising.
I see that no one in the prior threads has mentioned the fact that the AC unit is so noisy that conversation is almost impossible. Has no one else experienced this?
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Old 07-16-2018, 10:03 PM   #4
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I also have a Dometic AC. Yes, it is noisy, but not too bad. Do you use it through the ceiling vents, or do you use the dump feature straight from the roof AC? That is much louder. I don’t generally use the dump.

It is better to start your AC early before it gets hot. It’s much easier on it and allows the air to cool quicker. It’s been my experience that the inside air, with one AC, will be about 20 degrees cooler than outside air. If you use a laser temp gun, the vent AC should be around 10-14 degrees cooler than inside air. The dump air, if you are using dump, is supposed to be around 20 degrees cooler. I do not reach the 20 degree mark. I stay around 15 from dump, and 10-12 from vents, compared to inside ambient air.

There are remedies if your temps are too high. Could be bad duct connections.
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Old 07-17-2018, 06:49 AM   #5
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If it’s not ducted and only has vents on front and rear of unit they are noisy. I had one of those in my FR Shamrock 21’. As far as keeping it cool, yours should cause mine did and it was a hybrid camper with fold out bed front and rear.
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Old 07-17-2018, 12:58 PM   #6
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AC seems worthless???

Thanks for the responses.
I do not have any ducts. The trailer is so very small and the "cold air" comes directly from the AC. Some from the front and some from the back. When I put my hand up to the air coming out it certainly does not feel cold.
When we camped the other day, toward evening, the outside temp began to drop and there was a pleasant breeze. The inside of the trailer with the AC running was staying hotter than than the outside.
I guess what I would like to know is if someone out there with as small a trailer as we have and a similarly sized AC is able to cool their trailer down in hot weather?
Thanks
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Old 07-17-2018, 01:05 PM   #7
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A 13.5 ac on a 20 ft. camper should keep it cool. I would have your ac checked. My previous camper was a 28 ft. 5th wheel with one slide and a 13.5 kept it cool.
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Old 07-17-2018, 03:10 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tabacinski View Post
Thanks for the responses.
I do not have any ducts. The trailer is so very small and the "cold air" comes directly from the AC. Some from the front and some from the back. When I put my hand up to the air coming out it certainly does not feel cold.
When we camped the other day, toward evening, the outside temp began to drop and there was a pleasant breeze. The inside of the trailer with the AC running was staying hotter than than the outside.
I guess what I would like to know is if someone out there with as small a trailer as we have and a similarly sized AC is able to cool their trailer down in hot weather?
Thanks
Are you sure it's set for cooling and not just the fan blowing?
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Old 07-17-2018, 07:48 PM   #9
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Our bedroom a/c unit was ducted wrong. The intake side was not separated from the cold outlet side. Recycling the cold air. We found this out when I had the unit replaced last year. Now the bedroom gets nice and cold. We own a 13 Rushmore Jefferson fifth wheel.
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Old 07-17-2018, 10:05 PM   #10
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AC seems worthless???

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I do have it on High Cool (LOL).
We have had numerous problems with this trailer since we bought it new (cap went from brown to white even after the dealer replaced it, electric jacks were finally removed because they stopped working, front jack broke on our second trip).
Never really had to use the AC much and the few times we did, it did not work well. I might take the roof cover off and take a look; otherwise I will have to take it in. Hopefully there is something wrong with it that can be fixed, and I do not have to replace the whole unit.
For anyone having problems with the leveling jacks - I removed the motors and just use the crank to put them down. Works fast and works great.
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Old 07-17-2018, 10:16 PM   #11
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My rear a/c unit was also incorrectly installed. Warm and cold air mixing from not installing a solid piece between the intake and outlet. The cut out piece it what I took out. Replaced with solid. Then sealed the unit with heat ducting tape.
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Old 07-22-2018, 04:28 PM   #12
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Not to be cute but have you cleaned the filters? I'm a residential contractor and have had many calls about units freezing up and it was dirty filters! I don't know if the can be serviced for coolant(Freon).
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Old 07-22-2018, 06:05 PM   #13
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Filter

Have you tried washing the filter? Ours gets really dirty every year. And, yes, it's noisy, but better than being hot. Plus it drowns out my husband's snoring.
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Old 07-22-2018, 07:06 PM   #14
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I don't remember the brands but our 32' Sunset Trail Reserve came with only one A/C tho it was wired for two. I had a 2nd one installed in the bedroom. It too was loud, sounded as if they had mounted it next to a brace and it was vibrating against the brace. They said they could not hear it. It also was a different model than the othe one. I told them we could hear it and could not sleep with it so it had to go and besides we wanted one that matched the other unit. They replaced it to our satisfaction with much less noise.
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Old 07-22-2018, 08:17 PM   #15
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Have you checked to see if the coils are clean. Here is a link I added a few months back. It made a big difference on our unit, AC blows cold now.

http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...ils-13112.html
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:10 AM   #16
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Low cooling capacity can be an indicator of a slow refrigerant gas leak. My 2005 Crossroads Cruiser still pumps out awesome cooling, but both my son and my sister have older units that don't cool very well. I suggest you have a refrigerant technician check your AC unit for leaks, and if necessary repair and recharge the refrigerant gas.
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