Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hall
Hey Everyone,
We are getting ready to buy a trailer and are undecided on one last point. Do we need the airconditioner or not? We are both tall and worried about headroom. Interested to hear your take. We generally camp and backpack, but were thinking it might be nice to splurge a little. Not sure if it is worth it if we are bumping into it though. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
|
If you do some searches on this forum and the
Casita &
Scamp Forums you'll find lots of ideas on adding rooftop, window, closet or floor AC units. These can designed as permanent installations in your trailer or loaded into the cabin before departing on camping trips in hotter weather.
The thing about ACs:
- They are important during resale.
- When you need AC, you'll be happy you have AC.
- Every once in a while, you'll need AC!
When looking for my trailer, AC was an important consideration. I have dogs, and travel to the Southwest. AC not only provides comfort on those hot days and nights, but protects my dogs as well. Before I bought my
Bigfoot 19, I asked a friend who is taller than my husband, to help me evaluate the trailer. The first thing he commented on is that he could stand up straight when under the roof mounted AC. He thought that was a good thing ...
Consider these issues I experienced with my AC:
- it is an older [less efficient] model which requires over 4000 watts for start up. This means that a [quiet] Honda 3000 won't work. My "default" generator is much noisier [albert cheaper and slightly more compact] than a Honda.
- because it is mounted on the roof, I'm sure I loose gas milage. But then again, I've opted for a relatively larger, heavier fiberglass trailer to satisfy my creature comforts.
- the AC leaked through the roof during a rain storm at the end of my first year with the trailer. But I discovered the problem almost immediately, and was able to protect the trailer from water damage. I know to check that area annually.
If I were ordering a new trailer, I'd definitely include AC. If I were buying another used trailer, I'd look for one with a working AC.
If you dry camp, I recommend researching the efficiency [start-up watts] for any AC unit included with the trailer.
If I were super handy and understood
fiberglass trailers and/or trailers in general, I'd factor in the cost of customizing the installation of an AC unit in a trailer that I thought to be a "good buy".
Either way, I'd always go with AC!