2nd ac

[Dallasrules]

I was wondering what is involved in adding an AC unit to my 1998 carri-lite 5th wheel. I know there is power in the bedroom vent because there is currently a super fan there. I would just want the inside controls not tied to the thermostat and non ducted.
My questions are
What buts do the roofmounts come in? The vent is only about 3 feet over the bed.
My rv is currently 30 amp. Would I need to upgrade to 50 amp to run 2 units and what would be involved in the upgrade?
Is there anything else I need to consider?

[OhioMark]

Originally Posted by Dallasrules

I was wondering what is involved in adding an AC unit to my 1998 carri-lite 5th wheel. I know there is power in the bedroom vent because there is currently a super fan there. I would just want the inside controls not tied to the thermostat and non ducted.

My questions are

What buts do the roofmounts come in? The vent is only about 3 feet over the bed.

My rv is currently 30 amp. Would I need to upgrade to 50 amp to run 2 units and what would be involved in the upgrade?

Is there anything else I need to consider?

Quick note. A vent fan is usually only 12 volts DC. You need s dedicated 110v AC line

[OhioMark]

Originally Posted by OhioMark

Quick note. A vent fan is usually only 12 volts DC. You need s dedicated 110v AC line

Addendum response. You really cannot upgrade 30 to 50 amp without rewiring the trailer. Your amp set up would require upgrades that require pulling apart the trailer. However I’ve come across a couple blogs where someone added a second 30 amp line for the AC. Check this out

https://youtu.be/G_BlVOSQAZY

[dagst1]

As stated you have a 30 amp service so the front vent would not be wired for 110. That said you would have to upgrade to 50 service. And then wire the vent for 110. Could be done but at what cost? And believe roof air conditioners start at 7 or 7500 B.T.U.s . What size Air do you have now? Also what size is your camper?

[OhioMark]

I forgot to add, the ac unit runs around 100 pounds, so you would need to determine if the vent could support that additional weight concentrated in that area of the roof. I'm thinking..probably not but you can check with the manufacturer.

[Dallasrules]

Thanks for all of the information. Here's what I found out.

First my trailer is a 34' carri-lite 5th wheel with one 12' slide. Rv guy told me one unit is good for up to 30 or 31 '. My trailer is 20 years old. Don't know if the ac is original, so rv guy suggests checking output on it.

It would cost about $2k to change to 50amp and add a new 2nd ac.

Work around option. Running a 110 line to the roof vent and dropping a 110 cord. Using a heavy duty extension cord to plug in 2nd ac separately. Cost for wiring. $150. My rv guy doesn't want to mess with a used ac due to unknowns, but I don't want to spend $800 on a new one.

How do I figure out what but rating my current ac is?

[OhioMark]

What do you mean by rating? BTUs, amps?

[dagst1]

If by "rating" you mean the BTUs then that information should be on the unit probably under the outside cover. You or your repair guy would have to remove the cover and there should be a information plate.

Our cruiser is 32 ft. with 3 slides and we have a 15000 Ac. It is towards the back. Something we learned years ago and it works for us is to leave the fan on all the time. High during the day and low at night. Yes it is noisy but you get used to it. To us it keeps the air circulating. When we have the fan set to auto when its off it gets "stuffy" but with the fan on it stays comfortable. We set the thermostat between 70 -75 and we have had 100+ temps and we stay comfortable now mind you the compressor may not turn off for long periods of time with that kind of heat .

As I stated this works for us. Not saying you will get the same results. I do see a lot of campers with 2 AC units.

[jmnsn57]

How about a portable AC that runs off of an extension cord run through an outdoor storage compartment. They run on 15A, vent through a duct to the outdoors, and collect evaporation moisture in a catch pan. Trailer is connected to the 30A and extension cord is on one of the 20A outlets in the box. Put one of these in my moms house and it cools the upstairs of a 2200 sq. ft. house down to 68 degrees given enough time with no problems.

[dagst1]

One more thought. You have a older camper and the AC could be original to the camper and may just be low on Freon. If you can find a AC company that will work on a RV AC have it checked to make sure it working at maximum efficiency. I will say on a previous camper we had a hard time finding someone to work on one without involving a dealer. Again that was here there may be different.

[Gregpriddy]

We had a 2nd AC last summer. They were able to to run the wiring down a closet in the bathroom and installed a plug to the outside of the trailer. I bought a 20 AMP HEAVY DUTY EXTENSION CORD. So we can plug the 30 amp in and also plug the second air into the 20 amp in the box and have had no issues running both

[gregtx]

We lost power at our house for a few days, after a storm. I have a 4k generator, so went to home depot, got a 12k free standing A/C (not a window unit). It uses a 8" hose to get rid of hot air. We have had bad luck with our dometic a/c, so brought our "free standing" a/c from home. I run the exhaust duct to window, takes up very little floor space and works like a charm. I run an extension cord from post, so i don't plug into RV outlet. So, we use both RV a/c and free standing when needed, sometime, just one or the other. No need to worry about 30 or 50 amp, since free standing a/c plugs into post, with extension cord.