Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

We're taking a trip in January to Disney and a few other spots down there, it'll be the first test run so I'll let you know how it turns out. It's wired and plumbed, and a coworker is going to evacuate it this weekend.

In other news I'm on my final push to finish everything for that trip. Propane hardlines are in, wrapped up the final pieces of AC wiring, ands is final install of the counter sink and cabinets. Grey water system is in, as is half of the fresh water system (faucet done but not shower). I used a section of 6" well casing for my 'tank' which all told holds about 10 gallons. Drains and vents perfect when the trailers level, or draining to an external sewage connection. Though it tends to 'burp' if it's closed and the trailer isn't leveled. I'm using a pressure tank on the freshwater side. It provides about a gallon and a half of pressurized water in reserve without the pump on or any inputs to the system. Hopefully that evens out pressure fluctautions from the pump/filter/heater. Other than the external city water connection I'll just be drawing fresh from blue Aquitainer tanks with the Rv pump. They hold 7 gallons apiece which balances perfectly with the grey tank size. Picked up a 'refurb' external on demand water heater, and ordered a ARB fridge freezer, and teetering on a Dickerson furnace purchase right now. I should be building my seating/lower bunk and getting deliver of the rest of the pieces this week. We'll see how it goes.

I'll post some pics here in the next few days.

Cheers.

Got the heat pump evacuated and charged much easier than I expected. . At first it was tripping my breaker (15Amp dual AFCI/GFCI) which concerned me, that maybe they weren't true to specs or I had an issue on install or shipping. Brought it home to troubleshoot and connected it to my Honda generator to eliminate the extension cords. Turned over without issue, apparently the combination of initial use and the voltage drop on the long extension cords didn't go together well. My ammeter shows it as true to specs only pulling ~5 amps. Cooled the trailer quick, and sucked abunch of humidity with it. That said I'm only dealing with a 10 degree change its high 70's and the thermostat only has set points between about 60 and 80. Finished a bunch of other random items. But thought I'd post on the heat pump.

Trying a new upload method... A few photos of the sink; both it and the counter are ikea.

Flush mount window.

Epoxied floor... (Pain in the $&@) had to pull everything out for it, mostly because it wasn't my original plan. You can see my plumbing area, how the electric conduit and AC power center is ran in the walls, and the edge of the loft bed supports.



Plumbing cubby before everything was done, you can see the pump and the edge of the pressure tank its mounted on. That's under the counter, left of the shower if you look back at my original layout plan.

This is our fridge/freezer; fits in the cabinet on a slide out. It's the largest ARB makes.



Interior Heat pump unit.


Amp draw of the heat pump (~5 amps).

These were all random photos I've had. Now that I can upload easier I'll get some better detail on things. As well as post some hindsight thoughts on items for anyone interested.

EvenOlder wrote:I would surely appreciate any pics and/or notes about your mini-split AC system.
I'm looking to do the same (Sarasota FL camping!) in a 7x16

Thanks-

The mini split I bought off amazon after shopping around for a cheap diy install it's a pioneer (highseer.com) 21.5 SEER rating 9k unit 120VAC. the biggest issue I found was finding a high seer value with 120 vice 240. For the price I could t find a better option.

Install was moderately straight if you are reasonably competent which if your building your RV/CTC I assume you are. Though their directions suck. I ran mine on a mostly dedicated circuit, with only one other outlet, which will likely never see use, with exterior disconnect switch. Code calls for a completely dedicated circuit but since I only have 2 on the trailer I didn't want to give it up completely. That and the low amp draw doesn't really necessitate a dedicated line.

Refrigerate lines were all pre-flared and as simple as tightening the fittings. Though bending the exterior copper was a little tricky with my mounting spot. We have an AC tech at work who helped evacuated the system. Which took all of 20 minutes though I was delayed a while due to needing a fitting for his manifold. Once evac'd and confirmed no leaks you just open a valve and your good to go. No need to service the system with refrigerant.

It switches from heat to cool on its own to maintain set temp. Is super quiet both inside and out. As in the swamp insects and owls are louder than it quiet. If I were the AC company I'd start manufacturing for the RV industry as a drop in rooftop replacement because they are outclassed by several generations. We'll be at fort de soto near st Pete next week if you cared to actually see it in person.

Good info. For my 6 x14 (actually 6 x12 after deducting galley space in back) my 5000 window unit works fine. So I am going to watch the 9000 BTU Pioneer unit from your link. It is on sale now for $598. But I have priority purchases right now. Others have reported success with the mini splits also.

WYC20 Pioneer 120 volt 9,000 btu inverter & heat pump. Cost around $900? With or without copper lines?

