Portable room AC in camper?

[Vicki Hale]

My 13' Scamp did not come with AC. Has anyone ever tried using a portable room AC in their camper? If so, did it work? I am talking about the type of portable AC that is free standing and is vented with tubes out a window.
I found one on Amazon that only uses one tube for venting and thought that might work.
Thanks!
Vicki

[Raspy]

I have one with a single tube, in my guest house, about 400 sq ft. It draws a lot of air from the room to expel it's waste heat outside. So, you'll end up leaving a window open and exchanging a lot of air with the outside. Kind of counter-productive. I'd say it will only be marginally effective. A twin tube one that pulls in outside air to cool itself, might be better. A window type unit would probably be much better. Look at how Little Snoozy does theirs.

[Vicki Hale]

Thank you John

[RJnNC]

Vicki, a friend of mine had her free-standing A/C installed in the closet of her 13' Scamp, exhausted outside using a dryer vent. It worked great, so I'm planning on doing the same thing with my 13' Burro.

[adkboler]

I use a small window air conditioner that is set on a board and tent poles. The board has holes drilled to allow the tent poles to stabilize. I removed the side windows to do this. Traveling I have a plexiglass window fitted to the opening. I have done this for 8 years after a young man looked at my elaborate venting system and suggested I just do this ( thanks Bryce !) The gap around the ac I have filled many ways, the simplest being clear packing tape.

[Mike Magee]

It will work, but only if you get a 2-hose design... one hose for intake and one hose for exhaust. I tried a 1-hose portable in my Hauley, and the vacuum was so great I could hear the whistling as it sucked air in around the door gasket. I basically had to leave the door ajar a bit for the AC to breathe. So it was sucking hot air in from outside as fast as it generated cool air.

The other problem is space: where to put it in your 13'. If that's a problem, consider either a 'window' AC or a 'mini split' AC like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/RolliCool-10-000-BTU-Mini-Split-Air-Conditioner-Access-Cooling-Dehumidify-Auto-Fan-Modes-via-App-Remote-450-sq-ft/573438420
I intend to get one of the latter for this summer's camping.

[Butsky]

Have a free stander in our 13 Boler. Vents through adapter plate using eye-brow window above stove. Can hang meat in there!!

[Vicki Hale]

Thanks Ronald.
Is your AC the 2 tube style or the 1 tube style?
I was thinking of using the window over the sink for the exhaust as well.
Vicki

[Vicki Hale]

Thanks RJ.
Is hers a one hose style?

[Vicki Hale]

Thank you Kathy

[Vicki Hale]

Thanks Mike.
Do you plan on mounting the outside unit to the trailer frame or hooking it up on site? I looked at those mini-splits but did not know if they could withstand the road travel if on the frame.

[Justus C]

You're in luck, as this topic has been brought up before. I was searching last week for experiences as we were hoping to get our hands on a Bigfoot without AC and thought that barring a rooftop install, one of those portable units might fit the bill--if we could afford to give up the floor space. My parents use one at their place to cool their master bedroom during the summer. Same one they had when I still lived at home and it cooled my room just fine (they had a window AC in their room). But they are still running whole house AC, just set at 78, so that unit is only augmenting what the house is providing, not cooling straight from 96 degrees and humid.

I will include a series of links below discussing the pros and cons of various portable AC methods. They include a variety of solutions--window AC in the window, window AC in the closet, portable AC in the trailer, portable AC outside. Somebody even put a ductless AC unit in a Scamp with the compressor on the tongue. The consensus, as Raspy said, is a two hose portable model inside the trailer; the window AC unit also seems to be a popular option, but I would rather give up floor space than a view.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ner-42817.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ers-43440.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...-rv-59659.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ust-70763.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ers-61148.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...-ac-66184.html

P.S. I don't know how the FGRV forums parse their links, but I promise you those are all related to portable air conditioners. If you don't believe me just hover over them and see where you're being pointed to!

[Butsky]

Ours is the single large hose. I fashioned some cheap ductwork into an adaptor plate which friction fits onto the window frame. I posted pics of this last spring or so. Only drawback, a bit noisy. Cools down our "Shellie" very quick, and on only periodically. When not needed, we just leave the unit off our "dance floor" and stow in tow vehicle until needed. Others who have seen our set up, love it!

[Butsky]

. Sorry about angle

[Glenn Baglo]

I don't understand the appeal of sleeping with an A/C unit in a tiny trailer. Why wouldn't one just stay home or go someplace tolerable?

[NW Cat Owner]

I've not used any of the portables ones in a trailer, but we did use two in our house some years back. One was a major PITA to use as the water dripped down underneath and I had to put a metal mixing bowl under it to catch the water. and then remember to empty it out before it overflowed. We also had to stand it up on bricks so there was room for the bowl underneath. Wonky engineering, if you ask me.


The other one dripped the water outside (maybe via the hose; I don't remember after all these years of not using them), which was lots better. So, be sure to check where the excess water goes to.



One or both of them had some sort of plastic adapter that you could shove in the window and stick the hose in. I'm sure you could make your own, if need be.


They were quieter than the a/c in my Escape though.


Good luck! Not fun sweltering away.

[Justus C]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I don't understand the appeal of sleeping with an A/C unit in a tiny trailer. Why wouldn't one just stay home or go someplace tolerable?

What is tolerable during the day can be unbearable at night. Each person's comfort level will vary based on the level of comfort they are used to and their acclimation to the local climate.

There are many beautiful places to see that are not so beautiful to stay. Why should we limit ourselves to "tolerable" places (or worse, stay at home) when we have this miraculous technology available? It seems quite obstinate.

If I am spending good money on a trailer, I'll be the one to determine where and how often it gets used, and what accessories are necessary for me. When you buy my trailer, you are welcome to remove the AC, and the tires, too--better for staying home.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Justus C

If I am spending good money on a trailer, I'll be the one to determine where and how often it gets used, and what accessories are necessary for me. When you buy my trailer, you are welcome to remove the AC, and the tires, too--better for staying home.

Yes, you are the one. I'm not interested in your trailer and I'm not in the market. I have a trailer and I have a magnificent back yard. It's cool and quiet in the heat of summer, so we stay here.

[Raspy]

Part of the beauty of these trailers is you can use them for more than just getting away from it all.

We needed to go to Phoenix and Las Vegas a couple of years ago in August. Yikes, was it hot! The AC made it bearable until we could leave, but I still hated the noise.

A friend uses their Oliver as the office for a car show we go to every year. His wife stays inside with the AC on and the door open so friends can stop by to say hi.

We went to help with the Camp Fire in Paradise and the place we wanted to stay was full of refugees from the fire. No problem, we brought Ollie.

I draw the line at running the AC on the generator, in a place I want to go camping. Then sitting inside, doors closed, to put up with the heat. The genny and the AC roaring away seems ridiculous to me. One more reason to go to Oregon in the summer, and Death Valley in the Spring.

[Glenn Baglo]

The last two years have been a bust for me when it comes to camping in BC. The forest fires and my COPD are not compatible. Even my camping buddy, who never smoked, and his wife bailed out of our favourite spot and headed for home when the smoke became unbearable.

If I'm going to be miserable, I'd rather be miserable at home.