Window Air Conditioner Installation

[Parker Buckley]

I have our 13' Scamp up for sale, and there have been a couple of inquiries about the air conditioner installation and suggestions that I post some additional photos. A couple of years ago, I made an external AC setup using hoses to duct in the cold air and return the warm air. It worked, but resulted in a lot of stuff to lug around. This one is simpler, and like others, mounts in the rear window. I wanted something really easy to install upon arrival at a campsite and that did not require too many parts and pieces. I started with a 5000 BTU Frigidaire unit available from Lowes for less than $100. I tried to replicate the instructions for window mounting in order take advantage of some of the original hardware and to get the angles right for proper drainage. Specifically, I used the metal angle across the top of the air conditioner which is designed to rest against the inner surface of an upper window frame. I worked to get this piece in the same relative location in the Scamp as it would be in a home window. Then, setting the required angle for drainage determined where the unit should sit on the lower window sill. From there, it was a matter of making a suitable base and surrounds for inside and out. I elected to loop the power cord back outside so I could plug in external to the Scamp, but it could also be plugged in inside. None of this required mods to the Scamp, or to the air conditioner, for that matter. Here are some photos:

[Parker Buckley]

Here are some views of the base. The front is made to act like a window sill, and is contoured to match the shape of the air conditioner. The channel is designed to straddle the window sill of the Scamp and is contoured to match the curve of the window frame. All the holes are required to accommodate various things on the bottom of the air conditioner.

[Parker Buckley]

And now some views of the surrounds. The vertical, adjustable pieces allow the ac unit to be put in place, and then the weather stripping tightened up against the sides. I think most of this is self-explanatory, but if there are any questions, please ask.

Parker

[Raya]

Hi Parker,

I, too, noticed your A/C mod when I read your "for sale" ad - because it looks so good, and so well designed and executed.

I have a couple of questions. These aren't specifically for my particular trailer, as I have no need for A/C, but I'm still interested, and probably other people will be too. (And you never know -- maybe I will want AC in future.)

1) When you say that this required no mods to the trailer; how did you get the AC through the window? Do you have a sliding rear window as opposed to the (also common) Plexglas window that is fixed and mounted in rubber seals? And if so, did you remove one half of it, or merely slide it open?

2) If you do have a sliding rear window (and I suspect this is the case), then can you say here what year your Scamp is? I believe that Scamp made the rear window area molds more "flat" at some point in the manufacturing process. Would be nice to know which one yours is.

I have seen the older "more round" Bolers and Scamps with sliding rear windows, but you don't often see people retrofitting them to the Bolers or "round" Scamps. I've often wondered if the sliding rear windows in those campers actually functioned well (due to the curvature of the shell in that area).

Thanks for posting this mod
Raya

PS: Does anyone know exactly when Scamp "flattened" the rear window areas of their 13-footers? (I don't know if the 16's were affected or how their back window is designed.)

[Parker Buckley]

1) When you say that this required no mods to the trailer; how did you get the AC through the window? Do you have a sliding rear window as opposed to the (also common) Plexglas window that is fixed and mounted in rubber seals? And if so, did you remove one half of it, or merely slide it open?

2) If you do have a sliding rear window (and I suspect this is the case), then can you say here what year your Scamp is? I believe that Scamp made the rear window area molds more "flat" at some point in the manufacturing process. Would be nice to know which one yours is.

Raya,

Thanks! Yes, our Scamp has sliding rear windows. So all I have to do is open the window, insert the air conditioner from the outside (already sitting on its wooden base), and then hold it while someone puts the inside surround down on top of it. This catches the steel angle across the top of the unit and keeps it from tipping back out. Actually, I have a little piece of scrap plywood that I can temporarily put in place from outside the Scamp, reaching across the top of the AC, and then go inside and put the surround on. Then, I go back out and install the outer surround, go back inside and tighten up wing nuts, and that's it. Sounds like a Charlie Chaplin movie, but it's really easy. Takes longer to write about than to do.

Ours is a 2004 Scamp. I don't know what years have sliding rear windows. I forget the details, but the molds are flat in the vicinity of the windows. I think the roof line comes down straight across to the top of the window, then contouring begins just below the window to get out to the curved shape within just a few inches of the window.

I guess we were lucky to pick a Scamp with the flat sliding windows. At the time we bought it, I wouldn't have known enough to even ask about it!

Parker

Parker

[DonDeutsch]

WOW, I really like this. Have just added it to my "Fiberglass RV index".