New egg hatch....

[cpaharley2008]

The EggCamper has a/c under a dinette that vents thru the side behind a painted grill. I have always thought is was a poor design with bugs in the summer and cold air in the winter. I ordered a custom sized 14X16 hatch cover to cover the outside hole. I feel it will make the trailer warmer in the winter and more airtight. I ordered from these people https://www.pellandent.com/RV_Produc...?CategoryID=97

I also ordered a radius cover to install on curb side to gain access to storage under the bed. Here are some pictures. Both are solid aluminum and very well built, unlike some of the plastic hatch covers available elsewhere. A little pricey but well worth it.

[Donna D.]

looks good Jim. I think outside hatches are the bees knees! Out of curiosity, what are the outside and inside dimensions of the radius corner one... and if I may be so bold... what was the cost?

[cpaharley2008]

the square hatch was 14X16 - $187
the radius is 12X14 with 3" radius corners-$162
crate and shipping-$55
you add it up, they will make custom sizes, with/out locks, insulated/non, straight/radius, hinge top/bottom/side

[Donna D.]

Thanks. I knew about Pellandent, I posted their website in a topic where someone was looking for a particular size refrigerator vent. But, you're the first I know about that's actually ordered something from them. I was curious to cost, etc.

THANKS.

[cpaharley2008]

The nice thing about the aluminum hatch is you can bend them a little more to fit the curvature of the egg. I tried that with a plastic hatch and it cracked.

[jen b]

Thanks for the link! I have this notion that when I cut out a hole in my Burro to make way for such a hatch, I could use the cut-out chunk to make the door.

But, um, it's good to have a back-up option in case things don't go as planned...

[cpaharley2008]

You will need a hinge to start with. In addition these hatches are water proof in that they are recessed but the hatch is outside the recess and there are rubber gaskets to keep water out. Do not see how you can duplicate that set up.

[Tim Wood]

Jim nice job and a quick question. Does your ac unit drain through the bottom by way of a hole/tubing ?

[cpaharley2008]

Actually I can not find where the condensate goes? I have been told that the newer a/c models "eat" the condensate by reusing it to cool the unit. But I have never found any water or evidence of water either in or underneath the trailer. But, being a "belt and suspenders" person, I have drilled a series of small drain holes along the bottom piece of hatch frame to allow any water to drain thru the hatch frame while it is open, in the event there is some.

[honda03842]

I installed an AC unit in the bottom of the Scamp's closet. I did include a drain thru the floor from the AC unit. After running the unit for hours I can see water in the bottom of the AC unit but nothing has really come out of the tube yet.

The AC unit is biased towards the drain, tipped towards the back.

I forced water to drain by significantly lowering the front of the trailer to make sure the tube wasn't blocked and water came out.

Other than that extreme test, no water has come from the air conditioner's drain tube even after hours of running on humid days.

We have two muffin fans that exhaust the hot air from the rear of the AC unit thru the floor. Possibly this flow of air, hot and fast, causes the moisture to evaporate. We will soon run a test with the inlet side pressurized by two more muffin fans. At maximum these four fans are capable of moving 400 cubic feet per minute, not to mention the squirrell cage like fan that moves air thru the rear coils.

I've been surprised that there hasn't been more water however, it seems to do the job of cooling our little trailer.

More testing to come

Norm

[Tim Wood]

Jim & Norm , that is very interesting I didn't know that about the newer units. I have a 3 yr old 6k unit that I bought from Lowe's in the fall when they were trying to get rid of them. I wonder if its like yours ?

[honda03842]

The AC unit I have has a hole in the rear right corner as a drain. I bought a piece of hose from Lowes and used 3M 5200 to cement it in. This short piece drips into a square plastic piece.

The square plastic pieces has a hole in the center with another piece of hose in it that goes thru the floor. I did this as a two step because it makes it easier to remove the AC unit.

Our AC unit is old, came with the trailer. It is a GE, 5000 BTU unit that draws less than 5 amps. When I compare the insides, all these small AC units seem the same.

[Tim Wood]

Thanks Norm.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by jen b

Thanks for the link! I have this notion that when I cut out a hole in my Burro to make way for such a hatch, I could use the cut-out chunk to make the door.

Jen, what you're want to do has been done successfully. Check out this picture from Nancy (in Oregon) and Mike's Scamp 5th wheel. http://www.watsonmountain.com/pics/scamp/sidedoor.jpg I guess all you need to do is find the vent that fits and swap out the aluminum/plastic for the piece you cut out of the trailer. Folks need to think outside the box...

[Mike Magee]

Jim, am I correct that you need to remember to open the hatch outside when you want to run the AC? I'd be afraid of forgetting!

The bugs could have been kept out with some screen material in the grill, but I guess the cold air would be a little tougher to stop. My Burro was the same way, and I'm sure it made the thing harder to heat than it would have been otherwise.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Jim, am I correct that you need to remember to open the hatch outside when you want to run the AC? I'd be afraid of forgetting!

The bugs could have been kept out with some screen material in the grill, but I guess the cold air would be a little tougher to stop. My Burro was the same way, and I'm sure it made the thing harder to heat than it would have been otherwise.

Yes, it needs to remain open while using the a/c. I think you will remember when the a/c does not cool!! I know a couple of persons who ran their a/c with the outside cover on, a mistake they will not repeat.
I was mainly interested in making the trailer warmer in the winter, having a 14X16 open hole lets a lot of cold in. All I need to do now is replace the intake vent underneath with a closing damper and I'll be ready.

[honda03842]

With the thru floor solution it doesn't seem there is much chance of cold air intrusion.

First the air conditioner except the cooling output vent is totally enclosed in the bottom of the cabinet, really the AC is in its own little cabinet.

Second, the cooling output vents of the AC unit is internally isolated from the exhaust side of the AC unit, basically keeping cold air on the exhaust side of the AC unit. This reduces outside air intrusion into the trailer.

Third it is very easy to put a piece of foam over the exhaust and inlet air vents under the trailer for the winter, totally eliminating air intrusion.

Norm

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by honda03842

With the thru floor solution it doesn't seem there is much chance of cold air intrusion.

First the air conditioner except the cooling output vent is totally enclosed in the bottom of the cabinet, really the AC is in its own little cabinet.

Second, the cooling output vents of the AC unit is internally isolated from the exhaust side of the AC unit, basically keeping cold air on the exhaust side of the AC unit. This reduces outside air intrusion into the trailer.

Third it is very easy to put a piece of foam over the exhaust and inlet air vents under the trailer for the winter, totally eliminating air intrusion.

Norm

Norm, the a/c in the Egg Camper is not totally enclosed. The Exhaust is probably 85% contained and exits out the vent but on the intake there are 4 holes in the bottom of the floor under the exhaust tunnel to allow fresh air in. This part of the cabinet is completely open to the rest of the trailer thru closets and just leakage. I like the finished look of the exhaust so now I just need to stop the cold air infiltration with a simple floor register.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Norm, the a/c in the Egg Camper is not totally enclosed. The Exhaust is probably 85% contained and exits out the vent but on the intake there are 4 holes in the bottom of the floor under the exhaust tunnel to allow fresh air in. This part of the cabinet is completely open to the rest of the trailer thru closets and just leakage. I like the finished look of the exhaust so now I just need to stop the cold air infiltration with a simple floor register.

I do understand your situation. What you're doing makes total sense and will look great as well.

Norm

[Timon]

It should not be that hard to close off the area so there is no leakage into the camper. I've used some structural foam that's used to build showers. It's easy to cut and shape than wood plus it's very lite and should work well. That alone with calk around the A/C unit and there should be no leaks.