I have 9,000 unit different brand for a few years now, average power use 160 watts per hour when it's 85 outside, cooling my 7 x 18 trailer to 72F. Yes 120 volt almost impossible to find, but now there are 5-6 brands including LG. I installed my unit inside under my bed, head unit at my feet above my bed. I was worried unit would not handle traveling well, "bouncing down the road" but have close to 10k miles now. My unit runs 100% on solar, can even start with I think 1,000 watt PSW inverter.

Why are you looking at heater, your unit is rated to heat down to 5F ??

Mini split is my must have item.

Cheers ottct

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com

PS the RV industry is gonna stay with its 50 year old stuff, roof top ac and flooded batteries for quite some time. Almost nobody has a mini in a rv, bus or trailer.

Great video to watch

https://youtu.be/qI5IrR8PceU

9000 BTU, 120V at $598 plus installation cost.
https://www.highseer.com/high-seer-inve ... 09al5.html

SEER 15 my friend and it does appear to come with 15' copper lines.

The op said his unit was SEER 21.5 so it's a slightly different model, but however still a very good deal.

One BIG DIFFERANCE, between this unit and more expensive units like Fujitsu at $2079.00

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Fujitsu-Air-Conditioners/9RLFFH-9000-BTU-26-SEER-Ductless-Heat-Pump-System/52507.ac?gclid=CjwKEAiAkvmzBRDQpozmt-uluCQSJACvCd1lrAsAGvwi0CMJM8ozuDfXgiZYefhoXcmSxvi1W5xXShoChP_w_wcB

There is also now a SEER 33 model WOW at $1795.20

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Fujitsu-Air-Conditioners/9RLS3-9000-BTU-33-SEER-Ductless-Mini-Split-Heat-Pump/52509.ac?catId=cat1028&mainCat=&subCat=&trail=68442:33.00

is that it only gives you 5500 btu heating at 17F vs expensive unit gives you 10,000 Btu at 5F. The same applies to the cooling at up to 123F - for example most all roof top or home or window ac units no longer cool over 105F.

They run, but they no longer cool & that's when they blow up or break down as one might say on the hottest day of the year. With ac units you always get what you pay for - there is no free lunch.

Cheers OTTCT

Here's the specs on it model # etc. one other reason I chose it over some of the similar from Mitsubishi/Fujitsu was the exterior unit dimensions.

It needed to fit here. Without hitting at jackknife.

Plumbing setup... and gas line. Open line is the grey vent.


Pretty tight in the cubby...

Hot water heater works. Not sure if this will be its normal hanging spot, it'll be kept inside during transit.

Messy but some interior shots for perspective


I need to figure out a clamp for the bunk ladder.



Ill be building the seating bench chests today and tomorrow.

OverTheTopCargoTrailer wrote:SEER 15 my friend and it does appear to come with 15' copper lines.

The op said his unit was SEER 20.5 so it's a slightly different model, but however still a very good deal.

One BIG DIFFERANCE, between this unit and more expensive units like Fujitsu at $2079.00

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Fujitsu-Air-Conditioners/9RLFFH-9000-BTU-26-SEER-Ductless-Heat-Pump-System/52507.ac?gclid=CjwKEAiAkvmzBRDQpozmt-uluCQSJACvCd1lrAsAGvwi0CMJM8ozuDfXgiZYefhoXcmSxvi1W5xXShoChP_w_wcB

There is also now a SEER 33 model WOW at $1795.20

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Fujitsu-Air-Conditioners/9RLS3-9000-BTU-33-SEER-Ductless-Mini-Split-Heat-Pump/52509.ac?catId=cat1028&mainCat=&subCat=&trail=68442:33.00

is that it only gives you 5500 btu heating at 17F vs expensive unit gives you 10,000 Btu at 5F. The same applies to the cooling at up to 123F - for example most all roof top or home or window ac units no longer cool over 105F.

They run, but they no longer cool & that's when they blow up or break down as one might say on the hottest day of the year. With ac units you always get what you pay for - there is no free lunch.

Cheers OTTCT

OTTCT- fysa those are both 230V outdoor units. I suppose if you put that into your initial plans that's ok as you can get dual 120/240 genies these days relatively cheap.

In one of the pics you said the open line was your "Gray Vent". So did you actually vent the tank under the trailer instead of going through the roof? Ive been deployed for 6 months and ready to get back to work on my Snowmobile Trailer also. Some of the things ive been looking at are where/how I want to vent the Gray/Black tanks.

You have an awesome build and I think the Snowmobile trailer is the way to go. Mine sits a littler higher than yours though. I have about 2+ Feet of clearance on my.