Ram ProMaster RV Camper Van Conversion - Portable Air Conditioner DIY Campervan Portable Air Conditioner Installation We originally installed a 6000 BTU window air conditioner in the van, but it was not up to the task... especially in this Alabama heat. You can read about that part of the project on this page. So we ordered a new 14000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner from Amazon and it arrived 2 days later thanks to Amazon Prime. Since we had already installed an exhaust vent in the side of then van, that made this installation go very quickly. All we had to do was position the unit in the only practical place it would go, hook up the drains and exhaust and fire it up. Even though that sounds simple, it took about 2 hours to complete. Step 1 was positioning the unit and securing it. Since it sits on little casters, we didn't want it rolling around as we drove the van. A quick and easy solution was to use a strap to hold it in place. We installed some screw eyes then strapped it down.

It doesn't budge a bit when we are driving. Step 2 was to hook up the drains and the exhaust. A quick trip to the local hardware store took care of the drains. We bought a "Y" hose so we could run the top drain (for the A/C part) and the bottom drain (for the heater part) out one tube through the van floor. Thankfully, washing machine hoses use the same fitting as the A/C so the hoses were ready made and in stock. The exhaust hose routes the hot air to the outside. The unit take air from inside the camper and uses it to cool the compressor, the result is very hot exhaust air. The hose that came with the unit does the job but it is not insulated so it put outs a lot of heat inside the van. No worries, we had plenty of the UltraTouch insulation left so we covered up the exhaust hose. We built a little angled box to deflect the heat from the hose out the side of the van, otherwise we would have had to bend the hose 90°. We used foam insulation that has a radiant barrier on one side to fabricate the box.

It fits the 12" exterior vent and the 6" exhaust hose. Now all the heat goes outside. Step 3 was to turn it on and enjoy the nice cold air! Even with 14000 BTUs, the rear of the van would be the last to get cool because of how the air circulates around the inside of the van (it tends to loop in the wheelchair area). An easy fix was a small fan that blows the cold air directly to the back of the van. central air conditioning units for apartmentsThis setup keeps the inside of the van about 70° when the outside is in the 90s. ac unit cleaning solutionWe do use insulation on the windows because that generates the most heat. ac unit doesn't turn offAll of the windows are covered a radiant barrier (Reflectix) and we use a curtain to divide the cab area from the rest of the van.

It is not necessary to try to cool the cab on those extremely hot days. In milder temps, we don't use the curtain. It is a shame the 6000 BTU window unit wouldn't work when mounted near the floor. Oh well, we sacrifice a little floor space for a very efficient air conditioner. Another bonus is we are still under 9' tall so we can go still through the drive thru at Chick-Fil-A! If we had put an RV style roof mounted A/C on the van, we would be over 9 feet. A little advice if you are adding an A/C to your RV or van... buy the SquareTrade warranty if it is available to you. We bought the 3 year extended warranty and it kicks in after the manufacturer's warranty runs out. It covers the unit for repair or replacement and covers shipping both ways. It was roughly $46 for the 3 year warranty on this A/C, so for about $15 a year, we are covered! That being said, I hope I never have to use either warranty! What does 3 + 9 = RV and Marine Solar Power SolutionsIf you're going camping, or just want to cool a small room down without running the actual air conditioner, this DIY portable unit can get the job done.

We're no strangers to DIY AC units, but I really like this one for its portability. You'll need to attach a PC fan to the top of a large protein shake container, then cut a hole in the side of the canister and insert a portion of a water bottle to direct the cold air into your room. Then, strap a battery to the side of the unit, wire up the fan, and put some ice packs inside. The fan will suck in warm air, cool it over the ice, and blow the cooled air out of the side. If you don't have ice handy, just pouring some cold water in the container would create an evaporative cooling effect to achieve basically the same result. It's not going to cool an entire house, but it's pretty simple to build, and should at least keep a tent comfortable.Cold Air Fan from Reused Plastic Bottles | RV Air conditioner is used on recreational vehicles (RVs), or on boat roofs (also known as rooftop air conditioner).Frankly speaking, it belongs on land, and in water… I mean “on” water.I park it under Marine ACs, just to give it a home of some sort.O.K.

Let’s get on to the… One important thing to note about RV air conditioners is, manufacturers hardly give out the details of the EER, and SEER values of the unit.Maybe because we hardly use it. Yes, that makes sense – at least to the masses of air conditioning users.However, you can still evaluate the EER value using this simple relationship:EER =Btu/hour ÷ watts of required electrical power inputThat is one of the most important criteria that you have to use in selecting a range of RV air conditioners.There is more to a rooftop air conditioner;all rooftop air conditioners are air cooledyour cooling (and/or heating) option for rooftop ACs ranges from, 5,000 Btu/hour to as large of 15,000 Btu/hour.So, you can cool an approximate area of 10 feet by 50 feet of a recreational vehicle, or boatweight of this unit will be around 100 lbs (or 45 kg). So, installation must be performed by least 2 personsthe overall design is wide, and short, forming an aerodynamically shaped structure.

Very useful for lowering air resistance while in motion.Manufacturers will have two shroud height types of an RV AC. The normal height, and the slim, or low profile typewidth and length of these units is normally 14 1/4” by 14 1/4”, to accommodate for standard vent opening of an RV, or boat roofrooftop air conditioners are designed with cooling only, cooling with optional heating through a heat strip, and air conditioner with reverse valve – to act as a heat pump.Heat strips are normally sold separately, to the air conditioning unithang on, you can’t just cool, or heat space using mechanical air conditioners, as there are RV evaporative coolers, useful in dry, and warm climates.But that is not the main topic here. It belongs somewhere else. However, it is good to know the options you have for marine air conditioningyou will often find manufacturers quote rooftop air conditioners with ducted, or non ducted term.Ducted RV air conditioners (or rooftop ACs) have air registers separate to the air conditioning unit.

Non ducted units have all, in a single shroud unit.Choose the former setup if your room is quite large, and the latter for small roomscovers are available for these units, should you wish to store it for a long periodrotary, or scroll compressor is used for this air conditioning unitaccumulator, will be an almost standard installation to the unit – as you can perform pump down operation easilythere is a minor drawback to RV air conditioners, where a substantial number of those, come with a mechanical, or manual thermostatimportant fittings are made of corrosion resistant material, and the drain pan is made of plastic material.I find this feature very useful, especially when exposed in salt-saturated, warm and moist air. The perfect combination for rust :-)if moist air is an issue with air conditioning on water, then bacteria will also be an issue, and hence the need of non organic filters – to prevent “healthy” growth of unwanted neighbours You have two options;using direct power supply if you’re docked at jetty, or parked in a campsiteor using a generator.

It is good to oversize the generator by 19% to the actual power requirement of the RV air conditioner Detailed installation procedure for an RV air conditioner (or rooftop unit), varies from a manufacturer to another, but the general installation techniques should follow the following steps,make sure that you have provision to place the AC on your roof.I don’t think that this should be an issue, as boats, and recreational vehicles come with this feature as standardsketch, and prepare power supply route (from generator and/or power socket) to the RV air conditioner locationsize and select the air conditioner, as per your requirement.Make sure your AC can fit in the roof openinginstall the air conditioning unit snugly within the available space,install the generator at designated space in your boat, or RV,complete the installation through completion of wiring, and testing.NOTE: Do not perform wiring tasks if you’re not qualified to do so. All wiring should be performed when power supply is isolated