The Air Conditioner

[LittleDixie]

Missouri (like other states mentioned) is hot and humid in the summer, and without AC, the TD would be an oven. However, I don't want a permanent setup, just because of the weight and the compromise of the external shape, and/or loss of space, and I don't have to worry about condensation water handling, it just drips. This little unit ($99 from Aldi) actually uses the condensate water to spray the condensate on the coils to enhance it's efficiency. A "drain" would actually make it less efficient. The link below is a short video of my setup soon after I got it going. The PVC "stand" for the AC unit is to keep it off the ground, position it for optimum placement when hooked up, and also makes it easy pick up and carry around, secure when loaded in the car, and offers some protection of the condenser fins, etc. I guess I tend to camp at places that don't have stringent appearance standards because I've not had issues using it. My TD is based on a 5x8 Northern Tool trailer, so the little 5000 BTU unit keeps it quite cool even in the hottest weather. I have a 3D printer, so all of those red plastic fittings and ducts were printed to make this easier to hook up. The body of the shroud over the front of the unit, and baffles inside to separate the cold air from the return air, and the body of the piece that fits in the window is made of purple insulating foam board, glued together and wrapped in reflective flashing tape. The stretch wrap makes it easy to put the shroud on the front for use, and easy to cut off and pack the pieces away in a container for transport and storage.

P.S. That little unit also runs quite well (and efficiently) on a quiet inverter generator unit for use in isolated boondock sites.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7oV14tp88Lc7Fes97

[Dahlia47]

This is going to be my project this winter. Love everyone's setups! I see some of you have piping for intake and exhaust. When I am looking at the front of the a/c, what side(s) is the exhaust on? What am I missing? I don't know the ins and outs of an a/c unit lol

[Tom&Shelly]

This is going to be my project this winter. Love everyone's setups! I see some of you have piping for intake and exhaust. When I am looking at the front of the a/c, what side(s) is the exhaust on? What am I missing? I don't know the ins and outs of an a/c unit lol

Here is our setup Dahlia. (Before we added the roof to the teardrop.) Yet to be tested on the road, but we did run the AC last Fall, during an 80+ degree day.




That's a Cimate Right in the front utility compartment, with hoses to the headboard



Worked for an hour or two, and then we got a warning that the innards were freezing up. I think the problem was recirculating the air. We were blowing cold air out the upper vent and taking the return from the lower vent. As you can see, they are only a few inches apart, and it would have been better (if we could have done it) to have them across the cabin somehow.

Next time, I think we'll just leave the return hose off, so the air into the conditioner comes from outside. We'll crack the windows and fan vent in the cabin to let the air out as it warms.

Our intention is to leave the front (and maybe side) cargo doors open while the AC runs



So it'll be well ventilated.

Incidentally, we decided to build it in so when we travel across mid-west states in the Summer to visit my family in Upstate New York, we could make single night stops (at sites with shore power, to run the AC) without a lot of set-up. We bought the Climate Right to save time. If I had it to do over (and we knew about the Pandemic, and the extra shop-time it would offer) I'd've tried modifying a window AC the way Shadow Catcher did. if the Climate Right craps out, that's probably what we'll do.

On the other hand, if we decide at some point to stick to the West, and camp in the dry deserts, we may try building a swamp cooler, which can run on the battery (but only in very dry climates). If you are interested, you can google on folks who have built swamp coolers (evaporation coolers) for campers.

Tom

[featherliteCT1]

This is going to be my project this winter. Love everyone's setups! I see some of you have piping for intake and exhaust. When I am looking at the front of the a/c, what side(s) is the exhaust on? What am I missing? I don't know the ins and outs of an a/c unit lol

air_conditioner.jpg (30.47 KiB) Viewed 1158 times

Above depicts a typical window AC unit.
Notice that when the window is closed down onto the unit, the outside air and inside air never mix, because there is also a partition wall inside the unit separating the front of the unit from the rear of the unit.

[Modstock]

I've gone through 3 A.C. units in our TD.
Copper lines broke on all 3.
These window units simply can't handle the bouncy and vibes of a trailer. We gave up and just went with a fan.


Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk

[nemoskull]

i buried mine in the nose with cutouts on the floor for intake with exhaust and a second intake on the side. imgur link https://imgur.com/a/nLKeLZM