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Old 03-28-2020, 02:01 PM   #1
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Name: Annalise
Trailer: Scamp
Lake Worth
Posts: 16
AC unit or Fan vent?

Hello, everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering what is better for a 13ft. Scamp, a Dometic Brisk II roof AC unit or a MaxxFan Deluxe Roof Vent? Does the Fan actually make the cabin cooler, or does it just push around air? It says that it comes with a remote to adjust the thermostat, but I was not sure. It is quite a bit cheaper than the AC unit, which is important because I do not have the largest budget, but if it is a waste of money, I would rather spend more for the AC unit.
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Old 03-28-2020, 05:17 PM   #2
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I found that t he AC unit I had in my Boler 13 was too much didn't use it much so I sold it the first year I had it. In my Casita FD I have the Maxfan and love it. if you keep the fan on high and the window open by your head it cools us good enough.
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Old 03-28-2020, 05:45 PM   #3
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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If the outside air is cool and dry enough to make you comfortable then the fan works great. If the outside air is too hot and / or humid to make you comfortable then the A/C is great. I have both. I use both.

BTW, Lake Worth FLORIDA? Is so.. I would think you would want A/C. Note that Gerry is in Maine. Don't know where he or she camps but maybe its mostly north.
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Old 03-28-2020, 07:08 PM   #4
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Name: Mike
Trailer: Oliver Elite II
Boerne, Texas
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It depends on when you camp. If you’re going to camp in the heat then and AC is best. If you try to avoid the heat a Maxxfan would be best. We have both. Our fan gets used 90% of the time and our AC about 10% of the time. We avoid the heat and only use the AC when we’re leaving south Texas for cooler climates. Mike
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Old 03-28-2020, 08:11 PM   #5
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Name: Shelby
Trailer: Casita SD
Tennessee
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The vent fan only moves air around, it's just a fan.
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Old 03-28-2020, 08:49 PM   #6
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Name: Ray
Trailer: 2017 Scamp 16 Deluxe
Missouri
Posts: 692
In our trailer(s) we have always gotten the fan.

If the nights where you typically camp are cooler and low humidity, the
fan can exhaust hot air out the top of the trailer and pull cooler air in through
the windows. Or, you can pull cooler air in from the top and blow it down on
you in the bed.

In either case, you could supplement the top-mounted fan with a table top
fan for more air moving over you.

In areas of high heat and/or humidity, you will likely want an air conditioner
of some sort.

For a Scamp13, a friend of ours (who had one) said the Dometic Brisk II
roof AC unit would be able to freeze out an Eskimo. Too many BTUs of
cooling in too small (cubic feet) of a trailer. A 9000 BTU top-mounted
unit would be more than sufficient.

For longer duration stays, you should know that (if mounted securely and
properly) a Frigidaire 5000 BTU AC will fit in the back window of the Scamp.
You slide the glass open and slide the screen over, put a frame/platform
in the window, put the AC on the platform, and try to fill in any holes to
keep out bugs or the water from an unexpected rain shower. (We used
that solution at Gulf Shores (Al.) during the 2nd week of July and all of us
(my wife, myself, and two granddaughters) slept cool and comfortable.

The 5000 BTU window air conditioner also works just fine in a Scamp16.

The downside of the 5000 BTU back-window solution is that it is a bit of
effort to set up and may be too much work for a one night stop in hot and
humid conditions. For a one-night, en-route stop, it is much easier to just
turn on the switch of a top-mounted air conditioner.

We are located in the middle of the country and try to go North in the hot
summer and South in the winter. I agree with Carol & Mike. We rarely
need AC but, when you need it ... you need it.

I hope that helps some.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Ray
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Old 03-29-2020, 02:09 AM   #7
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Name: John
Trailer: Roamer 1
Smith Valley, Nevada
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I agree completely with Mike. The fan in my Oliver was almost always on, and the AC never. I avoid camping, mostly, where I have to run the AC, but the fan can really be nice most of the time. It takes very little power and really improves the ambiance, without the noise.

The fan and the AC really almost have two different purposes. If I had to pick only one, it would be the fan.
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Old 03-29-2020, 06:10 AM   #8
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Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
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AC unit or Fan vent?

If you choose your locations and seasons to avoid heat and humidity, the fan will cover 90% of your needs. For that occasional night where you get caught and it’s just too hot to sleep, you can always get a motel. That’s what we do going from the cool mountains of eastern AZ to the cool beaches of SoCal in summer. Or just tough it out with a portable fan blowing directly on you.

