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Window AC in the Fridge compartment

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
I have been contemplating how to use a window AC unit on camper.
Just as a given, and for discussion the roof unit is not an option,

There is no place on the back wall to use one. The only place would be the door, which is back wall, but the window opening on the door is about 14 inches, smaller than all window units width I see.

As a bonus I plan to get rid of the propane fridge and put a compressor chest in, though not in the fridge location. This leaves the fridge compartment as an option. I was looking forward to the extra storage space, but why not put the AC unit in here? There is already ample ventilation. It does not require to be waterproof, just a little water resistant from mist, so I can build the structure with wood and use duct tape to make it air tight if needed - though I would never rely on duct tape for a proper buildโ€ฆ

Here the AC unit would not need to stick out, and on hot days with no rain I could even remove the access panel.

Other than lost storage space I do not see any drawbacks. I have seen window units stuck inside campers in much smaller spaces and the owner was happy.

Opinions not wanted, but professional feedback is OK, and I thought this was a good idea and maybe others want to try also.
18 REPLIES 18

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
ajriding wrote:
TNGW1500SE wrote:


second image not showing


I had a small trailer, Heco pop-up roof, that had the window AC from the factory just like this pic, minus the clever luggage, which would have been a great addition.
I never knew the btu, but it was small and I think my 2200 gen ran it.Even with the tent sides it would cool the upper bunk just fine. I eventually added some cardboard to help shoot the cold air (off the top of the unit) up and keep it away from the lower intake.

Poor design did not always drain water off and when the trailer nose pointed down and AC had water in the pan it would leak on the floor. Most ACs have the pan fill with water and the condenser sits in the water to help cool. Great for a house, bad to have a full pan of water in a camper. I poked holes in the pan and tilted the AC unit more away from the camper. Rot was not too bad and the fix was possible.

Anyway, this is why I know little Ac units would work for my situation.

I'm still debating the whole AC thing. I hate to buy from Amazon anymore, looked elsewhere and found a Coleman 9200 for $613, so this brings me closer to maybe thinking about a small roof unit again.
We will see in the next days if my roof will hold the weightโ€ฆ

Debate is all over the place if a 2200 will run a 9200btu at all altitudes (at least under 6,oooft)โ€ฆ


Not sure about the debate on which gen will run which AC. I know for a fact that my Honda 2000 will start and run my 11k roof air when the tempature is in the 70's, some place between there and the 90's it fails to start the AC so is not dependable. Yes I have a hard start capacitor in the 11k unit.

LRA is the important # in AC and small generators. Locked rotor amps is the momentary power it takes to start a motor from a dead stop.

The 11k Coleman PS (power saver) has an LRA of 45.6. The Coleman Cub has an LRA of a whopping 58.4. So me personally would not buy one expecting it to run on a small generator.

There are a couple other options, one is the Dometic start kit and the other is the MIcro Air. I cannot recommend the Micro air as I have not used one, but there is enough data in that I would spend my money on one.

https://www.microair.net/collections/easystart-soft-starters/products/easystart-364-3-ton-single-pha...

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
mobeewan wrote:
jjrbus wrote:
I would put a mini in my RV in a heartbeat if I had room for the inside unit. However they are expensive to install properly. I have 3 in my house and have about $800 worth of tools for installing them.

A $99 window ac is likely going to be a 5000 btu unit, too small for most RV's. When I added one to my 21 foot Toyota I found that 8000 btu was the minimum. Although there was a 7100 btu available from the factory when new. No room over fridge or I would have put mine there, it has been done numerous times.

Some can get very creative!



Not expensive at hall. If you go on YouTube and type in "split mini AC install in trailer" or "split mini AC install in schoolie" there are many do-it-yourself installations in travel trailers, enclosed utility camper builds and school bus to RV conversions. There are even videos that show DYI installation homes.


Many of the videos are pre 410a and referring to R22 units. R22 ran at much lower pressures and was more forgiving on poor installs. Also many of the videos have no idea what they are doing.

The new 410a units run over 600 psi and need to be installed correctly. Not rocket science to install, but needs to be done to manufactures specs. The bulk of mini split failures are due to improper installation which also voids the warranty.

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
jjrbus wrote:
I would put a mini in my RV in a heartbeat if I had room for the inside unit. However they are expensive to install properly. I have 3 in my house and have about $800 worth of tools for installing them.

A $99 window ac is likely going to be a 5000 btu unit, too small for most RV's. When I added one to my 21 foot Toyota I found that 8000 btu was the minimum. Although there was a 7100 btu available from the factory when new. No room over fridge or I would have put mine there, it has been done numerous times.

Some can get very creative!



Not expensive at hall. If you go on YouTube and type in "split mini AC install in trailer" or "split mini AC install in schoolie" there are many do-it-yourself installations in travel trailers, enclosed utility camper builds and school bus to RV conversions. There are even videos that show DYI installation homes.

