Hi everyone!
I seen a Duel A/C & Heater unit in a TAB Trailer called the" Duo-Therm Cool Cat Heat Pump". It's from Dometic and they say for the most part, it's a close drop in replacement for an existing space of your "Duo-Therm furnace". How nice would that be???? Has anyone heard about this? I noticed the last couple times I've entered a question on this post , no one hardly replies!!! Is it because I own a Trillium and not a Boler or is it because I am in the USA?????? I look at everyone else and see tons of hits and lots of replies to boot!!!! I 've edited this post 4 times now and have had 46 plus views,but not one reply...what's up folks???? Dave in Michigan...USA 1978 Trillium 4500 Deluxe

Hi Dave,

I'm interested in any/all replies as well. Maybe no one has any information on this new toy.

I have seen them in T@Bs. they seem to take up a lot of floor space and I am not sure they heat with propane.

Here's a link to an article (?) in RV America...

RV America article on DuoTherm Cool Cat

This unit would need a generator for boondocking.

I had one of these installed in a motorhome we had back in late 90's. As I recalled we used it throughout the time we had the MH and it worked great. It may be my imagination but I felt it never got quite as cold as a regular AC unit. The heat was also not real hot but heated the MH very well, it just took a little longer than say a propane furnace. One thing that I did not like was it was quite loud when running. I heard they fixed this problem with newer units. Small nit-pics, Overall we where quite satisfied with the unit. Hopes this info helps.

Thanks so far for the replies. Have a super day!!!
Dave Baston

According to their site, it is all electric (110 ac). So that cuts out boondocking. Their site also hints at being useful for temps from the mid 30's to the 80's. So it seems to not too good when the temps are too hot or too cold. I guess it would work for some, just not me. ... Mike B

Any air conditioner is a heat pump, but they usually pump heat only one way: out. Some air conditioners - in both house and RV versions - have the extra plumbing and control to pump heat in as well, extracting heat from outside air to warm the interior. Lots of people heat their homes this way, but the effectiveness certainly is limited by the outside temperature. For someone in a moderate climate, this is a very efficient approach and can replace the furnace; in a more exteme climate, it can avoid use the furnace for much of the year.

Yes, since this is an electrically driven heat pump, both heating and cooling require (only) AC electrical power.

This particular unit seems large, which may partially be due to the extra hardware for the heating mode, but it is also much larger in cooling capacity than the window-type units which egg owners normally select. I noticed that A/C with heat pump is available in Airstreams, but even in those high-priced trailers it is an option, and then only with the higher-capacity (15,000 BTU/hr!) unit. The more common way to add heating ability to an A/C is to add a resistive "heat strip", which is just using the interior fan of the air conditioner with a normal electric heater - much more power consumption than a heat pump, but cheap to build.

Dave, you may be reading too much into the lack of replies... since the heat pump feature is not generally available in smaller units, my guess is that very few FiberglassRV members have any experience with these systems. Also, if you tried the same post in the Delphi Boler forum, you might not have realized that forum is much less active than this one. I have a technical interest, but have zero experience with the Cool-Cat (or any other RV unit) myself.

Hi Brian,
Thanks for the very informative feedback on these babies. Did you see the Mod done on that Scamp for an A/C unit just below the closet? Pretty cool. What do you think of doing that instead of the Cool Cat? Looks like I might have to be a Heating & Cooling Guy to even consider doing this on my unit. Plus I had to start cutting larger spaces to make it work. Dave in Michigan

hi Dave,
I think the Cool Cat with 12,000 BTU or 1 ton of cooling is over kill for your trailer.I have a 17 foot Boler with a A/C unit 6,500BTU,s floor mounted under the rear bed with the condenser hot air ducted to the outside. No problem cooling the Boler.
We will be down in Milford MI at the Tin Can Tourists Rally May 18,19,20,21 at Camp Dearborn If you like old trailers and cars do drop in. your Heating & Cooling Guy.

Hi Lloyd,
Thanks for the information. Looks like between the "Cool Cat" being an over kill for our trailer and the price of these units, I 'am putting this chapter of temporary excitement to bed! I will have to see if I can get over to Camp Dearborn for that Tin Can Tourist Rally. Dave

I do like the heat pump idea, and I suspect that the Cool Cat package would work fine mounted in either the innovative slide-out system or fixed in a cabinet with suitable venting, but they just don't seem to have a small enough unit. I'm also not sufficiently motivated by a need for cooling to either make a big enough hole to use this type of unit without additional ducting and fans, or carry the weight and bulk of the unit.

I'm still interested in hearing about a smaller heat pump unit, if anyone happens to run across one.