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Coleman Trueair basement HVAC

dadwolf2
Explorer
Explorer
We are looking at buying a 2009 Winnebago Journey 34Y. I noticed that it has the Coleman Trueair basement style air conditioning unit instead of 2 units on the roof. Should I be concerned? Is this a good or bad thing? Anything I should know or is this a non-issue?
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD,4X4,NV5600
2014 Adventurer 86FB
10 REPLIES 10

FIRE_UP
Explorer
Explorer
dadwolf2 wrote:
We are looking at buying a 2009 Winnebago Journey 34Y. I noticed that it has the Coleman Trueair basement style air conditioning unit instead of 2 units on the roof. Should I be concerned? Is this a good or bad thing? Anything I should know or is this a non-issue?


As you can see and read, the majority of owners of basement A/C units have been, are now and will, for the most part, be thoroughly happy with them. As for them "Freezing" you in HOT weather, well, that's a matter of opinion and of course, the condition of the A/C unit itself and corresponding ducting. Our coach is an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT and the basement A/C in it has worked very good for the 7.5 years we've owned the coach. I did have to replace one bronze bushing for one of the fan shafts but, no biggie.

They are an easy unit to remove and service. One issue that is not all that common is, the ducting at or near the "Y" joint in between the back of the coach and inner wall can separate some. Some will repair through removing a tail light. But, by and large, they are a good unit.
Scott
Scott and Karla
SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext Cab 4x4 Toad
2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing
KI60ND

kmb1966
Explorer
Explorer
Had one on our Suncruiser from 2001 thru 2018, mostly trouble free. I did have to put a new control board in it. Beyond that it worked great. Liked the fact that I didn't have to worry about it being damaged from tree limbs striking it.

Fleet_Man
Explorer
Explorer
Another plus for the basement air is a lower roof clearance if you have a 12 foot garage door opening. I believe the height of the highest item on our MH roof is about 11 feet, six inches. My RV garage door height is 12 feet and anything with a roof mounted unit would be too high to get through the opening.
2007 Winnebago Journey 34H
Toad, '08 Ford Taurus X
Blue OX, Aventa
US Gear UBS

Ed_C
Explorer
Explorer
We have had three Winnebagos with basement air without any problems for about 160,000 miles. Our Aspire has three roof airs; one needed a control board and now another is waiting a diagnosis.
Ed/Jeanie & Slade the GSD
2017 Entegra Aspire 42 RBQ/ Sierra Crew

Happytraveler
Explorer
Explorer
We have a 2003 35ft. Winnebago with the basement air. It's nice if you're not rving in hot weather. We ended up replacing our fantastic fan in the kitchen area with an Atwood Air Command Rooftop RV Air Conditioner - 11.3 Amps - 13,500 Btu - Non-Ducted. It was the best thing we ever did to the RV. When we're in Palm Desert we have both airs going, makes a huge difference.
Charlie, a male Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Katie, a female Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

gfs1943
Explorer
Explorer
I wish my current coach had basement air. It's much quieter than the roof units, so it's much easier to hear the TV.
My basement air was in the 2000 Itasca Horizon. It didn't have the heat pumps, just AC. As it aged, I did have to replace a circuit board, start/run capacitors, and compressor relays. After that work, it performed like new. Parts were all readily available; I got them all from Makarios RV; prices were reasonable.
gfs1943
USAF, Retired (1962 - 1983)
2006 Monaco Diplomat 40PRQ
2006 Honda CR-V

rv2go
Explorer
Explorer
Our basement air works good, heating and cooling.
Winnebago Journey
TN Lic. RV 2 GO
Jeep Cherokee 4x4
I'm here #4335
Blog

K_Charles
Explorer
Explorer
Our 2004 basement air still works good, heating and cooling.

Wire_Man
Explorer
Explorer
We have friends that has a the same coach about the same year and they have never had any issues with theirs.
Barney & Penny with our puppies Lucy & Ricky
2008 Fleetwood Discovery
NHRA Drag racing is our habit :C
Good Sams, FMCA, Cummins Power Club, Coach-Net

ferndaleflyer
Explorer III
Explorer III
You will hear both good and bad but this is my take. I have a 1998 Winnebago Luxor with this set up that I have had near 20 years, it has never failed. And after 2 Monacoes with roof a/c there is no comparison. The basement a/c will freeze you on the hottest days, a limb will not knock it off the roof, and it pulls right out for service. I use this unit for my drag racing and sometimes it runs 4 or 5 days without ever being turned off. Gen has 4000+ hours so the a/c is near that. Also neither of the Monacoes had as much storage as the Luxor so put that myth to sleep also. That's my take.