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
TNGW1500SE wrote:


second image not showing


I had a small trailer, Heco pop-up roof, that had the window AC from the factory just like this pic, minus the clever luggage, which would have been a great addition.
I never knew the btu, but it was small and I think my 2200 gen ran it.Even with the tent sides it would cool the upper bunk just fine. I eventually added some cardboard to help shoot the cold air (off the top of the unit) up and keep it away from the lower intake.

Poor design did not always drain water off and when the trailer nose pointed down and AC had water in the pan it would leak on the floor. Most ACs have the pan fill with water and the condenser sits in the water to help cool. Great for a house, bad to have a full pan of water in a camper. I poked holes in the pan and tilted the AC unit more away from the camper. Rot was not too bad and the fix was possible.

Anyway, this is why I know little Ac units would work for my situation.

I'm still debating the whole AC thing. I hate to buy from Amazon anymore, looked elsewhere and found a Coleman 9200 for $613, so this brings me closer to maybe thinking about a small roof unit again.
We will see in the next days if my roof will hold the weightโ€ฆ

Debate is all over the place if a 2200 will run a 9200btu at all altitudes (at least under 6,oooft)โ€ฆ

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
ajriding wrote:
8,000 is fine with me. Have you run it at high altitude? The gen will lose power in thin air..


Sea level in the upper 90's and high humidity, Rocky Mountains, Death Valley. The 2000 ran it under all conditions I encountered.

TNGW1500SE
Explorer
Explorer


That's kind of what I did years ago on a Toyota motorhome we had. There was a hatch back there so I built a box around a window unit that blew out the rear hatch opening. I ducted the inlet air so it didn't mix. Worked well but it would freeze your feet off since it blew out under the dinette. I built a pan under is and drained it under the RV.

Look at the portable units they sell now. Lowes and Home Depot sell them. They are made to be ducted and must have some sort of way to handle the condensation.

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
8,000 is fine with me. Have you run it at high altitude? The gen will lose power in thin air..

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
When I put my window ac in I tested first, I was almost certain from reading that a 5 or 6 k unit would not do it and started with an 8k unit. I used duct tape and cardboard to keep it in a window to test and it is just adequate in FL.

Despite what I read on the net I believe that an 8000 btu is the largest that will run DEPENDABLY under all conditions with a 2000 watt Honda generator. Of course that is only my opinion.

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
That is good and interesting article and test.

My camper is small, big TC but small inside compared to trailers, and equivalent cubic footage of a square foot regular camper of 60-80 square feet (and big shower stall does not get cooled). 5,000- 8,000 btu should be enough I hope. My gen is a 2,200 watt inverter gen and I do not want to get a bigger generator.

Seems from that guys study https://www.buildagreenrv.com/window-air-conditioner-to-cool-an-rv/ that the inlet opening needs to be the same size as the condenser and the outlet the same size also, so the fridge panel opening (without having a window unit here to measure) might be 1.5 to 1.8 times as big as the condenser. Close enough.

Yes, I will have it waterproof. Some sort of pan under the unit that just rolls the water out the opening. This keeps sideways rain from leaking into the camper also as I would remove the fridge cover when operating the AC.

As dirty as the condenser water is my water filter will clean it easily, so this could be a source of water when extended boondocking, saving my water tank water a bit. haha, just a thought and don't comment on that

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
Poking around the net and found this, first testing I have seen done on window ac in rv, interesting.
https://www.buildagreenrv.com/window-air-conditioner-to-cool-an-rv/

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
I would put a mini in my RV in a heartbeat if I had room for the inside unit. However they are expensive to install properly. I have 3 in my house and have about $800 worth of tools for installing them.

A $99 window ac is likely going to be a 5000 btu unit, too small for most RV's. When I added one to my 21 foot Toyota I found that 8000 btu was the minimum. Although there was a 7100 btu available from the factory when new. No room over fridge or I would have put mine there, it has been done numerous times.

Some can get very creative!

beemerphile1
Explorer
Explorer
Don't forget you need to get rid of the condensation, you don't want it inside. It either needs a pan and drain or stick out enough to run outside.
Build a life you don't need a vacation from.

2016 Silverado 3500HD DRW D/A 4x4
2018 Keystone Cougar 26RBS
2006 Weekend Warrior FK1900

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,I happen to own a mini split unit. It is whisper quiet and so efficient the condenser fan doesn't even run for about 4 or 5 hours.
The research may be out of date.


Window unit $99, split, $600+, wont kill me but is more pricey.

On mixing, I think I could fab a baffle and direct the hot air up, pull cold air in lower outside vent. I have never played with window units. I have seen others build boxes and do it and those must mix, so how big of an issue is it?

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
Hi,

I happen to own a mini split unit. It is whisper quiet and so efficient the condenser fan doesn't even run for about 4 or 5 hours.

The research may be out of date.

ajriding wrote:
research on minisplits reveals expensive and inefficient. People are not happy with them overall for rv. I ruled that out, there is still an outside unit that has to be placed also
thanks
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.