However, if you want comfort in all situations, or if Lake Worth is in the SE quadrant of the country where heat and humidity last a good part of the year, you may well want both. It doesn’t take many nights in a motel to pay for the A/C.

Tough decision. It’s expensive. It’s ugly. It’s heavy. It’s oversized for the space. It’s noisy. It vibrates. It requires shore power. But when you really need it, you probably won’t care.

The fan is a no-brainer. It works off the battery, so you can use it when you stop for lunch or spend a night without hookups.
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Old 03-29-2020, 06:49 AM   #9
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
Posts: 4,500
We have A/C in our trailer
We use the A/C in our trailer
We like the A/C in our trailer
We have never frozen to death from the A/C in our trailer nor has it ever gotten too COLD
We have a roof fan in our trailer
The roof fan is not a substitute for an A/C , it’s a fan

We live at a latitude father north than Northern Maine and not far off Lake Superior and we use our trailer’s A/C all the time
“TO ME” a trailer without A/C . a bathroom , hot water , lights & propane is a glorified fiberglass tent .
I will proudly admit I am not a minimalist and have no desire to convert to the faith .
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Old 03-29-2020, 07:57 AM   #10
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Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
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Think of your personal home. Would you turn off the AC and just rely on a couple of floor fans?

Moving hot air around is no substitute for generating cold air. If I was buying new, I would have an AC AND a ceiling fan. I would forego an awning before I didn't get an AC.

Two advantages to a ceiling fan: you can run them without 120V hookup and they are not obnoxiously LOUD. But they are no substitute for AC.

In my 1977 Trillium, I am installing a roof fan, better than nothing. And when I camp with our Escape, if I am just dry camping (no hookups) for the night (think Walmart, truck stop or whatever), I rely on the ceiling fan. If it is really hot, I will fire up the generator and cool down the trailer. But I won't run the generator all night long.
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Old 03-29-2020, 08:22 AM   #11
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Arizona
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I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same as your sticks and bricks house. Mine doesn’t have wheels. We sometimes leave our house and pull our trailer to a cooler place so we don’t have to sit inside with the A/C on. And if I do have to sit inside with the A/C on to be comfortable, I’d rather stay home.

Still, getting to a cool place may mean several days of travel through not-so-cool places. And even the cool places have occasional heat waves.
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Old 03-29-2020, 10:08 AM   #12
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Name: Tryonbrewer
Trailer: Northern Lite
South Carolina
Posts: 20
I have a Northern Lite slide-in with a Fantastic Fan in the roof. It works great most of the time but when needed, I have one of those portable 5000 BTU AC units with a hose that sticks out the window. It's packed away and when needed, put into service. It can get pretty steamy here in SC in the summer and the versatility of either the fan or the AC unit works for us.



I could have removed the fan and installed a Polar Cub but didn't want to lose the fan. It draws cool air in from open windows up by the bed and usually does the trick. The fresh air is why we camp.
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Old 03-29-2020, 10:28 AM   #13
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Name: PCO6
Trailer: Cadet
Ontario
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I have a Cadet project underway with no interior let alone an air conditioner but for my other trailer, a tear drop, I removed both the AC and the fridge. I run 12V only which was a factor but regarding the AC I've never felt the need for it in the areas where I camp which is mainly Ontario. A fan works well. Obviously it's different in other areas. The weight saving was quite a bit … 42 lb.s for the ac & 30 lbs. for the fridge. I'm much happier with the storage space that it freed up.
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Old 03-29-2020, 11:04 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annalisewellman View Post
Hello, everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering what is better for a 13ft. Scamp, a Dometic Brisk II roof AC unit or a MaxxFan Deluxe Roof Vent? Does the Fan actually make the cabin cooler, or does it just push around air? It says that it comes with a remote to adjust the thermostat, but I was not sure. It is quite a bit cheaper than the AC unit, which is important because I do not have the largest budget, but if it is a waste of money, I would rather spend more for the AC unit.
BOTH, in my opinion. Fan works great moving sir through (exhaust position) and bringing fresh air in, but there times when you simply need AC.
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Old 03-29-2020, 12:10 PM   #15
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Name: Jann
Trailer: Casita
Colorado
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annalisewellman View Post
Hello, everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering what is better for a 13ft. Scamp, a Dometic Brisk II roof AC unit or a MaxxFan Deluxe Roof Vent? Does the Fan actually make the cabin cooler, or does it just push around air? It says that it comes with a remote to adjust the thermostat, but I was not sure. It is quite a bit cheaper than the AC unit, which is important because I do not have the largest budget, but if it is a waste of money, I would rather spend more for the AC unit.
If you are looking for a 13ft unit I don't know if you can get both. Find out if the unit can handle the weight of the A/C. Not all units can handle the weight. In the trailer when we stop for lunch or a quick overnight and it is hot we can run the fan and at least be fairly comfortable. If we only had an A/C we wouldn't be able to do that. We have a 17' Casita and it has the Fantastic Fan and an A/C. We use the fan a lot and the A/C when we are plugged into electric at a campground when it is really hot. If I had to have only one it would be the fan. We have a motorhome and it does not have a fan but an A/C. I really miss the fan. We have to carry a couple of 12 volt fans to move the air around but they don't exhaust the hot air at the top of the ceiling. We are checking into getting a Fantastic Fan or other for the vent above the bed.
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Old 03-29-2020, 01:53 PM   #16
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Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
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AC unit or Fan vent?

I know you used to be able to get center A/C and a rear Fantastic Fan on the 13'er. Now that they've gone to the MaxxFan, I'm not 100% sure they will install both, but I see no reason why not.
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Old 03-29-2020, 08:47 PM   #17
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Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same as your sticks and bricks house. Mine doesn’t have wheels. We sometimes leave our house and pull our trailer to a cooler place so we don’t have to sit inside with the A/C on. And if I do have to sit inside with the A/C on to be comfortable, I’d rather stay home.

Still, getting to a cool place may mean several days of travel through not-so-cool places. And even the cool places have occasional heat waves.
My situation is just the opposite. I live in a relatively cool area (higher elevation), so most trips involve going somewhere that is hotter.


We also tend to take longer trips, where you see a lot of different weather. On one trip we saw 25F at Yellowstone, and 105F at Zion NP.

Even when we went to AK, we saw temperatures well over 100F in the Dakotas. Once we got into Canada, temperatures moderated a lot! We did not run the AC again that trip until we crossed back into the lower 48 and camped in Omak, WA (plenty hot, over 100F).

When I take the Trillium camping, I am more selective of where I go as I do not have a fan or an AC (but my roof vent fan conversion is close to done, waiting on a switch).

My point is if you limit your options to deal with heat, you will limit your camping choices. And on longer trips (if you take them), you can see many different temperature ranges where an AC would be quite beneficial.
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Old 03-30-2020, 09:24 AM   #18
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Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thrifty bill View Post
My situation is just the opposite. I live in a relatively cool area (higher elevation), so most trips involve going somewhere that is hotter.
We live in the mountains, too, and don’t have A/C in our home. There are a few weeks a year when we like to escape to higher mountains.

I agree that A/C in an RV opens up more options to camp in marginal conditions.
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Old 03-30-2020, 01:01 PM   #19
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My "Ford/Chevy" answer on this debate is easy..... living in the "humid" state of Tennessee....no A/C NO camper....PERIOD! (Unless you like sleeping in "steam baths" at night during the summer- even some springs/falls).
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Old 03-30-2020, 05:35 PM   #20
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Name: Bob
Trailer: Bigfoot
California
Posts: 63
It really comes down to how you personally camp.

I can't make suggestion for you, but I can talk about our experiences.


We boondock, a lot, like 90% of our camping is either boondocking or mochdocking where if we are lucky we are plugged into 15 amps of power.
In fact, in the 5 years we've owned our current rig, and something like 30K miles of travel (we still worked full time)

We have never plugged into 30amp campground power.

We only have a small 120watt solar panel and just 200 amp hours of battery and tiny 200 watt inverter.

So we don't have an AC unit, and while our camper came with one, the PO took it out replacing it with a mid level Fantastic fan (no remotes or bells and whistles, but it does have a 3 speed motor control and flow direction is reversible.)


We will often set it up to draw in "coolish" air from down below and vent the hot air out. (we are in a truck camper, so we open our "basement" door and it draws air in from the shaded area between the truck and the camper in the trucks bed.

It would be nicer to have an AC, but I would rather be camped in the wild away from other people without an AC, then plugged into a campground with AC. or to run a generator or have a roof full of solar panels and the 400# of LiPo batteries needed to run such a set up.

This set up is decent for us (family of three and a 40# dog) up until about 75-80 degrees night time of dry desert camping, Above 80 at night and it starts to become uncomfortable, Above 90 at night and it just plain sucks, and we stay home if we can.
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